This is a 1959 Chevrolet ElCamino. The photo was taken in South Dakota where this once magnificent automobile was not rotting away in a farmer's field. What a waste. In the late 1950's, the automotive industry started getting "creative". The space war was beginning and cars took on "wings" The 1959 Elcamino was known for its flamboyant "cats eye" taillights, and its "fins". This vehicle was part car, part truck. It had no back seat, so only two to three persons could safely ride inside the car. But back in the Fifties, there were fewer, far fewer, safety restrictions. You could see people riding in the bed of the ElCamino, heading into town on a Saturday night. Speeding down the highway...and there were no seatbelts. Unfortunately, when a car or truck did crash, lives were lost. Today, our standards are higher. It seems we have a greater respect for safety, and it is enforced, or you pay the fine.
Needless to say, this 1959 ElCamino was rescued. But before I say more about that, here are some other photos of her before restoration.
Here Elky sits, showing off her beautiful Cats Eye tailights. You can see the fin tops from the back. This car was in a factory green color. I found this color to be very unattractive for this style of automobile.
By the way, the restoration process would take 16 years of elbow grease.......
The original engine had been expose to the elements for too many years. It was 'froze up' and sent off to the scrap yard. Fortunately, we had a newer 350 just sitting around......
Front end shows the lovely 'bullet' grille, twin headlights, and the chrome fender ornaments.
Lovely rotted interior...... but the gauges were there! That's a plus in my book. Did they work... NO. Had to have them redone.....
The bed. Well, I wouldn't get in there. Too much rust and critter pooh for me.
Oh, did I mention the seats were chewed away to nothingness? We actually kept the wirework frame of the seat and of course, restored it.....
Our daughter was married June 2008. Elky was invited to the wedding. Finally, driveable and looking mighty fine for a fifty nine!
New wheels
Horkey's Oak (wood) and stainless 'showdeck' . This deck comes out when it rains displaying just the yellow metal bed underneath.
I will post more photos later. I am having some downloading issues at this time.....
350/350
Custom exhaust 605 powersteering roller cam
Custom tube grille 17" chrome wheels Custom interior
aluminum radiator custom pint; white pearl / yellow
Now it is all about enjoying this beauty. She is a "driver". (Not a trailer queen). We drive to car shows during the good months (May through mid-October) in Minnesota. The enjoyment we get from this car is the smiles on the faces and the comments we get about Elky. My husband brought this car back to life. We are having a lot of fun! We have one problem though...... no seat belts. So, now that we have two grandchildren, a 1952 Chevy 2 door Sedan is in My Garage. And guess what, we have leftover paint.......
