<dancing with glee>
I just got the coolest project car! It's a 1949 Chevy Fleetline Special Sedan. My buddy owed me and he found this, I saw it and said *ahem* and now we're even! He brought ol' blue over and hauled off my junk subaru today.
I am about to embark on the journey of a lifetime - learning how to restore a car. I have access to the tools and friends with the knowledge to guide and assist along the way. It will keep me off the streets - til it's done anyway! I'm not even sure what way to go with it yet... but I'm gonna be scouring the net for ideas! I'm open to suggestions!

Looks solid..................looks like glass might cause problems. Start going to swap meets and look for parts. Your best bet might be to find a parts car. A rusty one will have the parts you need. Glass, interior and all that other good stuff....Good Luck.

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Roadweasel...here are a few ideas

I LOVE IT!

I'm an old truck kind of guy, but I love these old Fleetlines.

Suggestions? Oh man... Slam it, nose it, deck it, leave the top alone(!), shave the door handles, French the headlights, tunnel some '57 Cadillac tail lights in the rear fenders, round off the door/hood/trunk corners, shave the bumper bolts, slip in a floating grille bar with '57 Corvette grille teeth and "hidden" turn signals, give it a full tilt custom interior, drop in a 500 inch Cadillac engine, then spray it Ditzler Charcoal Gray with Toreador Red ghost flames, tint the windows as dark as the law will allow, add some polished Corvette Rally wheels and cruise the hell out of it.

Sorry... I got a bit carried away there.

I always thought a Fleetline would look cooler than hell with a '53 or '54 Bel Air front clip on it too. Hmmmmmmmmmm..........

I haven't completely made up my mind which way to go. I've been doing some research on her - I need to fetch the numbers off it today. I so far have found that 1949 is the first year of the Fleetline - I also want to take inventory on what all IS there. No motor, so going back to factory/showroom condition, matching numbers, etc. is out of the question. Also someone has *tried* to chop the top, gotten so far, realized they didn't have a clue, and then welded it back together. My boyfriend and his partner DO know what they are doing so will be completing the chop. So with that in mind, we'll be going for more of a custom look most definitely. The stock steering column is there, the dash is there and in ok shape, the seats were out of it, are now piled in it, but all there, all the chrome that is not on it is inside it - I only got it yesterday and there is a bunch of stuff piled inside it; glass, chrome, seats - it's been stripped down to restore already. It has a 115" wheelbase so I'm going to start looking for something that is more modern with the same wheelbase to use.
I can see it with the chop completed, a small block 350 or possibly a 400 to 427 (it originally came with a 6 cylinder), some decent suspension, a TH700R4 automatic tranny or meybe a B&M - we'll see whats around when it gets that far. Like I said, I think a good bet would be to find something already all there, and set the body down on a whole different frame/suspension. A nice set of Cragers or Torque-thrusts and some decent tires will finish it off. I guess the look I'm shooting for is functional custom. I would like electronic doors - that makes for such a clean look but they're so expensive. I have another friend who does upholstery and so I will get her to reupholster for me.
Oh and what color? I'm thinking seriously about a medium metallic plum and deep metallic purple two-tone or all deep bright blue. I mean, if I paint it purple, can I still call her ol' blue? Funny that the pix you posted, Kevin, reflect very closely the two colors I've already been considering!
I don't want it for the track - Ron has that under control with the Vega (and he's looking for a rail frame to build a front engine dragster - anybody know of any rail frames for sale?) - I want to go for the show car scene. Between Ron's 56 chevy pickup (which is already lowered, and getting chopped & new paint this winter) and my 49 we should be able to fully wow the bowtie crowd.

49 Fleetline that would make a heck of a leadsled,sueded out with flame throwers, a big block and some flipper hubcaps.

Sounds like a shweet ride in the making. I always liked the look of those 40's. Very sexy curves came out of the factory during that period. Now it's your turn. I can really see a good set of flame throwers on that thing. Do it.


MoocH

Ohhhhhweeeeeeee! Looks like some good times ahead with that ride. Keep us posted with in process pics Weezy.

In comparison to some of the other mods you've described, electric door pops are relatively cheap.

Autoloc lists a shaved door handle entry kit for 2 doors for $300.00. This is a heavy duty 6 channel kit that comes with 2 remotes.

Shaved Handles

Door poppers are cheap too. Usually around $20.00 apiece.

There are other suppliers out there, so shop around. Get every catalog you can have mailed to you for free, and just have fun.


Suuuuuuuure you really wanna chop that cool looking top??

How far along has your project come? Do you plan a frame off or frame swap? My 53 Chevy 210 has a Ford 9" tubed rear and stock front suspension with a 350/350 drive train. What are you going to run?



Todd



Rat Rods Rule!

it's tarped til spring for now it's gettin' pretty wintery here. I'm short on covered space to really do much yet! But I want to finish the chop job a previous owner started on it, and pancake the hood some, and before I do any of that I have to find out if I can get a vin number for it because the vin number plate is not on the door frame where it's supposed to be. No engine or tranny to get numbers off either. If that's going to be a hassle I'm sunk - I might as well part it out! I would think a vin would also be on the frame somewhere but I've not been able to find any references to such.
Provided that works out I need to learn more about swapping it onto a newer frame. It's a 115" wheelbase so I need to research out what actually might work with it. As far as engine tranny goes I'm not looking for a drag car - I just want a good running classy lookin ride. A 350 and a b&m transmission is always an alright choice.
I'm looking at a project that in my budget is going to take a couple of years! I've got some good people around to show me the way as well as all the good people here encouraging and offering wisdom, how can I go wrong?

I have a 49 fleetline chevy also the vin tag is under the hood of the car on the drivers side fire wall i know thats were mine is it tells all paint code. body style,the color code for in side also good luck hope you find it

Theres a 52 that needs brakes and a trunk lid, over it this junkyard I go to, it runs and I gess it would drive with brakes.
dirt cheap too! theres a 4 door parts car down there also.

Hey Girl.
Be carefull tarping it to long. It will hold moisture and cause some rusting. I say 427 or 454, tubbed, flame thrower exhuast and a set of suicide doors. Oh Yea! HG

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I know this is a bit old now but just wondering if anything came to be on this car yet? I have one and I'm still just getting ideas as I finish up another car.