Open Exhaust | Tips & Tricks

Tips and Tricks I Learned Along the Way

OK, this is the page on my site I don't expect will get a lot of traffic. Lets face it, most people want to see pictures, and I am only posting pictures here that help illustrate my points. I'll discuss some of the planning, tools, problems and solutions I had to learn the hard way. Hopefully you'll find something useful. If not, feel free to click on any of the links above and skip this page. My Parts Links page contains many of the sites I have used, and I'll include others that may be useful. But if you do find a tip or solution that is useful, the only thing I ask is that you pass it on. I would never have gotten this far, nor had the courage to start this project without help from friends, or ideas from TV shows and magazines.

Research
Getting information before you start a project is vitally important to how well it turns out. Everything from choosing the right parts to a getting a smooth paint job will be easier if you do your homework. The first place to look is right here, the Internet has it all. There are countless sites out there that can explain how to do many of the projects you have planned; and more are added everyday. For my project, I found an El Camino forum that has people that have already done some of the work I had planned. Ask questions, take in all the info and choose which idea works best for you. Just remember, not all the advice your going to get will be accurate. It stands to reason that the more people you ask, the more likely it is your going to get bad advice. But most of these forums are a great resource.

Talk to the employees at your local parts stores and call companies you find on the Internet or in advertisements. Most will have good advice and many have either dealt with your issues before, or can help point you in the right direction. Ask the same questions of several people, you'll soon find out who knows what they are talking about and who is just trying to make a sale. You should also read everything you can find. Most popular magazines have web sites now (called e-Zines). Magazines in print will have articles and pictures (a great place to get project ideas), but they will sometimes go into more detail on the Internet site. The site can afford the extra space needed for pictures and details, while the magazine has to conform to space requirements to keep costs down. Read everything you can, I can't stress this enough.

Here's an example: I searched for several months to find the right wheel and tire combination for my car. I wanted to give the car an olde school, late 60's early 70's muscle car look, but didn't want to break the bank. I was looking for something that resembled the Crager SS wheels I grew up admiring, without the price tag. I found a set I liked at CustomWheel.com that were affordable. Next I had to find the right SIZE tires. I wanted to fill out the wheel wells, but didn't want my car to look like it was trying to enter a monster truck rally. I found a site at 1010tires.com that has a tire size calculator. I was able to compare my stock tire and wheel size to the sizes I was thinking of changing to (with pictures to help visualize), it even told me how far my speedometer would be off. Most local tire stores aren't willing to take the time to mount and dismount 3 or 4 different tires until you find one you like, so this site will point you in the right direction.

Another good source for information is to watch TV. As much as you want to be out in the garage, it will help to watch a few of the DIY (Do-It-Yourself) shows on TV that have become very popular over the past several years. Spike TV has a series of shows called the PowerBlock (HorsePower TV, Muscle Car, Trucks!, and Xtreme 4X4), and the Speed channel has picked up Stacey David's GEARZ for the 2008 season. ESPN II attempted to get into the how-to market in 2007, then never gave it a chance to succeed. Love 'em or hate 'em, there is a lot of useful info / ideas on these shows. I also like watching the Barrett-Jackson Auction on the Speed channel and the BBC's Top Gear.

Planning
How you plan your project will be as important as the tools you use. If you spend the next 2 days replacing sagging coil springs this week, then next month decide to install 2" drop spindles or air bags, you've just wasted time and money. Plan your work to a realistic schedule, expect each project to take longer. This will not only give you time to deal with the inevitable surprises, but also keeps you from throwing wrenches across the garage when you feel you've "failed". It's not a race, taking your time won't cost more since this is your project and not your living (I doubt any professional builders will be looking to my site for advice). I keep talking about "projects". The best advice I got was to break each large project (rebuilding a car) into smaller projects (engine work, body and paint, etc). Mine started with the engine rebuild, and I even broke that up into smaller pieces. It makes your work more enjoyable to reach a goal. Getting the rotating assembly installed in a freshly machined block was a big one for me. It gave me a renewed outlook on the engine project as a whole because I knew it was time to start bolting on the performance goodies that had been accumulating on my garage shelves for the past few months.

Tools
Most guys love tools, car guys can't live without them. I have accumulated lots of tools over the years, but I don't have nearly all the tools needed to complete some of the work I have done. I have learned to make due when necessary, or rent when I can't get by without them. Harbor Freight Tools has a lot of very good quality tools for the weekend mechanic, but I wouldn't want to rely on some of them if I had to make my living with them. I bought a very nice 1000 lb capacity engine stand for $40 brand new. If you wait for their sales (they have different items on sale all the time) you can get some great deals. I buy most of my tools at their retail locations since there is one near my home, but they will also ship anywhere in the USA from their website, and they auction items on eBay. The bottom line is, buy your tools where you can afford to get them. Having the right tools makes the work faster, safer and gives you a better finished product.

If your project needs extensive fabricating, a good welder will be necessary. Having a local shop do all your fabricating will get expensive. If you only have a few items that need welding, this may be a better option than buying your own welder. But the deeper you get into a rebuild, the more welding you will need to do. I was surprised how much I was able to get done on my own after buying my welder. There are three kinds of welders available that will get the job done.

1. Arc welders (also called stick welders) will allow you to weld heavier gauge metal like frame rails but aren't the best choice for thin sheet metal. They take some practice to get used to and it's hard to get a nice finish weld unless you have a lot of experience with them.
2. MIG (wire feed) welders are easier for a novice user, and are better for material up to about 1/4" thick. This is commonly considered the easiest to learn and most versatile, so is usually what you find in a garage workshop. But this will still take some practice.
3. TIG welders work better for very thin material (like sheet metal) because the heat can be adjusted on-the-fly and you have more control at the weld point, but these take more practice and are a bit more expensive.

If you can afford it, Miller and Lincoln have really nice welders available in all three styles, but their are other brands to choose from. Since my welding consists of one or two smaller projects per year, I bought a Dual MIG welder at Harbor Freight Tools. I have the option to use flux-core wire without shielding gas, or solid core with shielding gas. This model only has 4 power settings, so sometimes getting good a bead is challenging. I had only welded 2 or 3 times before I bought this, so I learn a little more each time I pull the trigger. What I know about welding will fit in a thimble, so you'll have to research "how-to-weld" elsewhere. But what I can tell you is keep your metal clean, keep the heat down as low as you can to reduce warping (especially on sheet metal), and practice your technique.

I bought a 10' x 20' Moto Shade car canopy from the local Bi-Mart to use as a portable paint booth when I decided to pain my truck in 2006. Renting a paint booth in my area will cost about $150 per day, and you have to work around the body shops schedule (their work takes priority, of course). Also, cleaning ALL the dust out of a garage you use regularly can be a full days work in itself. The canopy is easy for one person to put up, and it cost about $245 as it appears in the picture (with the wall panel kit). I set it up when I need to paint, and take it down when I'm finished. I'm not a professional painter, and I wasn't looking for a show quality finish, so this option worked best for me. I've used it to paint 2 vehicles already and have several requests from friends to help them in the future. I may eventually put it up permanently and use it to store my car during the winter.

If you plan on a rebuild project of any proportion, buy an Air Compressor that can handle the workload. I bought mine at Salem Tools in Salem, Oregon for $450. It's an Eagle brand with a 60 gallon / 150 ci. capacity, runs on a 220V circuit, has a 6.5 HP motor and uses 11.2 CFM of air @ 90 psi. More than enough to run any tool I need. Using a compressor that is too small for the job will only frustrate you. Plenty of companies sell compressors (both online and locally) for a reasonable price. I have my clothes dryer in the garage where I live, so it was easy to wire a plug onto it. I never use the dryer and compressor at the same time, so I just plug in the one I need when I need it. If your work area isn't already wired with one, having a 220v outlet installed by a qualified electrician isn't that expensive, and is worth the money.

Parts
This is another area you'll have to do some research. I found several sites that sell El Camino specific parts, and a few that have parts that will fit on the El Camino, but are listed for other makes. If your driving a Ford Mustang, Chevy Camero, or Dodge Charger, chances are you won't have any problems finding parts for it. There are several companies that noticed the trend to rebuild these better known (if not rare) cars and now offer aftermarket, NOS (New Old Stock, or factory new parts that are no longer produced by the factory) or factory reproduction parts (parts made from factory molds). For those of you trying to rebuild a Ford Courier, Chevy Chevette, or Dodge Omni, you may need to look a little harder. Sometimes there is another model that may have been more popular that shares the same parts.

A friend from work (Keith) races a '77 Chevy Van with a 400 ci engine he built. He is looking for 2" drop spindles, front fenders and miscellaneous other hard-to-find parts. He may be able to use the spindles off a full size pickup, but he hasn't been able to verify that yet. So far, he's had no luck finding anyone that reproduces the sheet metal, and the junk yards (so far) haven't had what he needs. But junk yards are another good option, we have Pick-A-Part yards here (they are starting to crop up in most areas). We find the part we need, pull it off ourselves, and save a bunch of money. I found the bucket seats for my El Camino for $40. Most of these places will pull large parts for you, like engines and axles, but they may not concern themselves with tedious tasks like disconnecting wires or hoses. They get cut or ripped out if you don't specify your needs in advance. I got a price quote of $200 for a Ford 9" rear axle, not bad if you know how to cut one down for a project.

To defer some of my costs for my car, I sold parts I removed from the old engine and the car itself. I posted them on Craigs List and found buyers fairly quickly. I traded one guy the 3.8L V6 I removed from the El Camino for the brand new Edelbrock 600 CFM carb and a used TH 350 transmission that I used on this project (we agreed on a $300 price). I also managed to sell the old factory heads, points style distributor, and 2 BBL intake and carb, all for about an extra $50. The original Muncie 3 Speed transmission sold for another $125, and the old wheels and tires went for $50. Every little bit helps. There is always someone who needs your spare parts, I met 2 guys who I keep in contact with now after trading used parts.

It's worth noting: I am not a professional builder, I don't claim to know everything and don't intend to pass this information off as 100% accurate. This is simply my understanding of information I have obtained while working on my own cars. Form your own opinions, use your best judgment, and make your own decisions. Never rely on information obtained from only one source, especially the Internet.

Steve Schutze

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