New owner from Ohio

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scawn7

n00b
Sep 9, 2020
4
9
3
Findlay, OH
Hello all! I purchased a 1981 El Camino a couple of months ago. Pretty good deal being that it was all original except for the paint and only had 60k miles on it. I've already started working on swapping the interior pieces to replace the full bench seat for buckets and a console, but keeping it as close to factory looking as possible with the exception of the shifter. Just two weeks after I bought mine, my son bought a 1983 El Camino. His came with a 305 so of course he's talking crap about my V6 (although I don't know that his 305 is that much faster since it's a little worn out). His is completely original and we got it from the son of the original owner. It could use some TLC, but in pretty decent shape for the year and miles.
 

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mclellan83

Comic Book Super Hero
Jun 27, 2017
4,205
9,312
113
Pgh, PA
Welcome, good looking car
 

Longroof79

Rocket Powered Basset Hound
G-Body of the Month
Oct 14, 2008
12,156
9,762
113
Gainesville, Fl
Welcome aboard! Nice El Caminos.
 

scawn7

n00b
Sep 9, 2020
4
9
3
Findlay, OH
Thanks everyone. I have plans for my 81. As I previously mentioned, I'm swapping the bench seat / column shift for buckets and a floor shifter. I went with the B&M Quicksilver so that it will work with my current 3 speed auto, but still be used if I switch to a 700R4 or a 4L60 when I dropa 5.3 LS in it. So far it's coming along nicely other than the buckets I got are for the 84-88 Monte SS, so they aren't exactly what I wanted but they're working for now. Hoping to find the 80-81 buckets, do a little paint work, and maybe change the tires / wheels.
 
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5spdCab

Royal Smart Person
Dec 29, 2019
1,190
1,989
113
Tukwila, Wa.
Scawn7, welcome to GBF. Both are very good looking elky rigs, can not quite tell from the photo whether the '83 is brown or a maroon color. I have a brown '78 GMC Caballero, but I also have a silver "79 elky. The '79 mostly stays in the carport under a cover. It is a 40,600 mile original. The '78 is my main driver with over 200k on the clock, but down right now getting a factory style A/C system in place of the old heat only.
Is your son joining GBF too?
Whatever your ideas, dreams, and desires are for your elky, there are many people here who can give some excellent advice to help you achieve your goals.
I believe that it would be under the general topics heading, but my two favorite threads on GBF are "what did you do to your gbody today" , and "the spotted thread".
 

scawn7

n00b
Sep 9, 2020
4
9
3
Findlay, OH
The 83 is two tone brown / tan. I'm not sure if he's joined as he seems to be more into the Facebook groups than forums, but I'll definitely pass it along.

I believe I'm going to start with a 2" cowl hood and paint update once I finish the floor shifter. I had been using photoshop to figure out how I wanted to work with adding some blue to the white when I found someone who had done exactly what I was imagining with his El Camino. The guy was really cool and sent me all the photos I could need of his car so I can get that done.

Tires and wheels will be next but after reading the threads in that section, my head is still spinning. I want to go with 18" American Racing Classic Torq Thrust II wheels and I'm a bit lost on what I need to fit 18x7 up front and 18x9 in the rear.

I may have a rear end lined up but working on that at the moment. Rear disc brakes will be added once I sort out whether to upgrade the rear end or just put a posi unit in my 7.5".

Lastly would be motor and transmission. It's still a toss up of either a 5.3 LS LM7 w/ a 4L60 or a 355 with a 700R. Don't want tons of power, just a lopey 350hp / 400tq motor at most. Of course a complete 3" dual exhaust would most likely complete either engine / transmission package.
 
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