Introduced for the 1950 model year, the Chevrolet Bel Air soldiered for 31 years to become one of the company’s most iconic and popular nameplates. But Chevrolet became America’s volume sales leader in the full-size car segment long before the stylish hardtop came out. And it was all thanks to the models like the Fleetline and Styleline.
Introduced in 1941 and produced until 1952, the Fleetline doesn’t get as much love as the pre-1955 Bel Air and the iconic Tri-Five series that followed. However, it’s highly popular with hot-rodders, mainly because it’s still an affordable classic.
But most Fleetlines are currently rotting away in junkyards, and fully-fledged survivors are very hard to come. And that’s precisely why I got excited when YouTube’s “IowaClassicCars” stumbled across an unaltered and highly original 1949 Fleetline.
Parked for decades in a barn, this old Chevy has been in the same family since day one. Driven for more than two decades, the two-door was parked in 1970 and remained in storage ever since. That’s a whopping 54 years!
The Fleetline sports a few period upgrades, so it’s not 100% factory-original, but it’s as close as classic cars get to survivor status. The black paint, the interior, and the engine are all original. Of course, the vehicle is visibly weathered inside and out, but it’s still usable as is because there are no significant rust issues to talk about.
Sure, the interior could actually use new upholstery or seat covers, but I bet the original paint will shine again with cleaning and buffing. If anything, it should display some nice patina. This Chevy is a fine time capsule.
Not surprisingly, the old engine didn’t run when the car emerged from the barn, but our host managed to fire it up. That’s pretty amazing after over 50 years without a sip of gasoline. The Fleetline draws juice from a 216-cubic-inch (3.5-liter) inline-six rated at 90 horsepower when new.
It’s part of the second generation of Stovebolt engines that Chevrolet used from 1937 to 1962. The range also included the “Blue Flame” mill that powered the early first-generation Corvette. Chevrolet did not introduce a V8 until 1955.
Removed from storage by the original owner’s grandson, the Fleetline shows only 78,000 miles (125,529 km) on the odometer and will hit the classic car market once it runs and drives as it should. It’s one of those lucky rigs that will return to the road instead of going to the junkyard, and that’s something all classic car enthusiasts should celebrate.
See it coming out of the barn in the video below. Oh, and this Fleetline also has one of my all-time favorite features: a sun visor atop the windscreen. You can find out more about it in my blurb about cool car features from the past.