It's the last five percent that will kill you, and isn't that the truth. Before you reach for the phone and call the paddy wagon on us, let us explain what five percent we are talking about. Unless you are on a television show where they have some ridiculous deadline to build a car in a few days, for most of us it takes at least a year or two. So, we are nearing the end of the build on this El Camino, for all intents and purposes the Elco is 90 percent done. Paint, body, engine, chassis, it's all finished; now it's time for the trim, interior, glass and wiring.
Year One was the biggest help...
Year One was the biggest help when it came to the final fit and finish of the El Camino's interior. As for the exterior, Original Parts Group was a great support in helping us replace the trim, badges and lenses that time had worn away.
Yup, the last five percent of the build has the potential to suck up most of your strength. Not because it is any more difficult than say...bodywork, usually most of us are chomping at the bit to bring it out of the garage and have the world see our efforts. Spring is around the corner, cruising season is coming soon and all this 1971 El Camino needs is glass, wiring, an interior, chrome and trim.
Harrison Ortis owner of Harrison's Restorations is nearly done with his former High School hot rod. He called PPG and ordered up some glass, and sent the bumpers to get re-chromed. He then turned to Year One for help with finishing the interior all done up in its beautiful OE styled glory. Lastly, a trip to Original Parts Group was made to finish off the exterior to replace the dinged up trim and missing badges. Harrison and I stayed up the last several nights in a row till dark-thirty in the morning working on the El Camino; let's take a look at how it all played out.
 We started with the easy stuff...  We started with the easy stuff first. The door panels and window cranks were "no brainers." After all this time of looking at it in its ugly bare metal, the doors look absolutely amazing with the new skin! |  Even though this El Camino...  Even though this El Camino had nearly every SS option on it, it didn't come with an SS dash and gauge cluster. So we changed the option and had Year One send us the SS gauge panel. |  We did keep the OE tilt column,...  We did keep the OE tilt column, but upgraded the dirty old wheel and hub. |
 Pop the horn button into place...  Pop the horn button into place and this column is done. You may notice that there are no gauges in the dash panel. We still need to order the SS gauges, we have the cluster, and will order them later. None of the wiring on the vehicle is done yet. That will come when the body is on the frame. |  The dash pad fit the dash...  The dash pad fit the dash instrument panel perfectly. We used a drill to open up the holes a bit on the pad, and then screwed it all together. I have to take a moment here to say how impressive it was that all the pieces fit together so well. Most of us probably don't expect many of the re-popped pieces to fit so well. Year One did it right and supplied us an excellent fitting interior. |  Next came the pre-molded carpets...  Next came the pre-molded carpets complete with insulation on the underside. With the Dynamat and carpet insulation the cab should be fairly soundproof. Like most automotive carpets, these came just a bit bigger than the cab. |
 A razor blade or box cutter...  A razor blade or box cutter will trim those carpets down to size in no time, and then the brand-new sill plates can be screwed in. |  The kick panels on either...  The kick panels on either side of the door, as well as the A and B pillar pads, fit just like the factory. Not a problem when they went in. |  Probably the more difficult...  Probably the more difficult interior install was the headliner, mainly because it was at such an awkward angle to work. Once it was in, it was trimmed a bit and was good to go. |