Cool Car Find: 1951 Chevrolet Styleline

This modded 1951 Chevy Styleline is an example of post-war design innovation and mind-melting modern customization.

Chevy Deluxe Reset

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In the 1940s, American automotive production halted as manufacturers switched from building passenger cars to building tanks, munitions, and airplane engines. Following the war, US carmakers from Ford and Chrysler to Hudson and Packard restarted their businesses using the same designs, same tooling, same stamps they had been using in 1940. Reverting factories back to automotive production was the first order of business. Kick starting the rest of their development chain took a good deal longer, and it was not until 1948 and 1949 that most American carmakers were able to finally get new, post-war designs to the market.

Case in point is today’s Cool Car Find, a 1951 Chevrolet Deluxe Styleline. The Chevy Special and Deluxe models had re-emerged into the market as basically the same cars as they had been prior to the war, but a major 1949 redesign evolved Chevy’s cars for a new decade of post-war prosperity. In the spirit of the age from which it came, a time in the late ‘40s and ‘50s when hot rodding and lowriding made custom modifications the core of American automotive culture, our ’51 Chevy Styleline combines a traditional exterior with major modifications underneath.

Background

Chevy’s Deluxe line of cars, a step above the Special Series, was built on GM’s A-body platform shared with the likes of the Oldsmobile 88 and Pontiac Chieftain. Body styles included two-door sedan, two-door cabriolet, four-door sedan, and a four-door station wagon.

The Deluxe’s original “Victory Six” 216 cu.-in. straight-six made 90 horsepower and came mated to a three-speed manual transmission. With the 1949 revamp, a new “Thrift-Master” 216-cu.-in. inline-six making around the same 90 horsepower as before.

More significant than the new engine was the Deluxe’s new looks. For 1949, the front fenders were integrated into the body while the rear fenders grew more prominent. The width of the interior was increased thanks to the elimination of exterior running boards and now three could ride abreast on the front bench seat. The Deluxe was offered in Fleetline (fastback) or Styleline versions.

For the 1950 model year, Chevrolet added a new 235 cu.-in. straight-six engine option, this one making 105 horsepower and coming paired with a new Powerglide two-speed automatic transmission. These post-war years were some of the best for Chevrolet as sales topped 1 million cars in 1949, with over 700,000 of those being Deluxes.

This Cool Car

As we noted above, the late 1940s and 1950s were a golden age for hot rodding and lowriding. And in that spirit of modification comes our 1951 Chevy Deluxe Styleline. The ruby red exterior appears mostly stock, but the new rims are a hint at what’s lurking inside and under the hood. The interior has been completely redone with new leather upholstery, new steering wheel, stereo, climate control, and a new dashboard with new gauges.

Under the hood is a supercharged LS V8 making a claimed 578 horsepower and paired to a Tremec Viper six-speed manual transmission. Additional performance upgrades include four-wheel disc brakes, custom heads, 12 bolt rear end, rack and pinion steering, and stainless-steel control arms.