New From North Dakota

jmresmith · Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 2:40 am Post subject: New From North Dakota

Hello,
I'm new from North Dakota. I am about to buy a 1083 El Camino. We think it has a 305 in it right now. It currently doesn't run, might have a blown head casket or worse. Body is in great shape and interior is great also. I'll be picking this up for $200. Do you think it's a great deal??

I'm not sure what I will do once I find out what is wrong with the motor. I am a circle track racer myself, but would be interested in making this a cheap drag car for the local 1/8th mile drag strip for my wife.

Let me know what you think and what mods are cheap and cost effective. i.e exhaust, carb, taking emission stuff off, trans shift kit.

Thanks

jordan_myers · Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 5:25 pm Post subject:

First off congratulations on the find as a 1983 El Camino with minimal rust and spotless interior is a great find especially for 200.

To check the engine size there should be a schematic of the belts on the front of the vehicle under the hood right above/in front of the fan. (Correct me if I'm wrong but there were four engines used in this generation). The schematic will give you the engine size in liters and the engines are as follows: 5.7L (350, available in the Super Sport models); a 5.0L (305, the most common); 4.3L V6; and in some models a diesel engine (1982-1984). As for the engine problems, do not let this discourage you from buying this vehicle as small block Chevy engines are almost (if not ) the most common engines to find and are dirt cheap. You can find hundreds of varieties of these engines in just about any junkyard for around 400 dollars and the transmission (depending on what bolt) will bolt up to damn near all of these.

As for mods, they are the same as any four cycle engine (power is gained through forcing larger amounts of fuel and air into the cylinders).. In my honest opinion if it has a 305, ditch it from the get go (as I would have done the same but my vehicle is a daily driver; hence I do not have the need for more power than it already has). The 305 was a poor engine with a good crank (many may argue but again this is my opinion), and even with a stroke job making it a 334 it would still be a poor engine.

As for cheap and basic mods, First you must decide on your hp goal, how much you are willing to spend and what you hope to accomplish. Then you must decide if you are swapping the engines or using what you already have. At this point I would also inspect the car for any factory performance setups as these can save you money and time in the long run (for example my Caballero came stock with a four barrel carburetor, posi-traction, and 3.8's for the rear differential). After that I would give the engine and transmission a full tune up (new plugs, wires, fuel filter, brakes, oil filter, oil, clean the carb, air filter, transmission filter, transmission fluid) this should give a good starting ground and insight as to how the vehicle ran/was ran for/by the previous owner. Then I would move on to my power adders starting with the carburetor; personally I would check the carburetor (my Caballero came stock with a four barrel) and if it isn't a four barrel, then I would upgrade to a four barrel carburetor and manifold. Next I would move on to the exhaust and upgrade it to a dual system with headers. ( I always work on the intake and exhaust first as I believe a vehicle should be able to breath an exhale good before going into putting bigger power adders on.

After that you can decide what exactly you are wanting to do (as your options are almost endless)...You can switch to an LSx based powertrain; stroke the engine (bigger crank and .15 or .30 bore); go all engine/NA (pistons, rods, rings, bearings, cam, valves, valve angling, valve springs, manifold, high rises/tunnel ram(s), carburetors); or build it for forced induction (supercharger/blower, or dare I say turbo).....Again your options are endless; it's just a matter of personal preference, research, time, and money.

mgs72elky · Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 12:51 am Post subject:

Welcome aboard Rich, enjoy your build up the Elk.....
_________________
Mark
1972 Elky Picture Album

hemi57 · Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 8:22 pm Post subject:

Welcome to ECC from me too Jim.

I say that El Camino is a find & a half mate. Two hundred dollars and a great interior & body? Look after it mate.
_________________
John (from Down Under)

'75 El Camino Classic ("EARLE")

jmresmith · Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 6:25 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the info guys. I'm going to be trying to pick it up either this weekend or during next week. My schedule is just jammed packed with detailing my motorcycle for a show this friday. Installing my brake controller on my truck. Trying to finish up loose ends around the house.

As for motors. I am so familiar with the 350s its sick. It's all we run in our late model race cars. BUT I do have a friend with a 305 just sitting needing valve seals and a car to put it in. That might be my quick fix to get this car on the road to test the waters before I go putting a 350 in.

I'm trying to take the last part of the racing season off. But we will see how that goes in the next few days. If I can't, then I'll have to wait until about October to start my project. I will post pics once I can get some down time to get them loaded.

Thanks again for the warm welcome!

jmresmith · Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2008 1:47 am Post subject:

Hello guys,
Well I picked up my '83 Elky last week. Saturday I pulled it into the shop and tried to start it. Oh, she started and shook like mad. Come to find out there was a hole in the oil pan. So I spent the next four hours pulling the engine and trans as a unit.

Now onto my questions for you guys. Now that I have the motor and trans pulled I'm looking for input on my next moves. Here are some of my thoughts on this.

I pulled a 305 out with a turbo 350 trans. And would like to put a 350 in. Any year engines I should be trying to get? And will all acc bolt up from the 305?

Would it be wise since I am in North Dakota to just lose the SMOG stuff?

Any need to put the A/C stuff back on if I don't plan to use it?

What year cross member do I need to get in order to run dual exhaust? I'd be interested in putting headers on it at this point if I found ones that fit. That way my exhaust guy isn't doing work twice for me.

I'm not looking for a mess load of power off the bat. I just want to get up and running with the option to grow down the road.

It would be nice to see it go down the strip a few times next summer. Would I need to do a bunch of mods to the suspension in the rear to make it stick better?

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again.
Rick

I will post pics once I have them uploaded. I'm willing to take pics of whatever you need info on to help me out.

theelcaminofactory · Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2008 9:45 am Post subject:

Let me see if I can answer some of your question. There is no OEM trans crossmember made for true dual exhaust...you either have to modify yours or go with an aftermarket. The accessories from the 305 will bolt to a 350...as long as the heads have the accessory bolt holes drilled and tapped in them...I don't think I've ever seen OEM GM heads without the holes drilled in them unless they're really old heads...265,283,327...we're talking old here...aftermarket heads are a different story. Any Gen I or Gen II small block is pretty much the same on the outside. They are either carbed or fuel injected...because your Elky is carbed, if your looking for the easy swap, stay with the carb. Your 305 is CCC (computer controlled)...that's the smog stuff. Eliminating it is possible...but it takes some changes to your wiring. If your going to use the carb and distributor off your 305, then it needs to stay controlled by the computer...eliminating the computer means a different carb and distributor (added expense)...I suggest you leave it for now, and change it over later if you decide it's necessary. As I stated about the dual exhaust (trans crossmember)...there's also the O2 sensor in the exhaust...that's also part of the smog system. You can virtually put any Gen I or II 350 in your Elky using all the accessories off your 305. The best 350...one out of a 1970 Z-28 (LT-1)...piece of cake...except trying to find one! Be aware that over the years, OEM heads have changed, some of those changes are minor, some major. If I were to list what years and what vehicles and the WHYs associated with those changes with the heads...I'd have to write a book. To put it as simple as I can, there are 350 motors with heads that have perimeter bolt valve covers, centerbolt valve covers, centerbolt valve cover heads with swirl ports (trucks and vans) and Vortec heads with centerbolt valve covers...whatever used motor you find and decide to use may require the use of a different intake manifold from the one on your 305...it not an unsurmountable problem...just a lil bitty one...that of course will require money to correct. If this helps...truck motors are cheap and easy to find...have a good shortblock to build on (especially if they have the roller cam spyder plate bolt casting in the lifter galley) but the heads are swirl port heads and those heads are for low end torque...not top end (high rpm)...they suck. We haven't even touched on combustion chamber size or valve size or non self aligning versus self aligning rocker arms. And if you think you can use the heads off your 305 on a 350 shortblock out of a truck, you can, but it would be even a bigger dog than if you used the swirl port truck heads. Then there's one piece (small diameter crank flange) and two piece (big diameter crank flange) rear main seal motors and 153 tooth and 168 tooth flywheels...are you totally confused yet? Did I answer your questions? Oh wait the rear suspension sucks as is also. This all pertains to Gen I and II smallblocks...I'm old school and I know absolutely nothing about LS motors...so don't ask.
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jmresmith · Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2008 12:56 am Post subject:

theelcaminofactory,
Thanks so much for your lengthly reply. You touched on exactly what I wanted to hear.
I'll give you a bit of history of myself. I have been racing stock cars for almost 15 years now and use primary chevy engines. My father also owned a repair shop for over 25 years. So I know a bit about cars, just not swapping motors on passenger cars. I also had an '85 Monte Carlo SS while in high school. I miss that car! So I assume this famous tick tick tick tick tick you hear from the carb area is the electronic portion of the carb doing it's thing before starting?
I did get another 4 bbl carb and alum. edel. intake with the Elky. I'll have to get the info off of that to see if that can be used if I decide to leave the smog stuff off. I didn't throw anything away so I can easily put it back on.
Do you know the wire changing that is needed if I do decide to leave the smog stuff off? And would there be an aftermarket part for the distributor that I can use to trick the computer?

I'm going to keep searching for my 350. It would be great to find a complete motor and just have to put on my stuff on the front of the motor. I'd like to install headers with it and possibly install a shift kit in the trans. If I have to leave that O2 sensor and smog stuff, then stock manifolds will go back on.

I will also need a new fly wheel since it looked like the starter wasn't aligned right on the 305.

I should be able to post pics in the next 24 hours for you.

I appreciate the help.

jmresmith · Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2008 7:51 pm Post subject:

Ok here are a few pics of the car before I took the motor out.

Tomorrow I am picking up another 305 from a buddy. It's an '81, so no electronic dist. or carb. Hope it all works out.

Robby85 · Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2008 9:54 pm Post subject:

Welcome to the forum. $200. What a deal!
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79 Corvette L82
85 El Camino SS LG4
93 Camaro Z28 LT1
05 Dodge Caravan daily driver - yeah baby!