When it comes to memorable nameplates of days gone by, the El Camino is an icon. Standing out as one of the few true "utes" sold in North America, the El Camino saw almost 30 years of production, outlasting Ford's similar Ranchero. Most commonly associated with the '70s and '80s, people tend to picture the El Camino as a boxy and cool little truck with plenty of character.
But, while those later El Camino models are the most commonly remembered ones, the first year of production began in 1959 as a stunningly gorgeous machine with plenty of flair and style to it, standing out as a seriously sweet classic. Based on the existing Chevy passenger car platform, the El Camino's wild first-year styling was toned down immediately afterward, making that first year stand out as even more unique. Packed with serious V8 muscle options, plenty of practicality, and a car basis that made it easy to drive, the '59 El Camino was an awesome origin for the nameplate.
Chevy’s Fin-Filled Lineup Overhaul
The late 1950s were a transformative time for the car industry, especially when it came to body design. With the paradigm and overall bulky style of the '40s evolving through to the mid-'50s, new lower-slung styling began to hit the scene as well with one of the most defining features of the era - giant tail fins. Lagging behind a fair bit, Chevy watched as Ford introduced new platforms and style in 1957, helping to give traction to this trend around bigger and longer, yet lower and sleeker cars on the market.
Finally, for 1959 Chevy rolled out the update they needed, up-sizing, elongating, lowering, and overall making their passenger car lineup properly sleek and stylish, as well as ahead of the time. A seriously dramatic update compared to '58 models, one of the most iconic and extreme aspects were the tail fins, standing out as some of the coolest in an already fin-obsessed era. With almost all of their cars from the Impala to the Biscayne sharing the same B-Platform, the El Camino would be born from these models - but with a truck twist.
Making strides to catch up to Ford in this regard, the similar Ranchero had been released in 1957 as a full-sized coupe utility, also known as a ute which essentially is a car-based pickup truck. Doing the same, the El Camino was born in ‘59 with the lineup’s styling update, basically cutting the back off the Biscayne Brookwood station wagon for a truck bed, and replacing styling accents with bits from the Bel Air. Most importantly though, the wicked tailfins for ‘59 worked perfectly with this new back end, flanking the open bed wonderfully, and looking even cooler thanks to the shortened roof and cabin.
V8 Party In The Front, Stylish Business In The Back
While this was almost half a decade before the start of the raging battle for V8 muscle in Detroit, the El Camino along with the rest of Chevy’s ‘59 lineup had plenty of V8 power to go around. Offered with 3 engine choices, the introductory El Camino could range from mild to wild and came in Model 1180 and 1280 forms accordingly. In the more tame Model 1180 form, you could only have one engine, specifically the solid but unexciting 235 cu-in Hi-Thrift Straight-6 seen in many Chevy trucks, making 135 hp and 217 lb-ft of torque in the El Camino.
Making things more exciting though, the Model 1280 designation came with a choice of 2 V8s and several variations to them. The lower offering was the 283 cu-in Turbo-Fire (which was just a name, and not an indication of a turbocharger) V8 making 185 hp with a 2-barrel carb, or 230 hp with 4-barrels. The most desirable and muscular engine though was the 348 cu-in Turbo-Thrust V8, making between 280 hp with a single 4-barrel carb, and up to 315 hp with an array of three 2-barrel carbs feeding it fuel.
On the inline-6 Model 1180, a 3-speed column shift manual came standard, and a 2-speed Powerglide auto or 3-speed manual with overdrive were optional. For the V8 powered Model 1280 things were a similar story, with the 3-speed manual being standard, and the Powerglide or overdrive for the manual being options - though it also included a beefier 3-speed Turboglide auto as another option. Not exactly a performance car though, the ‘59 El Camino weighed in at around 3,750 lbs and was focused more on low-end grunt to move loads with ease.
Interior And Practicality
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 either blue, grey, or green, 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 late ‘50s, standard features and options were rather sparse, with standard equipment including single-speed windshield wipers, gauges for mechanical systems like oil pressure, and not much else. Options were a similar story and included bits like armrests for the seats, a cigarette lighter, dual exhausts, power steering (not offered with top V8 options), disc brakes, beefier springs, a padded gauge cluster, a radio, 2-speed windshield wipers, 13 solid paint, and 10 two-tone color choices, and not a whole lot more. But, this was a pretty expansive list of options for the time, and what the El Camino did even better than that was in regards to practicality.
Using the wagon form of the B-Platform as a basis, the El Camino reinforced the roof and braced the cab and bed together with welded beams for more structural rigidity, and the bed itself received a double-walled design, and thick steel floor to take that further. Giving the El Camino a 1,200 lbs payload rating, at 6 feet long the bed could carry 34 cu-ft of cargo, compared to the most basic '59 Chevy Stepside truck's 1,500 lbs payload rating, 6.5-foot long bed, and 39.7 cu-ft cargo capacity the El Camino was a slight compromise but did in fact offer comparable capabilities. While a fair bit less practical than a proper truck, the El Camino was still a better proposition for everyday use thanks to its soft (though floaty and body-roll prone) ride, easy steering thanks to slow gearing, and overall smaller, lower size.
Pricing And Collectability
A practical and comfortable vehicle, the ‘59 El Camino was affordable as a car but sold rather poorly being less practical and more expensive than a true truck, seeing a styling change in 1960 that made sales dip even lower, leading to its discontinuation that year. Later returning to Chevy's lineup for ‘64, the El Camino spanned a continuous production run from there up to 1987, where it was then sadly killed off for good.
Because of this shaky start, the ‘59 El Camino saw low production numbers, with only 22,246 being made for that year. Priced starting at $2,138 for the inline-6 Model 1180, this spec of the ‘59 El Camino cost around $19,460 in today’s money - for comparison, a proper ‘59 Chevy pickup started at $1,900, or around $17,294 today. Higher priced in V8 form, a Turbo-Fire equipped Model 1280 started at $2,248, or $20,461 in today's money.
Much more collectible than later years thanks to its low sales and '59 only styling, a ‘59 El Camino can be rather pricey, especially if all-original. Selling for around $30,000-$50,000 in good condition resto-mod form (new engine, power steering, modern brakes, etc), this is certainly the way to go if you want an actually drivable experience today, but the true collectible all-original ones go for $45,000 and up depending on engine, condition, and trim.
Sources: GM Heritage Center, Hemmings, Automobile Mag
