GBOTM December GBOTM Nominations thread - A _______ Story!

mclellan83 pretty sure you got a story!

1981 El Camino

I’d like to think this story is pretty interesting but today was the like the “Debut” of my car with the new engine. I drove this car around on its V6 for 2 years and then spent the last year and a half LS swapping it in my garage. It’s my first car and I started the swap when I was 17, i’m 19 now. I have had plenty of ups and downs with this swap and at times it got very tough and very stressful. I loved this car so much and I hated seeing it just sit there for over a year and but I knew I needed to get it back on the road so I spent all last weekend finishing the last things I had to do. Today was the first drive it took when I didn’t break down and it ran super good, the last few months have just been figuring out drivability concerns. Some of you may know this car show but I was able to take it to Dinos Git Down, a huge GM only show on the westside. The reason I called today the cars “Debut” is because I was able to get it running right yesterday just in time for the show and in 3 weeks I graduate from tech school and I’m able to drive out of there in my dream car. I never thought I would make it to Dinos and being able to have my car fully finished there and finally driving it again made today a really good day. Thanks for reading 🙂

Tomeal said:

mclellan83 pretty sure you got a story!

Click to expand...

I think mine falls into the all of the above category, hahahaha. But I love my car while it hates me, although I did have it out all weekend without any major incidents (still fighting the hot start issue). My story is that my dad had an 87 AeroCoupe grey/grey that I really liked but apparently always told my dad trade the Monte for any of the cool big trucks or other cars that would catch my attention. Back then I only liked the look of the Aero Coupe's, now I am opposite and think the regular's look better.
I really appreciate cars because of the friends it has brought me, my one buddy I pretty much only see when we work on my cars cause he won't do much else. But bends over backwards to help me with my stupid ideas on what to do to the cars. Then there a handful of others that also pitch in and ask for nothing in return which is great. Had a wedding this weekend I was in that the group of us literally just met driving down the road and he appreciated our cars so started talking and now have been good friends for a few years.
Then finally the plans for the car are still many and since this is a happy post I won't get into all the constant problems I have had with it, but will end in saying a smarter man would have got rid of the car by now.

This is my 1979 LS1 swapped El Camino. It's actually a replacement for my first car which was an 84 El Camino SS. Growing up, I heard my dad and his friends telling stories about cars they used to have and had to sell for various reasons. I decided I wasn't gonna have that story and bought the most practical muscle car I could think of. I wanted to keep that car forever.

Well, someone decided they wanted it more than I did and stole it off my driveway 9 months later. When it was recovered, it had been stripped to the frame. The joke is on them though. It had a recent paint job but the motor was drinking a quart of oil a week and the transmission only had 2 forward gears left in it. 18 years later, I finally bought this one.

I'm building it to try my hand at autocross. And just finished installing UMI coilovers and BMR control arms, front and rear.

ElkySS89 said:

View attachment 248674

This is my 1979 LS1 swapped El Camino. It's actually a replacement for my first car which was an 84 El Camino SS. Growing up, I heard my dad and his friends telling stories about cars they used to have and had to sell for various reasons. I decided I wasn't gonna have that story and bought the most practical muscle car I could think of. I wanted to keep that car forever.

Well, someone decided they wanted it more than I did and stole it off my driveway 9 months later. When it was recovered, it had been stripped to the frame. The joke is on them though. It had a recent paint job but the motor was drinking a quart of oil a week and the transmission only had 2 forward gears left in it. 18 years later, I finally bought this one.

I'm building it to try my hand at autocross. And just finished installing UMI coilovers and BMR control arms, front and rear.

Click to expand...

Wheel/s details/info?

scoti said:

Wheel/s details/info?

Click to expand...

YearOne 17in Rally's. 8in wide in the front and 9in in the back. I had to run a thin spacer in the back. I think they're 1/4 in

ElkySS89 said:

YearOne 17in Rally's. 8in wide in the front and 9in in the back. I had to run a thin spacer in the back. I think they're 1/4 in

Click to expand...

Those Year One units look pretty spot-on for larger diameter rally replicas. What size tires did you go with?
I'm liking your 'intended usage' direction so please keep posting your progress & updates.

scoti said:

Those Year One units look pretty spot-on for larger diameter rally replicas. What size tires did you go with?
I'm liking your 'intended usage' direction so please keep posting your progress & updates.

Click to expand...

Thanks, man. I'm running 245/45/17 front and 275/40/17 rear. I've got a few progress threads on this site but they keep loosing interest