1959 Chevrolet El Camino
Jon & Karen Mayo - Towanda, KS.
The picture above is of a totally restored El Camino. I have posted it to remind Jon what his little "El" could look like when it's finished.
The new "El Camino" was introduced to the public in October of 1958, and was an immediate success as a rival to Fords new 1957 Ranchero.
The "Standard" El Camino for 1959 as delivered by Chevrolet was equipped with a 235.5 cu. in. 6 cylinder engine, but offered other engines as well. Check out the notes below for more information on the engines and transmissions.
The original engine and transmission in this car had been replaced with a '70's 454ci Chevrolet Big Block and a Muncie four speed transmission. The 1959 Chevrolet El Camino (known as Series Job # 1180) has what is left of the original factory Black Paint. The body is in super shape with very minimal rust in the lower quarters. All of the sheet metal is straight and is appears that the car was never in an accident.
Jon has since added 1995 Impala bucket seats and a center console to match. He plans are to refurbish the exterior to stock and the interior will be done in red and black.
When Jon registered the El Camino, he used an "NOS 1959 Kansas License Place" for the county that he lives in. Pretty Cool!!!!
Believe it or not, the little jewel shown below was found within a 15 mile radius of Jon's home.
(click on a small image below to see an enlarged view of the picture)
The first set of pictures were taken after Jon got the little El Camino home.
This set of pictures were taken after Jon purchased a different set of wheels and tires for the El Camino.
The next set of pictures were taken after Jon got the car titled and tagged.
He has since started doing some body work and mechanical work on the car. One of the fist things he did was replace the clutch/pressure plate assemble and had the Muncie completely rebuilt. Jon said that the "454" really moves the little El Camino quickly from point "A" to Point "B".
Check back from time to time to see progress on this project.
Hi-Thrift 6 Cylinder 235.5 cubic inches - 135 Horsepower
8.25:1 compression ratio - 1 barrel carburetor
The Hi-Thrift six cylinder engine is fundamentally the same engine used in 1958. Modifications that produced increased economy and performance included a low lift (.330 inches), high torque camshaft and new hydraulic valve lifters. Carburetion changes along with a redesigned intake manifold, provided a high performance economy engine.
All 283 cubic inch V-8 engines came equipped with hydraulic lifters, except the special optional Ramjet Fuel Injection equipped engine with special camshaft.
Turbo Fire V-8 - 283 cubic inch - 185 Horsepower
8.5:1 compression ratio - 2 barrel carburetor
Super Turbo Fire V-8 283 cubic inch - 230 Horsepower
9.5:1 compression ratio - 4 barrel carburetor
Special Ram-Jet Fuel Injection V-8 283 cubic inches - 250 Horsepower
9.5:1 compression ratio
Special Ram-Jet Fuel Injection V-8 283 cubic inches - 290 Horsepower
10.5:1 compression ratio - Special Camshaft and Modified Pistons
The optional Turbo Thrust 348 cubic inch V-8 used in the 1959 Chevy, is essentially the same engine that was used in the 1958 Chevrolet. One exception was spark plug cooling modifications made in the engine block and heads.
-Many 1959 Chevy Impalas were equipped with 3 deuces.
Turbo Thrust V-8 348 cubic inch - 250 Horsepower
9.5:1 compression ratio - 4 barrel carburetor
Special Turbo Thrust V-8 348 cubic inch - 300 Horsepower
11.0:1 compression ratio - 4 barrel carburetor
Special Camshaft and Modified Pistons
Super Turbo Thrust V-8 348 cubic inch - 280 Horsepower
9.5:1 compression ratio - 3 Rochester 2 barrel carburetors
Special Super Turbo Thrust V-8 348 cubic inch - 315 Horsepower
11.0:1 compression ratio - 3 Rochester 2 barrel carburetors
Special Camshaft and Modified Pistons
Transmission Availability For The 1959 Chevrolets
For 1959, Chevrolet offered the following transmission options with most engines.
(1) 3 speed manual transmission
(2) Close-ratio 3 speed manual transmission
(3) 4 speed manual transmission
(4) 2 speed Power-glide transmission
(5) Corvette 2 speed Power-glide transmission
(6) Turbo-glide Transmission