1951 Chevrolet Fleetline Fastback
When you think about the Chevys that were produced right after the war, sleek is not an adjective that first comes to mind. That said, this 1951 Fleetline is certainly an exception and Chevy didn’t produce a car with these lines again until the ’65 Impala SS.
While a majority of lowriders may be more partial to the unofficial “first-series” Fleetlines, it’s the second incarnation of the fastback that most hot rodders favor, most notably the 4-door sedans. As with the predecessors, they require little to no exterior modifications—their inherent streamline styling is literally spot on. A little lowering, the right wheel and tire combo, and a nice paintjob is really all it takes—though there’s always room to take things to the next level.
Much like the other Chevrolet’s produced in 1951, the Chevy Fleetline Deluxe featured a newly design grille with the lower two horizontal bars extended to form a circular frame for oblong parking lamps. Nestled besides the parking lamps were five vertical sectioned bars or teeth. The name ‘Chevrolet’ was written graciously in script on the upper chrome grille frame molding. All Deluxe models featured a stainless steel molding that began above the front wheel opening and extended onto the doors.
Standard equipment on all deluxe models was chrome rear gravel shields and painted fender skirts. Stainless windshield reveal moldings and rear window reveal moldings were returned once again on the ’51 Chevy coupes and sedans. The moldings outline the windshield and rear window glass while another molding followed the top curve of the doors and quarter windows on all ’51 Chevy deluxe sedans and coupes.
When Chevy advertised for the Fleetline Deluxe it used the phrase ‘America’s largest and finest low-priced car!’ while another read ‘More than an automatic transmission alone. It’s the Power Glide Power Team!’ This last quote was referring to the automatic transmission that had been introduced the ’50 Chevrolet and the 105 hp Chevrolet valve-in-head engine. The combination of these gave the Deluxe 1951 Chevy more power than any other engine in the entire low-price field. Another name for the Fleetline was the Chevrolet Fastback.
