Snagged a new beater/spare ride 81' el camino from a buddy a couple weeks ago for $500. Its really rough in the 1/4's and the doors a shot,and as expected the floor is shot. The really bad in terms of rust is the left rear frame rail is rotten. But on the up side the front clip is really solid/straight and the bed is really solid. My buddy put new tires on it but I'm thinking about lifting it a bit with heavy duty wagon springs and stepping up to some 15's with taller tires. Its a 3.8, but it runs like a top with a custom true dual exhaust setup that sounds decent. The mechanical needs list is short-left front upper control arm bushings,gas tank/fuel lines,an axle seal,and rear brake lines (as in over half of them are missing so this thing has no operable rear brakes),and pretty much every engine gasket leaks. Decent interior with the usual cracked dash and the lower door panels are cracked. However,it does have a new headliner and the seat is decent.
In terms of "potential", realistically it needs about $2k in rust repair-1/4's,floor,doors,rockers,and the underside of the bed floor is rotten at the body mounts,and the frame rot- and that's if I do the work. Considering a "nice" camino in my area goes for around $4k plus,$2k to replace the rot isn't bad. Then of course I'd have to paint it which is another couple grand. So all in all its a huge project that would take A LOT of time. If I can get some cash together I'd like to find a cheap,solid/straight, non running/wrecked camino or 2 door Malibu that needs a front clip. The #1 reason for the purchase (besides the fact that it runs and I got it cheap) is for a backup while I do an engine rebuild of my DD 91' Chevy Cheyenne. So right now the plan is take a few months to knock out the mechanical work it needs so that it can be my DD for a bit. I have been considering making my truck a custom project which would make the camino my DD for a good long while.
Regardless of where it ends up,project or daily beater,i think I did pretty good for $500 and its way cooler than an escort or something lol
In terms of "potential", realistically it needs about $2k in rust repair-1/4's,floor,doors,rockers,and the underside of the bed floor is rotten at the body mounts,and the frame rot- and that's if I do the work. Considering a "nice" camino in my area goes for around $4k plus,$2k to replace the rot isn't bad. Then of course I'd have to paint it which is another couple grand. So all in all its a huge project that would take A LOT of time. If I can get some cash together I'd like to find a cheap,solid/straight, non running/wrecked camino or 2 door Malibu that needs a front clip. The #1 reason for the purchase (besides the fact that it runs and I got it cheap) is for a backup while I do an engine rebuild of my DD 91' Chevy Cheyenne. So right now the plan is take a few months to knock out the mechanical work it needs so that it can be my DD for a bit. I have been considering making my truck a custom project which would make the camino my DD for a good long while.
Regardless of where it ends up,project or daily beater,i think I did pretty good for $500 and its way cooler than an escort or something lol
