1968 EL CAMINO GROUND CLEARANCE WINDOWS

The fold-down tailgate (also adopted from the Brookwood station wagon) provided an additional loading area, which, when opened, represented an extended loading level and thus permitted freight up to 2.31 meters in length. Underneath was the floorpan of the two-door Brookwood wagon. This consisted of a corrugated iron insert that was attached with 26 countersunk screws. This was followed by the open pickup tub, which was seamlessly integrated into the body (capacity 934 liters) and was the first Chevrolet pickup to be built with a steel bed floor instead of wood. The end of the cabin formed a large curved rear window and a transverse wall, which also served to stiffen the body. Press releases at the time spoke of “control-tower visibility”. At 4121 square inches (for such a relatively small cabin), this provided an exceptional all-around view and was like a greenhouse.

The total glass area of Chevy's coupe pickup was also amazing. The first-generation Chevrolet El Camino's unique roof design is reminiscent of various powerboats of the era, with its distinctive rear overhang and forward-leaning rear pillars. Furthermore, customers could choose between three different interior colors: grey, green and blue. The interior, on the other hand, relied on the Biscayne trim, which was embossed with leather and patterned vinyl three-seat bench.

1968 EL CAMINO GROUND CLEARANCE WINDOWS

The next step was in terms of equipment variants: Here the Bel-Air was used on the outside-Style - for example, tapered full-length bodyside moldings filled with Snowcrest White paint, and wide, light moldings across the side windows and rear roof edge. The dimensions of 5.36 m 2.03 m 1.43 m (LxWxH) were relatively modest for a pickup, but the Chevrolet El Camino was no ordinary pack donkey. On the body side, inspiration was drawn from the Impala sedan (absolutely identical down to the B-pillar), which didn't even do without the fashionable tail fins. The two-door station wagon Chevrolet Brookwood served as a platform, with only a slightly modified chassis. The coupe pickup El Camino was based on the '59 Chevrolet models of the time. In 1959 the time had finally come, the first Chevrolet with the Spanish name 'El Camino' (in English: 'the road') saw the light of day and was ultimately considered the answer to the Ranchero from Ford that had been introduced two years earlier. At GM, the idea of such a sedan pickup had been on the table since 1952, but it was never implemented. It must have been particularly annoying for GM (General Motors) when their arch-rival Ford beat them here with their Ranchero (coupé pickup). While the Cameo was a truck in every respect, it already offered many elements typical of a passenger car - such as two-tone paint, a smooth V-8 engine, automatic transmission, a relatively luxurious interior, and power assistance. Then, in the mid-1955s, the manufacturer brought out the Chevy Pickup Cameo Carrier(a more luxurious truck model within the 3100 Series/Task Force) which eventually paved the way for the Chevrolet El Camino. And indeed, Chevy already had such a model in its range in the 1920s, which followed the trend that followed (mid-1930s) – on truck platforms to go over - but had to give way. The basic idea of turning a passenger car into a commercial vehicle is almost as old as the automobile itself. Unlike a regular pickup, the El Camino was built on a two-door station wagon platform that integrated the cab and truck bed into the body. The El Camino was a pickup-style passenger car that combined the dramatic styling of Chevrolet cars of the time with a Half-Ton pickup. The Chevrolet El Camino (Gen.1) is a coupe utility vehicle that was produced and marketed from 1959 to 1960.

Since the early 1970s, an identical sister model was sold by the General Motors brand GMC under the name Sprint, later as the Caballero.Ĭhevrolet El Camino - 1st Generation (1959-1960) The name comes from Spanish and means 'the way'. The Chevrolet El Camino was an open-bed pickup truck produced by the American car manufacturer General Motors under the Chevrolet marque from 1958 to 1960 and again from 1964 to 1987.

1968 el camino ground clearance