After a three-year hiatus, in 1964 the El Camino returned to the Chevrolet lineup, this time based on the intermediate-sized Chevelle platform. 

Not long after the original El Camino was discontinued at the end of the 1960 model year, due in part to declining sales, work was already under way at Chevrolet on its successor. A compact pickup based on the 1962 Chevy II—and much like the Falcon Ranchero—was seriously considered (see our feature here) but the work soon shifted to the Chevelle, still in development and scheduled for a MY 1964 release.

Based as it was on on the mid-sized General Motors A-body platform with body-on-frame construction and a 115-inch wheelbase, the Chevelle was the more suitable package for the hybrid car/pickup, it was decided. By October of 1962, detailed renderings were produced (above) and by November a full-sized fiberglass mockup was completed, with its body shell designed to share a number of sheet metal components with the station wagon. The production El Camino was ready for dealer introduction on September 28, 1963 along with the rest of the Chevrolet line for 1964.

The A-body platform was well-suited for a second-generation El Camino, it turned out: At 73.5 inches, the cargo bed was actually several inches longer than that of the full-sized ’59-’60 El Camino and significantly wiider than the compact Ranchero’s. Rated load capacity was up to 1200 lbs, and rear air shocks were standard. A filler valve in  the cabin behind the passenger seat enabled owners to adjust the rear ride height to compensate for heavy loads.

At the fall ’63 introduction, four available engines were announced: two inline sixes of 190 and 230 cubic inches, and a pair of 283 cubic-inch V8s with 195 hp (two-barrel carburetor) and 220 hp (four-barrel). But in December, Chevrolet expanded the choices to include two 327 cubic-inch V8s of 250 and 300 hp. (However, the L74 300 hp version was delayed by production problems and few were built ) Chevrolet engineering did build at least one evaluation vehicle in ’64 equipped with the 327 CID, 365-hp L76 Special High Performance V8, reportedly, but it didn’t make production.

Compared to what would come in later El Caminos, the ’64 interiors were remarkably plain. The Standard model (left) offered all-vinyl seats and a rubber floor mat, while the Custom (right) sported vinyl with nylon inserts and real pile carpeting. As an extra-cost  option on the Custom, bucket seats were also available, and when combined with the four-speed transmission a console was included. On the exterior, the Custom features included bright-metal wheel-opening  and rocker panel moldings.

Despite the three-year vacation from the market—or maybe because of it—the new  El Camino was a solid seller, as more than 32,500 went out the door. The best the El Camino had done in its previous generation was 22,000 in ’59. Sales and production cruised along at that level or better all through the sixties, ultimately reaching an all-time peak of 57,000 in 1972. The mid-sized El Camino, still based on the same GM A/G-body platform, maintained a place in the Chevrolet lineup through 1987.