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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 30,701 Likes: 141
ChatMaster - 25,000
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ChatMaster - 25,000
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 30,701 Likes: 141 |
There were two ElCaminos in 1959. One was equal to a Biscayne and one equal to a Bel Air.
Gene Schneider
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Willwood Engineering
Wilwood Engineering designs and manufactures high-performance disc brake systems.
Wilwood Engineering, Inc. - 4700 Calle Bolero - Camarillo, CA 93012 - (805) 388-1188
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Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 110
Shade Tree Mechanic
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OP
Shade Tree Mechanic
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 110 |
And both were numbered 1180/1280, or was the Bel Air numbered in the 1580/1680-range? I found these 1180/1280 numbers at the 59chevy-site.
Is the one in my pic equal to the Bel Air then?
Job
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Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 7
Grease Monkey
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Grease Monkey
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 7 |
Yes, possibly Job. But the Ranchero came out for 1957. And the El Camino didn't start till 1959. So Ford clearly had a head start.
Also of possible interest is the 57-59 Ranchero was based on the full sized car. And the 59 and 60 El Camino was similarily based on the full sized car.
But in 1960, Ford changed the Ranchero to the much smaller compact Falcon size. While the El Camino was still big in 1960. Maybe Ford's change to compact size in 1960 "confused" Chevy so much they just dropped the El Camino for 1961. Then when Chevy brought back the El Camino in 64, maybe they just took the middle ground, and based it on the Chevelle size, as previously noted.
My thought remains the same; who knows what any of those Detroit auto geniuses were thinking????? Keep in mind - there were no compact Fords or Chevys prior to 1960. You had full size, T-bird/Vette, and trucks - that's it.
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Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 1
Grease Monkey
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Grease Monkey
Joined: Sep 2017
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The 1959 and 1960 full size Chevys had a very similar body style featuring horizontal fins (wings) and similar interiors.
In 1959, the grill featured bullets across the width and "eyebrows" across the leading edge of the hood. The 1959 pick-ups had similar eyebrow treatment.The rear end had fins that curved in toward the center following the lines of the "bugeye" tail lamps
In 1960 the grille was greatly simplified with no bullets or eyebrows. The rear end featured straightened lines and simple round bulleted tail lamps. The Impala had triple taillamps and lower line models (Biscayne) had dual taillamps. The door featured an airplane like molding that followed with the deep inset sculpting that emphasized the "wing" fins.
In 1961 the full size chevy styling became much more conservative.
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