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?

Pressure wash it all down

So, now that I finally have rolling wheels and I finally put them on, I can roll the El Camino outside and pressure wash the Nevada dirt off and start to do stuff.

About two months ago, my childhood friend visited my house and we drink some beverages and went to Sauna and talked about life etc., but one thing was that we also talked about my El Camino.

We took out the old battery and put in a new one that I had lying around, from various reasons, and then I sat in the drivers seat and put in the key. Then I turned the key... 

But nothing happened, except the lights in the dash light up. Nothing from the engine bay, not even a grunt. 

<insert image old battery vs new battery>

Oh, I tried if the engine is seized or not and I turned the engine by hand, with the help of the wrench, back in the winter.

As I changed the "new" set of tires under the El Camino, I noticed that the same F#¤%ing tire is deflating, well it wasn't the same tire, but in the same position. Driver side front wheel. 

Since I don't have running engine and even if I had, there is no driveshaft to make the El Camino move, so, I had to push it out and then winched it back in when I am done with it.

Luckily, it is a bit sloped towards outside, so that the El Camino rolls out with a bit of pushing.

And now that I am writing this, I noticed that I planned to do before and after, but I forgot to shoot that after. And now that the El Camino is back in the garage, the light is completely different.

The good thing is that when you don't know what works and what not, and you are prepared to change everything you can just really go for it with the power washing.