DIRT ROAD BY DESIGN

Greetings bloggers & bloggettes. A long weekend has gone by in which our family celebrated Fathers Day. I didn't get much done on the El Camino nor my blog during that time and I'm not entirely sure who's to  blame. Based on recent US history, I think it may be George Bush's fault.

I think my shop is too small. It's a 30X40 and I have it divided into two bays. I really need a separate shop just for body work because it's so messy. I've had to cover my lathe with a welding blanket to keep the dust out of the machinery. Later, I'll sweep and blow things off when I tidy up. Even the bottle of Dawn liquid soap is dusty. This raises an interesting question: How can the dispenser nipple on my soap jug be dirty? How is it possible to have dirty soap? This is like having a chunk of matter and a chunk of anti-matter in your pocket at the same time. 

The El Camino was equipped with a 267ci V8 that moved the G body around adequately and got decent mileage with the 2-barrel carburetor. It was about 5 years too old to have had the computer controlled carburetor but it had enough emission control hoses and gizmos to make up for it. The motor had been unmolested by earlier owners so everything was intact and worked well. If it hadn't smoked so badly I would have left it as it was and kept it in the role as the workhorse it was bred to be.

In the picture to the left, the engine and peripherals are liberally dusted with fertile Yakima Valley topsoil. As I mentioned in previous posts, I live in the country with my family & chickens, and it so happens that I'm just far enough out of town that our road is unpaved. That's right, I live on a dirt road. Yes, I went to college, and I have all my teeth. I chose to live on a dirt road 8 miles from town. Where else could I have a collection of "vintage" cars & trucks without violating some residential covenants, or use up all the curbside parking in some respectable family neighborhood? If I want/need to I can use my air tools at midnight or start up an engine without proper mufflers. Life in the puckerbrush can be good.

Here is a view to the east showing my beautiful wife's beautiful garden in the foreground and the long and winding (unpaved) road stretching out to the horizon. Later, dear reader, when I trust you more, I'll include a shot of the lineup of vintage tin, all of which has seen some shop time.

This is a desert climate. If it weren't for the irrigation network (unseen in the background) it would all be sagebrush and wriggling rattlesnakes. For this reason, the cars found in fields and behind barns in this part of the country are relatively rust-free. Think of the climate here described as: 10 degrees cooler than Phoenix and with fewer democrats. I mention this because I may offer my finished projects for sale on this blog, and I want you to know that if it was a local rig, then rust repair was not likely one of the big issues.

Taking an engine out of an older car is not extremely difficult and can be done with moderate tools & experience. Doing it right means that you've labeled the vacuum hoses & wire terminals (don't just cut wires) as you go along. Don't wait a week with the engine on the shop floor and then try to remember where wires went. It can be easy if you get a sharpie or pen out and write the wire source/destination on a length of masking tape and then wrap it around the wire or hose. You will thank yourself later. You may even thank me.

This reminds me of Doug Barnes' Three Degrees of Self. If you don't realize it by now, then let me tell you about the three primary persons that are dependent on you. Using myself as the focus: I have Past Doug, Present Doug and Future Doug. Present Doug has been totally supported by the knowledge and experience obtained by Past Doug. Future Doug is dependent on Past Doug and Present Doug to smooth out the bumps in the road for him. Past Doug is either praised or cursed by Present Doug for the performances that put him in the position he's in at any given time. All three of these guys are responsible for the support and maintenance of my family and need to work together. Knowing this, and being able to work together, will make the job easier. So, mark the wires and hoses for Future You. You should think of him as your best buddy.

Generally, the steps were:

1. Disconnect and remove the battery.
2. Raise the car & disconnect the drive shaft at the rear axle so you can pull it out of the tailshaft of the transmission. Be prepared to plug the transmission tailshaft, especially that of an automatic transmission, to keep the gush of fluid from spoiling your day.
3. Disconnect the transmission mount, speedometer & electrical terminals from the transmission. You may also have to disconnect part or all of the shift linkage from below at this time. I use a discarded throw rug the wife donated to lay under the car instead of a creeper sometimes. Once or twice, on a warm afternoon, I've briefly fallen asleep down there.                                                                              Time out for a quick anecdote: One time I was completing the fabrication of a transmission crossmember and just had to spot-weld it while I held it in place. It was a warm day and I usually work alone. Try to picture this: Because of the pleasant temperatures I had the roll-up garage door open and I was on my back with the MIG welder turned on and the cables snaked under the car to my location. The Camaro was safely on jackstands (luckily) and I had the welder in one hand, the instant-on welding helmet on my head, my other hand was holding up the driver's side of the crossmember, one foot was holding the exhaust pipe up and out of the way and the other foot was holding the transmission tailshaft in the center of the crossmember. As I began to focus on just where to put the spot weld, Archie, my daughter's affectionate Beagle/Dachshund noticed me at about his specific elevation and came right up my crotch and stood on my abdomen for a lick or two. I panicked, yelled, and pulled the trigger on the MIG welder hoping to discourage him. Only later, when I regained my composure, did I notice how close to the fuel line my spot weld landed.                                              
4. Disconnect the shift linkage in the passenger compartment.
5. Disconnect the exhaust at the cylinder head, or at the first joint down from the head pipes. Don't forget things like the O2 sensor & temp sensor.
6. Drain the coolant from the spigot at the bottom of the radiator and disconnect the lower radiator hose (it'll spill also). 
7. Disconnect the fuel lines and plug them so they don't leak. This is a good time to consider quitting that nasty smoking habit.
8. Connect the engine hoist (cherry picker) to the front area and rear area of the engine. I like the one that allows me to adjust it forward and backward to tip the engine at the front and rear to clear obstacles.
9. You may have more luck if you remove the engine fan & radiator. Disconnect the motor mounts and begin raising the engine.
10. Make sure all the wires and terminals are marked. It doesn't matter how young and powerful your memory is. Future You will be grateful.

 These steps are general and you can find specific instructions in your repair manual.

I planned to replace the damaged core support (that holds the radiator in place), so I removed it before removing the engine. Later, during the bodywork stage I decided to remove the front bumper. I should have removed it earlier, it would have made the engine removal somewhat easier, but it wasn't necessary.

Once the engine and transmission were out I did a clean up on the inner fender panels and the firewall. I took the bolts that held ground wires to the firewall and cleaned them up on the wire wheel so they would lend to the total clean status of the area. Having gleaned a complete A/C unit from a donor car, I replaced the std heater unit mine came with and increased the comfort & value of my car.

While I was at the auto recycling center aka: the junkyard, I grabbed the two doors off a later-model El Camino with power windows and door locks and the dash cover. This dash cover was perfect. In fact, I noticed overspray on parts of the dash indicating that this car had been worked over professionally. It may have been in a wreck, or the owner had decided to upgrade the car and had the new dash cover installed. 

Interestingly enough as I was squatting in the passenger area of the donor car removing the long plastic air ducting shown in the picture to the right, I heard what I thought was a loose screw rattling around inside. A couple of minutes later I was surprised to find a woman's ring in my hand. Evidently, on some hot afternoon, someone had reached their feminine hand up over the dash cover to the vent near the windshield to feel the cooler air. The cold air may have caused her hands to dry and shrink up somewhat, enough to allow the pretty ring to slide off her hand and fall out of reach into the no-mans-land of the air conditioning ducting. I fully suspect that the driver of the car said that there was no way he was going to take the dash apart and she should try to stop crying. The imaginary continuation to that story was that he turned the car toward the nearest jewelery store and replaced the keepsake ring that she had so valued. Well, dear reader, I want you to know that in order to provide a fitting finale to the saga, I will take replies from anyone who may know who the ring belonged to. If I'm convinced of the true owner, I'll return the ring at my expense.

Doug