Chevrolet Fleetline Deluxe
If you want evidence of just how fickle the automobile market can be, look no further than the Chevrolet Fleetline Deluxe. This model vehicle was fairly popular with consumers for around five years, then sales plummeted and the model was discontinued in the blink of an eye.
The Chevrolet Fleetline Deluxe was made between 1946 and 1952. From 1946 to 1948, it was just a sub-series of Chevrolet Fleetline rather than a series on its own rights. From 1949 to 1951 it was sub-series of both the Chevrolet Special and Chevrolet Deluxe but in its last year, it was offered only sub-series of the latter. Actually, the Chevrolet Fleetline was introduced in 1941 as a four-door automobile. Production of this model was stopped in 1942 when World War II was at its peak. Several thousand Chevrolet coupes and sedans were produced during the war for military staff use.
Impressive Set of Features
For the 1941 and 1942 model years, the vehicle featured a 216cid inline 6 “blue flame” engine. This engine is able to produce 90 horsepower at nearly 3,300 rpm. And in the 1950 model, the engine produced nearly 92 horsepower. Also in 1950, Chevrolet added a 235.5cid one-bbl and six-cylinder engine with 105hp (78KW).
The power of this amazing vehicle could easily exceed 80 miles per hour without overdrive. In very early models of this car, the transmission was a manual synchromesh three-speed with vacuum-assisted shift.
The Fleetline contains hydraulic brakes with all-wheel drums. In 1951, the brakes went along the master cylinder of the car, which was under the floor and connected to the frame rail.
In the last years of its manufacture, an automatic transmission was offered for this model of car. Connection to the third member rear-end was via an enclosed “torque tube” driveshaft.
Unique Style of the Fleetline Deluxe
The exterior supported smooth curves, which contained chrome and trims. In the earlier models, the rear bumper had the optional external bumper guard that had to be ratcheted out of the way so the trunk cover could be lifted. The front and rear bumper had optional chrome “trim”, a dress-up item that bottled at the end of the stock bumper.
