Chevy El Camino : Truck or Car // We Tell You What it Really is
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- Опубликовано: 20 май 2022
- More than a car - but not a true truck . The Chevrolet El Camino was built tough enough to get chores done on the farm, yet sporty enough to cruise boldly around downtown. In its prime, it wasn’t uncommon in the summer to see an El Camino’s bed full of people on their way to the lake And then seeing the Chevy El Camino in the fall, powering through the field for harvest.
THIS IS THE STORY OF THE CHEVY EL CAMINO
Built in response to the Ford Ranchero, the original Chevrolet El Camino was introduced in 1959 and touted as the “Handiest helper a family ever had!” When introduced in 1959, Chevy’s new “half-car/half-truck” had a good first year of sales. Built on the 119-inch wheelbase two-door Chevy Brookwood station wagon chassis with BelAir livery outside and a Biscayne interior, Chevy surprised Ford’s ’59 Ranchero with better overall sales of 22,246 to 14,169, respectively. Considering Ford’s first Ranchero came out in 1957 and sold well at 21,706 vehicles, it surprised everyone who followed this novel car/truck market.
Just a quick note that the Chevy El Camino ran from 1959-1960 then back in 1964-1987
Its cousins the
GMC Sprint Ran from -1971-1977 and
GMC Caballero ran from - 1978-1987
The '64 El Camino models were equipped with several powertrains such as the 194 cubic inch engine rated at 120 horsepower; a 230 cubic inch 6-cylinder engine with a 155 horsepower rating; and a V8 283 cubic inch small block with a 2 barrel carb rated at 195 horsepower. Transmission options included: Powerglide, Muncie manuals, a 3-speed manual and TH350/400 automatics.
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My uncle has a 1970. I’ve tried to get it for years. He bought it from a guy who bought it new and only owned it 6 months. My favorite of all time!
Here in AZ, I own a '68 Elke in Sequoia Green. Initially negotiated the price for my friend when he bought it in 2005. I got it from him for that same price of under $6K. It's 95% steel and still looks beautiful from a 10-ft distance. Planning to change out it's late-'70s V8 for an era-correct 327. Until then, it's still so much fun to drive!
In high school a classmate brought his dad's 396 el Camino ss and did burn outs. Thank you for triggering those memories. Very awesome video.
Once I drove an El Camino that belonged to the dad of a girlfriend. It was fast.
I’ll let you drive my 1966 El Camino if you want to. I bought it last August. I wasn’t looking for one but I already have 2 1966 Chevelles and love them. One is my first car and the other is a convertible.
Man I love the El Camino. One of my all time favorite vehicles. In Australia it's called a ute, and though we were robbed pf the Pontiac G8 ST in 2008, the Holden Commodore Ute sold strong, and I think a company in the midwest imported some of them, converted them to left hand drive and sold them. How I wish I had a connection to GM....
Hard to believe he neglected to show the Pontiac version, or even mention it- that's an important part of the El Camino story. It was shown in final form at the 2007 New York Auto Show, and then ceo Robert Lutz said all they had to do was give it a name and price. The Colorado shop you're referring to is (was?) Left Hand Utes.
@@alexcallas8222I entered the naming contest. Can't remember what I called it though. Obviously it never released here
I bought a 66 El Camino last August. I like 66 Chevelles so it shares a lot of the same parts. It already has a lot of new things and runs great. It doesn’t have any rust problems either. Everything I’ve looked for was available which is nice. Door handles, mirrors, trim pieces, door panels, dash parts, etc.
My Grandpa had the SS model el-Camino 1968 with the racing stripes loved that car
I loved these and Chevy really kept up the attractiveness of them up until the later 70s, IMO! They just kept getting more squared off and boring as the years went on! Another technical "truck car" would have been one of those VW Rabbits that got turned into one with the addition of the small bed!
See I've got a 76 el Camino and 4th gens had the best styling imo, but the the g-bodys we're my least favorite
My brother as I write this owns a 1972 SS 454 4-speed manual numbers matching El Camino. Sadly for me the only one I ever owned was a factory pale yellow '69 that was stolen and never recovered. Love these videos!!!
This brings back memories. Was fascinated with El Caminos as a kid.
Came home from the hospital on a 69 El Camino SS 396 4-speed was placed behind the passenger seat on floor with my sister riding often behind the driver's seat back in the old days. I bought one in the early 2000s had it for a decade 350 SS wonderful fun car. Souped it up to 375 horse. Back in the days when you can order any option you wanted.
I like the El Camino, my cousin had a 1970 SS 396. It was great, sadly, later years didn't have the horsepower or excitement!!! Thanks for sharing another informative video!!! 👍👍
These car/truck combos were sold widely in Australia and Japan postwar. A lot of the last mid '80s ones are still on the road here.
I had a '69 El Camino for several years during the late '80s and early 90s, and I enjoyed every second of it!
In response to the question...
It was a car, and I wasn't under any delusions that it was a truck, because it wasn't. It was a 2-door station wagon with the cargo area roof chopped off. It wasn't even a full sized wagon; it was a mid sized one. I hated being everyone's new best friend every time someone needed something moved, because they figured I had a truck. It was a car, and I directed them to the Chevelle and Malibu badges and the passenger car license plates on it to drive the point home. I wasn't even willing to move my own things with it, nevermind anyone else's, and I also made that point abundantly clear.
I had to use my Mustang to move my stuff. I would have loved to have had a El Camino at that time, they could haul over 1000 lbs.
Ok. I wonder about these Hyundai Santa Cruz's hauling small tractors with bucket attachments though. I know today's front drive vehicles are heavier than many full size vehicles from 30 years ago but the drivetrain makes me think
I drive a 1996 Buick Roadmaster sedan and I've seriously thought about trying to make my own version of the El Camino out of it. I think it would look great
GM actually did a teaser version of an El Camino conversion of a black Impala SS- I saw it a show. It was pretty nice- you can find an image online, might inspire you to do it.
Owned three El Caminos. A 1980 and 2 86’ models. Loved all of them. Wish I still had at least one of them. All Conquista packages and fully loaded with the gauges and Tachometers in the 86’s.
A buddy's Dad had a 1970 SS Cowl Induction 396 (402), 4 spd, 3.73 Posi car that whipped most all cars in the hometown for years, bone stock other than the Holley carb and long tube big diameter headers. He traded in it on a new pickup, we were heartbroken to say the least.
Another surprise! I do thank you for this video. I did not see this video coming. Well put together video. The footage and information was grand. You did forget to mention the Pontiac G8 ST. It almost went into production with the Pontiac G8 line. It did not make it. You also forgot to mention GM Holden was selling the UTE for decades in Australia. It was their "El Camino". Thank you for the video.
talking about american made, not abroad made by g,m,
Thanks Olds98!
My stepdad had a couple go 1966 El Caminos. One was red and the other a pale yellow. The yellow one was the better of the two despite the fact the red one had factory air which worked . He ended up getting rid of the red one and fixed up the yellow one and had it for a number of years until he sold it. The one ad you showed at the beginning showed how the '59 El Camino replaced the Cameo Carrier pickup of the previous year. A pickup worthy of its own video as well.😉
*I ALWAYS LIKED THE EL CAMINO. IT WOULD BE AWESOME TO SEE IT BROUGHT BACK. MAYBE IN A CORVETTE FRONT LOOK AND CLOSE TO THE SAME PERFORMANCE, BUT AT A EVEN LOWER PRICE TAG.*
I always liked the El Camino, but not enough to ever buy one. They were certainly cool cars. In the late 70s my uncle bought one. It was used, definitely not new.
What about the Ford Ranchero, I'd like to see that video!
my grandfather had a 1982 El Camino.
My favorite Automobile ❤❤
Absolutely love your work thanks for sharing. Always been a big fan of the El Camino and here in Australia it’s known as a Ute as it’s based on a passenger car and with the tub and cab being one unit. Really miss the Holden and Ford Utes we saw here in Australia
13 second truck in 1970 not bad I say!
These are the perfect work truck. Can lean over the bed easy to get stuff and the metal doesnt pop in either.
Funny: Years back on "early" Ebay we picked up a all original 65 El Camino with orig HIPO 327, 4 speed, buckets with console, black on red and AC. We still have it today.... Thanks for your time and work.....
I have a Hotwheels version of the 71 Elcamino on the Hotwheels Unleashed game 🎮 and man that Ute is a beast.
@@WisdomOverWicked777Rules I know LOL!!!!!!!
One of my favorite Chevy vehicle, thx guys
These Elcamino are super cool pick-up trucks back in the day
Great editing and research!
Very much enjoy your videos!
Thanks!!!
Much appreciated!
Great !!!! That black '70 SS 454 was awesome.
Love them when young I had a 72 El co triple black loved it so did my mom she borrowed it alot , loved driving it get big items at store that she couldn't get in her 70 mustang! This was early 80s .
Very cool, great vid!!!
Enjoyed the video. I owned a 74 back in the 90s, wish I could get it back.
Every few years someone floats a rumor of an El Camino return/reboot, but it hasn't materialized yet. I'll keep my fingers crossed. Hell, they brought back the Malibu. 😂
I never owned an El Camino but always wanted one. There was a '74 SS 454 w/ 4 speed for sale near me. It sat for a while. I think it had an engine problem. If I had been a bit older I would've bought it.
Sales of both the Ranchero and El Camino did not significantly improve during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. They had minimal practicality due to a compromised payload caused by the shallow depth of the cargo area...and they grew bulkier and more expensive with each succeeding redesign (remember the LTD II-based 1977 to 1979 Rancheros?). Definitely more of what is called a "lifestyle vehicle" compared to a full-size pickup. When I was in high school they were both popular as slightly lowered cruisers with aftermarket chrome wheels. It was the mini-trucks of the 1970s and 1980s that were much more popular.
"compromised payload caused by the shallow depth of the cargo area"
That describes many trucks today.
Was always a fan of these, and don’t understand the debate. The title says pickup, that’s it. It’s more true to the original light duty pickups than an f150 is.
These were sedan based pickups, like the 1927 model T truck was. That was literally a bed bolted to a car body.
Always interesting that the VW rabbit and the dodge rampage are always left out of the discussion.
Fantastic Car. Had a 69 El Camino 396-400 Turbo transmission. Backed it up at the Drive- inn. Watch the Movies
Hey thanks for trhis posting I enjoyed watching and learning too ... ----- PEACE and I'm 688 in the thumbs up like spot
I am in the homestretch of restoring a 72 Elko. New everything including a 500hp LS3 engine.
Awesome video guys!
Calling a ute a truck is like calling a shed a mansion or a tinny a yacht
This Chevy was so cool! I wish Chevy would bring this vehicle back!
Had a '67 with a 396. awesome car.
Love my 79 ELCO
was an amended station wagon with both features
Man I miss the creative minds of 60s and 70s Chevrolet.
It’s true. Lots of people don’t realize the ‘70SS 396 is badged as a “396” but is actually a “402”!
FORD Ranchero - 1957 , Chevy El Camino - 1959 ! Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery !
'67-396, 4 speed, 12 bolt posi rear end, Corvette style disc's up front, (diff that the single large piston that became standard in 68). Still fun to take out on Sunday. Oh yea it's very shiny black and straight as an arrow. Not an SS just factory ordered options. Tho does have the SS dash with the gauges. I'm 3rd and longest owner.
Ok. Anyway. I had 1973 with a 350ci. Bored out to 400hp.
Great car/truck. But at 14mpg killed it. Hot ride, Fast....
Love her. Rob62.
El Caminos are lush! The UK s familiar with them from films and aall sorts of media, but the Caballero & Sprint are pretty much unkown on this side of the pond.
It was great bought a dealer demo apr 73 for 2400 bucks 12k miles identical to this but saddle interior buckets sadly stolen mid 80s and found stripped.
It’s true. Lots of people don’t realize that the ‘70 SS 396 is badged as a “396” but is actually a “402”. I found this out by looking up my block #’s. You verified it, thanks.
Thanks YT for censoring this comment.
Corvair and this go hand in hand. The return of one means return of both.
Chevelle, not Corvair.
A car, a station wagon in particular with some of roof removed.
Bought a '80 since Ford quit making
Ranchero. In 9 months recalled ,13 times. Minor things like constant leak around distr housing, axles sliding out on turns (lock rings break), door hinge ripping out of a column/post. Lemon law court ordered car crushed, refund full sticker price plus $5K. Got a new f-150
@@WisdomOverWicked777Rules u north it's rare to find anything 10 yrs old with use of road salt
Thanks!
New sub - liked
AMC should have made a mini-truck out of their American compact car.
It said the 1967 had a more powerful engine but it wasn’t any different than the previous year. The top level 396 had 375 hp.
The video said that the 1964 El Camino could be purchased with the Turbo 350 transmission but that’s not true because the Turbo 350 wasn’t available until 1969.
right out of high school I was looking for a more reliable car than my 1969 charger R/T. I spotted a 1970 El Camino 350 SS 4 speed and a 1969 SS 396 auto. I bought the `69 and still have to this day! (I'd probably still have the Charger but sold it when somebody offered me almost twice what I paid for it - $700)
The only generation of el camino that could truly be considered a truck was the 1964/65 and 1973-77. Both had full frame on body designs and are the right deminsions to work well as a small truck. I owned a 1977 gmc sprint el camino and if i would have had it long enough, i would have converted it to 4wd and used it forever. Even at 2wd it was always useful like any normal small truck. Wish g.m would bring these amazing utes back.
There were some nice El Caminos. The first, the '59 is a work of art.
i had a 1978 el Camino back in 1990 wich i sold regrettably I've always loved these cars/trucks so much i now own two a 1972 SS and a 1981 Black Knight both of wich i will take to my Grave!!😀 my question is do All Black Knights have a Floor shifter? I've seen some with a column shift🤔 what's the deal?
needs to be reissued!!!
love them
What was there not to like about the Chevrolet El Camino ! While I'm bias to Chevrolet , They seem to always to have the Ranchero beat in styling , & capacities in both load , & HP ! & IMHO Dale E. Jr. had the best looking mild custom El Camino ! A mid 70's El Camino with a Laguna Type 3 front end set up for pro touring , Wish Chevrolet came out with that design . Thanks for the video.
The difference was though that Ranchero's were more of an economy vehicle, especially the 60-65s. El Camino's were small trucks but with the same motors available in the full sized.
20,000+ annual sales of both the original Ford Ranchero and Chevrolet El Camino were not good...they were peanuts compared to annual sales of about 1.5 million units each for both the 1957/1959 Ford and 1957/1959 Chevrolet. Those poor sales explained why the original full-size models were discontinued. Ford introduced a smaller, more practical, and cheaper Falcon-based 1960 Ranchero. Chevrolet built a prototype of a smaller El Camino based upon the 1962 Chevy II (pics of that prototype are available online).
When the El Camino was based on the Chevelle it was a real looker. The rest were just "meh".
@@WisdomOverWicked777Rules um, the 1970 is the one I'm talking about.
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It was cool
I'm building a pair of 66s right now 😁
Me gusta una camioneta; una Chevrolet El Camino; es una combinación de carro y camioneta; saludos y buenas noches.
Gracias!
GM needs to make the El Camino again to compete with the Maverick.
I had a 1982 Royal knight and also a 1979 El camino ... now im a 1973 Ranchero 500 🤣
They should’ve ended it with the good night edition my God the 78 was horrifying I’d say after 74 I was all downhill even before that right 73 wasn’t bad my friend had one it was a nice car but it certainly wasn’t a 71 or 72 those are insane they look like the 70s. Preacher PaulD
i had a '69. i had to get truck plates for it...enough said, lol.
Loved the look & style of the El Camino….the unibody true compact trucks out now (Maverick & Santa Cruz) have much styling like the Camino….Chevy would be wise to reinvent their Camino as a compact truck with Camino style.
Low and long is the style. With useable bed.. I understand you can't fill the bed with stone. But we need something more utilitarian than a front drive compact car thing with a wimpy bed and whimpy CVT
@@marshmower Yep. Chevy would screw up a new camino why bother. No truck guy wants a unibody, steel that you cant lean up against etc.
A four door or rear jump seat model be nice for families
As I said again GM and even Ford with there Rancho models could have made 4 door derivative models 5 and 6 passenger seating to make these vehicles appealing to families at the time
And GM Australia’s Holden built their UTE until 2017. Could have rebadged it as a Chevy like they did with the Monaro.
used lower horsepower numbers for insurance reasons. cane back as ssr.
the El camino is the only chevy I would own, if I could not get a Ranchero
Had no idea there was a GMC version .
In my garage
I have a 1984 GMC Caballero bought last summer all original like new verry low miles I really like it .I didn't know at the time only made 2705 in 84 yep 27 hundred.why I bought it!!
The mullet haircut of automobiles.
The Branchwood and Nomad were both considered trucks due to two doors and a tailgate
@@WisdomOverWicked777Rules my sorce was MA. Auto insurance. Company
Beautiful vehicles it is amazing to me how bad design and styling became as time went on. The Government really messed up the country.
I actually never care for the car/trucks of the El Camino or the Ford model. the biggest issue was it was a 2 seat car and the ability to carry any load was a joke with both of them and the other issue was working on them as a mechanic it was really hard to get some parts mainly body parts as some were the car model they were based on and some of the body parts were specific to the model. Some of like the gas tanks was specific to the vehicle with both Ford and and Chevy and since they always were rather limited production runs on them especially in the later years when GM and Ford did not use comparable station wagon parts.
I’m still waiting for the Pontiac G8 Sport Truck, (basically a Holden Ute) that General Motors,… PROMISED… us back in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014.
Considering that they neutered the New “Blazer”, I’m glad they aren’t.
If it doesn't have to be registered as a commercial vehicle, then it's a car.
it's a shame GM never brought the Ute SS over here from Australia as the new El Camino. they should of done it when the new redesigned Camaro came out in 2010. released it along side the new Camaro, or right after. they would of sold thousands, big mistake on their part!
Another Boca Brothers video done well. Shows there were no 1961 - 63 El Camino, shrugs his shoulders and continues with the video as if it's not worth mentioning why. Hint: what did Ford do for 1960 and what effect did that have?
hahah! Thanks for watching and the comment! Boca Brothers
Ah yes, AI voiced slildeshow. Wow great stuff yes
You forgot the El Diablo
Lets see a '79 El Camino or A '88 or '84 Ranger? Hmm lower MPGs and more space and comfort. Or More MPGs and a back ache. Take your pick. Had all 3 of them.
At 1st would not drive it because it was a truck. Of course when it was empty I got to drive it.
But when her Toyota broke and it was getting fixed. I could not get her but out of the El Camino, when the Toyota was back for more punishment.
The old lady got T-boned in the El Camino. Totaled. She did not get a scratch.
The kids were grown so did not really need a mom car and there was lots of room behind that back seat for stuff.
So I told her to go buy another one, with her money. She bought a Honda. Then we got divorced. Problem solved. I guess she thought the judge would make me make the payments.
She never drove the Rangers because they were stick shifts. The other problem solved.
No matter what, the Ford Ranchero will beat the El Camino from every standpoint. Out of all the El Camino's I've driven, the Ford Ranchero Gt is far easier to handle and much faster stock than the El Caminos. It all is your choice but I have loved the Ranchero much more than any El Camino that I've driven for many different reasons.
Tatsumi
Awesome!!! THANKS !!!