1983 El Camino build

[84dragcutlass]

This is the start of the build for my girlfriends El Camino. She wants it done by October so she can drive it to her college graduation party. So far we have the front clip tore down and I pulled the old engine and trans for rebuild.

 

[84dragcutlass]

Here is the first picture I actually thought to take.

 

[84dragcutlass]

With the old suspension off i can get the frame cleaned. It's one of the dirtier ones I've seen with quite a bit of surface rust. When I took the springs out the passenger was in 3 pieces and looked like it had been for a while. The driver was in 2 pieces. Somehow it sat level although kind of low

 

[Clutch]

With the old suspension off i can get the frame cleaned. It's one of the dirtier ones I've seen with quite a bit of surface rust. When I took the springs out the passenger was in 3 pieces and looked like it had been for a while. The driver was in 2 pieces. Somehow it sat level although kind of low

judging from the broken spring I'd say it was time the body looks clean tho what's the plan for power?

 

[84dragcutlass]

I have a feeling the body might be made of Bondo. The rear at least. But the frame is solid and the doors and such so it should be ok. Plan for power is a 350 olds. Which brings me to my first question. Will the z bar and pivot ball for the 4 speed work on a small block old's like it does the chevy?

 

[84dragcutlass]

this was what it looked like before the work started

 

[Clutch]

I have a feeling the body might be made of Bondo. The rear at least. But the frame is solid and the doors and such so it should be ok. Plan for power is a 350 olds. Which brings me to my first question. Will the z bar and pivot ball for the 4 speed work on a small block old's like it does the chevy?

Yes

 

[84dragcutlass]

That's good news for sure! I have all the things to bolt the M21 up to the engine and the complete manual linkage setup. I noticed a small area on the side of the Olds that looked like it might accept the ball but I wasn't sure

 

[Clutch]

That's good news for sure! I have all the things to bolt the M21 up to the engine and the complete manual linkage setup. I noticed a small area on the side of the Olds that looked like it might accept the ball but I wasn't sure

dead center of the picture is the pivot for the z bar or bell crank on my 455 do you have a g-body bell housing and clutch fork? They are not the same as most other cars a straight clutch fork with the wrong bell housing won't clear the floor like this picture

that picture is A-body parts in a g-body that's a no go lol I figured all this out the hard way also your Oldsmobile crankshaft may not be drilled for a pilot bushing I recommend a machine shop does that but I did mine myself and used a Mondello cryogenic bearing

 

[84dragcutlass]

Yeah I believe I have the correct bellhousing. To be honest I haven't dug it out of storage for years. The original plan was to build a 383 stroker for the El Camino but the girlfriend likes Oldsmobiles and wanted to be different so that's what im going to do. If she could im sure she would swap a cutlass nose on it so it would match her diesel cutlass