Posted April 30, 200817 yr I received a gift from my mother-in-law about a month ago. She had it sitting in her back yard collecting (even more) rust. Instead of buying a replacement vehicle for my wife's recent lease return, I decided to accept this car in an attempt to 'git er dun'. I'd been on the fence whether to do an OEM restoration or go full custom. I think custom will win out. 1985 Chevy El Camino SS 305 cu in (5.0L) 4-bbl V8 4-spd Automatic Updates/repairs so far Replaced front brake pads and adjusted rear shoes Replaced all four struts Replaced all bushings on the sway bar Recharged R-34 (A/C works but still has a leak) Replaced oil and filter (of course) Re-wired and added new switches for power windows and power door locks Rebuilt transmission Replaced flywheel Replaced stock rally wheels (yes the granny hubs too) with aluminum Z28 mag wheels (early 80's style) and new tires My father-in-law and brother-in-law put in a lot of the work to help get her going. Now I have to wait for some good down time to tear into the engine, since this is my primary mode of transportation. I also want to add a few more upgrades before I put it in the body shop. Any suggestions would be most appreciated. Last but not least...the pictures....yes, you can laugh at the first picture. Definitely a work in progress. So far she's running like a champ! Interesting tidbit of info..... Per the original 1985 Chevy Elky specs, the 305 V8 puts out a whopping 150 hp @ 4k rpms (net) and 240 ft-lb of torque @ 2k rpms. Yes that's right, read 'em and weep....150 horses!!! Woohoo!!! /monthly_06_2011/post-891-130810226406_thumb.jpg /monthly_06_2011/post-891-130810226423_thumb.jpg
April 30, 200817 yr Thats great Matty, lookin sharp, now drop a creat 427 in her do the front end, beef it up , keep the 3:73 gears just change the rear oil replace the bushings on the rear and front, reinforce the rear, i traction bars when that done give her a killer pain job , and wait for me to come over an buy it from ya.... well after i get a job , but time is on your side , keep up the good work. :cool: :thumbsup:
April 30, 200817 yr nice car dude, i figured with that kind of engine ud have alot more hp than that but not bad keeping it original lol:D
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.