1959 Chevrolet El Camino

car/pickup

307 with 283 PowerPak heads, Corvette cam.

200R4 OD Automatic

Clear

Gasoline

This was a grandfather/grandson project. We tore the car down to the frame and started back up. Frame was cleaned and painted with black epoxy, We put all new suspension parts, added front and rear sway bars, rebuilt the factory posi-traction rear end with Richmond 3.54 gears, stock rebuilt brakes all around with automatic adjusters, new power master cylinder. We built new body mounts with 3/4" rubber sheet, rubber hose and steel tubing. They are better than factory and replacements are very hard to find. The sheet metal was 100% restored. We cut out all cancer and replaced it with new metal, The body is very straight; sight down any panel with its dark color and there are no ripples. The stock gas tank was in perfect shape so we cleaned it and installed a liquid liner, new sending unit. We put the spare tire under the rear of the car where it should be. We adapted a Dodge Dakota spare tire lift and the tire lowers easily using a 1/2" socket in the wheel well. Really slick. We added a GM 605 power steering gear making steering very sweet. The tail gate and doors work like new. The entire body was treated with rust converter on the inside then undercoated everywhere. This car will never see another speck of rust. We opened the smuggler’s compartment under the bed to the interior and carpeted it for a lot more hidden storage room. The 307 was totally rebuilt. Bored, new pistons, Corvette can, new lifters roller tip rockers, ‘noisy’ timing gears (no chain!), all the best stuff. The 200R4 transmission was totally gone through (although when we tore into it we found it had already been professionally rebuilt) we added a Trans-Go mild shift kit and ground the weights on the governor to raise the shift points to a better RPM. We control the transmission with a TV cam on the carburetor from BowTie overdrives. Rock solid system. We used a stock intake manifold with a rebuilt QuadraJet. For a street car this is the best carburetor, bar none. Pictures show the bling we added. Ignition is a stock distributor with ACCEL points eliminator, fed by an MSD ignition box. Stock ram’s horn cast iron headers, dual 2” exhaust through glass packs. Reconditioned stock radiator with a Lincoln Mark VIII 2 speed fan with temperature controller. Vintage Air A/C system adapted with the deluxe ’59 AC cover on firewall. Bed is finished with custom tiger wood paneling and polished stainless bed strips. Interior is totally redone with 20tone gray Naugahyde, ’84 Cadillac power split bench power seats, mid 80s Pontiac cup holder arm rest. Has B&M racing shifter on the floor. We converted the GM tilt steering column to floor shift added a ’60 Impala steering wheel, totally rebuilt the column. It will never wobble. All the gauges work. We installed a RetroSounds modern retro looking stereo. USB adaptor and I-pod adaptor in the glove box. New factory style gray headliner, entire interior was insulated before upholstery. We made custom door arm rests. All new rubber in car, bumpers rechromed, all the stainless and aluminum trim has been restored. All new tires and new Cragar SS 5-spoke wheels which are a must on this car. The only original glass is the rear window, all the rest is new. I can’t think of one bolt or nut that hasn’t been restored to better than new or replace with new. Since finishing the car he has been going to school and now needs a job and can’t afford to feed a car so is sadly selling it. The car has so little run time that it need some more TLC to iron out the inevitable bugs but it will be a reliable car for years to come. He added the Dixie horns but he is a kid so go figure! DISCLAIMER: Realize this is a $20,000 cruiser, not a $50,000 show or race car. If you want the latter, don't bid. This car is not perfect and has a few issues. As you can see in the pictures we used too light a primer so the front door looks splotchy. It doesn't look that bad in person but pictures bring out the worst (and best) in anything. The dash is beautifully painted the blue color but has a thermally induced stress crack like a fine crack in a plane of glass. Not very noticeable but there. The steering wheel is a classic vintage Impala wheel. It has been restored but as with all restored vintage wheels like this, there are some hairline cracks that have reappeared. If you want a perfect wheel you will have to buy a reproduction Impala or some other modern wheel. The aluminum trim on the exterior has been stripped of its corroded anodize, body worked to restore appearance, polished, and clear coated. I don't know how that clear coat will hold up on polished aluminum. It strips off easily with paint stripper without damaging the aluminum so worst case you will need to keep the aluminum polished and waxed or have it chrome plated. You will have this issue with any late 50s/early 60s car. The bed wood is beautiful but is beginning to weather in a couple spots. It can be sanded and spot clear coated to restore it to perfection. It needs a bed cover. The snaps are there for a cover. Don't expect clear coated wood to stand up to direct weather on any truck. There may be other issues like that I didn't think of as there are with any car that is driven. They are all cosmetic but the bones of this car are rock solid (engine, transmission, body, etc.). On Jan-21-15 at 16:51:30 PST, seller added the following information: UPDATE; note the splotchy paint on the driver's door. This shows up in the photo but isn't noticeable in person. Also the bed wood has a few weathered spots that need to be sanded and re clear coated. I assumed bidders would know the wood, although beautiful, needs protection. It needs a tarp if you want to keep the wood looking great. The bed has snaps that will accept a tarp. If these is a deal killers DON'T BID. This is a $20,000 car not a $50,000 one.