Having lost my way in the thicket of “special”, “standard”, and “deluxe” designations on these pages more than once, it’s high time for me to figure this out, and here on eBay is a wonderful route to better understanding: a 1951 Chevrolet Styleline Deluxe coupe, bid to $12,289, reserve not met. The auction has a buy-it-now price of $24,000, and the car is located in Concord, Georgia. The Deluxe was carved out as a luxe trim level (but below the soon-to-be-born Bel Air) in 1949, featuring lots of stainless trim, better interior fabrics, and niceties such as extra roof insulation, fancy door handles, and dual sun visors. The Deluxe cost more of course. If budgeting was a necessity, you could opt for the Special, lacking the trim options. (Confusing things immensely was the existence of a “Special Deluxe” in the early 1940s – argh!) Larry D. gave us this tip; thanks, Larry, and to everyone who gives us tips.
Cars did not evolve much from 1946 through 1948 as the economy recovered from the massive disruption of WWII. Consequently, much was hanging on the year 1949, when the Big Three would introduce their first post-war designs. At the same time, studios were chastened by prior experiences such as Chrysler’s Airflow – a daring takeoff on the streamlining movement that turned into a huge commercial flop. Even Hudson’s “step down” bathtub styling was too extreme. The trick was to be different – divorced from the pre-war look, but not too much so. The Styleline hit all the right notes. It was not slab-sided, it was not bulbous, and it had the modern “pontoon” look but .in a subtle way. This notchback body was produced alongside the Fleetline, a fastback style. Both were offered in Special and Deluxe trim. This sport coupe is the most desirable of the body types. The seller indicates that this car has zero rust on a single repaint which according to the tag appears to be in its original colors of Aspen Green and Fathom Green.
For 1951, two in-line six-cylinder motors were offered: a 216 cu. in. and a 235 cu. in. This car has the 216 cu. in. with a single barrel carburetor, paired with a three-speed manual, good for 90 hp. (When the 235 box was ticked, the customer could have a Powerglide automatic.) This car reportedly starts easily and runs strong. The odometer reads 83,000 miles. The tires are new, and the brakes have been rebuilt.
The interior is beautiful. The headliner is nearly perfect. Even the trunk is tidy. This classy car is no project: it’s ready to show if that’s your style. The only question mark is value. To that end, we offer these two comparables – a car that may have sold near the BIN price for this example, and an apparently current listing also close to the BIN. Other recent sales are hot rods with modern motors, and not comparable to this beautiful original. What would you pay for this go ‘n show Styleline?
Beautiful old car and nice write up but the author not only got lost in the name game but lost his name too. Who is our mystery writer and is he still lost?
It’s me, Bob, I was the writer. I was referring to the ’40 Ford coupe I wrote up, which I called a deluxe but which turned out to be a standard. I think it’s interesting how the nomenclature changed over the years so that every buyer felt “special”. Pretty soon you couldn’t call anything standard!
The nomenclature has indeed changed. For example, many refer to manual transmissions as “standard.” Yet for many decades, automatics have been far more prevalent. Thus “standard” actually means automatic.
Correcting comment to “her”, and glad her name isn’t lost anymore.
Any car with the either original or even correct drive train hold more value than the ones that get butchered. If a original drive train is not a viable option i/e a 40 Ford with a Flat Head versus a say 302/ 289 those would hold a comparable value as opposed to a blown 427 or a off breed motor.
Aren’t windshield visors just baseball caps for cars?
Just like continental kits are “butt extenders”?
They work great for sunshine driving but don’t do much for aerodynamics. If you are real tall I guess they’d be OK for driving in a snow storm.
Great observation, Rodney.
@Rodney: If windshield visors were just baseball caps for cars, why don’t we see more of these visors over the rear window? ;) I’ll go back to my room now…
Seriously, nice car, although I’d have taken that last step to seek out correct seat upholstery material!
I agree, especially since the original seat upholstery had the classy pinstriping!😀
Real pretty.
I was 9 when this car came out, and it had a huge trunk. A neighbor and his wife would go to the drive-in theaters and would hide about 6-8 of us neighborhood kids in the trunk until he got inside the drive-in. We were free to go to the playground area or sit on the benches at the snack bar… both areas had mounted speakers. When we loaded up to go back home, some of us got to ride in the back seat while some of us had to get back in the trunk… we thought we were cool back then…. lol.
This is a great looking car and if it is near as nice as the pictures, it would be a pleasure to own. What’s it worth? Pretty much what the high bid is. I think around twenty, would be good, but as nice as it appears I think it could get closer to 25 for a motivated buyer.
This “club/business coupe” was my first car in 1958. Power was 6 cylinder and “powerglide” transmission. It was black. I did a “bull nose and deck” job (no chrome). painted the body metalic gold with white top. Painted the interior turquoise. Wide whitewalls were “necessary”.
The Bel Air which came out as a 50 model is the most desired model with a roof. The Bel Air became a full line in 53 instead of just the hardtop as in previous years.
While the interior may be “beautiful”, it is also entirely incorrect in design and materials (WHICH ARE READILY AVAILABLE!!!). Why waste your money to do it wrong? Makes no sense, not even if you’re a cheapskate, because any knowledgeably buyer would prefer a car done correctly, making those easier to sell.
Re: “standard” transmission. I don’t guess there is any way to know for sure, unless someone has a 51 Chevy sales brochure, but it would be my guess that the term “standard” “evolved” from all automobiles having manual transmissions in the beginning, and, as automatics were available, that the manual transmissions were eventually called the “usual/normal/standard” transmission.
Really nice. My Mom’s first car was a 51 Chevy.I think her green was a shade darker.
Billie, Do me a favor and call it anything you want but “Three on the Tree” I am 80, I was there and we never called it that!