One benefit of spending (way too much) time looking at cars for sale online is that you can actually learn something new almost every day. Before seeing this 1951 Chevrolet Sedan Delivery for sale on Craigslist, in Enosburg, Vermont, I’d never heard of Minneapolis, Kansas. A town of around 2,000 people, it is the county seat of Ottawa County in north central Kansas, a bit north of Interstate 70 and Salina. Known locally as the “City of Waters,” it was named after Minneapolis, Minnesota.
I went on this little geographical side trip because the sedan delivery for sale here still shows its original owner’s name, phone number and location. Evidently, back in 1951, if you lived in Minneapolis, Kansas, you could call the nicely alliterative Dallen’s Dairy Delivery (phone number “263”) to have milk and eggs delivered to your door.
Chevy sold well over one million cars in the Korean War year of 1951, but only 20,817 of them were sedan delivery models. This sort of local delivery use was fairly typical for these cars in the forties and fifties. I believe turn signals were an optional purchase on 1951 Chevies, and it looks like this one did not have them!
Since not that many of these cars have survived, and many that did were street rodded, sedan delivery values have skyrocketed. This seller’s asking price of $4,995, while high, is not completely crazy, especially given that this example is so original and appears to have its sedan delivery specific parts present.
Not much is said about this car’s condition by the seller, but based on the photos provided and the fact that it’s 65 years old, you can expect to find plenty of rust in its floors, rockers and fenders. Hopefully the frame is still solid.
I wish the seller had provided photos of the interior and engine compartment. This car looks like it has not run in a very long time, and you can safely assume, it needs just about everything. Even so, this sedan delivery is well worth saving, and it would be fun to see it restored, with its original signage present.
Of course, Dallen’s Dairy Delivery does not exist anymore, but there are still some folks named Dallen living in Minneapolis who might enjoy seeing it. I hope this great example of mid-century small town America will find a new owner willing to take on the work needed to make it new again.
The grill and seamed rear fenders make this a 1950 not a 1951.
Bob — Thanks for pointing that out. I see in the ad listing that the title is missing, so maybe the seller does not know that he has a 1950 model. Slightly less rare with 23,045 made that year. The amount of knowledge among BF readers is pretty impressive.
– David
The grille is definitely 1950. The rear quarters on sedan deliveries and station wagons (the steel bodied ones, not wooden) were the same 49-52.
There has been a similar car on eBay for a while now, not as nice as this one but not bad either, for 500.00 I think…….have been watching it. Sounds way cheep. These used to be expensive but seem to have come down in the last years.
I was wrong……it is a 54 for 750.00
I agree, I had one like it 40 years ago.
David, I’m just an old guy who was around when these were new.
I’m going to agree with an earlier claim that this is a ’50. Not a real big difference in the power train but the brakes are unique for the ’49 and ’50 models. You can update them which would make parts a bit easier to get. This is so tempting; it would be a great companion to my ’49 Styleline.
Look closer, it’s Minneapolis, Kansas. I didn’t even know there was one in Kansas. Near Salina.
yep it is a 50 first year for powerglide. don’t know if any of these were an automatic.
This one is a stick shift. Since sedan deliveries were variants of standard Chevy, it seems a reasonable guess you could order one with the PowerGlide tranny. You got the bigger 235 cid engine with it too.
Brings back memories. I hope that the one that gets this restores it to as near to original as possible.
If you have a small company a car like this with modest upgrades for safety and performance would be the best advertising you could buy. NOBODY would miss it and if the restoration was of high quality that would rub off on to the owners company.
SEE YOUR LOGO HERE. A lot of work but I have a friend with a 52 Studebaker truck and his company logo on it and he has gotten more new business from that tuck to pay for the truck and the restoration. This would be even better as you have more area.
A good looking vehicle, thought so in ’51 when I was 10, and still do.
Cool cat! Housemate had the larger one in the ’60s you could walk in hunched over (but dodge).
Are those called vans, or what?
The one you are talking about is a Panel truck. This is a Sedan Delivery, a car.
Is the missing mount on the rear left for a single brake light?
Love the patina on this car. Be cool to be able to save the original print add, but I think it’s too far gone. I suppose a guy could duplicate it, with the correct location: Minneapolis MN. Land of Lakes, which is where I’m from. I guess just change it to ” LAND O’ Lakes Dairy “.
Oops,
Land of 10,000 Lakes.
Neil, the missing mount on he left rear was for brake (red lens) and license plate light (clear lens) as well as bracket for license plate itself. The light fixture is identical to a 49 GMC pick up. Additional lights (pass. side) were a 5 dollar option. An expensive option for a work truck. I have a 52 Pontiac sedan delivery which I converted to look like a 52 Chevy as I had a Chevy 4 door sedan for parts.The 52 4- door Chevy frame and the 52 Pontiac Sedan Delivery were exactly the same frame. All holes and pins lined up perfectly.
The missing mount was for a single brake/licence plate light. One red lens and one clear. Extra lights were a $5 option from the factory.
I had a model of one of these done up like a Gasser when I was a kid. If this were mine thats what I’d do with it .It would have a crazy metal flake paint job .A blower stickin through the hood siting on a big block Chevy .It would have to be a 4spd trans with a 9″ ford rear end to finish of the drive train.Now for wheels it needs those skinny magnesium spokes in the front ,and big old 5 slots out back.For the interior how about some swivel buckets? No old bomber seats that swivel! The rest of the interior would be done up like an old van from the 70’s, with lots of tasteful Shag carpet .Now this all hinges on how rusty the frame is and how much money I could get it for.Woah!! I was away but I’m back now,I guess I really like this old delivery.
“tasteful shag carpet” ROFL. You had me right up til that. And yes I remember that kit. And it was recently reissued with new graphics – not good ones imo.
I think that you are the only one who realised I was kidding about the shag carpets. Sometimes people are a little to serious. .But on the other hand you never know when you’ll have to sleep in it Down by the River.That shag carpeting would be mighty comfy .Don’t ya think? Hey I’m totally serious about the rest of what I posted though . This thing is way kool!
Still has it’s auction # on the window…..nice….
I don’t know what year it is but the front fenders look like ’51-52 with a ’50 grill in front of them.
I agree, 50 grill mounted to 51/52 fenders. 51/52 deliveries shared the earlier 49/50 rear quarters/trim/taillight. Hood ornament and badge look 49 or 50, not 51.
I think you are correct about the front fenders JW454. Good eye , good catch. I missed that .
I love the old sedan-deliveries. My dad had a ’52 Ford sedan-delivery, and it had automatic transmission and was what I learned to drive on. Ellis Funeral Home here in Midland replaced their 1948 Chevy Panel ambulance with a ’51 Chevy sedan-delivery that looked like the one here. They retired it in 1953 and replaced it with a ’54 Ford station wagon, giving the ’51 sedan-delivery to the predominantly black funeral home; and it stayed in service with them until the place changed hands in the late ’60s. When I moved to Lubbock to attend Texas Tech in 1968 I spotted another ’51 Chevy sedan-delivery ambulance at a small funeral home, and they still had it in service. When I became involved with our small, volunteer standby ambulance service I tried to talk the funeral home out of that ’51, but he declined, but promised me that I’d get it if he ever retired it. The car “outlived” the guy and his brother sold the car out from under me not long after the original owner died. I spotted it one time on the street in the mid-70s. It had been totally restored and had a new paint job, but it was minus the lights and siren that had graced the roof when it had been an ambulance. Still wish we had gotten that one!
Ck, we must be brothers from another mother. I am working on a 1952 Chevy sedan delivery similar to your wish list description. Mine came from Tennessee many years ago,the previous owner brought it back (Im in Canada) and in his own words he completely disassembled it and then completely lost interest. I bought it out of a soybean field for $500 in 1999. Put it into storage until 2007 when we started working on it. We used an S 10 4×4 Blazer frame modified to fit,with the front diff pulled, a 455 Olds with an an old Offenhauser dual quad manifold(sorry no $$ for a blower!) ,a 200R4 od and the factory 3.42 7.5 10 bolt posi (for now) . Wheels and stance are how you describe. No paint work and no shag carpet(sorry). Almost done (I know) but I hope to have it ready for spring. Oh yeah, that old model kit inspired me too!
Hey MDW66 ,thats awsome .I know sometimes the people on this site are hardcore “It must be restored” people.But somtimes a car just Screams HOT ROD.Thats what old Sedan Deliveries do for me.Evedently they do that for you to.Your car sounds like its gonna be one of those cars that Screams Hot Rod…
On a side note, right hand tail lights were a dealer installed option. Turn signals were also dealer installed. Became factory installed in 1953. I have a ‘50 sedan delivery.
I delivered milk door to door in Minneapolis, KS with Ed Dallen in that vehicle. My first job…early 70’s. He would pick me up at 3:00 AM to go to his warehouse to load up the days deliveries. Finished deliveries before daylight. Mr. Dallen was quite the local bowler and lined the dash with his many trophies. The vehicle was known locally, with affection, the “Trophy Dash”.