Things really moved forward concerning the El Camino beginning in 1966 right on through 1970. In 1965, the engines were similar and transmissions included manual three and four speeds and powerglide automatics. The 300-horse 327 was available, and other engines included the 283 up to 220 horses and the inline-6 in 194-inch, 120 horse and 230 inch, 155 horse. Turns out the retooling insiders were correct.Ĭhevrolet re-entered the car/truck market with its new 1964 El Camino based on the intermediate Chevelle line and competing now with Ford’s new intermediate Fairlane based Ranchero.Īs for the muscle car engines and transmissions, the 327 V8 took over as its top power maker when the El Camino returned in 1964. Most felt Chevy’s decision to pull the full-size El Camino from production was due to the poor 1960 sales, while others say that Chevy was simply retooling to bring El Camino back as a Chevelle intermediate. Unlike Ford, which continued production on many platforms through 1979 and seven generations, Chevy did not make an El Camino in 1961 to 1963 fully aware of Ford’s downsizing success with its new Falcon Ranchero. An economy six at 110 horses joined the power list. The engines were similar in ’60 although the fuel injection versions were gone. The El Camino sold just 14,163 units versus the Falcon Ranchero’s 21,027 number. Ford turned the tables as they went from full size to the new, very small Falcon-based Ford Ranchero at a much lower price. The 1960 El Camino, however, completely stunned the auto world as its sales plummeted and ended up in a reversal of the prior year. Both bring very good money at the national car auctions. These engine options made the ’59 El Camino very special as the fuel injected version is very rare, as is the dual-quad 283. If that wasn’t enough, how about a 290-horse fuel injected 283? Yes, four different versions of the popular small-block. Next was a rare dual-quad two four-barrel 283 putting out 270 horsepower. The small block 283 was offered in a 185-horse two-barrel version, followed by a single four barrel at 230 horses. However, most notable for ’59 was the different 283′s a consumer could order. Numerous V8 versions were available, with the tri-power three two barrel 348 its highest power producer at 335 horses. Included were three engines including the standard 135-horse, 235-inch Stovebolt inline-6, while optional were two V8s ala the 283 small-block V8 or the powerful 348 big-block V8. As for the engine and drivetrain combos on that first ever ’59 El Camino, there were many to choose from.
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