This was a nice surprise when I first saw the car up close. I had never heard of a G body that came with a Chevy 350, I thought the only V8 options were a Chevy 305 and some cars got the Olds 350 or 350 diesel. Thanks to the great guys at gbodyforum.com the "L" code engine option sticker, vin code and engine cast number were verified as the original 350 Chevy. Some folks said they've had G body El Caminos with a 350 but apparently a wagon with one is pretty rare. Every other car I've had got a 400 small block Chevy built for it, so this is my first 350 I've owned. Although I have another spare 400 waiting to be rebuilt for something, considering the originality of it, the 350 will stay with the car unless at some point we decide to convert to LS.
The air filter looks new as does the plug wires and plugs. Best I can tell the upper radiator hose and heater hoses are the only other things that have obviously been replaced along the way. Every wire, hose, and connection is intact. A/C belt is gone but the compressor isn't locked up and there is a little pressure in the system. I plan to get it working again, it gets mighty hot here in the summer. Since the car isn't registered or insured yet we haven't have a chance to get out on the freeway to test the cruise control yet.
The air pump was making an awful noise so we pulled it out and put a shorter belt on. Problem solved. Unfortunately it looks like the power steering pump is on it's last legs too so we'll be replacing that. The motor is pretty caked with dust and grease. The plan is to pull the engine and trans, clean 'em up and do a reseal. I will be replacing the intake with an airgap dual plane. While we have the timing cover off I will be installing a new timing chain and trying out a Summit cam to keep the car at a high school salary budget. The one I want is the 1103, I've heard lots of folks have had good success with it, and it's mild enough for a kid's daily driver. Plus it sounds good at idle which he hopes will earn him some big coolness points in the school parking lot. Here's a link to one in a 350 in an old truck-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_K-XV3Yum8k
Original radiator hose still has the tower clamps on it!
Underneath is pretty ugly. Here you can see the factory triangulation brace and larger sway bar. Upper ball joints are original, I suspect the rest of the front suspension is too. Most of that is coming out and will be replaced.
This car also has the engine bay fender braces. My wagon didn't have them so I think they're pretty cool. That'll help a bit, my son plans on autocrossing with me. We'll also be installing a 6 pt cage in this car to help stiffen things up a bit.
