GREAT old Car!!! One year older than me! Dad had one and I backed it out of the driveway into the back lane at age 7! Had to get 12 year old neighbbour to put it back where it belonged. He was more than happy to oblige !! Good for me the keys were in the house. CHEERS from Westcoast Canada! P.S. you could double clutch and rev match it into low without stopping. There was no 1st gear syncro
Dear friend, Thank you so much for giving me a ride in this car that was the first love of my life. I learned to drive one of this at 14 years old, but it was Styleline black, 4 doors, gray interior paint like yours and red seats. Now 62 years old, I just miss him, it was not possible to keep him and we had to sell him in 1989. Today here only rich people can have a gem like this, 4th world things. I hope you and his descendants take very good care of him, as on top of everything else he is an icon of Chevrolet. Best wishes. Oswaldo Felloni Brazil
When we consider the overpriced plastic money pits we have since about late 80s to now. This vehicle is the (living) example of build quality of how things were back in the day. And sake of greed, and the worship of the money god, we will never see any such quality in vehicles or anything else.
I agree,but one reason for a lot of this going to plastics and other light weight materials, is so the cars can meet the Federal meet the corporate average fuel mileage standards,if they couldn't meet it the Feds wouldn't let them put the cars on the road,I am not saying I like it,I don't, but the federal government's regulations are the cause of a lot of this,probably not the only cause, but a lot of it.
My grandma had a '50 Fleetline when I was a kid in the 60's, thought I was riding with her there for awhile, even brought back the old smells, great memories, thanks
I so envy who got this one. I always had a soft spot for '49-'52 Chevy's. There so solid looking, simple, and pleasing to the eye from any angle - and that dash is so nice. Being a non-manual transmission guy, I see that there's many more manuals in this time frame. Someone once told me that you actually want the 3-speed over the Powerglide.
@@terrymccoy9041 Nice! I love '59's too, but they have to "sit" factory high. When they're sagging, they look heavy. I'm really not for red on cars, but the '59 Impala in red/red is sharp. I only had a '64 Impala SS in the '80's that I used every day. White with a white/red interior. My fav will always be a '57 Bel Air in turquoise and ivory, but devoid of all the tacky gingerbread most laden them down with.
@@josephconsoli4128 The 59 I have now is a Biscayne , which is the lightest of all 59 Cars, it doesn't sag at all one of the most Contfrable car for cruising. Roll & pleat seats go back to the 50s
Just came across your video - enjoyed it. My father's '51 Fleetline (light green, no visor, with fender skirts) saw hard duty as my three older brothers and I all drove the car - not sure when Dad ever saw the car except when the rod bearings went out - again. The crankshaft was repaired to .030 undersize, which didn't help the connecting rod bearings much. We never drove it LESS than 65 mph - at least until the third time the rod bearings needed to be replaced by Dad. He then imposed a mandatory 55 mph speed limit, many years before it was done in the '70's oil crisis. Most of us found it convenient to get our own cars not long after that....
My great grandfather had a 51 styleline 4 door sedan, in a silver blue metallic paint (we think it was repainted by the previous owner), it was the third car in my family, and the second Chevy. He bought it used when he needed a replacement for his 39' Chevy Master Coach, and chose it because he liked the color (priorities where different then). Was iconic in the neighborhood for its shiny sliver paint, and was nicknamed "silver arrow" referring to Mercedes Benz's race cars. Was loved for the family until my great grandfather, now a little older, crashed into a tree and decided to stop driving. It was a great car.
The RU-vid algorithm served this up to me, five years late...my dad had a '60 Chevy pickup with the Stovebolt Six, and this car brought back a lot of auditory memories - all the engine and transmission sounds are the same. (His truck was a "beater", though, nowhere as nice as this car.) That is a gorgeous body style!
You can be proud buddy !!! she is so nice ! YOU CANNOT IMAGINE HOW IT FEELS for a lil french guy like me ( who dream bout coming bach in the early 30, 40's in the usa ) , how it is TO SEE YOU DRIVE THIS CAR , HER SOUND etc ..... 4 me it's just a dream ! YOU JUST MESS , THE COOL " DETECTIVE HAT" ! ;) thank you for this really cool peace of history of the united states , of this golden age ...... ENJOY IT FOR FULL IT A MAGIC CAR
OOHHH riding along took me back. I was 5 years old in '55 and had an uncle that took me along with him to go fishing in the lakes and ponds around Houston, Tx., in his '51 Fleetline. 50-55 mph wasn't bad in those days on the highways, they weren't built back then for cars to do much over that speed limit. Lanes were narrow and not much noted dividing lines and were laid out flat & no shoulder, not allowing for any drift, and combined with the steering on autos then, anything over 55 mph on highways was death defying. Loved the sun visor!!
We had a 50 or 51 Chevy when I was a toddler. I recall my dad saying the air filter was an oil bath type. He didn’t like the imprecise steering. The bumpers rusted so he painted them with silver paint. My folks traded it for a 53 Mercury.
In our old house there is a picture of my brother and me having a good old time at the ages of around four and five in my Dads "50 chevy. Got him around the whole Wichita, KS country side to meet my Mom, so good enough for me. I do remember the emblem on the hood stood out for me. He eventually sold it for a "56 chevy wich I do remember more because of the gas filler cap being behind the taillight which I was old enough to accomplish by then. Chevy cars in those days were the best.
No V8, but the good old sturdy and extremely smooth running GM 6 in line. Nobody would notice the difference when driving her. That's why the V8 never really caught on overhere in Europe. Opel (GM Germany) used them for their Kapitan range until 1965.
Of course you notice the difference. I've driven the 6 in lines and the v8's from the fifties. Even thought the line 6 pulls fine you do notice the extra push of a v8. The main reason the v8 wasn't popular is because nobody could afford the fuel consumption. We even had national car less Sunday's because we didn't have enough fuel.
@@dennis885600 Weet er alles van. Those big old American barges weren't really suited for the narrow roads and streets of our country either. My late dad worked with a company that painted electricity masts and had to drive through the whole country with 5/6 men and a heavy trailer with paint cans and a compressor for sandblasting. A VW bus couldn't make that and trucks which could seat more passengers than 2 were not available. So his boss purchased an Opel Kapitan P2 1962. But the coachwork was torn apart by the weight of the trailer within a few weeks. My dad bought a Caddilac 1952 from a garage for less than 500 guilders; ex funeral and wedding car with a big and very thirsty V8. That big black boat could do the job without any problems, but drank so much fuel that we only used it privately to drive to church on sundays. And even that costed F 10,- (in 1965!)
@@waltertaljaard1488 That Caddy would be amazing to drive yes. And I always made it a sport to try the tiniest alley ways in my villega with my '79 Pontiac Bonneville. I'm curious on how my 1954 Mercury Monterey will perform, wich I will receive next friday :D:D it's got the 256ci (4.2L) v8 so it should do the job. Btw. are you from the Netherlands aswell since I hear you talking about guilders?
@@waltertaljaard1488 Ja idd, bij nader inzien had ik dat idd al eerder kunnen lezen ja. En bedankt! Al viel het qua prijs héél erg mee. Zit zelfs nog onder de 10k dus gewoon goed zoeken ;)
Yes she runs very smooth no banging nor smoke 💨,I have 216 on my 49 sometimes I top it off 65 even though she can hit 70 easy too ,good engines Thanks for posting .👍🏻
I think most of us around the 50 yr mark learned to drive a 3 speed column shifter. In my case, it was in a 1966 stepside Ford at 5 yrs old, and the shifter was schloppppy. Kinda threw it at the next hole vs actually shifting to it. Lol. Thanks to those early skills, I can drive ANYthing... try that with a gen-x or me-me-mellenial. Lol.
Reminders me of the 1951 Chev Coupe my mother bought in 1956. Being 10 at the time, I don't remember much other than the style. I think she paid $500 for it, because her having to borrow it from her folks was a bone of contention for years afterward.
Concerned about the sight of antifreeze on the left side of the engine when the hood is opened while running. it runs along the oil galley and onto the oil pan flange. That's all just betow the water jacket on that side of the engine. Hope that does not indicate a possible cracked block. @ 9:09 on the vid.
@@TheWolf047 I don't know the story behind this car. The vid is almost 4 years old now. To me though, it seems a little odd that the seller would have a need to do a closeup of the radiator. Why so close? Also to zoom in on the antifreeze on the side of the block but make no mention of it. Just odd. Also not a good place to see antifreeze.
I was scrolling the comments waiting to see if anyone else noticed. My eyes are bad so I wasn't sure if I was seeing that. It's a beautiful car and would be worth fixing but will need some work.
Tri-Fives are nice, but there's just something about the Pre-Tri's that's special all its own. Me, I would have kept this one for myself. Looks like it's tons of fun to drive.
@@1940limited Maybe that option cost more than most people were willing to pay,I remember when ac,power steering, power brakes,and automatic transmissions were optional, but ran the price up enough that most people didn't get those options.
@@hubertwalters4300 People wee very frugal back then. Maybe it's not such a bad thing. Thanks for your reply. We should remember most Fords and Studebakers of this vintage did have the OD option.
@@hubertwalters4300 A friend of mine had a 49 Ford with OD. Another had a 51 Studebaker with it. In 1965 I could have ought an immaculate 51 Studebaker Commander V8 with stick and OD for $90.
how much did you sell it for? if not sold how much did you purchase it for? how much would in be in 2022? you seem like a stand-up guy, honest & genuine.
There’s nothing quite like the sound of a classic inline 6. All manual shift cars and trucks that I’ve driven had to be completely stopped before returning to 1st gear.
Check door handle on right side after that round a bout she was leaning hard starboard..... lmao 🤣 Seriously beautiful car .. if you upgrade power 292 gmc 6 is like nite and day i have 292 in 3 chevrolet cars Nothing sounds better than a 6 .. needs split exhaust
Beautiful car I like the 51 52 because the quarter panel's come out a little farther than the 1950 Chevy. I would not do anything but be the care taker of the car and show it at car shows crouse it once in a while until it's time to pass it on.
Beutiful car! The chrome strips on the tops of the quarters above the tailights was optional and if it was an automatic it would say powerglide above the trunk emblem!
Wish I had the dough to buy something like this and drop in a 292, 348 or maybe a modern 350 crate motor with a modern transmission, keep the rest stock. would be a fun cruiser. Nice ride.
A '51 Chevy would have a non-synchromesh 1st gear - that's why you can't shift into 1st while the car's moving. There's no mechanism to match the speed of 1st gear to the other gear to which you're trying to mesh. For Chevy, 1966 would be the first year for a fully synchronized 3 speed. I've adapted one into my '58 Chevy.
These old cars would benefit from an auto trans. They smooth out really well. You might br able to help reduce the revving by having the diff ratio altered!
Why not a modern engine, chassis, body etc. lol The entire reason for driving a mint old car is to enjoy the original look and driving experience. 3 on the tree is fun.
@@jashugg Ha! But once moving I rarely went to first (lots of "rolling stops" LOL)...but if had to come to complete stop (in traffic etc) it didn't matter. I can drive my 5 speed 1996 w/o using clutch unless fully stopped.👍
@@jashugg Yes! I have done that! Exiting a freeway ramp approaching red light....no clutch! Hydraulic fluid had leaked out. It's good to know how to drive without a clutch! 😁👌
@@jashugg Yeah,and if your battery went out you could push one off,put it in 2d gear pop the clutch and it would crank,I have a Saturn now with s standard trans 5 speed and if you do that in it,it will damage the catalytic converter,or so says the owners manual.
