‘66 Olds El Camino, Olds El Cutlassino , hmmmmm

[Steve H]

Hi guys, 

So.... spent a half hour or so at the desk looking at the rear of the project. After playing with some possible options, I did what I should have done first. I taped the ‘68 body and the ‘66 bodies together. The area from back of wheel wells to bumper is pretty close to identical. I don’t disagree with Dale or Bill, but really, I think the dimensions look pretty good. After some back and forth, I am going to leave it as is. I do really appreciate the input though.

Hopefully some more updates in the next few days.

Cheers, Steve

[Steve H]

18 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

What an excellent idea Steve, great progress on it so far.

Hi Nigel, thank you sir!

[Steve H]

2 hours ago, mchook said:

I forgot to say, I love it, great job!

Hi Mark, thanks for the compliment. I look forward to seeing your next build.

Cheers, Steve

[Steve H]

1 hour ago, Claude Thibodeau said:

Hi Steve!

Obviously, if you move the wheel opening back, by flipping the lower quarter-panels, you will also have to stretch the floor pan. As they say: any action creates a reaction...

To my eye, having owned a 1/1 73 Ranchero, I can attest that the rear overhang in the quarters was substantial. Your mash-up looks just fine (OEM)  to me!

Just my two cents...

CT 

CT 

Hello Claude! Yes, there was going to be a few “reactions” extending wheel base on chassis, inner fenders.... All doable, but maybe not necessary.

I always appreciate everyone’s input, that has been one of my favourite parts of this forum. 
 

Steve

[ChrisBcritter]

Steve, part of the reason the overhang looks long is that the curved-down area towards the front of the quarter panel draws the eye and makes it look shorter. Maybe if that were adjusted it might flow a little better? Quickie photoshop:

Edited December 27, 2020 by ChrisBcritter

[slusher]

Looks great to me the way you have it...

[Dr Cobra]

4 hours ago, Steve H said:

Hi guys, 

So.... spent a half hour or so at the desk looking at the rear of the project. After playing with some possible options, I did what I should have done first. I taped the ‘68 body and the ‘66 bodies together. The area from back of wheel wells to bumper is pretty close to identical. I don’t disagree with Dale or Bill, but really, I think the dimensions look pretty good. After some back and forth, I am going to leave it as is. I do really appreciate the input though.

Hopefully some more updates in the next few days.

Cheers, Steve

? wow, that thumbs up is small !! ?

Edited December 27, 2020 by Dr Cobra

[espo]

Very good idea matching the two bodies in this way. I also thought the Olds body looked to long until you did that. Maybe do the same mockup but with the rear bumpers in place to give you a better comparison. 

[Steve H]

10 hours ago, ChrisBcritter said:

Steve, part of the reason the overhang looks long is that the curved-down area towards the front of the quarter panel draws the eye and makes it look shorter. Maybe if that were adjusted it might flow a little better? Quickie photoshop:

Hi Christopher, first, nice work on the photoshop! That definitely changes the look. I may look at some bondo in that area, still toying with a few options, or it may stay as is... Thank you for sharing that visual, much appreciated.

Cheers, Steve

[gotnitro?]

Good work  ! Always liked these platforms 

[1972coronet]

On 12/27/2020 at 7:44 AM, Steve H said:

That [ Photoshop modification ]  definitely changes the look. I may look at some bondo in that area, still toying with a few options, or it may stay as is... Thank you for sharing that visual, much appreciated.

That's exactly what I noticed : the Olds' arched quarters' sculpting is what gave the illusion of a longer-overhang . Wheelbase is the same on all of the A-body hardtops , coupes , and convertibles (at least the 1968-1972 model years) , so that was spot-on to begin with . 

I couldn't think of how to frame my opinion , so I didn't chime in . Thankfully @ChrisBcritter presented a visualisation of my thoughts .

I really like what you've done thus far , honestly . Keep up the great work !

[NOBLNG]

Nice work! You’ll need custom plates for it....EL-442.?

[gotnitro?]

a 442 camino !!! 

[Steve H]

6 hours ago, 1972coronet said:

That's exactly what I noticed : the Olds' arched quarters' sculpting is what gave the illusion of a longer-overhang . Wheelbase is the same on all of the A-body hardtops , coupes , and convertibles (at least the 1968-1972 model years) , so that was spot-on to begin with . 

I couldn't think of how to frame my opinion , so I didn't chime in . Thankfully @ChrisBcritter presented a visualisation of my thoughts .

I really like what you've done thus far , honestly . Keep up the great work !

Hi John, thank you for chiming in! The one thing I have noticed in your posts that I have seen, is that you are very, VERY knowledgeable. I really appreciate your input. As of now, I think the body will stay as is, but I could still change my mind....

Cheers, Steve

 

[Steve H]

Hi all,

Had a bit of desk time the last couple of days, so a bit of progress to report. 
 

My builds are almost always low, so started working on chassis fit etc.

The inner rear fenders needed to be wider to fit the wheel/tire choice. So I cut them, and added about 2 1/2 scale inches.

 

There was a fair bit of sanding and fiddling to get the bed fit to the body. Still some fine tuning to do, but it’s getting close. Still another round of fill/sand/ prime on the inner rear fenders, but again, close.... I have a plan for the tailgate too, more on that in a later post.

 

Also began mocking up body, chassis, interior. The plan is to use the ‘68 Elky chassis and floor pan, but mate it with the Olds door panels, dash, and inner front fenders. I will say now, that this is one of the more difficult kit bashes I have done. Trying to blend the two is a good challenge for me. This is also my most ambitious bodywork project, always good to push comfort level... What I can tell you is that I have used a LOT of masking tape in the last few days mocking this thing up. 

I still have a fair bit of work to do on interior fitment, but there is a plan! 

To get the low stance, as always there is a fair bit of planning there too, including channeling the body over the frame. I removed the inner front fenders, and cut about 2 scale inches out of them. They are just taped in place here, awaiting further test fits.

Finally, I have chosen the wheels, a 19”/23” combo from Pegasus. The photo shows about what the final ride height will be if all goes as planned..

.

It might just be me, but it seems like the back looks a bit more balanced with the tires in place and the low stance? I really like the swoopy lines of the body, and as of now, pretty sure the body stays as is. Let me know what you think.

Cheers, Steve

[bisc63]

Here's another option possible via the file and a little bondo:

Diggin' this build!

[Sam I Am]

10 hours ago, Steve H said:

It might just be me, but it seems like the back looks a bit more balanced with the tires in place and the low stance? I really like the swoopy lines of the body, and as of now, pretty sure the body stays as is. Let me know what you think.

Cheers, Steve

Before I read your thoughts on the matter,  swoopy body lines  is exactly what I thought.  This looks beautiful, flows so well, and oh so Oldsmobile. 

7 hours ago, bisc63 said:

Here's another option possible via the file and a little bondo:

Diggin' this build!

By removing the Oldsmobile curve from the quarter panel,  it makes it look more like all you did was bolt the front clip and moldings onto an Elcamino body. 

[butter]

Don't know if you are interested in opinions about the quarter panel, but I kind of like Steve H's photoshopped idea.  Still looks "Olds" but flows into the door nicely.

BTW. really like this build. regardless of what you do it will be way cool.

[Steve H]

Hi Ron, I’m always open to opinions. The first photoshop was from Christopher, want to make sure he gets credit for that. I really like both photoshops, but .... I also really want to keep the Olds lines because I think it has great lines. If I do massage the B pillar area it would be similar to Christopher’s, but it will likely stay as is, I quite like it now that it’s in mock up. Thanks for having a look!

Cheers, Steve

[Steve H]

9 hours ago, bisc63 said:

Here's another option possible via the file and a little bondo:

Diggin' this build!

Hi Rusty, man I need to learn how to photoshop, you guys are full of great ideas. This looks great, my concern with this option is losing the Oldsmobile lines. It does however capture the classic El Camino lines, so I see where you were going with this. Thank you for the idea, much appreciated! 
Cheers, Steve

[gotnitro?]

Like the direction you're going definitely says Olds w the curves 

[Sledsel]

I like it a lot. Glad to see it was not a graft on the front clip conversion. That would have been really tough to boot.

As for the Olds body line, it must stay. Possibly make it a bit more subdued like the Olds wagon.

[Steve H]

44 minutes ago, Sledsel said:

I like it a lot. Glad to see it was not a graft on the front clip conversion. That would have been really tough to boot.

As for the Olds body line, it must stay. Possibly make it a bit more subdued like the Olds wagon.

Hi Andy,

Those wagons are awesome! That was one of the ideas I had for this car a while back, still might tackle that one day. Thank you for your input, it definitely needs to look like an Oldsmobile. I did initially consider grafting on the front clip, but it just wouldn’t have looked right. 
 

Cheers, Steve

[Steve H]

2 hours ago, gotnitro? said:

Like the direction you're going definitely says Olds w the curves 

Hi Jeff, thank for your comments sir, and thanks for following along. The curves stay! 
Not sure what the plate will read, but I have seen sites that do custom license plate decals, so I may look into that. Haven’t got that far into my planning yet...

Steve

[Steve H]

6 hours ago, Sam I Am said:

Before I read your thoughts on the matter,  swoopy body lines  is exactly what I thought.  This looks beautiful, flows so well, and oh so Oldsmobile. 

By removing the Oldsmobile curve from the quarter panel,  it makes it look more like all you did was bolt the front clip and moldings onto an Elcamino body. 

Hi Sam,  thanks for having a look. I must admit, I have really enjoyed and appreciated the input, and especially the photoshops that guys have shared on this. My vision from the beginning was to incorporate an El Camino into the beautiful Olds body. The two photoshop versions look fantastic, and I love that guys are taking the time to do that. I did however decide last night to retain the lines as is. Might not be everyone’s taste, but I’m pleased with it. 
 

Cheers, Steve