[five five]

Hello,

This is my first post. My name is Eric, and I live in SoCal.

I'd like to use my '66 El Camino boxed frame in my '64 LeMans body (which came without any frame at all when I got it).
The fact that the powdered Elco frame has a full Global West suspension, Dana 60, TKO 600, etc makes it all the more desirable to use intact, if possible.

I did a search on frame swaps for this combo, but did not find anything.

Does anyone have experience with this, or a knowledgeable opinion to help guide me?

Thanks !

Eric

[b-man]

Eric,

I think the only real issue is the Chevelle/El Camino frame rails are shorter in trunk area compared to the Tempest/LeMans/GTO, I'm not sure how to overcome this. I guess the Chevelle had a shorter and less spacious trunk compared to its Pontiac brethren.

Good luck and to the PY forums.

Bart

[INJUNTOM]

Originally Posted by b-man

Eric,

I think the only real issue is the Chevelle/El Camino frame rails are shorter in trunk area compared to the Tempest/LeMans/GTO, I'm not sure how to overcome this. I guess the Chevelle had a shorter and less spacious trunk compared to its Pontiac brethren.

Good luck and to the PY forums.

Bart

Interesting. I've never looked at the Chevy and Pontiac frames side by side before, but always knew the Pontiac was a slightly longer body after the wheel wells, but just figured the frame was the same.

I did put a '64 GTO body onto a '66 Chevelle frame...but it was a "back halved" frame though. Never got to se the Chevelle frame before it was cut.

[five five]

Hi guys,
Thanks for the replies ! I've always loved Pontiacs. Saw my '59 Bonneville Safari from an upstairs balcony once, and it really was a Wide Track Pontiac !

One thing I'm fairly certain of, is that the Elco frame is 2" longer after the axle than the Chevelle frame.
Since the Pontiac is longer in back than the equivalent Chevelle by just about that much, I'm hoping that putting the LeMans body on the Elco chassis will be less of a project than topping it with a Chevelle body would have been.

I have seen a resto-project where an Elco frame was used under a Malibu convertible, and the frame had to be shortened by 2" in the rear unboxed frame rail area, but everywhere else was a match-up.

If the Pontiac really is longer than the Chev (pretty sure it is), then all just might bolt up.

Also, am I correct in noticing that there is not a lot of re-pop metal for the '64 cars?

Hope to figure all this out before the body drop takes place, since I'm doing it no matter what.

Thanks!

Eric

[squidtone]

I just checked frame charts for a 67 chevelle, an el camino and 64-67 Pontiac A body. I'll assume 64-67 chevelle is same for sake of argument.

There's alot of measurements on the charts I viewed and Chevy and Pontiac used different datums in deriving measurements which adds to the confusion.

But, I compared the difference of distances between body bolt #4 (the one closest to the lower rear control arm mounting flange on the frame) and the very last body bolt #7 at the rear. (I don't know if Chevy numbered these body bolt holes the same)

El camino and chevy station wagons (not sure about 2door SW) are the same, and do have a longer frame behind the axle compared to the regular chevelle/malibu.

In addition, and pertinent to this post's question, the lengths of the el camino and chevy Station wagon frames match the pontiac Abody frame lengths/dimension, to within 1/16 inch; essentially they're the same. I didn't check out frame horn differences....I've read the olds or buick frame horns are significantly wider to accomodate side tank radiator core support.

Bottom line I think an el camino frame of the 64-67 vintage will work on a Pontiac 64-67 A body, and side benefit is the elco frame is boxed like a convertible.

By the way, the difference behind the axle in length from chevelle to A body pontiac/el camino/chevy station wagon is 3.5 inches, give or take 1/16"

(I erroneously wrote something like 5 inches in a different post some time ago...ooops)

good luck!

[INJUNTOM]

Good info Squidtone

[INJUNTOM]

Reminds me of a doofus I met about ten years ago while on vacation in Oklahoma...my Brother in law's neighbor had some Pontiacs and when I told him about putting the GTO body onto the Chevelle frame, he claimed that it would never work because the GTO frame is much wider...I nicely explained that it did work, I did do it, and it was sitting in my yard as we speak. He repeated that it would never work because the GTO uses a wider frame. I explained again that I DID DO IT AND IT DID WORK.

We went back and forth for about 10 minutes before I gave up.

Now I wonder whatever happened to that '64 GTO hood he had sitting in his shed?...

[five five]

Originally Posted by Injuntom

Good info Squidtone

Yes, I agree, well composed and very informative.

How quickly things develop and change !!
Last night my Elco was wrecked in a collision caused by a drunk, and it looks like my '64 project is going to go ahead without doubt now.
The frame seems to have survived intact, amazingly enough, since the destruction to the body is above the belt-line, so I'm going ahead with the plan to use the boxed and strengthened frame. The seam-welding and roll-cage structure saved my life last night. It just goes to show that you should always be prepared, always. You never know....

I spent 5 years building that '66 El Camino as a state-of-the-art road car and drag racer. It's all top shelf equipment, and everything will go onto/into the LeMans now. The result will be a long-distance touring car that runs 10s at the strip and humbles the high-dollar Asian and European hardware on the road out there.

Will I be taking heat for building my Poncho with a Chev motor?

I've got to use what I already have, so no choice under the hood. The LeMans will be powered by a smallish (454) sequential injected/roller/aluminum 640 HP mill, backed by SFI'd equipment and a TKO-600 and Dana 60.

Anyway, I'll be reporting first-hand on fit and suitability of the El Camino frame into an early Pontiac A-body, along with plenty of pictures.

Thanks guys !

Eric



Here's the starting point, I'd like to build a modern Poncho mill for the LeMans sometime in the future.

[Ken K]

Do you want to get rid of the Elco bed molding?

[five five]

Ken,

Sent reply via E-mail.


Eric