I have a 61 ranchero and a 60 el camino. also had a 72 ranchero 351.. hard to keep the tires from spinning on that one.. hard to fit a bike in the early 60's ranchero unless you keep the tailgate down. bed must 5' or less. 60 el camino a bit longer.. looks to me that's a lot more hot rod/custom parts available for the later mid 60s-70s elcaminos than rancheros because chevelles/el camino same body/drivetrain and chevelles were the hot car to have then and now... ranchero/falcon and later ranchero/torino not so much.. I kind of like look of the 59 and earlier rancheros though. I did see a 60 ranchero with a 351 cleveland/4 speed stuffed in it at a show recently.. damn! I've been thinking about putting an eldorado/cadillac front wheel drive in the bed of the ranchero for a while now.. always wanted a car that wiil get the front wheels off the ground. that would be sick!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1388166866.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1388166902.jpg

Yes, the Camino would be my way of saying "I wanted a Chevelle but didn't want to spend the money for one"

And yeah, tailgate down with the bike strapped in, I figured so.

It seems like either one- Ranchero or Camino (especially Camino) you're getting a (potential) muscle car without the prices that the others are going for these days.

I mean.. $20k + for Camaros, Chevelle, Challengers, Chargers- no way. Camino with good paint for $6k, throw in cam, carb/efi, set of vortec heads and be making 400 HP for less than $10k? Yeah, that sounds better.

power/look of a muscle car and load/haul capacity of a small truck combined. what's not to like

One challenge is getting a good strong tie down point. The beds don't have the tie downs like a regular pickup. Most are just sheet metal screwed to the sheet metal.

buy a Macan and take a SawzAll to the rear of it

I'm a FORD guy and prefer the El Camino especially the 67

Early El Caminos are all going to be hideously expensive or roach boxes.

You wouldn't do a Truck? 73-87 Chevy box trucks are pretty cheap, even a cherry one. This would cost you squat to build.

Something like this, but without the 80's ugly billet grill

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/a...1&d=1286451903

I thought about a C10, but I'm not much of a truck guy, and for loading and unloading dirtbikes, the low bed height of an el camino would be beneficial. That, and my buddy just got an old F250, so I borrow that for true truck needs. I want something more stylin. And far faster.


What is the consensus of manual vs autos on these type of cars? I see that a lot of hot rod guys go with the autos- seems like it is hard to go wrong with a good turbo 350.
Doesn't really matter to me, I just want to be able to roll on throttle from low speed and lay patch...

A posi is a must.

Use whatever the car is set up with, except manual 3 speed..

Frankly a 700R4 is the best overall, you get OD with that. TH350/400 just 3 cogs.

Or, get a 6 speed if you have $$$$.

Find a Elky, get a drivetrain out of an Auto 350 IROC Z28- known as a "TPI 350"- you get modern FI, 150MPH capability, OD, and a roller cam and manners. Butt cheap to rebuild too. Computers and wiring harness is cheap and easy to set up.

If you are insistent on a carb, make sure you get it properly rebuilt and set up at a real dyno shop, get best drivability and least frustration that way.

Lastly, those old Muncie and Saginaw gearboxes were ****. M22 was the only one built (straight cut gears so it's a noisy mofo) and put behind high power cars. You'll pay for it as well, not that great of a deal.

No one uses them they are rare, and frankly not very good.

Ah, another internet exspurt.
The Saginaw is junk......easliy broken.

The Muncie didn't shift as well as the T-10 but you'd find one behind a new 454 Chevelle.

I see 3 Muncies on this chart, but your opinion counts considering the cost.

http://hurst-shifters.com/wp-content/uploads/4-sp-tran-id.pdf

The M22 didnt have straight cut gears, its gears were just cut at less of an angle than the M20 and M21 boxes, so they were noisier, but not quite as noisy as straight cut. See the following link for an explanation and pictures of the gears.
Muncie 4 Speed Transmissions

What's the problem with the M20 and M21?

+1. I had a 67, loved that car/truck.

no affiliation, etc etc etc....

1968 El Camino

you are posting a Hurst Shifter chart- what's that supposed to mean? It's strong?

I speak from experience, having an M21 I broke 3x in one season behind a mild 350. Who uses a saginaw 3 speed?

What's yours?

rjp

they're weak. That's what's wrong with them

rjp

I was wondering myself
What were you doing, drag racing? What vehicle? Slicks, Mickey Thompsons or some other very sticky straight line tire?

Straight line, on radials nonetheless. Just a textbook 350 with an era-authentic 280 deg. Hyd, Isky cam, headers, duals, $4:10 rear and crap heads. Nothing spectacular...

Those boxes might have been adequate back in 1965, but by todays (or even 1980's standards) power level they break. They are just museum or collector pieces.

That's why no one uses them - TH350 or auto is just more reliable...

real racers use the older powerglides at insane HP
but 2 speeds don't work real well on a street ride