Are El Caminos front or rear wheel drive?
The Chevrolet El Camino is a conventional front‑engine, rear‑wheel‑drive pickup built on GM car platforms. It did not offer a factory all‑wheel‑drive option, and its drivetrain remained rear‑wheel drive throughout its production run from 1959 to 1987.
From its debut in 1959 through its final years in the 1980s, the El Camino married car‑like underpinnings with a pickup bed, a configuration that defined its driving feel and utility. While GM refreshed platforms over the decades, the fundamental layout stayed true to rear‑wheel drive, shaping handling, performance, and payload characteristics.
Drivetrain fundamentals
Key aspects of how the El Camino was powered and how that power reached the road are summarized below. This overview highlights the core characteristics that defined every generation.
- Front‑engine, rear‑wheel‑drive (F‑RWD) configuration across the model’s history.
- Power transmitted via a driveshaft to the rear axle, paired with either manual or automatic transmissions depending on year and trim.
- Platform sharing with GM passenger cars (not a truck chassis per se), meaning the El Camino relied on car‑based underpinnings rather than a traditional truck frame for much of its life.
- No factory all‑wheel‑drive option; aftermarket four‑wheel conversions exist rarely and are not part of Chevrolet’s official lineup.
In short, the El Camino’s defining drivetrain trait is its rear‑wheel‑drive layout, coupled with front‑mounted engines and car‑like architecture that persisted across generations.
Generational context and platform ties
While the drivetrain stayed rear‑wheel drive, the El Camino’s underlying platform evolved as GM updated its mid‑size and full‑size car families. The following generations reflect those shifts while preserving the essential rear‑wheel‑drive setup.
- 1959–1960: Initial generation built on GM’s car platforms, employing rear‑wheel drive.
- 1964–1967: Second generation adopted Chevelle/GM intermediate (A‑body) underpinnings, still rear‑wheel drive.
- 1968–1972: Third generation continued with shared car platforms and rear‑wheel drive.
- 1973–1977: Fourth generation maintained the same basic rear‑wheel‑drive arrangement with shared Chevelle/Malibu architecture.
- 1978–1987: Fifth generation spanned further platform updates while remaining rear‑wheel drive, adapting to GM mid‑size and related families as needed.
These generations illustrate how Chevrolet kept the El Camino’s traditional driving character even as GM refined its car platforms over the decades.
Summary
Bottom line: The Chevrolet El Camino is consistently a front‑engine, rear‑wheel‑drive vehicle, built on GM car platforms across its production span from 1959 to 1987. It did not offer factory all‑wheel drive, and its drivetrain remained a defining trait that balanced car‑like handling with pickup practicality.
What are common El Camino problems?
The most common would be the carburetor (https://www.yourmechanic.com/services/carburetor-replacement), battery (https://www.yourmechanic.com/services/battery-replacement), alternator (https://www.yourmechanic.com/services/alternator-replacement) or the fuel pump (https://www.yourmechanic.com/services/fuel-pump- ...
Is El Camino rear wheel drive?
Chevrolet sold five generations of the El Camino between 1959 and 1987, and they all shared the same basic characteristics: they were based on a road car platform with a front engine, rear wheel drive layout, they had two doors and a pickup bed in the back with a fold down tailgate.
What are el Caminos classified as?
An El Camino is classified as a coupé utility or a car-based pickup truck. Although it was based on passenger car platforms like the Chevelle and had car-like styling and handling, it is officially classified as a pickup truck in the United States. This vehicle combined the features of a car with the utility of a pickup truck.
- Classification: It is considered a coupé utility vehicle, but it is legally classified as a pickup truck in the U.S.
- Design: The El Camino integrated the cab and cargo bed into a single body, adapting the design from a two-door station wagon platform.
- Purpose: It was designed to offer the style and performance of a car with the hauling capability of a light pickup.
- Historical context: The first El Camino was introduced in 1959 as a response to the success of the Ford Ranchero.
What is a 1970 El Camino worth today?
Typically, you can expect to pay around $22,580 for a 1970 Chevrolet El Camino in good condition with average spec. The highest selling price of a 1970 Chevrolet El Camino at auction over the last three years was $103,400.
