BUILD THREAD 1981 Camino 4 Speed Friday Night Build

[JBsCamino]

Hi All,

New member, new project, but familiar to g-bodies. This is my second g-body, first was a 1980 Malibu in college. That was almost 10 years ago now.

I just got this 1981 factory 4 speed last week,. I have been passively looking for a project for about a year. I finally came across something that wasn't a complete heap and for a decent price. It has been off the road for multiple years, and came up from North Carolina in 2007. Factory 229 v6, but has some other nice options like the bucket seats.

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1st day home 2

• JBsCamino
• Jan 5, 2016

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1st day home 1

• JBsCamino
• Jan 5, 2016

The 2025 Calendars are HERE! Get yours TODAY!

The 2025 Calendars are HERE. Two different editions, two different sizes, and a digital package!! Starting at $12.97US

1st day home 3

• JBsCamino
• Jan 5, 2016

The 2025 Calendars are HERE! Get yours TODAY!

The 2025 Calendars are HERE. Two different editions, two different sizes, and a digital package!! Starting at $12.97US

1st day home 4

• JBsCamino
• Jan 5, 2016

The 2025 Calendars are HERE! Get yours TODAY!

The 2025 Calendars are HERE. Two different editions, two different sizes, and a digital package!! Starting at $12.97US

1st day home 5

• JBsCamino
• Jan 5, 2016

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The 2025 Calendars are HERE. Two different editions, two different sizes, and a digital package!! Starting at $12.97US

1st day home 6

• JBsCamino
• Jan 5, 2016

My Friday night helper.

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1st day home 7

• JBsCamino
• Jan 5, 2016

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The 2025 Calendars are HERE. Two different editions, two different sizes, and a digital package!! Starting at $12.97US

1st day home 8

• JBsCamino
• Jan 5, 2016

Overall it could be considered rust free. It doesn't need any panels, but there does look to be a few pinholes in the floor of the smugglers compartment, just a bit on the inside of the bottom of the doors, and a few paint problems here and there.

It runs and drives, but has a host of issues from sitting for years. I have a 49 line list of items to fix/buy/install/upgrade.

 

[O. D. Showtime]

Welcome to the site! Looks like a solid foundation....nice find...and a stick yet!

I'll be following along.

 

[JBsCamino]

The paint is the original and looks OK from far away, but has issues and oxidation. I am really hoping between buffing and patching the paint job I will remain happy with it, because I am not ready to stomach a full blown repaint.

The interior is nasty, it had a leak somewhere and is wet inside so priority will be to dry it out. The good thing is now it is in a semi climate controlled garage for the rest of its life. The bucket seats wont adjust and are stuck. A lot of the plastic pieces are rough and will either need a lot of work, or new ones.

Priorities to get it to the point of being a driver is:
- it has an antifreeze leak in the front that has to be figured out
- it didn't come with any door keys, so I need to change the door locks
- the brakes work, but not real great and are as hard as a rock. I first thought it was a bad vacuum booster, but they do seem to pump up. Will take more diagnosing. I haven't had the wheels off yet so I will pull the brakes and make sure they are all actuating.
- the wiring inside has a few hacks and a lot of the circuits aren't working for some reason. It will run and drive and has headlights, but the wipers, heater fan, radio, etc don't work.
- the turn signal arm is broken off and taped together, and I think the switch inside the column is busted because it wont click left or right. This will be a learning experience taking apart the column.
- overall giving it the once over....

Really with a busy work and family life, the goal is to set aside Friday nights as build night for it with my son. He was really excited about it and is into it. I have been prepping him for a while now so this should be good.

To get ready for this Friday, I bought a bunch of brake cleaner, simple green, and towels. And then on Amazon I ordered a POR 15 kit, a new angle grinder wire cup, a 10 pack of flap discs, and a face shield to get ready to do chassis/suspension cleaning and painting as I go.

I also put in my Amazon cart a set of Moog 5662 front springs and rear cargo coils and KYB shocks, but I am holding off and have to keep telling myself to fix problems first before doing upgrades.

Long term I have a 12 bolt posi, Muncie, and 396 to go in there, but those are ways out. I was all excited to swap the Muncie in there until I learned about the shifter hole location difference. I am sticking my head in the sand about that for now.

 

[JBsCamino]

At some point I am going to have to make it to the junkyard and/or get going with Craigslist to get some items.

Need all of the extra g-body supports, F41 sway bars, a better interior, changeover to non A/C heater box and interior ducts, a crack free dash (wishful thinking), Cherokee steering shaft, etc.

Not going to worry about wheels/tires for now. I do a set of 15x8s probably with 275/60s in the back, but haven't picked a wheel yet.

Since I am ripping apart the front of the engine compartment to find my antifreeze leak this Friday, I might start removing the A/C components to get them out of the way and simplify the engine compartment to tide me over until I get a non a/c set up.

 

[Longroof79]

Welcome aboard!
Looks like a great score. I like the color combination, and of course the fact that it's a stickshift car. It look really good.

You might want to reconsider the #5662 springs. I think they're going to be extremely stiff. You could go with a #5660, which is a very popular upgrade on our type of cars...or even a #5658 which is a tad softer. The spring rates are still significantly higher than the stock spring and a bit higher than the F41 springs.

 

[81Regal]

Welcome! Looks like a nice elky. Don't know how soon you will be looking for parts but I'm parting out a 84 with a factory heater only box that I already have out of the car. Also have a nice dash in the same color as yours.

 

[JBsCamino]

@ 81 Regal: I would take you up on the dash and heater parts, though I don't know how easily they could make it from Iowa to Maryland.

At least I got it up on jack stands so I can start the initial once over on Friday night.

The 2025 Calendars are HERE! Get yours TODAY!

The 2025 Calendars are HERE. Two different editions, two different sizes, and a digital package!! Starting at $12.97US

20160105_200806 (1)

• JBsCamino
• Jan 5, 2016

Up on jack stands and ready for first night of work on Friday.

It's a tight squeeze in the 2 bay garage with the front end loader and model A. The model A body and frame is up for sale in order to make room and add funds for the El Camino. That way I can slide the front end loader over a bit to get some more usable space. The 12 bolt might go in sooner rather than later just so I can get it off the floor.

The 2025 Calendars are HERE! Get yours TODAY!

The 2025 Calendars are HERE. Two different editions, two different sizes, and a digital package!! Starting at $12.97US

20160105_200900

• JBsCamino
• Jan 5, 2016

It's a bit tight until the garage gets further progress on being cleaned out and organized.

 

[ssn696]

Does the Model A happen to have a title?

 

[81Regal]

It's not that bad to ship them, just expensive.

 

[ssn696]

I have a set of Moog 5660s and CarGo Coil 507s under my wagon. I offered them once to someone on the Forum, but they have not been taken yet. I picked up a set of 3" lowering springs (still in the box - too busy at the moment), and unless I hate they way they work out, I may be able to offer you a screaming deal. They have zero miles on them. 5660s can be cut in 1/4-turn chunks to lower the car. Others can weigh in how much for what drop.