The Internet is the closest thing we have to a time machine. Of course, some sites are designed to flow with time, but still, old-style sites like blogs or our online magazine are fragments of someone’s days, frozen in time. No one knows how long they will be in the present: the old site can be deleted at any moment for one reason or another, and even the Wayback Machine will not save them all; link extinction is a well-known problem. But if you, my dear reader, see these lines, then the RockThisTown authors’ life gallery is still online, and I’m sending you, time traveler, greetings from the night of February 17th, 2025, no matter how long ago it was. I suggest you go on an even longer journey: in May 1979.
The previous car from the seventies magazine, Odd Job, cost $20,000. In contrast, Steve Hudson’s custom is a much more budget-friendly project: the cost was just under $8,500. Yes, I still had to spend money, but, nevertheless, many things were collected on my knee almost literally. For example, the front bumper was obtained by sawing the factory in half and then adding metal found in a local landfill to the resulting halves. An aluminum panel was also found there, which Comrade Hudson attached under the bottom of the car, covering the differential, gas tank and rear axle suspension with it. The desired bend of the panel was obtained by installing a piece of aluminum on the curb, followed by applying foot force to the hanging part. Although the fiberglass air intake was purchased from a local workshop, it was still attached to the metal hood in the home garage with putty and rivets. The headlight linings are translucent plastic that has been bent by slowly heating with fire. And the body cover is just a piece of plywood with an upholstery stretched over it, under which polyurethane foam is placed. Steve painted the car with a neighbor, and in total – including the cost of gold leaf, a compressor for painting and beer – the paintwork cost $ 800. Only the pinstripe was made in a separate order – by a certain Steve Findberg.
But, as already mentioned, I still had to spend money on some things. In particular, Comrade Hudson still did not have personal lathes and other advanced equipment, so all the parts for the engine, transmission and suspension had to be bought. Steve traveled a lot around California in search of the best deals, but still, the powertrain and suspension are two of the three largest items of expenditure. However, the result was beyond praise: in particular, the article for once gives the results of the quarter-mile race, and the El Camino drove the straight in 14.42 seconds, accelerating to 162.5 kilometers per hour. And this is with a weight of 1,750 kg, with a passenger and a camper installed. For comparison, 14 and a half seconds is a Plymouth Prowler straight from the factory, which weighs only 1,270 kilograms.
Solid performance in drag racing was achieved, in fact, by a complete overhaul of the power unit. Steve bought a new ignition, camshaft and fuel supply system for the engine. An intake manifold from Weiand of the tunnel ram configuration (or tunnel ram in the original tunnel ram, rarely used in Russian) was also installed, on top of which two Holley 600 carburettors were installed. Only Comrade Hudson made the air filter himself – he just put the filter between two aluminum plates of a suitable size. There is no supercharging – which, of course, saved a lot of conventional units and extended the life of the engine.
All transmission elements, except for the gearbox and gearbox, were replaced with more durable ones, from a Chevrolet pickup truck by three quarters of a ton. The gearbox is also from Chevrolet, with twelve bolts and a high-friction differential (the standard El Camino gearbox has 10 bolts). The gearbox was completely rebuilt with a sports kit from B&M. In general, everything was done to withstand the power of the updated engine.
In the suspension, the most interesting details are the stabilizer bar from the 1972 Chevelle SS and the TRW traction bars. For all my love of translating terms, trekking bars don’t seem to translate. Literally speaking, we get “traction beams” – levers mounted parallel to the springs with hinges at both ends. The main point is that the lever exerts pressure on the root leaf of the spring, thereby preventing an S-shaped bend during sudden acceleration.
As the website says gaz24.ru “this removes most of the load from the spring and at the same time redirects some of the forces that arise in this case in such a way that the tires begin to press harder against the road” – despite the lack of translation, a surprisingly significant number of motorists in our country are familiar with traction bars.
One way or another, the result of all this combination of brand costs and clever (or not so cheap) home solutions is undoubtedly impressive. Steve Hudson definitely managed to assemble an extremely stylish car. On the one hand, there are no flashy colors, the air intake is extremely organically fused with the hood, and even the super-wide rear wheels do not stick out for show, but are hidden, fitting most neatly into the general lines of the body. But on the other hand, detail by detail, one little thing after another, and everything comes together into the very embodiment of power and speed. And… that’s it for me. The year 1979 was with you, and it’s time for you to return to your present. Good luck, time travelers.
