Editor Glad admits it freely. Our '64 El Camino shop truck is a beater. His prepurchase criterion of having a rust-free cab was validated. There is no rust around the windshield, back glass, and cowl, and that's a major score. But the floorpans and quarter-panels were pretty much junk. Those are big enough flaws to keep us from truly enjoying our Pro-Beater parts hauler. The flappy quarters are an eyesore to all who set eyes on its Shamrock Shake flanks, and the holy rusted metal (Batman!) floors, while novel at first, merely provide an entrée for fumes and road grime that ultimately overwhelm the driver and unlucky passenger.
Trust us, we're not getting soft here at CC. Our Elco is first and foremost a parts hauler, not a resto weenie's museum piece, but Fred-Flintstone-feet-through-the-floor driving is not a style we can endorse on a daily bass. The federal government wasn't able to bail us out, but OPGI and Nor/Am did with auto body parts and materials, and the students at Los Angeles Trade Technical College provided the labor to give our Elco the structural stimulus it so badly needed. All did not go smoothly, either, but we won't gloss over our mistakes. If torches, sparks, and high-pressure transmission line blowouts light your fire, grab your welding jacket and read on.
Tools Needed
Cutoff wheel
Angle grinder
Flap disc
Scotch-Brite Roloc pads
Drill
Spot-weld cutter
Hammers and dollies
Oxyacetylene torch
MIG welder
...
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