Ken & Karin Baker’s
1980 El Camino
Once upon a time Karin’s Grandpa bought the car new in 1980. He drove it 55,555 miles and sold it to Karin’s dad in 1995. Bob started the transformation from grocery getter to hot rod. His projects included the paint work, wheels and tires, and new headliner and seat fabric. In 2002 Karin and I bought the car. I sold my 1955 1/2 ton Chevy pick-up and used the money to start the project. Everyone knows that none of this stuff is free, right?
I got to go to work… I swapped out the stock 267 V8 for a 350 V8. Used Vortec cyl. heads and Edelbrock Performer cam, manifold, and 600 cfm carb. Mallory distributor, headers and dual exhaust. I more than doubled the horsepower under the hood.
The trans got a shift kit; the diff got 3.23 gears and an Eaton pozzy unit. The suspension got Edelbrock shocks and Eibock progressive 1” lowering springs.
The interior was next. I put gauges in the dash, new door panels which allowed me to put 4 speakers in the doors. There are 2 speakers in the dash, and a sub behind the seat all running on a Sony multi-channel amp stashed in the back.
Everything about the car works together and fits. But nothing stands out and attracts attention. No new trophies for a couple years… so… I’m building a new engine/trans combo to shake things up a bit. It will be a 406 cid striker LA block with a roller cam, Magnum R/T cylinder heads and a 46RE 4 speed auto trans. This will look a lot different than the 350s that every other Elky runs and will hopefully attract some attention and conversations!!
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