1959 Chevrolet El Camino
Chevrolet’s response to Ford’s two-year-old Ranchero arrived for 1959 wearing the division’s most dramatic styling treatment of the decade.
Quad headlights flanked a wide horizontal grille while jet‑engine‑inspired air intakes crowned the hood’s leading edge. The rear featured sweeping “batwing” tailfins dropping to a low center V, with distinctive “cat’s eye” taillights nestled beneath each fin.
Built on Chevrolet’s full-size passenger car chassis shared with Impala and Biscayne models, the El Camino combined Brookwood wagon underpinnings with a cargo bed in place of the rear roof section.
The X‑frame chassis received additional bracing in the rear body structure, while double‑walled box sides and tailgate surrounded an 18‑gauge corrugated steel floor, marking the first Chevrolet pickup to use an all‑steel bed floor rather than traditional wood planking.
Engine options ranged from a 235 cubic inch inline‑six to the 348 cubic inch Turbo‑Thrust V‑8, available with a single four‑barrel carburetor producing 280 horsepower or a triple two‑barrel setup delivering 315 horsepower.
First‑year production totaled 22,246 units, surpassing Ranchero’s 14,169 sales for 1959.
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