VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1949-1954 Time Capsule 1951 Fleetline

The 1951 Fleetline that I bought on eBay arrived today. I am extremely happy with the condition of this car. It has remnants of the dealer added seat covers, but while the seat fabric is still there, it will need to be replaced. The carpet will be salvageable, as will the trunk cardboards and the trunk mat. It was a PowerGlide equipped car, but the pan is to convert it to standard transmission.

Nice score!! Are you planning on a restoration, or a preservation? Have you got a photo of the front floor mat? I'm curious to see if it's the same as mine...

Brewster, what's the saying?....it's only original once...this will be a preservation project. The seller's father was going to change the engine out but passed away. That was in 2005 I believe. The seller wanted me to kind of do a tribute to his father who happened to be a B17 tail gunner...as way my father. I did a little on line searching and learned that his father's B17 was appropriately named...ALSO RAN...STLL RUNNING. There are other interesting parts to the story as well. As to the front floor mat, it is GONE. However, this is what it would have looked like:

A nice find !

Looking at the exterior pic, is the engine out of the car now ??

Appears to be quite high, in the front.

That is correct...no engine or transmission. I do have a 1952 216 that I could drop in it with some alterations to the front plate, but a friend offered a 1951 "JAD" PowerGlide 235. That would make it a "numbers correct" car....other than it will have a manual trans.

i would stay with a powerglide trans that way you wouldnt have to change master cylinder and evrything that comes with a manual trans oh by the way nice looking car

The problem there is that I have everything to make the switch to standard, whereas, I'm not sure that my friend who is giving me the 235 has a PowerGlide to go along with it. The up side is there there are virtually no holes or cutting that need take place and it can be reverted back to PowerGlide with no clue that it was ever converted to a standard trans. If I stumble upon the correct PowerGlide trans, I might consider it, but for now the plan is convert it to standard.

Congrats, beautiful find!

I vote for the powerglide. If preservation is the goal, I would do that. you can always sell your manual trans. goodies to offset the price of the p.g..

As we all get older, we can appreciate giving our left foot a rest. I am slowly approaching that myself. Now that I live in the Golden State with traffic lights every 6 feet, I find myself lusting for one of those p.g. babies.

BTW--nice deal on the car and thanks for saving another original from the crusher or rat rodders.

Thanks Rick. There is actually no number on this car that would indicate that it was built as a PowerGlide car. There also would be no alteration required to convert it to standard shift. A friend is donating a used 1951 PG 235. The "JAD" engine number would be the only indication that it was conceivably built as a PG car. Of course the trunk handle is a give away...but that can easily be switched out. Still dependent on what comes together. Clutch pumping isn't big issue for me.

One of the best year body styles that Chevrolet ever created. ..Nice car.

I've got a Powerglide out of a 51 if your interested. Don

Thanks Blue..and thanks Don. I think I've got a line on a 54 PG. I understand a little better than a '51. I'll PM you.

The 1954 has a different rear mount and willl not bolt up to a 1951 frame. Also would would have to engineer a way to hook-up the down-shift linkage as the accelerator linkage and mounting the linkage on the side of the engine is very different.
The only improvement is the automatic low start which can easily be done by placing the shift lever in low if you wish to start off faster.

I got this information at another forum, "Performance can be improved somewhat by starting in Low and manually shifting to Drive, but doing this continually will shorten the transmission life because it was not designed for this". Also good to know that a 54 is not a direct bolt in.

True that they improved the friction material on the low band in 1953 but low bans\d failure as far as wearing out the friction material on a 1950-1952 PG has never been a problem.
Most owners use low for starting and I often dmp mine in low for use as a mid speed passing gear and never even needed to adjust the low band.
When they changed to the newer trans. mount in 1952 the frame crossmember was moved back 2 3/4" to accomadate the new mount.

Don't forget the column shift, it would need changeing. I vote for the PG. I have one in my car and its great, of course at my age I don't need to be shifting.

I have a '51 coupe and it has a '54 engine and powerglide transmission. The previous made the change so I guess he installed the rear trans mount.

I have a '54 power glide and I was wondering at what speed you drop to low as a passing gear. Mine starts out in low and shifts at about 10mph. I would like to adjust so that it would shift at about 15-20mph.

Piddler,

Click and read under "service adjustment" heading.

http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/shop/1949_53/07trans/7_082.HTM

The adjustment is too complicated to describe here but the low to drive shift depends on how far the accelerator is depressed. It can happen as low as 10 MPH with a very light throttle and 44 MPH at full throtle. In a "normal" start about 20 MPH. It should sift down to low at full throttle as a passing gear up to 37 MPH.
The adjustment is made by moving the position of the lever on the side of the transmission.....the lever connects to the bell crank with the long rod running down to the valve body on the left side of the P.G. The bolt must be loosened to allow the lever to move on the shagt.
Yours sounds like part of the linkage may be missing that is why the shop manual should be consulted.If you have a 1951 engine the proper linkage can not be installed so it is best to either start out very slowly until it shifts or just drop it in low when you stop and shift into drive at a higher speed using the max. speed up to 40 MPH if gas pedal is floored.
I didn't see that your car is a 1951 when I first read your post.

You are right on your assumption.

Powerglide cars were equipped with the 235, manuals had the 216, so if you are certain of the origin of the original engine, there you have it. Also, look at the master cylinder as the p.g. cars had a different one from the manual.I would also think the toe pan would be an indicator also as it would have the hole for the clutch pedal, as well as a narrow brake pedal. P.g. cars had a wider brake pedal.

Power Glide cars had exactly the same brake pedal as standard transmission cars.
If it originally had Power Glide the hole in the toe pan will be covered with a fiber piece where the clutch pedal went through open if is it was a standard.
Also if it was a P.G. the rubber floor mat would have no hole at that location.

P.M. SENT.

There was no floor mat in this car. I've already verified the existence of a hole in the toe board for a clutch pedal. I slide the fiber insulator out the bracket [also present] that holds it and sure enough, there was a hole punched in the toe board. It still retains the P/G master cylinder. I have not yet, but if there is a difference in the brake pedal it could be discerned by looking in the Master Parts Catalog.