1966 Chevrolet El Camino 396/325 - SOLD

[hubleyman]

Thanks again for the positive comments... Sounds like you've owned some pretty neat cars along the way. Wouldn't my car look lovely parked in your garage?????

Pondered quite a bit about converting to power front discs. Even though the performance would be much better, I finally decided I didn't want the underhood view to stand out as incorrect (with the dual master, prop valve, extra brake lines, etc.). Just a personal taste choice. Besides, the original drum brake parts were all in excellent condition and cleaned up nicely.

The trans was pretty much a simple bolt-in conversion, and would be easier to undo if it ever came to that. Besides, the original Powerglide was fairly toasted and I didn't care for the two speed drive-ability. FYI - the original P/G now resides in a superb ' SS 396 convertible, so it went to a good home.

As far as the dash clock goes... it's in nice shape but doesn't physically work, so it would need to be rebuilt. The main reason it's not on there right now is I just can't get myself to punch a hole in the new dash pad. Might be silly not to do it for that reason but the next person could always install it if they choose to do so.

The only significant docs I have are the original POP and booklet as shown, a couple of oil change stickers that show the mileage way back then, along with a handful of old registrations. The original owner told me he would look for some old pics and maybe some docs, but I'm not holding my breath on that effort. I had the original bench seat cover replaced with black back in the 90's (since I intended on changing the whole interior to black back then), but didn't find any paperwork in it at the time. Doubt if there anything under the seat foam, but you never know?

Charlie

[hubleyman]

Here's a pic of the factory air shock filler line in the cab - in case you haven't seen one. This gets mostly covered with a cardboard interior panel.



And also a pic of the factory design staggered dual exhaust exits. Since the chassis was shared with the station wagon line, they staggered the pipe exits the same way in both applications. The passenger side exits very close to the rear tire, which was done to accommodate the spare tire compartment in the wagon. The drivers side exits further back from the tire (rather than being symmetrical to the pass side), so it doesn't exit directly below the fuel filler assembly. Odd looking, but correct.

[bigsixman]

Originally Posted by hubleyman

Here's a pic of the factory air shock filler line in the cab - in case you haven't seen one. This gets mostly covered with a cardboard interior panel.



And also a pic of the factory design staggered dual exhaust exits. Since the chassis was shared with the station wagon line, they staggered the pipe exits the same way in both applications. The passenger side exits very close to the rear tire, which was done to accommodate the spare tire compartment in the wagon. The drivers side exits further back from the tire (rather than being symmetrical to the pass side), so it doesn't exit directly below the fuel filler assembly. Odd looking, but correct.


I was not aware of that tail pipe information regarding those cars. Glad you mentioned it and showed photos.

[hubleyman]

For a better under hood visual depiction, here are some earlier in-progress engine pics before the fenders went on. As I said, the majority of these components are original to the car. I was lucky to have a unmolested solid car to start with.

[Jmcdonald]

interesting information on your rationale for not including disc brakes. I just stumbled onto something on a Corvette forum the other day that mentioned that a Corvette got dual master cylinders if it got the power option (added to disc brakes 65-66?)... since I think the dual master cylinders became standard on all GM cars in 67, whether they were power or not. In addition to the 2 66 396 El Caminos I've had, I also had a 66 SS396, all of which had Power Steering, but only one had Power Brakes... obviously no dual master cylinders. I've also had 3 67 Corvettes, none of which had Power Brakes, but all of which had dual master cylinders because it was standard. Hopefully I learn something new every day :-)

Interesting history you shared on the exhaust too. I know that lots of 65 Chevrolets came with resonators, and I think 66 also. I had a 65 L79 Malibu SS convertible that I bought in 66... exhaust had been modified to exit straight out under the bumper... so I don't know if that one had resonators originally. None of the 3 Chevelle/El Camino 396s I owned had the original exhaust and I've always wondered if they originally had resonators. I'm curious where you stumbled onto that information on the station wagon/El Camino exhaust. I've never seen mention of it before... and obviously I scour the forums for this trivia like you do :-)

And I'm curious about the color of the carpet you installed. My 66 SS396 had Fawn interior.... buckets, no console... and for some reason I think the carpet was a darker color, like the bottom of the door panels. A couple years ago I stumbled onto some pics of it on the internet... but unfortunately it seems the current owner had replaced the carpet... with a lighter color. http://nor-cal.chevelles.net/cars_davidschmidt.htm

And I share your dilemma with the dash top clock. My 65 L79 and one of my 66 Elkys had them... and I love the way they look, but it would be painful to punch holes in a new dash pad. I think I'd just pass the clock along to the next owner... in a box :-)

I'm loving all your pics !!!

[hubleyman]

Jim,

The carpet color is what was provided to me when I ordered the interior kit per the trim tag info - right or wrong I don't know. The original carpet was fairly trashed and I threw it away years ago, so I had nothing to compare to. Way back then, I was going to install a black interior anyway (actually purchased all of it as well), so I didn't care about the OEM carpet color. Glad I changed my mind to install the factory color interior instead. The two tone interior adds contrast, and I've only seen one other vehicle over all these years with this ext/int color combination.

The current exhaust system matched what was on the car when I first got it, which is how I learned about the staggered exit pipes. Unfortunately I threw all that stuff away in the 90's, but wish I didn't. The "exhaust" guys probably know all this info already anyway...

Since you like pictures, here are a few earlier door progress shots. Both doors have original glass, regulators, etc. The windows roll up and down like butter. The doors close so easily you have to be careful not to slam them.... Once again, having something good to start with really makes a huge difference.

Charlie

[SS427]

In certain cases you have to be very careful when ordering interior kits as they often times use a generic colored carpet in many cases. When I do 70 Chevelles with Saddle interiors as an example I have to buy the carpet that is actually listed as a Buick color. Ditto for the rear package tray. And people wonder why I save everything original from these cars....

[hubleyman]

Moved some cars around today and tried to take some better pictures. Maybe it's time for me to learn how to use this darn camera??? Anyways, for what it's worth, here you go:

[hubleyman]

Finished price has been reduced, and so has the as-is price. Please see the original post for details.

Thanks, Charlie

[WILMASBOYL78]

This car gets better each time I see it...very cool [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/worship.gif[/img]