1951 Pontiac Streamliner Sedan Delivery
The American sedan delivery is one of those niche body styles that has attracted more interest and attention than its modest sales might suggest. There’s just something about the morphing of a passenger car into a light enclosed truck that made—and still makes them—very compelling.
In reality, the sedan delivery’s name is a bit misleading, as only a small percentage of them actually used sedan bodies with a side-hinged rear door. In its early days, it was mostly about using “smart passenger car styling” to make them look very similar to sedans. With the arrival of trunks on the backs of sedans in the 1930s, sedan deliveries got their own unique bodies, such as this 1951 Pontiac Streamliner above. And when all-steel 2-door wagons appeared after the war, they became the basis of the final era of sedan deliveries, having fully betrayed the “sedan” portion of their name. But who cares; the name alone is part of their enduring appeal.
There’s a decided lack of accurate information on the origins and history of the sedan delivery. Some sources incorrectly credit Chevrolet with the first factory production sedan delivery in 1928. Chevrolet and other makers did offer light deliveries, but these—like this one in a 1928 Chevrolet ad—were not sedan deliveries; they had unique bodies and were typically mounted on the makers’ light truck chassis. These were panel trucks, a genre generally one step larger than sedan deliveries.
Ford apparently offered the first true factory production sedan delivery, starting in the spring of 1928. It utilized the Tudor sedan body with only very minor changes, including steel blanking panels where the rear side windows would be. Ironically, the first sedan delivery was also the one that most lived up to the name, even if Ford did call it the Panel Delivery.
The only other significant external change from the sedan was a side-hinged rear door, which would become a hallmark of sedan deliveries, although later station-wagon based versions didn’t typically have them.
The interior was suitably modified for the tasks that it would be used for.
In 1931 Ford even offered a delivery version of their short-lived upscale Town Car, with its body built by Briggs.
As to Chevrolet, it appears that their first production sedan delivery came out one year later than the Model A, in the spring of 1929. But unlike its looks and common assumptions, it was not just an adapted 2-door sedan; although it had sedan styling “with smart passenger car appearance”. It was in fact a unique body of its own, cobbled up by using some tooling and parts from the 1928 Chevrolet.
One key difference is in the length of the front doors; the sedan delivery had the short doors from the 1928 4-door sedan whereas the 2-door sedan (above) had front doors that were significantly longer to allow better access to rear seat passengers.
This is a rare surviving 1929 Chevrolet Sedan Delivery. There are other differences from the sedan body, especially at the rear, where the sedan’s (behind the delivery) twin belt line moldings that curved up. This unique Chevrolet sedan delivery body was used for several years, through 1932.
In fact, none of the Chevrolet Sedan Deliveries used the actual sedan body. Comparing the 1933 Sedan Delivery (top) with the 1933 2-door sedan (bottom), it’s quite obvious that the Sedan delivery had a longer body that extended past the rear fenders, and was still using an older body design (and fenders) as used on the light trucks.
The same was true with Ford’s new bodies in 1933; the Sedan delivery (top) now had a unique body that was also significantly longer than the Tudor Sedan (bottom). As such, only the 1928-1931 Ford Sedan Delivery used the actual 2-door sedan body for the Sedan delivery.
Plymouth listed their first Sedan Delivery in 1930, no surviving images were to be found. The oldest one is this hot rod ’32, and it too uses the short 4-door sedan doors on what appears to be a sedan body.
As rear trunks became commonplace in the mid thirties, using the sedan body became essentially impossible and virtually all subsequent sedan deliveries had non-sedan bodies from then on. This is a 1936 Chevrolet.
There was a notable exception, as this 1940 Studebaker brochure image shows. This was very much a genuine sedan—perhaps a bot too much so—with the blanked-out rear windows being the only obvious exterior change. There was no rear delivery door.
This brochure shows the interior changes on these 1939-1941 Studebaker Champion sedan deliveries, with a single driver’s seat and a steel partition directly behind it. The trunk was kept separate.
There may have been other sedan-based deliveries or commercial cars by other independent makers that are not getting their due here.
The use of a dedicated longer body is very apparent on this 1941 Chevrolet Sedan Delivery. These also used the short front doors from the 4-door sedans.
Here’s one from 1948 that isn’t quite so exaggerated as the rendering above. The gas tank has clearly been relocated from the rear to under the cargo load floor, where the rear seat footwells would be in a sedan.
Here’s a 1941 Ford delivering a party load of hangover medicine.
This is a rare survivor 1941 Plymouth Sedan Delivery with its original sign and an interesting side mounted spare to maximize interior space.
What’s interesting is that these sedan deliveries all had all-steel bodies from the get-go, whereas station wagon bodies were still being built out of genuine wood and with fabric-covered roofs, like this fine 1946 Chevrolet. It seems a bit odd that none of the companies adapted the sedan delivery body into station wagons, but then the woodie wagon played a quite different role before the war. These were not bought as family haulers; their substantially higher prices made exclusive and prestigious.
That sea change started with the pioneering 1946 Willys Station Wagon, an all-steel 2-door wagon that was also available as a panel delivery. In essence, this was the first mass-produced sedan delivery based directly on a 2-door station wagon, and as such would be the template for all future sedan deliveries. I suppose one could split hairs and argue that the Willys Station Wagon was more truck than a passenger car, but sometimes it’s difficult to draw perfectly sharp delineations.
Crosley, eager to exploit every possible suitable niche for its 1947 sub-compact, also offered a sedan delivery.
With their all-new 1949 cars, the Big Three went in different directions regarding sedan deliveries. GM tooled up a very handsome new A-Body version for Chevrolet (above) and Pontiac.
The earliest reference I could find for a Pontiac sedan delivery was 1947. This sleek new A-Body that arrived in 1949 truly was “eye-catching, head-turning advertisement on wheels”. That pretty much sums up the sedan delivery’s role, as a light pickup-based panel truck certainly could have done the job just as well and quite likely cheaper. Like all Pontiacs of the times, it had a longer front end for prestige effect and to house the inline flathead eight.
This might well be peak sedan delivery.
Somewhat curiously, Ford exited the sedan delivery market in 1949. Their only station wagon was the 2-door Country Squire which still used some wood frame members and planking.
Plymouth, whose all-steel 1949 Suburban wagon was a substantial hit and popularized the station wagon as an affordable family hauler, offered a “commercial car” version, retaining its side glass and conventional split rear tailgate. So GM had the market largely on its own for a few years.
Ford re-entered the sedan delivery market in 1952 with their Courier, now sharing its body with the new 2-door Ranch Wagon. Plymouth had pioneered and proven the success of the 2-door wagon, and now Ford and soon Chevrolet would follow.
It took until 1955 when the Chevrolet got its all new body, including a 2-door station wagon. That was then of course shared with the sedan delivery, eliminating the need for the unique previous body. With the new V8, this would have been the way to cut delivery times to the absolute minimum.
Most sedan deliveries had side-hinged rear doors, but Chevrolet had a top-hinged rear cargo hatch on these tri-five deliveries.
Studebaker re-entered the sedan delivery market in 1954 based on their new 2-door Conestoga station wagon.
After a brief break in 1959, Studebaker again offered a sedan delivery based on the Lark 2-door wagon.
In 1957, Ford utilized the basic tooling for the 2-door wagon not only for the Courier (above),
But also for the new Ranchero, America’s first modern passenger car-based pickup (ute).
I ran across this curbside 1959 Courier some years back, but have never properly written it up at CC. Apparently some Couriers already had glass rear side windows in 1957, and by 1959, the steel blanking plates for them were gone. It was now just a 2-door wagon minus a rear seat.
Chevrolet went the same route in 1959, spinning off its El Camino pickup off the same basic body as the sedan delivery.
1960 would be the end of the road for Chevrolet’s Sedan Delivery as well as the El Camino and the 2-door wagon, which was now waning in popularity. They continued to use a top-hinged rear door as they had since 1955.
1960 would also be the last year for Ford’s full-size Courier.
But Ford wasn’t ready yet to give up on either the sedan delivery or the Ranchero, and their new compact Falcon with its 2-door wagon offered the perfect host body for both of them. These arrived in 1961.
All three body styles hung in there through 1965, the last year for a Ford sedan delivery. Almost as quickly as it had burst onto the scene, the Sedan Delivery was gone, with Ford having made the first and the last of the era.
What cause the demise of the sedan delivery? The VW Transporter changed the economics of delivery vehicles in the second half of the 1950s, with its low price and fuel consumption. It was surprisingly popular in the US at the time, until the 1964 25% “Chicken Tax” made it unviable.
The 1961 Ford Econoline soon took over the VW’s role, and American businesses increasingly saw the advantages of the light vans. Chevrolet and Dodge soon jumped into the van market, and the sedan delivery’s days were over.
There have been several attempts at revivals over the years. From 1971 to 1974, Chevrolet offered a Panel Express version of their Vega two-door wagon, curiously titled as “Our Truck”. These were slow sellers, with only around 10,000 being sold over the entire four-year run.
It’s debatable whether the Pinto Cruising Wagon belongs here at all, as it clearly was not targeted to the delivery or commercial market, but rather something quite different. With a bubble window, optional mag wheels and rainbow stripes, it was clearly aimed at the conversion van crowd.
Some might argue that the FWD minivan-based compact cargo vans like the Dodge Caravan C/V and Mini Ram Van and the Ford Windstar version are true successors to the sedan delivery, but it’s stretching the term “sedan delivery”. So much for “sedan styling”, which at least the station-wagon based ones still mostly had. I’ll leave it for the commentariat to debate this further, but my vote is Nay.
The compact cargo van segment is a huge one in Europe, going back to the 1951 Citroen 2CV Fourgonette with the Ford Transit Connect being a recent example. Yes, they often shared front ends with passenger cars, but somehow they’re just not quite…true sedan deliveries. But again, that’s debatable.
Chevrolet came closest to reviving the concept with their HHR Panel, built between 2007 and 2011. But note that they called it a Panel, not a Sedan Delivery. Panel trucks have of course been around almost forever, the light or medium duty big brother to the sedan delivery, often pickup based, and technically in the EPA’s definition, the HHR was a light truck
Although rarely a genuine sedan, the sedan delivery marked a distinct and rather unique niche of the auto-verse. Most survivors have been resto-modded as they have a particular appeal to that crowd, given their limited numbers and cool factor. And by now this venerable rusty ’59 Chevy has likely had the same fate, but it makes a fitting farewell to this tribute to the sedan delivery.
Related Reading
Automotive History: The Short And Odd Life Of The Two Door Station Wagon PN
Cohort Outtake: 1953 Ford Courier Sedan Delivery PN
CL Find: 1953 Packard Henney Junior Professional Car – Two Door Sedan Delivery Version PN
Road Trip Curbside Classic: 1961 Ford Falcon Sedan Delivery – Delivering Lots of Hipness PN
Curbside Outtake: 1973 Chevrolet Vega Panel Express – Fly By Night Ed Stembridge
Curbside Classic: 1974 Chevrolet Vega Panel Express – A Sedan Delivery For The ’70s Tom Klockau
CC Capsule: 1977 Ford Pinto Cruising Wagon – The Original Mini Van? Jason Shafer
Pinto Day Finale: 1977-78 Cruising Wagon – The Most Desirable Pinto? Tom Klockau
The SD body style is always and eye-catcher at any show. Nice piece Paul.
I have often wondered why one would buy a business coupe or utility sedan (also a Uniquely American Phenomena) instead of a two door station wagon with a folding back seat.
Just for the look?
I would guess that the privacy and protection of the steel windows was a factor. Also, no rear seat meant a completely flat floor.
I agree. If you want a commercial vehicle, you wouldn’t need glass and seats.
I wouldn’t class them as uniquely American. Plenty of sedan based ‘panel vans’ in Australia. Holden, Ford and Chrysler offered them.
And Holden had the Gemini (T-car) version, Ford an Escort, and even the appliance maker had a Corolla variant.
Indeed and the US Falcon sedan delivery did a journey of its own in Australia.
https://oldcarbrochures.org/Australia/Ford/Falcon-Commercials/1961-Ford-Falcon-XK-Utility–Van-Brochure/index.html
And here some scans of a 1972 Aussie Falcon panel van.
https://oldcarbrochures.org/Australia/Ford/Falcon-Commercials/1972-Ford-Falcon-XA-Van-Brochure/index.html
A bit more on the table, here some screenshots posted on IMCDB of the Australian Chrysler Valiant panel (later known as the Drifter) used as police duty in an episode of the Australian tv series Homicide (not related to Homicide: Life on the Street).
https://imcdb.org/vehicle_1027043-Chrysler-Valiant-VH-1972.html
Good article! Most low-cost makes had a “utility sedan” that was just a regular two-door with internal changes. Hudson made one in ’33, along with several truck-type panels.
I’ve also been mystified by the failure to change the commercial sedan to a windowed station wagon. This ’33 Dodge even looks like it has windows, though I think it’s an illusion in the photo.
Yea, that looks like windows to me, just based on how shiny/reflective it is compared to the metal just below the “window”.
A category that is very hard to pin down indeed. Visually at least, there is little doubt that the Standard Vanguard van would qualify (single, side opening rear door too) and does have quite a Transatlantic look:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Vanguard#/media/File:Standard_Vanguard_Phase_I_van_with_weak_pun_on_roof.JPG
In more recent years something like the Vauxhall Astravan could count, though they ceased production in 2012.
In Denmark Sedan Delivery cars have been very populat for many years.
It could be two door sedans with rear seat removed or two or four door wagons without rear seats and sometimes also without rear side windows.
They were often converted in Denmark.
Interesting stuff, and nice photos. You wonder why auto makers bothered to offer both a station wagon and sedan delivery in the early days, but I guess they eventually asked themselves that and stopped doing it.
Great historical overview of these American classics. I guess Citroën (who else..) was the frontrunner in Europe. Around 1920, they already offered car-based commercial vehicles, as seen in this 1919 ad.
No surprise it wasn’t covered here, but Oldsmobile in `49 or `50 built a total of four sedan deliveries based on the 88. The Olds Museum in Lansing, MI. had a black one on display at one time. A sharp, ‘upscale’ delivery that I could see something like flower shops utilizing!
Uniquely American?…
…I’m not sure…
…I agree. Just looking at Peugeots, for a start.
I remember seeing a lot of these types of commercial cars in the UK — usually called “panel van” there. In Italy, they were “furgone” or “furgoncino”. In France, they came in a variety of names — “break service” “forgonnette tôlée” “commerciale”… Nothing unique nor very Amercian about it, in my opinion.
But great post about this little-discussed species, nonetheless.
Although there was a short reference to the Business Man’s Coupe, I’d like to know if anyone remembers a four door sedan with a fold down rear seat allowing space similar to a station wagon? Friends of my parents had a 49 or 50 DeSoto like that. I believe it was called a Carry All. I’d be interested if any other brand offered a similar vehicle. Or was it a DeSoto exclusive?
Kaiser Traveler or Vagabond?
These were actually three-door sedans as the spare tire had to be relocated against the left rear door side panel (visible in photo), blocking entry and exit to the rear seat from that side. Some had the door welded shut, but all included a dummy outside door handle so it wouldn’t look like it was missing.
Chrysler offered the same option as the Traveler.
Paul, you really expanded my knowledge of all this–great text and photos.
I know Ford’s postwar corner of the market best, and again and again marketing emphasis was on the S.D. presenting a more stylish appearance curbside (and in more exclusive neighborhoods) than would any panel truck or open-bed hauler. Ford used this phrase “America’s Most Distinctive Sedan Delivery” for several mid-1950s model years:
By the time I came of age the most visible use for pre-1960 sedan deliveries was for hot rods or actual drag racing. I’m pretty sure I first saw that term in Hot Rod magazine or on the box of a plastic model kit. Perhaps they were popular for this application due to slightly lighter weight or lower cost in the used market.
My original title was a poor choice; it was intended to reflect the unique status of the sedans delivery in the US. I’ve amended it now.
The HHR Panel is neither fish nor fowl. It’s not based on a sedan, nor is it based on a truck.
The EPA classifies the HHR as a “2WD Sport Utility Vehicle” in both passenger and cargo versions.
I kind of wanted an HHR Panel, but the greasy bits were based on the Chevrolet Cobalt, a car of questionable mechanical merit.
I 100% agree that the “1-box” light cargo vans killed off the Sedan and Panel Deliveries, except no one told GM, who continued to build Suburban-based Panel Utilities until 1970.
The 49-52 Chevrolet sedan delivery is one of my favorite Chevrolets of all time. Such a cool looking rig, be it restored to stock or a wild custom, or something in between. Such a clean and classic design. And a great way to promote your business back in the day if you knew a guy who could do hand painted sign work on the side.
Truly a great article and history of the Sedan Delivery. My first memory of one was Marty’s Market’s black ’49 or ’50 black Chevrolet Sedan Delivery. I was about 5 years old and Marty’s Market was a neighborhood market built out of the front of a 3 family house way at the top of the street. I couldn’t read yet but I do remember “Marty’s Market” in red and gold stylized painted lettering on the steel blank sides.
These are certainly unique vehicles, I’m wondering if they filled a niche below the traditional delivery truck for individuals and companies that did not require the load capacity of a traditional truck as they would have probably been cheaper to purchase and operate and were easier to load and unload. The Pontiac panel truck is really a spectacular eye catcher.
Additional thoughts on the Sedan Delivery- Paul you started your article saying that there is something compelling about these vehicles. I totally agree. Part of it is that they look like the passenger version but are different enough and rare enough to really get your attention. There has always been a “cool” factor about the looks of the sedan delivery.
I’d include the Jeep Wagoneer Panel Delivery amongst these – they didn’t call it a “sedan delivery”, and it wasn’t based on a sedan, but even though the platform offered a pickup truck most were configured as Wagoneer passenger vehicles, in two or four wheel drive. Some even had IFS, as well as the side-hinged barn doors in back. There was a two-door Wagoneer available in the Kaiser era; the later Cherokee was based on the panel delivery rather than the two-door passenger wagon, with a smaller, reshaped window inserted into the panel to give it a new, different look from the Wagoneer.
The Pinto was available with the rear side panel treatment without the Cruising Wagon package, as noted in the brochure. These had monochrome paint jobs (or optionally the Rallye stripe package), but they retained the porthole window and carpeted walls inside. Although could be used as a sedan delivery, they were not really intended as such.
The Vega ad says “maybe you’re just looking for a kinky way to haul around your surfboard, or your diving gear, or yourself”. Did “kinky” mean something different back in 1971? Like, apparently, “horrifically unreliable”?
The best kept secret of the late 40’s and up Chevy sedan delivery was the wonderful black vynil, bucket seats they were equipped with. We took a pair from a junkyard 47 or 48 and put them in my Dad’s homemade plywood camper shell. We kids rode many miles in those.
Great treatise, Paul! I enjoyed reading the whole thing. Being old enough to have seen new sedan deliveries, such as the chic 1949 Pontiac, this brings back memories. Now for a good question: In 1955, only Chevrolet and Pontiac had today’s modern under-dash Air Conditioning as an option. Few were installed then. The question is: “Did anyone order one for the sedan delivery?” What a way to treat your chauffeur to creature comfort! Of note, International offered the Travelall with metal panels in lieu of side glass, and panel read doors. They were, of course, light-duty trucks with International’s workhorse engines.
I think an earlier example than the Chevrolet and Ford might be the 1918 Dodge Commercial Car, which was offered in both panel-side and screen-side versions. It was sort of a midpoint between sedan delivery and panel truck: It had basically the passenger car chassis, but with the fuel tank relocated under the driver’s seat and heavy-duty springs for a half-ton rating.
1940s-1950s WANT ADS: I couldn’t really get enough info to compare prices against sedans and wagons, but two tidbits showed up:
1) A few dealers advertised used ca. 1950 Willys sedan delivery as “easy to convert to a station wagon,
2) Some of prewar-built the suburban parkways in greater NYC did not permit trucks or commercial vehicles—at least into the postwar years. There are a few 1950-ish ads touting sedan delivery as, well, a way to circumvent this with useful cargo capacity: