VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1949-1954 '51 DeLuxe 2-door sedan on the way...

Greetings.

I am kinda new here. Joined many years ago to ask a work related question, then promptly forgot about it.

The reason for my renewed interest it this:



I am from an Oldsmobile family, but in 1951 my great-grandfather bought this '51 Chevy. A relative has decided to put it up for sale, and I bought it. I can't bring it home for a number of weeks due to scheduling conflicts.

It was last driven in 2005. The inspection sticker is from 1982, which is most likely when the antique plates were applied for. Prior to that, it was mostly off the road going back to 1971 (or 1961 depending who in the family you ask...). 41k miles, engine is free, repainted once many years ago.

Equipped with manual transmission, turn signals, backup lights, pushbutton radio, cheapie heater and trim rings.

Trophy Blue, hence my ID.

Just thought I'd check in and say Hi.

Paul

Looks like a decent car,good luck with it.

I have a '51 2-door sedan that is basically still original. Has Powerglide, heater, radio, clock. Has been on many VCCA tours and functions well despite wrist pin noise and an occasional lifter collapse. These cars even though over 60 years old are perfectly roadable today. I hope you enjoy yours as much as we and our relatives (who borrow it occasionally) do.

Paul,

You have one great looking car there. Work should be at a minimum. Not many that clean and that complete, still around.

I own two 1951's .... one is black and unrestored, the second one is trophy blue and restored.

Enjoy the car, treat her well.

Paul,

Even though its been repainted, it looks like it has been well taken car of. I hope you enjoy the car.

Charlie

Thanks. That makes me pretty feel good, because I probably paid more for it than I should have...

Purchase price is important, if you're going to resell the car soon.

If you're keeping the car, the "higher" price you paid will make more sense, when you realize you won't be patching, repairing, fixing, etc., ........ all the jobs that make the investment go sky high.

Better to pay a little more for a nice car, if you don't have to spend BIG $$$$$ to fix every piece and part on the car.

Still a very nice car!

check out the rear view mirror in this picture. Doesn't this 51 have the style of mirror someone submitted a post about? I haven't seen one like it before.

Although it is difficult to see in the picture I was thinking the same thing.

You know, I've been wondering about that mirror. It doesn't seem to match the ones shows in the accessory catalog. I'm sure it's been on there for quite some time.

Can you post a close-up picture of it?

Not right now. I won't have the car in my possession for about a month. I'll be glad to take close-ups then. In the meantime, here is a link to a larger picture...

http://forums.aaca.org/attachments/...-need-opinions-value-20141212_104221.jpg

I don't know what you paid , however the car looks to be in great shape and as has been pointed out making repairs can be expensive. For example I am restoring a poor condition 51 hardtop and have over $5000.00 in it so far and that only covers welding in some lower panels, floor boards, inner and outer rockers and braces. I still have the interior and finish body work and painting to go. That I expect to run at least another $5000.00 and it will still need assembly.

Looks like a common after market mirror from the '60's.

There are so many nice original 1949-1954 Chevrolets out there I can see why any one would restore a rough one unless it is part of the family history.

Very nice 51 i'm sure you will enjoy it for years to come.

It's really very simple Gene. The wife like's the car and said go ahead and fix it. Of course she also said don't spend a lot of money on it so I am going slowly and breaking it down into a little at a time. I know she can add but time has a way of lessening the pain. When I first started with restoring a car her attitude was I don't want any "junk" hanging around for the neighbors to see. So I had to build a garage. Now her comments are more like " if you don't work on the 51 it will never get done". She looks forward to the Six Cylinder meets and has been very active in our local region. This car is not the best candidate for restoration but we have had it for 15 years and have enjoyed its use and the only maintenance other than oil and grease and tune up parts has been tires and exhaust. It doesn't have a long family history yet-but it will.

If "logic" was the single measuring stick for doing a restoration, there would not be many classics in existence.

There are as many reasons for doing a restoration, as there are restorations.

A different, unique story behind each and every car.

Still in the family all this time, awesome!! Great looking car!

I look forward to seeing the photos when you get it home. It's cheaper in the long run to spend more on a nice clean car like yours than less on one that needs work. Besides, how do you put a value on sentimentality?

Very nice 51, Paul. Congrats and thank YOU for saving and preserving another awesome Chevy. Some day I hope to bring my 51 back to her original Trophy Blue color. It's a great color.

Right now I'm enduring a miserable brown repaint as found on the car as I bought it (it was maroon when applied).

Right on!!

The "spears" on the rear fenders denote this car as being an earlier production '51 as the spears were discontinued (I believe) in March of 1951 because of Korean War restrictions.

Ahhh, but yours still looks darn good, parked at the drive in movies.

The more I look at the pics of this Trophy Blue '51, the more I see that it is so very complete.

It looks like the time frame is still in the '50's and it was just parked in the garage, for its overnight rest.

A great family heirloom.

You're not too far off, Bob. My mother says that her grandfather had a public sale in August of '61. One of her uncles bought the car at the sale, and it went into storage, being run periodically.

But - mom has a cousin who was only born in '62 and she says she remembers riding in that car with their grandfather when she was about 4 years old, which puts a hole in my mother's story.

He died in '71, so the car may have been bought from the estate then. I'd go by the date on the title, but it was changed to an antique title in '82.

Here's an interior pic:


Horrible blue carpet - the original mat and carpet are gone!

The original front mat was a dark gray rubber with fine ribbs. There were simulated carpet rubber inserts on the horizontal areas. The rear had a dark gray cut pile carpet.

The starter button looks to me to be white plastic. Was that the factory issue on '51 Deluxe models in the States? (Canadian ones were stainless steel.)

The plastic starter button was another late '51/'52 change with the Korean war. I'm not sure if we had that change up here in Canada or not, as our '51 has always had a metal one.

Also, I may be wrong on this… but I was under the impression that the rear fender "mohawks" went from being a standard feature on the Deluxe model, to being an option that had to be ordered. That would make it possible to still get them on a later built '51 (or a '52?), but they had to be paid for on top of the regular purchase price. Maybe Gene could chime in here and set me straight?...

The mouldings above the tail lights were eleminated (Deluxe models) in about AMarch of 1951.
During 1951 the following changed from metal to plastic; Starter button, seat adj. knob, ash tray knobs.
The rubbber pad between the top nad the head lining changed to straw. The hand twist handle on the air cleaner became a simple screw. The full ;ength spring covers became half length. The radiator top tank became steel, rusted through in a year and had to be replaced and spare tire eleminated for a few months.
The loom covering for the direstional light wires at the steering column - metal cover eleminated.
More items but this is what comes to mind right now.
The rear fender above the tail light mouldings became an accessory. There were a few aftermarket ones made of poor quality.

Why just carpet in the back? Why not throughout, carpet or vynal?
Did they ever have carpet throughout?

According to GM Heritage, the Bel Air had full carpet.

Don't know why.

Perhaps GM tried to amplify the luxury of the Bel Air with full carpeting... OR ... perhaps the models with the front mat combo of rubber and carpet indicated a flavor of "utilitatian" design.

Easy to clean, etc.

Have you seen many 1951 Chevrolets with thick fiberglasss insulation under the hood, in the body panels, and lining the trunk area?

The 1950-1952 Bel Air was the first Chevrolet to have carpet in the front.
The 1953 1nd up Bel Air series had carpet.

I have never seen a
chevrolet prior to 1959 with fiberglass.

Ok, I guess my question now is what did my 51 deluxe Fleetline have? Just vinyl?
Or could I put carpet in and it would it be correct?

If you put FULL carpeting in your '51 Fleetline, that would not be factory correct, if I understand your question.

You folks probably want to see the rest of the pictures...

I could find room for that car in my car building.

Good pics.

Interior door panels, headliner, wash and wax and you'
re cruisin'

I sse the car has an Innerliner oil filter and the small non-fresh air heater.
A wash job would do wonders for it.
Would be great if you could find just the light gray cloth to recover the door panels.

So no carpet is correct for my car?

My 1951 Chevy DeLuxe 2-Door Sedan has the thick fiberglass type of insulation under the hood and in the trunk area. The car has had the insulation since new.

No FULL CARPETING for your car.

Re read Gene's comments on the carpeting.

"The original front mat was a dark gray rubber with fine ribbs. There were simulated carpet rubber inserts on the horizontal areas. The rear had a dark gray cut pile carpet".

Brought the '51 home today. Actually, she is in the shop getting the once over. It didn't take us long to determine that the water pump is leaking. We think only the left front brake is working. Braking results in an immediate left hand turn. She drove on the trailer under her own power. We got her running in pretty short order after genius here figured out how the ignition switch worked (when all else fails, read the manual...). Would it have killed them to mark it somehow?

I am a little disappointed, as I did not find the documentation I was hoping to find. In the glove box was a near pristine owner's manual (thank God, or we'd have NEVER gotten it started...), a quality check card, break-in folder, battery policy (blank), Good Housekeeping booklet, a registration card from '73, and the dealer's copy of the regular order document. I was hoping to find a bill of sale, or the completed owner service policy. Neither are present. The regular order shows the car to have been produced on January 25th (the car was originally titled on February 14th). There were no options listed, which means it came with the blackwalls, as I suspected. What disappoints me about this document is that the dealer and town are blank. I was hoping to know what dealer sold the car new. I've seen another regular order online, and is showed the dealer and town, but it was also a sold order, so it went to a specific dealer. I'm suspecting, back in the day, since this wasn't a sold order, that it went to a zone pool or warehouse and was distributed to the dealer upon request.

There was previous discussion about wartime changes. As I said, this car was built in late January. It has already been noted that the mohawks are present, but that the starter button is plastic. The seat adjuster knob is chrome. Looks like the spring covers are full, not partial.

Paul,

Your current disappointments should quickly disappear when you realize what a gem you have in your possession.

Its hard to imagine being disappointed with this car. Don't feel bad about the key. I did the same thing the day I brought mine home. Never in a million years would I have guessed there was such a thing as a "no key" position. What a different time. Our "new" car will lock the doors after a minute or two whether you want it to or not; and I never want it to, but it always does.

If the strater button is plastic it most likely was replaced at some time. A car made that early would have had a chrome button.

I am looking for a thread that I stumbled across a few weeks ago. I can't remember if it was here or on Chevytalk. It involved a two tone green 4 door sedan - '51 or '52. There were pictures, one of which was of the regular order card. I wanted to compare it to mine. Anyone remember seeing that?

What is a regular order card?

I can speak for myself, and perhaps Gene, as well. He and I both spent "lifer terms" in the back end of a dealership. Gene in the parts dept and me in the service, parts and sales depts.

Neither of us heard of a "regular order card". Explain, please.

To cover one more issue, when a vehicle was ordered from the factory, it was ordered from a dealership, as a "stock unit" or a "sold unit". A vehicle was not built to be stored in a warehouse, until it was adopted by a dealership. No dealership order = no vehicle built.

Going to the ignition key issue and why it wasn't marked, etc.

For us more seasoned folks (hate to say old), the ignition switch was known and accepted, as it is. Never a question, but we lived through those days of stick shift, AM radios and no PB or P/strg. A/C ...... what was that?

Using the ignition switch as an example, for the less "hands on, less experienced" person who is becoming involved with these older treasures .... that "not knowing" is the best reason to obtain and read the owners manual, cover to cover.

In addition, obtaining a $25.00 GM Service Manual 49 to 53 with 54 supplement is your very best investment.

Note that I suggested the GM reprint, not Chiltons or Motors.

Only the GM reprint service manual and you'll become your own expert, in short order.

Ha! I've had the shop manuals longer than I've had the car. I read the owner's manual on line, but I guess I forgot about the switch. Or it didn't register. I blame this all on my daily driver - one of those new cars that has keyless ignition. Step on the brake and push the start button. So what did I do with the '51? Step on the clutch and push the starter button... But, in my own defense - every car I have ever driven with a switch in the dash, the vertical position has been "off."

Regular Order card below...

[img]https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd....4846768_899a230d07e173772b5ccc905cd51976[/img]

That looks like the sticker thast was on the windshield....usually had the dealer name on it,

I've got the one that came with my '51, but it is an envelope that the owners manual was in…

Based on the information gathered on this card or sheet, it looks like the early version of our P.D.I. sheet, used from the '60's and up.

P.D.I. = Pre Delivery Inspection sheet.

I found the green car I was looking for. It wasn't on any of the message boards - it was on that popular auction site. Regular order card is kind of smallish and hard to read, but does show a little more information than mine does. I am assuming my specifications and options area is blank because the car came with no factory installed options. Gene has already pointed out the aftermarket oil filter.