80MEANO

Jim Groth’s 1980 El Camino Is A Labor Of Love

Five years ago, Jim Groth, a resident of Moss Bluff, acquired a 1980 Chevy El Camino. And he decided he wanted to have some fun with it.

When he got the combination car and truck, he says, it was “in drivable condition, but not a daily driver type of thing.”

Groth aimed to fix that. And he decided that while he was at it, he’d go ahead and sport up the vehicle a little.

“I figured if I was going to do this stuff, I might as well bulk it up. I wanted it to have a little more go.”

He decided to make it a project. And a very big project it turned out to be.

Groth settled on making his reborn El Camino a matte black; this would be the first step in a long-term effort to make the car entirely black — both outside and inside.

It’s a project that’s still going on. The car still has the dark maroon interior door padding it had in 1980. But that will change soon, as the El Camino finally goes all the way to pure jet black.

As you might expect, one of Groth’s first objectives for the car was to “get it mechanically sound.”

Could he do that by drawing on the experience gleaned from a lifetime spent working on cars every weekend? Not exactly.

“I had no experience of doing this sort of thing,” says Groth. “[I had] to find out how all this stuff works.” He determined that he would figure it all out on his own (with a little help from internet El Camino sites).

He began this approach with a demanding task: replace the water pump. “I did research,” he says. “I made a plan [for replacing the pump]. I thought it through.”

He continued feeling out the steps in his do-it-from-scratch approach. “First take pictures [of whatever you’re going to be working on],” he says. “Find out where all the bolts go.”

‘I WAS AFFORDED THAT TIME’

He discovered his method worked. “If you just want to jump into it, it can be done.”

The entire process of replacing the pump required a full 8-hour day. Groth went on to replace the starter in half that time and the alternator in 2 hours.

He knew the learn-as-you-go process would take time, but, he says, “I was afforded that time.”

Of course, Groth did have to get basic information about the parts he had to work with and the traditional procedures for working with them. He turned to his home computer for a quick research option. “You have incredible resources with the internet,” he says.

The El Camino was given what Groth calls a “decent new 350 motor” — a 350 GM crate motor to be specific.

Again, Groth decided to push it just a tad. He “jumped it up a little with a new carb; it’s got headers on it.”

And while he was determined to give the vehicle a sporty edge, he was also smart enough not to take on more than he could handle. The El Camino now has a 400 turbo transmission. But, says Groth, “I did not put it in. I know my limitations.”

As one might expect, with a 35-year-old vehicle, the body work didn’t go a great deal easier than the motor work. No matter what he did to the El Camino’s exterior, Groth found that within 6-7 months, rust began to appear.

He stayed true to his DIY approach and serious about it. “I went from patching [the exterior] to learning how to weld. I bought a welder.”

After that initial round of welding work was finally complete, Groth “painted [the exterior] with primer.” He “didn’t want rust to come back.” It did.

A BIG SURPRISE

As frustrating as that must have been, it was nothing compared to what was waiting for Groth in the vehicle’s interior.

When he took out the carpets, he got a big surprise. “There were no floorboards.”

The reworking of the interior would prove to be Groth’s biggest challenge in the whole refurbishing project.

“I took my time,” he says. He was “physically cutting the floor” — or what was left of it — out of the vehicle. He accomplished the task with a reciprocating saw and power saw.

Of course, Groth had picked up new welding skills as part of his process. When the time finally arrived to put new floors into the El Camino, he says, “I welded them in.”

It took him 6 weeks to remove and remake the whole interior.

After the floor was sufficiently rebuilt to allow for work on seats, Groth “went to bucket seats” for the vehicle. It was one more sporty addition.

One distinctive feature of Groth’s El Camino is that it still has the tires it had when Groth acquired it. He says he would eventually like to see “wider, racing tires” on the vehicle.

‘I DO IT FOR FUN’

Groth estimates that the total cost of his reworking project has been 7-8 K to date. Whether you think that’s a lot, or not so much considering what he’s done, keep in mind that Groth isn’t spending large amounts of money on other big projects or pursuits.

“It’s a hobby,” he says, of his El Camino project. “I don’t golf or fish or hunt … I’ve enjoyed doing it.”

“I do it for fun,” he says. “[I worked on it] when I wanted to. When I got frustrated, I walked away from it.”

What’s Groth’s projected completion date? He doesn’t have one. “It’ll never be done. There’s always something I’d like to do with it.”

Groth enjoys working on motors. He recalls that he used to do it in high school. But those high school experiences didn’t begin to prepare him for the demands of a 2015 reworking of a 1980 vehicle.

Still, when all is said and done, Groth recommends that others use his DIY approach; his approach of plunging right in. “Just try it. Just get into it. Realize you’re going to make mistakes.”

Groth has a mechanic he knows look over his work every two months just to make sure he hasn’t gone astray at any point.

SIX THUMBS UP

Groth was attracted to the El Camino because “it’s unique.” And it’s certain there’s never been another vehicle that looks anything like the El Camino.

“Some people think it’s the ugliest thing around,” says Groth. But he knows from personal experience that some find the car/truck’s look appealing. The afternoon he talked to me, he got six thumbs up for the car as he drove from Moss Bluff to Lake Charles.

Groth is surprised and pleased that he “can buy parts for a 35-year-old car very, very easily” on the internet. He attributes much of his success with parts and procedures to an El Camino website run by a group of people who are fanatical about the vehicle.

When Groth first bought his beloved El Camino five years ago, he bought it as a vehicle his 16-year-old could drive to high school. But he soon learned his son had no inclination to acquire the skills or knowledge of the home auto mechanic. The El Camino became Groth’s car.

Today the El Camino has 98,000 miles on it. Groth doesn’t drive it every day, but does get it on the road fairly often. And he’s not afraid to open it up.

From a distance, the distinctive black vehicle looks tough and sporty. Close inspection reveals that a few body work projects remain to be done. Groth seems like just the man to do them.