CSJ's 1979 El Camino SS Royal Knight (NSF56k)

[CheeseSteakJim]

Here's my 1979 El Camino SS Royal Knight I bought for $500 from my friend. '79 Royal Knights were only available in black, red, and blue. Both of us have been looking for another blue '79 Royal Knight for ten years and the only one we've ever found was in a GM promotional ad. I've found a blue 1980 Royal Knight but they're not quite the same car.

It came stock with a 305ci V8, a TH200 tranny, and an open 10-bolt with (I think) a 2.73:1 rear. My friend put a 400 small block into it, which promptly blasted that shitbox TH200 to pieces. Then he replaced that with a TH350 out of a '71 Impala. I'm not sure when he replaced the rear end but now it's got a posi 2.41:1 10-bolt out of a '78 Monte Carlo. Something eventually happened with the 400ci's oil pump driveshaft or something and the thing lost all oil pressure on the way home, so the kid replaced it with a Gen II 350ci out of an '89 K1500. I've been told it's mildly built but I never heard any specifics on how it was mildly built. It's got stock heads, a 4v intake with a QuadraJet on it, stock stamped valve covers, etc. It feels like it still has the truck cam in it because it'll bake first gear even with the 2.41:1 gear in it but it sorta runs out of steam in higher RPMs.

It also has a dealer-installed vent moonroof and new seats and door panels. I was told they were dealer installed Cadillac seats (I'm assuming because it had a BROUGHAM tag on the door panel) but I later figured out the power seats and door panels are out of a Cutlass Brougham around the same era. It's possible it was dealer installed but until I have proof I'm doubting it.

It's an Alabama car, and this is the only daily-driven northeastern G-body I've seen without holes or weaknesses in the frame. I've had it on a lift twice and examined everything with a flashlight and a hammer and I haven't found a single hole or sign of rot.

However - The moonroof leaked. Bad. The kid didn't maintain anything on the car unless it required it. After two years of the car sitting unused and flooded, the floor pans rotted out to nearly nothing. The passenger side utilizes the exhaust to hold the carpet up, while the driver side isn't nearly as bad but also needs to be replaced. There's nothing behind either seat.

The car was also side swiped at some point and the quarter panel was poorly replaced by a body shop. From what I can tell they must've welded a partial skin over the original panel and then slathered everything else in body filler. This caused it to rot out bad.

The other side is starting to go too, so I'm gonna end up totally replacing both quarter panels at some point.

I'm planning on repainting the car the original blue in a base/clear, and replacing all the decals, then burying them under clearcoat so they don't peel again. I'm also gonna smooth out the bed the best I can and then Herculine the entire inside up to the rear window, and fit inset stainless steel d-ring tie downs in each corner. Then I'm gonna put a vinyl tonneau on the car - not the snapping kind, the kind with a sectioned folding frame.

Pics:




The worst of the exterior rot holes. Gonna replace the entire quarter.

I have the bezel out because most of the gauges are busted and I'm still fiddling with them. That's also a free steering wheel and adapter a kid gave to me out of his parts-car Cutlass. The wheel was badly rusted due to the car sitting without a driver-side door for years. I sanded it all down and repainted it with satin black spray paint, then replaced the bolts with stainless steel hex-heads. I have a new brushed aluminum horn button for it but I need to rewire the horn. I only found out why the fuse was constantly blowing last night. When I get home I'll have to buy some connectors and a horn button spring.

The air cleaner was found in the trunk of my girlfriend's 1967 Mustang when we bought it. Totally covered in grime. It had a 4v lower that wouldn't come close to fitting on her puny 1v Autolite. After a year or so of wasting space I decided to clean it up and throw it on my car.

Shitty moonroof. It doesn't open anymore now that I've sealed it up with silicone. I'll be replacing it with a Mitsubishi Eclipse-style power moonroof if I can figure out the logistics to such an endeavor.

The Cutlass Brougham seats. These are the only seats I've ever sat in that don't destroy my back after a couple hours of driving.

[gadget73]

Next time we're both there, I'd like to see if I can figure anything out with those gauges. I was going to attempt it yesterday but the GMQ sort of ate all my time and brain up. Bring the EVTM (or whatever its called in GM language) with you if you think of it.

[1990LTD]

I see potential. Cool oddball car, man. I didn't even know such a thing existed.

[CheeseSteakJim]

Next time we're both there, I'd like to see if I can figure anything out with those gauges. I was going to attempt it yesterday but the GMQ sort of ate all my time and brain up. Bring the EVTM (or whatever its called in GM language) with you if you think of it.

Will do. The busted tachometer is the most perplexing of all of them. If it's not the tach itself I'd like to figure out what the hell it is. If it IS the tach, I'd like to make that 100% certain before I drop a couple hundred on a new one.

I just call it an EVTM. It's made by Helm's and it looks just like the Ford ones, albeit slightly less helpful due to being about 10 years older than we're used to. I can't remember if it has any vacuum diagrams though, so it might just be an ETM.

I'm gonna do some investigating and experimentation with my own timing light and vacuum gauge if I get some time at home this weekend. It's looking like my few days at home are getting filled up with obligations pretty damned quick. I'll take a look and see if I can find TDC on the balancer so I can figure out if it's slipped or not.

I see potential. Cool oddball car, man. I didn't even know such a thing existed.

What, the El Camino itself? Or the trim packages on this car? Ford also had a pickup car they called the Ranchero that actually predated the El Camino by a couple years. They stopped making those in '77 or so. These kept going until '87.

The '78 and '79 El Camino were their own little mini-generation, kind of like '79-'81 Vics. 1978 was the only year for the Black Knight package, which was the black version of the Royal Knight package. '79 was the only year of that body style that you could get the Royal Knight, and as far as I can tell most people got them in black or red. I see black Royal Knights and red ones all the time... can't find a single other blue '79. GM didn't keep track of how many in each color they built, so it's a total crapshoot. No one knows exactly how many were made.


This car is also supposed to have a massive hood decal sort of like the Trans Ams of the time only slightly less tacky. I still haven't decided if I'm going to replace it when I repaint the car or not, but I'm thinking I might.

[P72Ford]

Quite a project, Nick.

My friend's '86 Monte drag car is a rust bucket, but also has a solid (and I mean solid) frame. Rockers are pretty much gone, and we patched the lower quarters. Good frame though, and thats what really matters.

I'd like to see some burnout pictures.

[CheeseSteakJim]

That's actually two things I've never done in the car - a full fledged brake stand, and donuts. Can't find a good place I feel safe (from the law) to do it. That's a real attention getter out here to cops that ain't got nothing better to do.

[1990LTD]

Will do. The busted tachometer is the most perplexing of all of them. If it's not the tach itself I'd like to figure out what the hell it is. If it IS the tach, I'd like to make that 100% certain before I drop a couple hundred on a new one.

I just call it an EVTM. It's made by Helm's and it looks just like the Ford ones, albeit slightly less helpful due to being about 10 years older than we're used to. I can't remember if it has any vacuum diagrams though, so it might just be an ETM.

I'm gonna do some investigating and experimentation with my own timing light and vacuum gauge if I get some time at home this weekend. It's looking like my few days at home are getting filled up with obligations pretty damned quick. I'll take a look and see if I can find TDC on the balancer so I can figure out if it's slipped or not.


What, the El Camino itself? Or the trim packages on this car? Ford also had a pickup car they called the Ranchero that actually predated the El Camino by a couple years. They stopped making those in '77 or so. These kept going until '87.

The '78 and '79 El Camino were their own little mini-generation, kind of like '79-'81 Vics. 1978 was the only year for the Black Knight package, which was the black version of the Royal Knight package. '79 was the only year of that body style that you could get the Royal Knight, and as far as I can tell most people got them in black or red. I see black Royal Knights and red ones all the time... can't find a single other blue '79. GM didn't keep track of how many in each color they built, so it's a total crapshoot. No one knows exactly how many were made.


This car is also supposed to have a massive hood decal sort of like the Trans Ams of the time only slightly less tacky. I still haven't decided if I'm going to replace it when I repaint the car or not, but I'm thinking I might.

the royal knight or black knight packages. never heard of 'em, but i'm not exactly on the up and up with el camino lore