Which is more psychedelic: the tie-dye T shirts or the ’59 El Camino?
My pick is the El Camino. Given that LSD was legal at the time, and it was being used in the mid-late ’50s in therapy and other experiments, I can’t help but wonder if Bill Mitchell didn’t slip some into the water cooler at the GM Design Center when the ’59s were being developed.
It was a treat to see this Elky again this past summer; I first shot it and wrote it up way back in 2015. It’s still serving its owner well, especially as a way to draw some attention to his wares.
Related CC reading:
Curbside Classic: 1959 Chevrolet El Camino – I Have Seen Many Strange And Amazing Things In America
Vintage SIA Design History: “GM’s Far Out ’59s – When Imagination Ran Rampant”
Perfect pairing!
The El Camino, obviously.
It is nice to see someone selling tie-dye shirts who has not succumbed to VW bus-with-flower-decals syndrome.
This is one of the coolest tailgate cross-sections ever.
Yes, with my metal stamping background I would have loved to see panels getting pressed for these cars! Such cool shapes and deep draws.
Makes you wonder at the rejection rate.
In context of what passed for build quality among American automakers at the time…I’m guessing it wasn’t as high as all that!
Yes, re. the tailgate! I can’t stop looking at that. So cool.
Yes very cool ute, GMH dropped the Chevy ute from its lineup mid 50s along with Vauxhall utes when the Holdens proved popular, GM US took up the cudgel for 59 with these wild offerings.
I remember reading about when the ’59 was designed. The designers were instructed to go as wild as possible..and they delivered !
That design was quickly dated by the introduction of the ’61 which was a clean design and my all time favorite early ’60s Chevys.
Memories of the black ‘59 my father owned back in the 60s. 348 V8 and three on the tree…
I like it ~ the flamboyance is a thing one must get used to .
-Nate
A elderly spinster from northern Vermont, who’d been sent to my town in NC in the 20s because her family didn’t think she’d survive another winter, had a ’59 sedan. She died in ’92 at 108, so it worked. She regulated her speed with the clutch and kept the throttle constant. I don’t know if she learned that here or up there. After several replacements, they put a truck clutch in it. Why not a Powerglide? In the late 60s, I knew two other old ladies with ’59s, friends of the numerous old ladies in my family.
Would you buy a tie-dyed tee shirt offa this El Camino? I surely would!
That tailgate…..
Peak Eugene. I hope it stays in primer forever.
And that tailgate profile!
My Dad bought a ’59 El Camino in the 70’s. He’d bought a new Impala hardtop coupe in ’59. The ElKie had a 283 with an aftermarket three speed floor shifter. It had the best sounding dual glass packs that I’ve ever heard. Just a rich deep gurgling sound when you let off the gas. It was painted black with a brush! He didn’t like that the bed was so shallow things would fall out going around turns. He traded off his 61 Dodge to the couple that owned it, because they needed a back seat for their kids.
A crossover pipe will make the dual exhaust sound better and increase mid range power to boot .
I like to put it as close to the headers as possible .
-Nate
Never did care for “tie-dye”. It’s still alive and kicking today though.Remember seeing a “60 El Camino” , about our town, when I was a kid. (was white as i recall)