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.
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.
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