New Member: 1973 El Camino 308 Holden V8 with Trimatic

[RedeemingTheTime]

Hi to all members,

I am new here, & live in Stellenbosch in the Western Cape. I own a 1973 Chevy El Camino with the Holden 308 V8 engine. I also still have the Trimatic gearbox in it.

I bought the Chevy a couple of months ago, & I drove it from Cape Town to my garage... & then I started taking it apart! I knew nothing about muscle cars at that time, all I knew was that I like the raw power & beautiful sound and I am eager to learn. I since have it on blocks, & have taken all the cheap interior out, & have also removed all the wiring. I do start the motor every now & then.

I am ordering 2 x front rotors (5 hole hubs) from Australia hopefully in this week via sea fright, except if someone stop me with a better deal in South Africa.

I really do struggle in getting a Chevrolet Owner's manual for my El Camino, because I want to restore it as close as possible to factory specs... I AM WILLING TO BUY AN OWNER'S MANUAL from anyone.

I have attached some pics.


Anton.

[HenryGaB]

Welcome to the Forum.

[Elcamino]

Welcome to the forum
We will be in the majority one of these days
Nice looking Elkie
Good luck with the restoration a lot of good advice on the forum.
Some spares as well ask old DRfinger ( Rodney) on the forum he is also from the Cape
I have an old Chassis Manual not for sale but you can make copies just a little bit difficult as I am up in JHB.
Some spares as well little bit.
Now in the process to bring in the chrome headlight surrounds from Rare spares in AUS costly

[Johann65]

Welcome to the Forum. Very nice Camino. Speak to some of the members in the cape (DrFinger,Burt) they might be able to assist you. I know that some of the rotors are interchangeable (Chev Lumina, BMW) I fitted BMW rotors on my rear wheels and they fitted.

[RedeemingTheTime]

I am very surprised with the welcoming response, I feel like being reunited with lost friends!
- Thank you Johann65, i will look into that & speak to the guys.
- Elcamino I surely hope we become an entire army of Elkies, then more spares & joy to go around! I buy a lot from Rare Spares, online shopping is always fun
- HenryGaB, thank you

I will definitely mention when I am in search of spares

You guys know what, I am looking into powder coating my entire chassis. There is a guy close to CT that can fit the chassis into his oven.

[gordini]

Welcome and a very nice ride too

[craigd]

Welcome to the forum......

Love them.... yours looks great.

Lemme know if you require any 2nd hand spares.... panels, glass, interior bits, etc..

My favourite "bakkie"..., just a pity that steering is not adjustable to accomodate my bierpens..

Cheers

[crashing dog]

Hey Anton, give me a few days and I'll look out in my workshop for a manual... Although it will say Holden on the cover, I bet it's exactly the same. You can buy a workshop manual over the counter at most auto shops over here. I'll even find out what it'll cost to post it you. Just give me a post code or province (or whatever it is you guys use over there to organize postage) so I can get a quote on postage.
Have a very similar vehicle to yours sitting in my yard, under covers, awaiting a rebuild. Only mine is the 1 tonner flat tray rear, not the ute back you have. Looks like a nice ride to start work on though.
Anyways I'll check back and see if I have a manual or I'll find out what one cost here... about $45AUD I think.

[crashing dog]

btw, the "current wheels" you have, are they 14 or 15 inch. Know as GTS wheels over here, as they came out on the GTS Monaro. If they are 15 inch, they are pretty rare, you don't find many here in Aus. If you do find them, they are 15inch Pontiac wheels. 14 inch are easy to find.

[crashing dog]

OK. Had a look online. Can grab a workshop manual at the local auto shop. Cost $43 AUD.
http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/online ... escription
Postage to Sth Africa for an item @ up to 1kg. will be additional $44.50 AUD through Registered Post International
This takes 3-10 working days.
http://auspost.com.au/products-and-serv ... lator.html.

So total cost would be $43 + $44.50+ about $10-15 for postage box(from Auspost) = $100AUD
Converted it would be about $825 ZAR.
Happy to send it for you if you'd like. Just pm me to organize some sort of payment etc. + an address to send it to.
Or you can order it from the publisher yourself and organize some postage... but for some reason it costs more to get it from the publisher???

Hope this might help in your search.