Chevrolet called its all-new 1949 Chevrolet “the most beautiful buy of all,” and it does bear a family resemblance to the attractive 1949 Cadillac when viewed in profile. This well-worn but solid Styleline DeLuxe sedan is an example of what (most likely) very little money will buy if you want a fun old sedan with a “refurbished engine,” and it’s on Hemmings Auctions with no reserve in Belgrade, Montana.
Unfortunately, the Hemmings ad is short on details regarding what “refurbished” means in this case. The engine, shown here on a pallet looking repainted at the very least, is labeled as a 217 (OK, fair enough if you round up from 216.5), but we all know that the 1949 Chevy had a 216-cubic-inch “Stovebolt” six with solid lifters and 90 horsepower. How can you tell a 216 (or non-pressure-oiled 235) at a glance? The valve cover has two top-mounted hold down nuts and the side cover extends all the way up to the valve cover itself. In comparison, the full-pressure-oiled 235 has four bolts holding down the valve cover and a short side cover (see here).
Chevy urged its salesman to point out the fact that the aging “scoop-and-dipper” 216 had “Chevrolet’s Four-Way Oiling System,” which included metered pressure, direct pressure, vapor spray, and pressure stream oiling. It’s a neat system (see here), but I have to imagine that even in 1949, many mechanically-minded buyers were starting to expect something a little less 1920s. Of course, there were certainly many consumers in the “if it ain’t broke” camp, too.
The radiator, starter, and generator in our featured Chevy are new.
The interior fabrics aren’t too far off the illustrations in the sales brochure, but I’m going to guess that the car’s been reupholstered at some point in the last 77 years. What is for certain is that somebody at some point scraped the side of the garage (or some other unforgiving object) with both sides of the car; however, at least there’s no obvious terminal rust to be seen. The color itself, if it’s original, is Oxford Maroon.
The driver’s kick panel appears to be missing, but my wife made panels for our 1953 Buick Special from Formica and vinyl material she bought at Jo-Ann Fabric, and they’ve held up for years. Believe it or not, the “black rubber floor mat” was standard even in DeLuxe models, but the highlight of almost any 1940s or 1950s car is, of course, the dashboard. It’s the little details that are so engaging, such as the dainty clock; the font on the tidy, round, all-encompassing gauge cluster; and the “Chevrolet” script on the center of the dash. Obviously, this is a three-speed car; the Powerglide wasn’t introduced as an option until 1950.
This picture was clearly taken with the engine running, and the engine’s vital signs look good: oil pressure is above the halfway mark on the gauge and engine temperature is below, just what you want to see. The seller says that the Chevy “runs very well.”
As of this writing, the Chevy has four days left to go on its auction and the high bid is a measly $300. We all know that 1940s sedans have taken quite a hit in the collector marketplace, and a 1949 Chevy is among the most common; after all, the Styleline DeLuxe Four-Door Sedan was Chevy’s most popular model (191,357 sold), just edging out the gorgeous Fleetline DeLuxe Two-Door Sedan (180,323 built). But this one seems to be mostly original, as evidenced by the neat “Baston-Barington” dealer sticker that neatly outlines the decklid ornament (obviously, the car couldn’t have spent too much time in Minneapolis given its solidity), and I think it’s going to be a great buy for someone who loves the styling and quaintness of these once-popular postwar Chevrolets.
Related Reading
1949 Chevrolet Fleetline And Styleline – Seize The U.S.A. In Your Chevrolets (by Aaron Severson)
Curbside Classic: 1949 Chevrolet Fleetline Special Two Door Sedan – Your Choice Of Fastback or Notchback (by Paul N)
I’ve always loved this vintage Chevy, although obviously a Fleetline would be my first pick. And I rather like the condition this is is in: not too pristine but (presumably) solid mechanically.
There’s an entertaining conversation over on the AACA Forums about this beautiful 1950 Fleetline (a car that I have always been in love with). The asking price is apparently $7,800, and there’s a debate over whether or not that’s a good deal. It sounds like it’s going to need some work to make it roadworthy.
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What a beauty!! Honest presentation, no trailer queen, made for driving and enjoying. Normally, a 1949 Chevy would be the last thing I want, but this standout example makes me want to take it home. It won my heart.
I think that refurbished means that the engine was freshened up. It was disassembled, cleaned, painted, and reassembled with new gaskets and seals. The valves may have been recut or maybe just lapped by hand. The bore was hit with a ball hone and new rings installed on the original pistons. The lower end bearings were checked and replaced if necessary. All this is done to return the clearances to as close to “new” as possible without any re-machining.
This is what was referred to as an overhaul, in the old Days.
When you consider how few miles an antique car is likely to acquire in it’s life as a hobby car, it can be a perfectly acceptable route. In fact if the engine was running fine as it was, I wouldn’t have even gone that far. My old Plymouth is running just fine and I just need to clean and detail the engine a bit. Of course if and when mechanical repairs are needed, I’ll do them, but I prefer to leave well enough alone.
I’m with you, Jose. A lot of people would cringe if they saw what I did the last time I had my Corvair’s engine out, but I don’t beat on it and I drive it under a thousand miles a year. I took the cylinders to my machinist to have them checked for taper, and he honed them with a hand hone and cleaned the ring grooves for me (something he said he hadn’t done in years). I threw in new rings and new rod bearings on a crank that absolutely should have been turned, but instead, I used a shoestring and some sandpaper. I had already had the heads done when I bought the car.
Yep, it smells a little oily when I start it, but I don’t add more than a half-quart a year and it runs fine. And considering the quality of new parts, I will happily leave whatever I can before tearing something down all the way to replace a worn component with something of questionable quality.
In this case according to the seller:
“Refurbished means refurbished, NOT rebuilt. The motor was removed from the engine bay, stripped of all appendage parts, steam cleaned and painted. Then it had basically everything that was bolted on removed and replaced with either new or rebuilt parts. These included: Starter, generator, water pump, fuel pump, carburetor, points, plugs, rotor, distributor cap, coil, wires, hoses, thermostat, fluids, and filters… what am I forgetting?”
I can see that every single bushing in the suspension is going to need to be replaced.
These looks better in the “4dor, sdn” version Good color, combo on this one.
I hope you win it, Aaron! But now that the secret’s out, David Saunders might push it to $350 try to outbid you…
Ha ha, I’m out, Jim! It’s David FTW!
I love this car, and the condition. And I love the dealership badge. I can’t think of seeing many dealership badges from the 1940, so this was at the forefront of the trend, and it’s great how it’s fitted around the Chevrolet logo. Looks like the Baston-Barrington dealership was pretty short-lived, being in business from 1946-1951, after which time was just called “Barrington” for another few years.
A 1950 her is the first car of my parents that I can remember, but it was a Fleetline.
I could imagine lolling back into that big cord couch, out on empty 2-lane old roads, 50-55mph, with no hurry to be wherever my next stop might happen to be. There is something about pristine machines which could never allow such ease. There’s a lot of appeal here, though it does sound like it has rod knock in the running video.
I will say that I have always thought there is an aesthetic flaw in these otherwise lovely Chevs, one without seeming explanation. The scuttle is mildly too high, and the bonnet bulge with it. About an inch or so off, and it would stop the whole slightly resembling a person tilting their head back with a blood nose.
My, that old splash system seems to be as intricate as drilling the crank. I’d guess it was kept because of sunk costs from long ago, and, of course, bits of approximate tin are less fuss than any machining procedure.
I don’t think the video was yet posted (and the seller hadn’t commented on what had been done to the engine) when I put this together. It’s hard to gauge sounds on video, but I agree that the sound could be a rod (it sounds a bit too heavy to be a valvetrain noise). Luckily, 216s still had (I believe) poured babbitt rod bearings that can be “adjusted” by removing shims. Unluckily, that probably should have been done when the engine was out.
I’m with you on the flaw, Justy.
Harley Earl seemed to be quite a fan of the high-cowl high-hoodline look. Did he come to equate this with looking powerful?
Through the thirties and forties GM’s cars often seemed to be built higher that they need be, with often six inches or more of clearance between the hood and the engine. Were GM late in adopting the double-drop frame? Part of this could be excused by the need to accommodate both OHV and flathead engines within a given body whereas, say, Chrysler only had flatheads therefore could use a lower hoodline. Ford? Well, they needed to fit this whopping big radiator to cool that V8.
A 1940s car book I had as a kid noted the difference between the ‘American ideal’ of having a high hoodline, and the ‘British Ideal’ of having both wings (fenders) visible from the driver’s seat.
It clearly has a small rod knock, as Aaron mentiones the rod bearing clearances are adjusted by shims, originally brass now they made laminated Mylar shims that allow much finer adjustments you want about .002″ in these old “Babbit Pounder” engines .
Chevrolet was very proud of the “Target Lubrication” oiling system of open rod bearings and (slightly) pressurized main bearings .
It has four hours to go on the auction and I suspect someone is going to get a nice old Chevy in need of some works before being driven much .
BTW : the seller is disingenuous about the radio, clearly it doesn’t work by his B.S. response .
-Nate
Looks like it sold for $3,100 all-in (fees included). Now someone can get to quieting down rods and perhaps setting valve lash.
I LOVE that gauge cluster.. or.. “Gauge Circle’?
It’s So ‘1949’ and I love it.
For a car that was in “the low price field” things still look like a lot of thought, quality & care were put into the design and build.
Compared to the Plastic disposable world of today.