I was gifted a new car... UPDATE!

[miller]

My girlfriends father is a very spontaneous buyer, and when he got the bug in him to restore a car, he bought the first thing he could find... a 1980 El Camino. As the seasons changed his mood changed on the El Camino, from Hope to total hatred. He needed room in his garage and asked me if I would like a crack at it. I told him I was always partial to that generation of El Camino and he said just have it. The only problem is, I am in Chicago and the car is in Northern Michigan, so now I am trying to find a place to store a 1980 El Camino with no paint until I have the funds to fix it right.

Here are some pictures before the paint was taken off...

[bobs66440]

Congrats! 

[BrianShaughnessy]

Congrats. 

  I had an 80 Elky SS  ( firebreathing 305 4 barrel...    ).   It was a rusty POS when I got it,  it was a rustier POS when I got rid of it a few years later.

[ChgrSteve67]

Looks like a fun project.

does it run?

Congrats.

[miller]

Looks like a fun project.

does it run?

Congrats.

Yes it does run, has a recently rebuilt 350 (although that term can be used loosely.. i don't know exactly when it was rebuilt). The brakes need a little TLC but that should be easy enough, and the rot in the bed is the biggest thing... here are some pics of it in its current state.

[jaak]

Congrats.... I always liked the looks of those, with a Monte Carlo SS front nose on them. I know you'd hate to do it, because it was give to you, but that would be a good flipper to make "Mopar Money"...... But I know what it would feel like, my father in law, gave me a '99 Neon that I use as a beater to haul the kids around in, I've thought about selling it for a few hundred buck, to buy charger stuff, but sorta hate to do it. (I offered to buy the car, because he didn't need it anymore, and he just give it to me).

Jason

[PocketThunder]

Awe man that car takes me back to my HS days....         

[Nacho-RT74]

I like A LOT the EL CAMINOS, ( except the fatters 1st and 4th gens )

they weren't assemblied down here, but you can find someone quite often.

My favs, 3rd and 5th gens

[jb666]

The El Camino's are VERY popular around here. I always enjoy seeing them at the local shows. Good luck with the rebuild 

[Lizey]

when you say northern michigan, do you mean the UP or the northern LP?

[greenpigs]

I can't belive no one said it yet, start growing a mullet.


Nice of him to just give you the car.

[aussiemuscle]

Nice of him to just give you the car.

that's why when they ask for tax on it, the ask EITHER purchase price OR market value.

[greenpigs]

Nice of him to just give you the car.

that's why when they ask for tax on it, the ask EITHER purchase price OR market value.

True, but in this case he got the car for free as he realy didn't pay anything for it. This isn't a way to skip paying state tax allthough most do it whenever they can(me too).

[rt green]

rusty box?  put a oak floor in it like the old pickups. you could maybe use the hardware from one.

[doctor4766]

Nice ute miller.
Would go well with an LS1 under the hood

[jaak]

Nice ute miller.
Would go well with an LS1 under the hood

[miller]

Nice ute miller.
Would go well with an LS1 under the hood

I am not so sure about that, I will be happy when it is repainted. I am going to use it as my "parts hauler". My plan is to create a choo choo clone. I need new fenders anyways, and then all it will take is the front clip, hood bulge, side skirts and the side exhaust.

The total cost of making a choo choo clone, 1600 dollars... much less than making a charger into a daytona!

[greenpigs]

I remember seeing one on the showroom back in 85 when my parents got their Caprice Classic, they are sharp.

[Richard Cranium]

It's never too late to consider re-gifting. 

[Aero426]

I don't mean to be negative, but I see you being gifted the car as an albatross around your neck.    Even doing all the work yourself, it appears to be a money loser.    It will suck up your time and resources that could be better spent on a car you REALLY want.   I believe you could buy a nice El Camino for less than it will take to make this one presentable.   

[Brock Samson]

 Pretty much my feelings too, i was gifted my granddad's '74 LTD which was in tip top shape, bone stock and i detailed and tuned it for him everytime i went to visit... It was given to me after his passing at 104 but i sure as heck didn't want that creamepuff piece 'o crap.. so i donated it to his church and they gave it to a very nice young couple,.. 

[miller]

I don't mean to be negative, but I see you being gifted the car as an albatross around your neck.    Even doing all the work yourself, it appears to be a money loser.    It will suck up your time and resources that could be better spent on a car you REALLY want.   I believe you could buy a nice El Camino for less than it will take to make this one presentable.   

I thank all of you for your thoughts, but I do not see where the El Camino will spend more money than it is worth. The motor is rebuilt, the transmission to my understanding works fine, the interior is perfect, all the body is straight, the only places were there was through rust was on the fenders, which can be replaced easily, and the bed, which can be replaced or bondoed easily too. I will have it painted at the local college which only really charges for material (and about 2 dollars an hour labor fee). The car is already stripped and ready to be painted, and I can put everything on once the paint is finished. Will it be a 100 point car, no, but I think it will come out alright, for a rather cheap price.

Brock Samson
      I think what you did for the young couple is very honorable, but truth be told, I like the 5th gen El Caminos. I think the ability of making this El Camino into a Choo Choo clone for as little as 1500 extra is pretty cool. I know that I would make the Charger into a Daytona in an instant if it only would cost 1500.

There is also one other piece of the puzzle. When the Charger gets pulled from my fleet to be completely restored I am going to miss driving an old hunk of American steel. This truck will be able to curb that craving, plus I will be able to make use of its bed when I have to run and pick up Charger parts.

[Brock Samson]

 for a young gun, ok maybe not so much anymore,..     you've always been a pretty smart cookie as far as i can tell from reading your posts the last half dozen years.. so i'll have faith that you can pull this off for a good bang to buck ratio,.. I have no clue what a choo choo train clone is...  

btw: what happened at the dealership?..  

and if I was gonna go all mullett on y'all here's my ideal...

[miller]

for a young gun, ok maybe not so much anymore,..     you've always been a pretty smart cookie as far as i can tell from reading your posts the last half dozen years.. so i'll have faith that you can pull this off for a good bang to buck ratio,.. I have no clue what a choo choo train clone is...  

btw: what happened at the dealership?..  

and if I was gonna go all mullett on y'all here's my ideal...

Well I learned that I actually have 1 and a half more years of warranty on my Grand Prix, so it would make no sense to get a new car yet ( I thought I only had a half of a year left, I want to sell it with warranty to inspire buyer confidence.) So this time next year, I will be going through the same stuff again.

[Brock Samson]

often catching up with replys from the "latest posts on the forum"  i didn't see the pics of your envisioned choo chooo mullett mobile whatever till i actually came on the thread and saw the pics sorry,..
So, why's it called a "Choo Choo"?..