EL CAMINO putting some Super back in my El Camino SS

[Kratos]

Last year I was in the middle of a deal to sell my 1984 El Camino back to the PO who had built it up. About the time the deal was completed, I found this 1983 El Camino SS for sale in a local CL ad. The Camino had been sitting for about 4 years, and the owners were " splitting up" and they needed to sell it. I put in a charged battery and poured some fresh gas in the carburetor and it roared back to life. pumped up the tires and drove it onto my trailer and brought it home. An Originally Maroon car, it was now covered in gray primer and some ridiculous black stripes

 

[Kratos]

I pulled the engine out of the 84 prior to selling it ( it was a 350 from a 1994 Chevy truck that had been rebuilt that I scored and it only had a few hundred miles on it) The buyer wanted it with the 406 SBC that he had built.
So, as soon as the Blue 84 left, I drove the 83 SS into the garage and got to work. Out came the running, but not exactly powerful 305. a little research told me that the 305 was not original to the car, so I listed it on CL and sold it the next day. ( Proceeds went to replacing the broken windshield. I guess the PO dropped the hood and wound up cracking the windshield)

 

[Kratos]

Shopping around on CL and other online advertisers, I located a set of Weld Rodlites, 15x7 to replace the the old 14 inch stockers ( that had also been primered.... yuck!)

 

[Kratos]

A little bit of tuning, tweaking and TLC and the Camino was starting to take shape.

 

[Kratos]

I decided to begin some upgrades. I have since installed helper airbags in the rear, larger wheel cylinders in the rear brakes, a gauge or two under the dash, new cd/usb stereo and speakers, and some new lights in the dash and instrument cluster. I also replaced the rusty crossmember

 

[Kratos]

So, by October, 2017, it was running and driving, not looking too bad so I took it to Endless Summer Cruisin' at Ocean City Maryland.

 

[Kratos]

About the Car show and racing season ended, I found this little Cutlass and bought it to make it a dedicated race car. I have named it " Kratos" Kratos took up most of my available hobby throughout the winter and spring.

 

[Kratos]

I have gotten the El Camino out a few times this year, and since it was running so well, I took it to the race track
( I have a video of the engine running, but, for some reason I am unable to post it)

 

[Kratos]

I took the el Camino to the track a couple of weeks ago and ran a few runs, then headed to a small show

 

[Kratos]

I ran into one of my friends from the S10 community and we got to talking.. the phrase came out " Primer is NOT topcoat"
I decided it was time that I really do something about the exterior appearance.
Those "Faux" SS Stripes were horrible!!! Not even close to the right locations and size, and they had been "Brush painted" in with what might have been bedliner or roofing tar! I darn near wore out my elbow and shoulder in the process of sanding the hood. Mind you, I do not have an air compressor in my garage and everything has been / will be hand sanded