Hey guys! It’s been quite awhile since I’ve posted anything on the HAMB. Life has been very crazy. I’ve gotten married, bought a house, and have been working a ton of hours. Some of you may remember from my past builds on here, a 1927 model T coupe, a 1948 Ford pick up, and most currently a 1955 Chevy pick up the wife and I are building for her! Unfortunately the ‘55 is going more modern than most would like on here so I didn’t feel it was right to continue posting updates.. But! I thought you guys might be interested in following along with a 1959 El Camino build I recently acquired! I picked this up from a really cool guy about an hour north of me. I actually bought 2 of them. And a ton of spare parts. Here is what I’m working with at the moment
The last picture is the 2nd El Camino I sold for funding of the primered El Camino after robbing some parts I needed for the build. I’m still looking for a few parts. But I’m very excited to start building this ride!
Give us more details on what direction you are heading with the build. 59/60 Elkys are Kool! I’ll be following your build.
I would love to go with the stock engine. But they are very pricey. I haven’t decided yet. Any thoughts?
I'm not sure what it will be when it’s done. For now I’ll just enjoy building it. Do you have any thoughts
I am thinking just lowered a little bit, some astros with white walls and that’s as far as I’ve gotten.. I need to do some research on finding possibly an original engine and transmission, I am having a hard time deciding on a color as well. Any input would be great!
My hi-school ride was a '59 El Camino I bought from the gas station I worked at, it was their rusty and beat up parts chaser. Working in my dads body shop, I cut out the rust from floors and quarters, welded, bondoed and painted it metallic black. 283 power pack and T10. Sure wish I'd kept it. Apologies for the thread hi-jack!
No worries at all! That’s an awesome story. I appreciate the picture as well, I haven’t had much luck in finding many build threads or pictures of 59s being worked on. Also, if everyone is alright with it I might throw in some pictures of other projects that may not be traditional, but fun side projects. If not that’s okay too
My dad ran a 1959 in the late 1960's through early 1980's. .080 over 283 and a wide ratio t-10 with a cast iron case (studebaker, he clamed). He added the suspension sway bars from a 1959 station wagon which (he claimed) gave it very good handling. He was a volunteer assistant fire chief, the primary responder in our area, he had a radio, and was allowed to have a "gumball dispenser" on the roof and a siren under the hood. Never a leadfoot (lol), one of the memories of the Elky I have is being at fire drill at the training station when a report of a house fire near our base station came in. In the back go my dads, mine, an another firefighters turnout gear. My dad is driving (of course), I am in the middle, and the other guy on the outside. There is no traffic on the highway. About half way to where we are going there is an "S" curve in the highway. Anyway my dad sets a nice little drift... the guy on the outside (white faced) asks "How fast are we going, 90?"... I look over to the speedometer and answered "130"... False alarm. No problem everybody safe. That guy never rode with my dad again. Somewhere we have one picture of it, I could not find to post.
Just to keep the thread lively, my parents own a hotrod/upholstery shop and here is some cool Hotrods that have come through!
When you say original engine and transmission, what are you referring to? They could be had with a 235, 283, or 348. Any small or big block will fit. Personally I'd go low, with a 454 or other conventional big block, a TH400, period 5 spokes, and enjoy it.
That's great! The gas station I worked at was ran by two guys named Jake and Larry, both volunteer firefighters. When the alarm would go off, they'd jump in either the Elky, or later it's replacement, a '50 Ford pickup with Buick nailhead and burn rubber to the fire station. Great memories!
I was thinking the 283 or 348, but they are harder to come by and more expensive to repair. Might end up going the route with a big block!
Here's a good resource of gm information for you on the truck. I find them interesting. https://www.gm.com/content/dam/comp...n-kits/chevrolet/1959-Chevrolet-El-Camino.pdf
Could always do what I did on my 53 and use a later sbc (in my case a 76 350) disguised as an early 283 or 327
It's a great resource. They have them for a lot of vehicles. https://www.gm.com/heritage/archive/vehicle-information-kits
Any sbc will work fine. Just keep it looking vintage. Astros with thin whitewalls will give it a killer look along with a nice stance. Chrome reverse rims would look good also. Have your parents shop install a cool traditional custom interior for it. Keep us updated.
I will probably go that way. I have another engine in my garage that would work, but it would be a sin for me to post on here lol. I would definitely like it to have power steering as well
I love both of those rim choices! It’s hard to pick which way, but I’m really leaning towards the astros with thin whitewalls!
Out of curiosity, is your cowl tag still present? If yes, what does it decode to for the original color(s) of the car?
I have 2 friends with 59 El Caminos one a really cool custom and the other a highly accessorized and upgraded stocker. Both winners.
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