1965 Chevrolet El Camino

350

TH350

Clear

Gasoline

1965 Chevrolet El Camino Truck I purchased this El Camino roughly 3 years ago from an individual who spent a lot of money in restoration. I turned around and spent a fair share of money furthering the process. However, my priorities have changed and my interest has slowly waned. Just recently, the valve train started to get noisy at higher RPMs. It sounds to me like a sticky lifter on the passenger head side. I removed the valve cover to show in a picture that there is no damage to the top side of the valve assembly. With that said, I cannot confirm either way without removing the intake manifold. The problem could be something else, which would require a more extensive fix. The following is a history of the truck as I know it: · According to the previous owner, the engine block is a 1969 Corvette 350 4-bolt main and is the 350 horsepower model. This engine has always started right up and delivered consistent power from point A to B. The horsepower in this engine setup is really impressive at highway speeds. The engine has roughly 5,000 miles on her since the rebuild. I changed the oil every 3 months regardless of mileage and always used Castrol and Lucas oil stabilizer. The inside of the engine is sludge free and as clean as an oil burning engine can get. The oil pressure is steady and strong. 60 when cold and 40 at cruising speed. The rule of thumb for a Chevy is 10 per 1000 RPM and all is deemed to be good. · There is a slow leak at the rear underside of the engine. It is minor in nature and something I would resolve by wiping the oil pan occasionally. I eventually made a removal magnetic catch for easy cleaning and as a piece of mind. I never determined whether it is the rear main seal or the oil pan. I always guessed it was the oil pan, which is chrome and aftermarket. It has been my experience that the chrome pans tend to leak. It is so minor I never even considered fixing it. · I was told the cam is a Clay Smith shaft and is mild in nature. The idle has a little bounce to it. · The block was obviously decked as the stamped block numbers are gone. I believe that all of the internals, including the valve train, pistons, etc. are all stock. · The intake manifold is a street/strip Edelbrock. · I designed and installed an engine stop on the driver side to prevent a potential broken engine mount. Insurance and piece of mind. · The carburetor is a NEW 600 CFM Summit Racing street/strip model with a top notch fuel inlet/pressure gauge/filter setup. The fuel pressure regulator is set at 5.5, which is recommended by Summit Racing. This is a redesign of a Holley model carb, which works flawlessly. The choke is electric. · The distributor is a NEW Summit Racing brand that is actually an MSD. It is a vacuum advance model and is setup with 21 degrees mechanical timing. The spring/weight setup allows the timing to be all in by roughly 3,000 RPMs. The total advance is currently set at 35 degrees with 14 degrees initial. I have the old Summit Racing (MSD) dizzy that I will include with the sale. The electronic module died. The cap and rotor on the old part is new. You can purchase a new module through Summit Racing for roughly $80 and you will have a brand new dizzy! · The ignition coil is a Taylor brand and NEW. · The spark plug wires are MSD. · The spark plugs are Accel shorty style for header clearance. I believe I have a set or two of these plugs and will be included with the sale. · The alternator is a Powermaster 100 amp. The voltage runs consistently above 14 volts. · The wiper motor was replaced by the restorer. I installed new chrome wiper arms/blades. The wiper system works as designed and is one speed. · The power steering pump is NEW and a 1969 Corvette vented cap is used. Using the new cheap so-called vented caps allows fluid to leak out the top. The Corvette cap prevents this. High and low pressure hoses are also new. · The water pump was new when the engine was rebuilt and is a high-flow stock model. · The accessory belts are new. I have several different sized belts that are new and will be included with the sale. · The alternator and power steering pump mounts were special made by a hotrod enthusiast in order to lower them in the engine bay for better engine access and aesthetics. · The starter is a mini starter and works flawlessly. It is wrapped in a starter blanket along with an aluminum starter shield. Also installed is a Painless Wiring “hot-shot” relay to give the starter that extra punch when the engine is hot. Chevy guys know of heat soak. I have never experienced heat-soak with this setup. I have a Summit Racing Stealth mini-starter for sale on eBay. If this car sells before the starter sells, I will include it with the sale of this car. · Hedman headers, which are ceramic coated. The driver side looks nearly new. However, the passenger side finish did not fare as well. Still looks presentable though. I have ceramic header cleaner that I will include with the sale. · Summit Racing 4-row aluminum radiator with a new GM brand radiator cap and overflow catch can. Radiator hoses were recently installed and are near new. The fan is a flex style and the shroud was custom made. The coolant thermostat is 180 degrees. This car never over heats. It runs at 180 degrees regardless of the temperature. A well designed cooling setup. The coolant was flushed and replaced a year ago. · The heater core was replaced by the restorer. The heater/defroster works like a champ. Car gets nice and warm/hot as soon as the engine warms up to temperature. · Red top Optima battery that is in top notch shape and is always maintained when the car is not in use. · Installed is a Moroso oil/air separator. This setup is in line with the PCV system and effectively separates oil vapors that would otherwise be returned to the intake manifold. · The transmission is a TH-350 and has a shift kit, which was installed prior to my purchase. Although I rarely use it, it works as designed. There are two external transmission coolers. One under the car on the passenger side and the second one in front of the radiator. Transmission stays cool and works like a champ. A flexible Lokar dipstick is installed and attached to the firewall. The fluids were replaced during the winter of last year. No leaks. · The driveshaft is stock and was balanced prior to my purchase. The universal joints are nearly new. There is absolutely no vibration at any speed. · I believe the ring and pinion gears are stock and a highway ratio. They are not performance ratio gears. The differential cover was replaced along with a reusable seal and the fluids replaced last year with Lucas differential gear oil. At time of fluid change the vent valve was replaced. No leaks. · The mufflers are a Dynomax brand and are not ear piercing. There is no ridiculous drone sounds in the cab. It is a pleasant volume with a nice throaty growl when the car engine is revved. · The shocks are Bilstein at all four corners and sold by Hotchkis. BIG difference over stock shocks. · The front and rear brakes are stock and completely rebuilt. EVERY internal part is new along with new pads and USA made drums. The emergency brake cables/hooks were all replaced. The brake fluid was replaced last year. The brakes work flawlessly and are not noisy. Sections of the brake lines were replaced and others not. No leaks and pedal is firm. The manual brake reservoir was replaced during the restoration. · The front hubs/bearings are new and were replaced last year. · The front upper control arms/fasteners/ball joints/bushings were replaced with aftermarket stock models. · The front and rear springs were replaced when restored. They are at stock height. · The front lower control arms were restored with new ball joints and bushings during restoration. I have a new lower set currently for sale on eBay. If the car is sold before the arms sell, I will include them in the sale. · The rear upper and lower control arms were replaced after the restoration. The lowers are braced for a stabilizer bar. The uppers are adjustable. The dog ear bushings were replaced at time of restoration. · I installed aftermarket performance rear and front stabilizer bars. The car roll was minimized in a significant manner making the car much more pleasant to drive. · The wheels are chromed aftermarket Corvette Rallys with center caps. Full hubcaps were installed over this setup. So, if you remove the hubcaps, you will see the rally wheel/center cap setup. I also have a set of new chromed stainless steel beauty rings that will be included in the sale. · The tires are new with roughly 500 miles. The tires were roadforce balanced when installed. There is absolutely no vibration at any speed. The ride is very smooth with this wheel/tire setup. · The bed was painted with a truck bed liner and then painted the car color. Overall it is in good shape with a nice appearance. However, there are areas of chipping. Included is a rubber bed mat. · The bed cover was installed after the restoration. · The rear bed wheel covers has a few dents from 50 years of use. Nothing embarrassing. It is presentable. · The previous owner replaced all of the exterior chrome. Overall it is in pretty good shape. However, some of the alignment/fit is not perfect. Some of the window trim clips are either missing or broken as the fit could be better. With that said, you cannot tell just looking at the car. I have a clip replacement kit and clip removal tool that will be included with the sale. · The entire rear brake light setup was replaced. No rusty sockets here! · Both front and rear bumpers were replaced by the restorer. There are no backup lights, which were standard with 1965 year models. The pop-out provision is there. · The interior carpet was installed by the previous owner and is presentable, but not perfect. · The door panels were replaced by me last year. Rain seal panels were also installed. I have another set along with a tube of sealer that will be included with the sale. · The rear panel behind the seats was painted with truck bed liner in black and looks fantastic. · A new spare wheel/tire is installed with a J hook. The stock jack is not included. I will include a small hydraulic jack with other tools in a bag behind the driver seat in a Chevy tote bag. · The seats are made by Procar and are adjustable. I love these seats. They are comfortable. The original seats were horrible in my mind, uncomfortable, and did not adjust. · The steering wheel is a 1969 reproduction Chevelle steering wheel. The steering column is an ididit brand, which was painted, and is adjustable. The engine bay steering shaft and knuckles are all new including the steering dampner. Very smooth feel when driven. · The original speedometer was rebuilt after the restoration. A new speedometer cable was installed. Although the speedometer works great, it tends to make a ticking sound at certain speeds. I spent a pretty penny having it restored. The ticking never annoyed me enough to take measures to eliminate it. · The clock was replaced with a reproduction tachometer that works flawlessly. · A Summit Racing 3-gauge panel was installed by the restorer. All 3 gauges work flawlessly. · I installed a 53 Buick dash clock pod onto the center console. The clock is an aftermarket setup. · The pedal pads/chrome trim were all replaced. · The horn is now activated by a button on the lower left side of the dash. · The ignition starter is now located as a push button to left side of the steering wheel on the front side of the dash. Simply turn the key to “on” and press the starter button. · The radio is stock and works. Noisy, but works. · The glove box light is there but does not work. · The door/window seals were replaced at time of restoration. Unfortunately, the restorer removed the vent window rivets with a small nut/bolt. I believe I have the replacement rivets that will require a special tool to install. The chrome on the vent windows are not show quality and shows signs of minor surface rust and pitting. The vent windows internal pivots/springs were cleaned and greased. They work as designed. · The door seals are worn but work. I have a brand new set that will be included with the sale. · The Windows roll up as designed. · The window cranks and internal door handles were drilled and installed with a screw to prevent that poorly designed clip from failing. Chevy should have done the same thing. They are now solid and will never fall off! · The dash pad was replaced by the restorer. · The interior is very presentable and comfortable. · The restorer used Por15 rust encapsulate on the entire frame. There is absolutely no damaging rust anywhere on the underside. Minor surface rust here and there. Normal and not problematic. This car has always been stored out of the inclement weather with a cover. It shows! · This truck was stripped at time of restoration and painted. This is the downside and a project I was going to tackle at the last phase. However, I never got around to it. The front side of the rear quarter panels need some body work to be perfect. They were not prepped properly. The same can be said about the rest of the body work. There are minor dings/chips here and there. You can see where the prep work lacked. Dark colors show all of the flaws. There is a little bit of minor paint bubbling on the front side of the hood. As a daily driver, the paint work is sufficient and very presentable. It is not a show quality job. It was my intent to fix the flaws. · Both doors sag a bit when opened. The restorer replaced the hinges, but for some reason the problem still exists. I have a brand new set of upper/lower left/right hinges that will be included in this sale. The doors could be aligned better with the new hinges. Otherwise, the doors open/close properly. · The passenger side hood hinge is new. The driver side is original. The hood opens and closes without any problems. · The glass is in respectable condition with no cracks. They show normal use over a 50 year period. There is window tinting on the rear window. · The sun visors and mounts are new. · The restorer replaced the headliner. It looks good, but has a few minor stains. I replaced the rear window plastic trim and carpeted the rear tray and center console back half. · Both interior lights work and the light switch properly dims them. · The front high/low beam lights are new. I have a new set or two of replacement bulbs, which will be included with the sale. · The rear view mirror and mount is new. · The kick panels are new. I purchased this truck from a gentleman here in California who spent $17,000+ to restore the car to a respectable condition. I have thought long and hard about what price I should sell this truck at. I have taken into consideration the engine and other noted issues that will be the responsibility of the new owner. Therefore, I have set a very low and reasonable reserve with a “Buy it Now” option. I have no intention on gouging any potential buyer and would be more satisfied knowing that the buyer got a good deal than padding my wallet. I am an honest person and have described this truck to the best of my knowledge and ability. I have listed the positives and negatives as I know them. It is possible that I may have missed a detail here and there. For that reason, I highly encourage you to ask all questions in advance of bidding/purchasing or have the truck personally inspected by you or an associate. It is my intent to make every effort to ensure that your experience in the purchase of this truck is positive. With that said, this truck is sold “as is” and a “return” will “not” be accepted. In addition, there is no implied “warranty.” I have a clear title. Shipping arrangements and costs are the responsibility of the buyer. I will provide assistance to the buyer by working with the selected transportation company. Down payment of $1,000 is required within 24 hours of sale via Pay Pal. The remaining balance to be paid within 7 calendar days of sale via Cashier's Check/money order or cash. Keep in mind that there are squeaks, sounds, and rattles that go with a 50 year old truck. With that said, this truck has "really" good bones and is in "great" shape overall. Obviously the engine issue will have to be addressed. The price reflects this. I believe you will not be disappointed. Thank you for looking at my auction. Please reach out to me with any questions as I will respond quickly and precisely. If you would like specific pictures, let me know and I will be happy to oblige. Have a great day!Rich