Chevrolet El Camino-General Motor's Answer to Ford's Ranchero

After seeing the success of the Ford Ranchero, Chevrolet decided to build their version of the coupe utility vehicle. They were two years behind Ford in production and at first way behind them in popularity as we'll see.

First Generation 1959-1960

The El Camino was first built in 1959 and like the Ranchero was on a automobile platform. The platform used was the Brookwood 2 door station wagon. The trim and drive train was available in any configuration that cars offered, even the top of the line Impala. The engines available were the 235 cu. in. 6 cylinder, the 283 cu. in. and the 348 cu. in. V-8s.

1959 was the year of the Chevrolet's "batwing" design which the public wasn't too excited about as Ford outsold them. The body style hurt the El Camino also as only 22,000 of them were sold in 1959 and 14,000 sold in 1960. Due to the poor showing the El Camino was discontinued.

Second Generation 1964-1967

In 1964 the Ranchero sales were still good, so Chevrolet decided to bring the El Camino back to life. It was to be based on the new Chevelle and was almost identical to it from the cab forward. Chevrolet decided that the El Camino was going to be a more practical model so Chevelle's big engines weren't available. The standard engine besides the 6 cylinders was the 283 cu. in. with 195 HP. An option was the 283 cu. in. with a 4 barrel carburetor and dual exhausts putting out 220 HP. Later they added an optional 327 cu. in. at 250 HP and the 300 HP with high compression ration, 4 barrel and dual exhausts. You could get a 3 speed automatic, a 3 speed manual or a 4 speed manual transmission.

1965 saw few changes with the major excitement being the optional L-79 327 cu. in. with 350 HP. All the engines offered in 1964 were available as were the transmissions.

1966 saw the El Camino make a big jump into the muscle car ranks as the 396 cu. in. with up to 375 HP was now available. This was a serious hot rod especially with a 4 speed transmission. My first ride in one was an experience not to be forgotten. The El Camino got some new front end sheet metal that year and the plusher interior from the Malibu was available.

In 1967 the El Camino got an update in styling along with the Chevelle with a new grille, bumper and trim. It also got air shocks, disc brakes and Turbo 400 3 speed transmission. There were a number of transmission choices including 2 Muncie 4 speeds.

Third Generation 1968-1972

The 1968 El Camino was a little longer in length as it was based on the station wagon and the 4 door sedan platform. A high performance SuperSport SS396 was also introduced as the muscle car era continued. The third generation El Caminos shared most of the styling inside and out with the Chevelle.

1969 saw very few minor changes, except for the first time the most famous of all Chevrolet engines, the 350 cu. in., was put in an El Camino.

1970 was the pinnacle of the muscle car era as the El Camino got a new SS396 which was actually 402 cu. in. This was also the year that Chevrolet's biggest and baddest engine of the time was put in a few El Caminos. The LS6 454 cu. in. was rated at 450 HP with 500 pounds of torque. The 1970 El Camino could turn the 1/4 mile in the upper 13 second range at close to 105 MPH. This was probably the most impressive production pickup style vehicle of all time.

1971 was the beginning of engine power and performance reductions as the government and insurance industry along with the oil crisis started to come into play. The El Camino did have a couple of notable body changes with single headlights and a pointed grill being added.

1972 didn't see many changes except the horsepower rating fell even lower with the 454 cu. in. all the way down to 365 HP. All the engine sizes were available from the 250 cu. in. 6 cylinder all the way up to the 454 cu. on. The horsepower was now measured by "net" figures bringing the 454 down to 270 HP. This was a sad time for us muscle car nuts.

Fourth Generation 1973-1977

The 1973 El Camino had styling changes that mirrored the Chevelle. This generation saw the biggest of the El Caminos but it weighed less as the construction was lighter. About the only changes after 1973 was a new front end with 4 stacked headlights.

All the engines were still available until 1976 when the 454 was discontinued. The Super Sport version was dropped by the rest of the Chevrolet line during this period with the El Camino the only one left carrying the badge. There were two trim levels offered during this generation, the base model and the higher class Classic. The "SS" was an option package rather than a separate model.

Fifth Generation 1978-1987

In 1978 El Camino was all new and smaller in size. It was now sharing parts with the Malibu as the Chevelle had been discontinued. 1978 was also the debut year for the V-6 engine in the El Camino. There were some diesels available from 1982 to 1984. The most common engine now was the 305 cu. in. V-8. In 1984 there was a small style change as the El Camino got the Monte Carlo's front nose.

In 1985 General Motors started producing the El Camino in Mexico. This lasted until 1987 when the line was discontinued due to the Chevrolet S-10 pickup outselling the El Camino. The last 425 unsold 1987s were sold as 1988 models as the El Camino era came to the end.

Sources:

Wikipedia Website http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_El_Camino

Muscle Car Club Website http://www.musclecarclub.com/musclecars/chevrolet-elcamino/chevrolet-elcamino.shtml