The 1959-60 Chevrolet El Camino was a “me, too” version of Ford’s 1957-59 Ranchero “Ute” (utility coupe). Both were based on 2-door full-size wagons. In 1960, Ford decided to shift the product to the new Falcon compact platform, while Chevy decided to take a break for three years. The seller has a 1960 El Camino project with a 6-banger engine, but tells us little else. Located in a gated yard in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this former workhorse is available to a buyer with vision here on Facebook Marketplace for $7,500 OBO. Another great tip from Chuck Foster!
Chevy and Ford’s late 1950s car-based pickups competed in the same markets. But when the El Camino finally returned in 1964, it was set up on the all-new mid-size Chevelle. Ford’s entry would continue as a compact until 1966, when it too became an intermediate. While Ford would exit the market in 1979, Chevy soldiered on through 1987, when they began to move away from rear-wheel drive entries. In 1959 and 1960, the El Camino and Ranchero found almost the same number of buyers: 36,409 for the former and 35,223 for the latter.
The original owner of this El Camino probably didn’t have any serious cargo hauling needs. A 235 cubic inch inline-6 was ordered along with a 2-speed Powerglide automatic transmission. Maybe that’s why these things were referred to as “gentlemen’s” pickups. The history of this vehicle is not known, and the odometer reading is reported at 5,000, but 105,000 would be more likely.
This truck’s two-tone paint is well-worn and comes with patina for those into that. We can’t tell if rust is an issue besides the surface variety because all the photos were taken in cramped quarters. We assume it hasn’t run for years, and all the seller says is that it “definitely needs some work to bring back life to it.” The seller likely wants to reclaim the space it’s taking up and will field offers.
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