FEATURE - 1959 Chevrolet El Camino

It took until the late 1950s - two decades after us Aussies invented it - for the Americans to finally cotton on to the concept of a car-based utility, or what they called a "sedan pickup." But, in a country where the truck-style pickup was - and still is - king, the ute never really took off.
 

Both Ford and Chevrolet gave it a crack, though, Ford leading the way in 1957 with their Ranchero, while Chevrolet followed with the El Camino in 1959.
 

For Chevy, being beaten to the punch with a new model was particularly galling, as GM had been toying with the idea of a car-based "deluxe pickup" for the US market as far back as 1952, revisiting the concept again for the 1955 models. The idea never got beyond the sketchpad on either occasion, but the arrival of the Ranchero kicked GM into gear. When Chev's response finally did come, debuting in October, 1958, it was one of the most distinctive offerings from any manufacturer for the 1959 model year.

 

On debut, the new El Camino (the name came from a Cadillac show car from 1954) carried all the styling features of the '59 passenger cars. That meant the low-mount headlights topped with teardrop portholes in the front end, with the same teardrop treatment applied to the tail lights under the horizontal "batwing" fins at the rear. Of course, those wings were impossible to miss; "big enough to land a plane on" was one reaction at the time. The El Camino's purpose compromised these styling elements somewhat, but all the main cues were still there.
 

Being so close to the passenger models meant there was a wide range of production options and dealer-fitted accessories on offer for the El Camino - much more than could be had on the regular Chevy pickups.
 

All paint choices available on Chevrolet's passenger cars, including two-tone options, could be had, too, while the new model's external trim was equivalent to a Bel Air. For 1959, that meant a full-length, tapered chrome bodyside spear with a painted inner section, as well as additional window chrome trim and small chrome hubcaps.
 

Previously, the Bel Air had been Chevy's top-level offering, but for 1959, the Impala became a model in its own right and the range leader. The Bel Air was bumped down to the mid-level, the Biscayne became the entry-level Chevy and the Del Ray was dropped altogether.
 

While the El Camino's exterior reflected that of the Bel Air, the interior was at Biscayne level, which meant a vinyl bench seat, rubber floor mats and very basic door cards, but a Bel Air-spec steering wheel was fitted.

 

 

Being a ute in all but name, the El Camino has a special appeal here in Australia, which partly explains why Richie Whitehead, the owner of the car pictured, wanted to track a good example down.

 

"I had been keen to obtain a '59 El Camino since 2010," Richie explained. "But there were very few examples here in Australia and none in even reasonable condition."

 

The USA represented a bigger and, hopefully, better opportunity to find the right car, so Richie tasked a contact he had over there with the job.

 

"My dealer friend, Willie Maul, was also unable to find an immaculate example," Richie said. "Good examples of a 1959 Elki are very scarce."
 

With a top-quality El Camino unobtainable, Willie instead recommended a tidy 1960 Impala coupe. Bought in 2010, the Impala served as an adequate El Camino substitute (at least for a while!), and followed Richie's past ownership of a string of Mercedes-Benz SL and SLC coupes, as well as a '56 Thunderbird and classic Mini Cooper S. Richie certainly likes his two-doors!

 

 

How useful the El Camino was as a working vehicle is debatable. Running coil spring rear suspension from the passenger cars (while the Ranchero used heavy duty leaf springs) meant the El Camino sat level unladen, but steering and handling suffered with a load on. A listed maximum load capacity of 1,150 pounds (around 520kg) would have been something of a stretch, and in reality, the El Camino was best suited to something around half that capacity, which restricted it to light-duty delivery work, such as for a florist or baker.

 

In addition to being a new model in Chevrolet's commercial range, the El Camino also featured a first for a Chevrolet truck in the form of a metal tray. This ribbed metal floor, when the rest of Chevy's pickup range still ran hardwood floors, bolted directly over the chassis and underpinnings of a Brookwood (ie. Biscayne) 2-door wagon. This set-up robbed the El Camino of a position to store the spare wheel, so it had to be stowed inside the cabin, upright behind the seat on the passenger side.

 

The load bed, 3.8-feet x 6-feet (1.15mt x 1.82mt), extended to 8-feet (2.43mt) with the tailgate down. The tailgate, also taken from the Brookwood, was modified for the El Camino, with the rear window winder replaced with a non-functional circular badge. A clever addition was the swing-down licence plate holder, which allowed the plate to still be visible with the tailgate down.

 

 

While the soft rear suspension compromised the El Camino's load-carrying ability, it did mean the ute had access to the full suite of Chevrolet engines. The 235.5ci six, matched to a 3-speed column-shift manual transmission, was the standard combination, but a number of V8 engines (283ci and 348ci) were also available in various levels of tune, along with optional overdrive on the 3-speed, 4-speed manual, as well as Powerglide and Turboglide automatics.
 

The hottest combination was a 335hp (250kW) 348ci V8 with three two-barrel carbs and a four-speed, which could propel the El Camino from 0-100km/h in around seven seconds; pretty good for any car of the period and especially impressive for what was considered a "working vehicle."
 

Richie's car is fitted with the 348 and desirable Tri-Power triple carb set-up, but runs a modern 700R4 Turbo-Hydramatic 4-speed auto for more relaxed driving.

 

"In early 2012, an associate of Willie's said he had a friend in Florida who had an outstanding '59 Elki he would sell if the price was right," Richie said.
 

Willie's Florida-based associate checked out the El Camino and delivered an ultimatum - if Richie didn't buy the car, he would! So, a deal was done and the restored El Camino was shipped here in 2012.
 

Research by Richie showed the roots of his El Camino went back to North Carolina in the late 1970s, but in late 2002 it was sourced from Florida by the restorer, a retired New York police officer named Al Burzo.

As found by Burzo, the El Camino wasn't a pretty sight, with extensive rust, botched repairs and a number of missing components. Fitted with a 350 small block when purchased, the car did appear to have run a 348 and floor-mount four-speed shifter originally. This appealed to Burzo, a long-time fan of the El Camino who'd previously owned four examples.

Taking on the challenge of bringing the '59 hulk back to life, with the help of some competent friends, Burzo spent almost three years on the restoration, starting with the extensive and challenging rust repairs. Finding and fitting all new exterior trim (as found, the car's trim had been attached with wood screws!) was a challenge, too.
 

As mentioned, the running gear was updated with a combination of old and new, while a rich, deep black paint replaced the yellow shade the ute previously wore.
 

Updates added by Burzo included power steering, power windows, power seat, power disc brakes with dual master cylinders, a modern CD sound system and air conditioning.
 

The interior trim was updated, too, with full carpeting, plus an Impala-spec bench seat (with additional centre seat armrest), door trims and steering wheel bringing a bit of glitz to the cabin. This matched exterior upgrades like full-width wheelcovers, whitewall tyres, rear wheel spats and additional tail light trim.
 

Burzo's more unusual additions included a hard tonneau cover and full carpeting for the load area.
 

As you've guessed by most of the changes and additions Burzo made, this ute was built to drive, and drive it Burzo did, starting in early 2007 when the El Camino picked up the first in a string of trophies. When Richie bought the car in 2012, many of these awards came with it, with Richie continuing the car's winning run at events like the National Chevrolet Convention, RACV Great Australian Rally, All American GM Car Show and the inaugural Geelong Revival.
 

"When I purchased the Elki, it had done just over 10,000 miles since the rebuild," Richie said. "I have done less than 2,000 miles since, as I only use it to travel to shows."

 

 

While it certainly made an impact on debut, with 22,246 sales outpointing the Ranchero's 14,169 for the '59 model year, the El Camino never made a big enough dent to warrant its continuation in the market, at least as a full-sized model. That was brought into focus when Ford's new, smaller, Falcon-based Ranchero for 1960 shifted 21,027 units, while El Camino sales dropped to just over 14,000.
 

The El Camino didn't return for '61, but the sedan pickup concept still had merit and was brought back in 1964, based on the new compact Chevelle. In this form, the El Camino survived until 1987, giving Chevy something of a "last laugh," as Ford dropped their Ranchero at the end of 1979.

 

 

While Richie's loved his El Camino (does that make him an Elki-holic?), he is considering putting the car on the market, so there's a rare opportunity here to get an exceptional first-year El Camino - without all the cost and hassle of a restoration, or sourcing and importing one from the US.
 

"I'm only considering selling to purchase a '63 - '65 Chevy Corvette; which will be a bit easier to drive," Richie explained.

While this pickup would make a great individual car, it's got some potential as a business vehicle, too.
 

In the opinion of this writer, one application where this El Camino would shine is as a supplementary vehicle for a funeral home. The concept of a ‘flower car' is a bit of an alien one here, but much more common in the US, where the hearse would perform its usual duties as the coffin carrier, while modified ute-style vehicles carried the garlands of flowers.

Combined with a similar era hearse (a modified '59 Chevy wagon or sedan delivery would be ideal), this El Camino could make a great addition to a funeral director's fleet, while the light workload would ensure the car's longevity. Just a thought. . . . .

 

 

With a '63 to '65 Corvette taking his eye, Richie's looking to sell this El Camino.

1959 model El Caminos are rare here, with examples in the condition of this one rarer, and ‘Gen 1' units carrying the desirable 348 engine rarer still.
 

Richie's asking $75,000 for his car, which may seem a lot for an El Camino, but Richie is confident his is the best example in the country. He also cites recently-sold Elkis in the US that, with exchange rates, shipping and other costs factored in, would cost much more than what he's asking - around $100,000 in some instances.
 

Located in Victoria, this particular El Camino is one that really needs to be seen in the metal to be appreciated.

 

 

 

This article first appeared in JUST CARS #241