1959 Chevrolet El Camino Pickup
The Chevrolet El Camino is a coupé utility vehicle that was produced by Chevrolet between 1959–60 and 1964–1987. Unlike a standard pickup truck, the El Camino was adapted from the standard two-door Chevrolet station wagon platform and integrated the cab and cargo bed into the body.
1959 was the first year for the Chevrolet El Camino personal pickup models which were depicted as “more than a car — more than a truck”. This El Camino has the general styling of the 1959 Chevrolet passenger cars, but with a cargo capacity of 1,150 pounds. The box had a volume of nearly 34 cubic feet, was of double-wall design and had built-in steel skid strips. The El Camino was offered in thirteen solid and ten two-tone color combinations.
As a result of the 1959 Chevrolet El Camino’s passenger-car underpinnings, buyers found that they could enjoy unrestricted access to Chevrolet’s lavish buffet of available powertrains.
This 1959 Chevrolet El Camino Pickup was powered an injected 327ci Chev with AFR heads, a roller cam and a stock bottom end. Behind is a rebuilt TH350 with factory diff and 3.08 gears. It’s ’bagged with an e-Level and Air Ride suspension, which is all engineered and mod-plated.
Designed to be a more comfortable and better handling alternative to traditional pickup trucks, the El Camino’s virtues in this regard started with its interior. Barebones and basic, the ‘59 Chevy truck lineup’s interior made the El Camino look downright luxurious, and though it indeed is spartan by today’s standards, bits like the vinyl bench seat – coming in magic red, its patterned cloth upholstery inserts, awesomely analog dashboard, chrome trim style, and overall seating position made it a much better place to be comfort-wise.
Being the first of the line and having been built in the most glamorous era of American cars, the 1959 El Camino is truly stunning. Big fins, “cat’s eye” tail lamps and headlamp “eyebrows” make it the most stylish of all luxury pick-up trucks.
