Chuck Samuel's 65 El Camino (NMCA fastest street car shootout)

[keviiin86]

Well I'm going to give this one a go.  Wouldn't be too much of a challenge if I were to just build it as a curb side kit...but i just can't bring myself to doing that.  The only kit that exists as a 65 el camino is the AMT that's been around forever which started out as a promo model with lackluster detail and a front end that looked weird to me.  Something is off with the grille and the front fenders which is evident when you compare it to the revell 65 chevelle.  The Revell kit is much more accurate...so I decided to cut off the front clip from the Revell 65 chevelle and graft it onto the el camino to get the proper grille, fender shape, no molded in wipers, and engine bay which lines up nicely with the Revell chassis.  The chassis lines up perfect with the el camino and I will probably use the interior floor, partial door panels and dash from the revell kit as well.  Shockingly I found this oddball snorkel hood scoop that he ran on the car from competition resins..which has now unfortunately closed up shop.  Also got the front (correct looking) skinny centerline auto drags and some bare ralley wheels for the back.  The big block will come from the revell kit and I'll have to saw off yet another 4 speed in favor of a th400 automatic lol.  I have most of the little speed parts and pieces I'll need..but I'm sure I'll have to go hunting for something as I go.  As a quick history lesson, anyone from the Chicago area that's into drag racing would know this car from the late 80s through the late 90s.  Chuck Samuel worked for Fast Times Motorworks who build some serious engines for alot of drag racers in that era.  This car was street raced alot around Chicago and in the mid 90s he competed in the NMCA fastest street car shootout (the precursor to drag week, sick week etc..)  If you didnt know any better you'd think its a 12 second street car until you hear it start up and click off a mid 9 second pass. (Impressive for its day)  I saw it in person once when I was a kid at a local car show and it left a lasting impression on me with the ratty, fast, beater look and an unforgettable exhaust note.  So for all of those reasons I decided to build it.      

The side body lines on the revell Chevelle are a little softer than the AMT so I will have to sand down and flatten the front fenders to bring out the sharp body line to match the door..but aside from that it fits pretty well.  It will be a challenge to restore the panel line between the fender and door..but I'll figure it out.

[keviiin86]

Got the body lines reshaped on the front fenders and added the lower windshield trim from the Revell chevelle. Chassis fits in nice and snug to the front end now.

 

[chris chabre]

being 45 years old, Thats the era of street car I remember best and they left an impression on me too.

[keviiin86]

1 hour ago, chris chabre said:

being 45 years old, Thats the era of street car I remember best and they left an impression on me too.

I was only about 10 years old (turning 39 this summer) going with my dad to cruise nights and seeing some of these cars at one of the local spots..I remember there being a lot of fast cars that hung out at this place called Fluky's in Niles IL. this car included.

[keviiin86]

Gathered up some of the parts I'll need for the build, mocked up what I have so far to see how it'll look. The scoop is a little tall so I'll have to shave some off the base to make it sit right.

[dragcarz]

A great project, I’ll be following!

[keviiin86]

Shaved the emblems off the fender and sanded down the rocker trim and added some sheet styrene to the bottoms of the front fenders to make it all match.

Edited May 8 by keviiin86

[TransAmMike]

I like what you're doing here Kevin.  Gonna be cool.

[Zippi]

Looking pretty good Kevin.  I'm liking this build so far.

[1320]

Yeah, that's really cool, great progress 

Jim

[keviiin86]

Small update..smoothed out the sidewall on the rear slicks and made up some center caps for the front centerlines, also cut off the back seat from the Revell chevelle interior tub and test fit it, lines up nicely to the firewall.

[keviiin86]

Cut the 4 speed trans off and glued the resin th400 on.  Modified the trans crossmember a little bit by grinding some plastic off to make it thinner and the engine/trans dropped right in place where it needs to sit.  Next up is to clearance the frame rails for header clearance.  Not sure which headers I will use, as of now I have some big block headers from the AMT 67 chevelle pro street kit..but might use some resin ones that are in the mail currently.  We will see.

[TarheelRick]

Definitely going to watch this build. The '65 Chevelle is my grail car I owned two of them in the late 60's early 70's; the first was a regular 283/3-speed Malibu. The second was a 283/4-speed SS, loved that car until I took out six fenceposts and correlated barbed wire one night while under the influence of adult beverages on a rainy road. I had never really paid that much attention to the differences in the fronts, that is really going to bother me when I decide to build my El Camino and station wagon and my two Revell Z-16 kits. Keep those updates coming.

[keviiin86]

7 hours ago, TarheelRick said:

Definitely going to watch this build. The '65 Chevelle is my grail car I owned two of them in the late 60's early 70's; the first was a regular 283/3-speed Malibu. The second was a 283/4-speed SS, loved that car until I took out six fenceposts and correlated barbed wire one night while under the influence of adult beverages on a rainy road. I had never really paid that much attention to the differences in the fronts, that is really going to bother me when I decide to build my El Camino and station wagon and my two Revell Z-16 kits. Keep those updates coming.

Haha yeah the front end and grille on the AMT 65 kits is what kept me from building this car for so long.  I just bought both the revell chevelle and the el camino and took both bodies out and put them next to one another and stared at them for a while trying to figure the easiest way to combine them..and this is what I settled on.

[keviiin86]

Worked on it a bit more today.  Cut out the inner part of the frame rails behind the engine mounts and moved them out a bit for header clearance..will get sanded and smoothed out before paint.  Also decided on the AMT 67 chevelle pro street headers but cut and shortened them up since they would hang pretty low otherwise, and don't worry the goofy super trap mufflers will go bye bye.  Change of plans for rear wheels, got these rally wheels from Fireball modelworks which look awesome, so that's what I'm going with.

[Mattilacken]

Nice build! 

[deuces wild]

I did the same with the super traps with my kit.... And threw those in the garbage.... Never liked those from the time they came out on the market......😡🤢🤮 😁

Edited June 2 by deuces wild

[keviiin86]

3 hours ago, deuces wild said:

I did the same with the super traps with my kit.... And threw those in the garage.... Never liked those from the time they came out on the market......😡🤢🤮 😁

Yeah those mufflers were a short lived trend lol..but the model companies sure latched on to them..there were a few other pro street kits I remember that used them.

[keviiin86]

Thats better..

[deuces wild]

Nice headers.....😎👍

[Brutalform]

This build is beyond cool! Can’t wait to see more. 

[Nicholas]

That is gonna be epic, if you want I will donate a 3-D big block Chevy engine with Marra valve covers and a single plane high-rise intake for you to use that would look more realistic. I will send a picture of the bill engine of what it looks like or I can give you an engine that just needs to be assembled. You could do it yourself doesn’t matter to me I’ll give it to you for free. I just wanna see the project come to fruition and I think it will be pretty damn realistic with the engine like that., it’s from MCV 3-D parts

[Nicholas]

dont forget to fill the tailgate with cement!!!😉😆

[keviiin86]

23 minutes ago, Nicholas said:

That is gonna be epic, if you want I will donate a 3-D big block Chevy engine with Marra valve covers and a single plane high-rise intake for you to use that would look more realistic. I will send a picture of the bill engine of what it looks like or I can give you an engine that just needs to be assembled. You could do it yourself doesn’t matter to me I’ll give it to you for free. I just wanna see the project come to fruition and I think it will be pretty damn realistic with the engine like that., it’s from MCV 3-D parts

Thats super generous of you, I appreciate it! I've got a plan for the "top end" of the motor and pretty much have what I need to make it accurate.  I did a similar built big block in a 57 corvette which will look the same minus the valve covers..same single plane intake and dominator.  I picked up some moroso valve covers from Iceman that I'll use on this car.  Here's how the corvette looked. 

[keviiin86]

13 minutes ago, Nicholas said:

dont forget to fill the tailgate with cement!!!😉😆

Hahah! So you know of this car is see?! I've heard those stories of the pea gravel/cement in the tailgate before and considered opening up the tailgate to make it just a bit more realistic...but the bed floor is molded too high on this model, just wouldn't look quite right.  I just recently talked to a guy this weekend who is friends with the current owner of Chuck's old Elco..its sat untouched since probably the late 90s to early 2000s, looks the same just no motor/trans.