1959 CHEVROLET EL CAMINO....1/2 CAR, 1/2 TRUCK

A friend of mine in high school had one of these creatures, talk about good times. He actually broke the speedometer on it on a back road in the town we lived in, Yes I was with him. It was a road where 50 m.p.h. was pushing it. the speedometer pegged at 120, and he broke it.

I'm not sure what Chevrolet's end game was with tis vehicle. I believe the were trying to offer customers a truck that felt like a car, or was it a car that could work like a truck ? Chevrolet coined it as a coupe utility. Either way, Ford Motor company beat then to the punch with the 1957 Ford Ranchero. The Ford Ranchero was produced between 1957-1979, with 7 generations of body styles.

The Chevrolet El Camino was produced between 1959-1987, with 5 generations of body styles. There were no El Camino's built between 1961-1963. Chevrolet

***  It was based on an existing and modified platform, namely the new-for-1959 Brookwood two-door station wagon and corresponding sedan delivery variant; unlike those models, the El Camino was available any drivetrain option corresponding to the car line, but used a single trim level; the exterior used Bel-Air trim while the inside was trimmed like a low-end Biscayne.

*** No other trim options were available from the factory, although 1959-60 El Caminos are often restored with Impala body mouldings and interiors. The El Camino was built on Chevy's 1959 passenger-car chassis that featured a "Safety-Girder" X-frame design and full-coil suspension, both of which had debuted on the 1958s.

*** The 1959 El Camino was promoted as the first Chevrolet pickup built with a steel bed floor instead of wood. The floor was a corrugated sheet metal insert, secured with 26 recessed bolts. Concealed beneath it was the floor pan from the Brookwood two-door wagon, complete with foot wells. Box capacity was almost 33 cubic feet.

(*** Credit Wikipedia)