1981 El Camino

[Maverick]

OK, thanks. Next question is: Is it a later block ('87-'88?) that can be easily made into a roller block by drilling and tapping for the spider. I'll remove the alternator and get the suffice.

[Maverick]

Today I cleaned and organized the garages so the El Camino could go in the work garage. Got it up on stands and checked some things out. Didn't get the date code off the tires yet. Didn't see any obvious rust on the frame but I'll check it from stem to stern. The left header-to-exhaust pipe bolts were not even snugged up!! 1/8" of end play. No wonder the exhaust sounds harsh and leaky. Lots of oil leaks, maybe from the valve covers but certainly from the pan. Pan bolts were over tightened squishing out the gasket. No cover over the torque converter/flex plate. Oil pan is dented in from the bottom. Trans pan was dented in and someone hammered it out with a ball peen hammer. The TH350 doesn't look like much but it sure shifts well. There's a small rust hole in the floor that should be easy to repair. Gotta open up the spare tire cubby behind the seats and check the floor from the top.

No big issues yet, everything looks fixable. Will be interesting to get the results of compression and leak down tests. Based on the amount of oil leaks it may not be burning much.

Someone put a lot of $$$$ into the EC at some point but its had some neglect recently. Like I said after the Maverick got a close inspection, "I wanted a project and now I have one."

Ordered a G-Force dual exhaust transmission cross member today. $10 less than Summit with free shipping. The exhaust will have to be worked on before I'll want to drive it much.

With some work this could be really nice car/truck and maybe a hot rod. No word from Prestige Motors yet.

[Maverick]

The engine casting number is definitely 8970010. Moved the alternator to get a look at the whole code on the right front of the block. V0421TAG. V= Flint, 04= 4th month, 21= 21st day, but I can't find ANYTHING on the "TAG". This is the best listing I've found on suffixes but no "TAG". I think the "T" says truck engine.

[Maverick]

Still noodling on all the options. Checked the rear end ratio. No tag on the rear end and no door tag. Counted revolutions and Its about 2.5:1, probably 2.41. So, any performance improvements would require rear end work. Any rear end work would suggest an 8.5" with a 3+ ratio.

The TH350 works so well I don't plan on doing anything with that. Auto OD would be nice. If the TH 350 fails, I believe it's not a bad job to replace it with either a 200R4 or 700R4.

The tires were manufactured in 2004 so should be replaced for any more Interstate driving. (Lucky they held up for the NY-NC trip!!) The Rally wheels don't really go so well with the El Camino and the 225/65 15's rub on the left lower A-frame. (Wheel width and back space unknown.)

WXO and I really like this paint and wheels.

WXO says that's a Monte Carlo SS front end but the '81 El Camino front end would look good too. If I decide to do paint, I'll try to find someone who will spray it after I do all the disassembly, prep and reassembly. Have two possible painters in mind.

Blue interior wouldn't be the best with the silver and black paint but wouldn't be too bad.

I wouldn't want to put a bunch of money into body and paint AND make expensive performance improvements.

If the paint stays as is, I'd be OK with funding performance improvements. Best case would be a 420 HP 383 crate engine from www.Prestigemoto.com. Minimum engine work would be to forego performance improvements but clean and reseal the engine. Its leaking oil in several places.

Haven't been able to find my Leak Down tool. Guess I'll do a compression test and, if that checks out, there won't be a need to do a leak down test.

Decisions, decisions, decisions...

[Fred32v]

The possibilities are endless. Party on!

[Maverick]

WXO took this picture before sun up as we were leaving NC to get the El Camino in NY. Its an amazing picture especially considering we were traveling about 70 MPH, the picture was taken thru the window, and resolution is reduced for the attachment.

[Basement Paul]

A cool way to start the day. Nice shot!

-BP

[TireSmoker]

Nice pic! Aren't todays cameras awesome?

I've always liked a good two-tone -- but I'd take the gray all the way down to the bottom. The Torq-Thrust wheels are classic, hard to go wrong with them. Chevy did make some El Camino SS's with that actual front-end on them. I'm pretty sure I remember seeing one on Classic's showroom floor back in the day with that same lettering. Probably pretty rare, though.

That casting number has to be 3970010 -- there is no 8970010 that I can find and 3970010 is super-common. There seem to be plenty of threads with other people asking about 8970010, but they all seem to say the 8 is a 3. I couldn't find TAG either. The closest thing I could find that might be close -- TKG, a '75 350, which would likely use a 3970010 block.

I wouldn't want to put a bunch of money into body and paint AND make expensive performance improvements.

It's just money, right??

-Dave

[Maverick]

WE DON'T NEED NO StINKIN' LEAK DOWN TESTER!! WXO came over and we did a compression test

Cyl 1: 144, Cyl 2: 137
Cyl 3: 134, Cyl 4: 137
Cyl 5: 93, Cyl 6: 130
Cyl 7: 140, Cyl 8: 143

We used his plug thread/Schrader valve adapter to pressurize cyl 5 at TDC and heard air hissing under the carb. #5 intake valve is leaking.

Some of the plugs also had a crusty deposits on them. Sorta like this picture found on the Internet although not that much.

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=sp ... JRPjlAEsDh

Internet postings say those deposits are from oil burning. Maybe from bad valve seals since the compression is good except for cyl #5 with the leaking intake valve. Maybe the short block is still good.

Since the engine needs head work, I probably won't be using the engine as is. Now the question is, where to stop on the slippery slope. The thing that sticks in my mind is how the Phase 1 302 rebuild for the Maverick did not produce a real fun driver. Had to do the Phase 2 347 stroker to get it where it needed to be.

[Maverick]

No decision yet on which way to go on the engine but I'm chasing details for the 383 crate option. Posting here to get comments on things you guys might see differently.

EFI fuel pump

The current fuel tank is the standard 17 gal, not the optional 22 gal. But, there's no difference in the dimensions of the two tanks. 17 gal just has more air space. tanksinc.com makes some nice EFI pump/tank conversion packages but not for the '81 El Camino. Gary at Prestige looked for other offerings but found none and recommended an Aeromotive Phantom 90 psi 200 lph in-tank pump to be installed in an OEM tank. Holley makes a similar pump that they say is a good match for their Sniper EFI. Price is also similar so I'd probably go with Gary's recommendation just to keep it all his in case of issues. If I'm working on the fuel tank I'd want to make it 22 gal either by replacing it or working on the vent to reduce the air space. Would require a new sender but I think the current sender is bad anyway. The fuel gauge is erratic.

Headers

Gary's 383 would come with Dart SHP straight plug, 180 cc runner, 64 cc heads. Those heads have square exhaust ports and would not be a good match for the current 1.5", round primary tube headers. Looking at Hooker 2451HKR headers with 1 5/8" primary tubes. The gaskets provided with the 2451HKRs are for square port so I think they'd be good on that score. Their tech support thought so too. The header flange has oval ports (Summit's 3D view of parts is GREAT!) so it wouldn't be a perfect fit. Second issue might be that fact that those headers don't fit with raised exhaust ports. Sent a query to Dart asking if the exhaust ports are raised.

[TireSmoker]

I would give serious pause before purchasing those Hookers. Did you read some of the reviews on Summit? Hooker, in general, have a terrible reputation on chevelles.com for fitment. I've had good luck with Hedmans. I've had two different kinds over the years and I only had to clearance one of them -- the #7 tube on my 1 3/4's to clear the column-shift linkage. Dart recommends a Felpro 1404 or 1405 exhaust gasket, so that might be a place to start too.

-Dave

[Maverick]

Thanks, Dave. I'll look into those headers some more. Jim

[Maverick]

The comments on Summit are really inconsistent. Some very positive and some very negative. Hooker says those headers aren't for angle plugs or raised ports. Makes me wonder If some of the problems were related to those things. Or, if the manufacturing is inconsistent. Wish the guys that had good or bad fits would give some details on their applications.

The comments by El Camino owners in this thread influenced me toward the Hookers. http://www.elcaminocentral.com/showthre ... rt+headers The two very positive comments for Hookers on Gen 5 El Caminos were made by guys that haven't been on the El Camino forum in years so there's not much point in trying to contact them. If/when I hear back from Dart on the raised port question maybe I'll post a question on the El Camino forum with all my specifics and see if anyone has good experience with that combo.

[GMJohnny]

I'm wondering why you don't rip the cylinder heads off of the current motor and find out
what the deal is with the leaky valve. If the motor just needs heads or a valve job, you
could put a cam in while the heads were off (maybe buy new heads) and have a pretty
good set up without too much labor or money spent. Of course, if the goal is to put a new
motor in, disregard this comment!!

GM

[Maverick]

That's definitely an option. WXO suggested about the same thing. At this point, I'm still exploring the cost/benefit of options till I feel good about one. Currently focused on the (expensive) crate engine.

I really don't want to put much money into a flat tappet engine, which I expect this one is. The cam needs to be checked for damage due to no zinc oil. As much as it was using/losing it probably got no-zinc oil along the way. It did on the NY-NC trip. Rather than put money into the current heads, I'd probably replace them with aluminum heads. The timing chain & sprockets (nylon?) also should be checked and probably replaced. The engine compartment was looking good years ago but now has lots of dirt soaked oil so I want to pull the engine and clean everything. Pan has to come off to reseal it and remove the dents in the bottom. When the pan is off, it makes sense to replace bearings and seals. Think the "minimum" path has lots of things to do.

At some point I'll ask WXO to spend a day with me pulling the engine and opening it up to see what's there. We'll be getting more good weather soon.