No replacement for displacement

 When I bought this El Camino, it was sold to me as SS396, which is still hanging in there that is it a real or just a copycat. Everything points to that direction, albeit someone can go lengthy way to make it a "real SS", but I like to keep it hanging out there, since it is much better to have a "real" than actual real, because then I have to do whole restoration thing. 

But the thing is that I haven't checked the stamp on the engine block until now, and it tells us that this isn't the original engine.

What the stamping tells us is that this engine was made in Tonawanda plant, August 30th, and engine code is CXA, which translates to 1974 454, 235 hp and TH.

So, I got 58 cubic inches more than I bought for, although it has only 235 SAE horses, as it was built after the big horsepower era was over, due oil crisis and insurance policies in the USA.

Checking first things first

Now that winter has settled in, for the second time in a few weeks, it's about time I start to do something.

The first thing that I need to do  is check fuses, which ones are okay and which ones are blown. After that we can establish which parts should work. 

This was surprisingly neat, compared to the rest of the car. Sure, some rust on the other end of the fuses, but still. 

And then there is this, as we Finns like to call them: the American Joe's workings.

I have a multimeter that I could check that there are three blown fuses. Yeah,  you can also just take a look at the fuse, but as you can see from the first picture it isn't that easy, but with a multimeter and connection check, you can hear a buzzing if there is a connection between the ends of the glass fuses. 

Now, I don't remember where I have put my spare  fuses from my previous El Camino, but I can pick up some from of the work on the Monday.

And week and half a later I finally have picked up some fuses from the work. 

I guess I might as well put them on and see what happens?