The lower offering was the 283 cu-in Turbo-Fire (which was just a name, and not an indication of a turbocharger) V8 making 185 hp with a 2-barrel carb, or 230 hp with 4-barrels. Making things more exciting though, the Model 1280 designation came with a choice of 2 V8s and several variations to them. In the more tame Model 1180 form, you could only have one engine, specifically the solid but unexciting 235 cu-in Hi-Thrift Straight-6 seen in many Chevy trucks, making 135 hp and 217 lb-ft of torque in the El Camino. While this was almost half a decade before the start of the raging battle for V8 muscle in Detroit, the El Camino along with the rest of Chevy’s ‘59 lineup had plenty of V8 power to go around. Offered with 3 engine choices, the introductory El Camino could range from mild to wild and came in Model 11 forms accordingly.
With almost all of their cars from the Impala to the Biscayne sharing the same B-Platform, the El Camino would be born from these models - but with a truck twist.
#1959 EL CAMINO UPDATE#
A seriously dramatic update compared to '58 models, one of the most iconic and extreme aspects were the tail fins, standing out as some of the coolest in an already fin-obsessed era. Lagging behind a fair bit, Chevy watched as Ford introduced new platforms and style in 1957, helping to give traction to this trend around bigger and longer, yet lower and sleeker cars on the market.įinally, for 1959 Chevy rolled out the update they needed, up-sizing, elongating, lowering, and overall making their passenger car lineup properly sleek and stylish, as well as ahead of the time. With the paradigm and overall bulky style of the '40s evolving through to the mid-'50s, new lower-slung styling began to hit the scene as well with one of the most defining features of the era - giant tail fins. The late 1950s were a transformative time for the car industry, especially when it came to body design.
0 kommentar(er)
