Ride Of The Week 02/07/2022: Frank Swartz's 1959 El Camino

OUTSTANDING IN ITS FIELD

The compliment to a scarecrow that does its job well can also be applied to the origins of this 1959 El Camino. Frank Swartz of Ginter, PA found this first year ElCo abandoned in a field and bought it for $150 in 1978. It was a California car that made it all the way across the country before coming to an abrupt stop in Pennsylvania, where it sat abandoned. Frank spotted it by the side of the road and eventually made it his own.

It took a lot of work to restore this ride. “I had to do everything myself, with the exception of the interior,” Frank tells me. It has its original 238 cu in V8, Powerglide automatic and Posi-traction rear. It’s finished in Roman Red and Suncrest white, its original colors. “It predates my wife by about a year,” Frank continues. So, we can say it’s the longest relationship he’s ever had.

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