Although produced for a rather brief period between 1941 and 1952, the Chevrolet Fleetline managed to garner a rather convoluted life story. It turned from a separate Special Deluxe model to a sub-series of the Fleetmaster, then reverted to being either a Special or Deluxe version. With the car jumping ship on so many occasions, it’s no wonder one could get confused by its constantly shifting priorities. For this particular 1950 example, that also includes acquiring some autocross trophies.
Such is the greatness of restomod builds. The 1950 Chevrolet Fleetline Deluxe Two-Door Sedan we see featured in the latest video (embedded below) from the Hand Built Cars YouTube channel was caught by its current owner while lying dormant and abandoned in a field. But would anyone (except for the builder, of course) imagine that it was given a new lease of life to become an unlikely autocross star?
Well, according to the build project beauty shots and the footage providing a couple of great POV’s (from outside at the 13:14 mark, from inside the cockpit at the 18:05 timestamp), it became a winning, patina-infused racer. With a little help, of course. Actually, with a lot of help, as the almost 20 minutes of build project tinkering will attest.
Unfortunately, unlike other mesmerizing custom builds we’ve seen on this channel, this time around, the stills and occasional footage aren’t accompanied by the crucial modifications list. Instead, all we have is the project unfolding before our eyes (from the moment it’s a derelict wreck to the time when it only looks like one) and very few pointers to work our way through.
Sure, one can see the new frame being mounted along with the Corvette brakes (3:25), the Holley EFI-packing V8 engine (it’s an LS, of course) at the 6:35 mark, the suspension setup (7:45), as well as the huge checklist for the project (9:16). But the rest needs to be extracted from the snippets of information, such as the magazine excerpt (seen at 14:49) that talks about the ride’s first autocross run once complete or the neat first place trophy proudly shown at the very end.
Well, according to the build project beauty shots and the footage providing a couple of great POV’s (from outside at the 13:14 mark, from inside the cockpit at the 18:05 timestamp), it became a winning, patina-infused racer. With a little help, of course. Actually, with a lot of help, as the almost 20 minutes of build project tinkering will attest.
Unfortunately, unlike other mesmerizing custom builds we’ve seen on this channel, this time around, the stills and occasional footage aren’t accompanied by the crucial modifications list. Instead, all we have is the project unfolding before our eyes (from the moment it’s a derelict wreck to the time when it only looks like one) and very few pointers to work our way through.
Sure, one can see the new frame being mounted along with the Corvette brakes (3:25), the Holley EFI-packing V8 engine (it’s an LS, of course) at the 6:35 mark, the suspension setup (7:45), as well as the huge checklist for the project (9:16). But the rest needs to be extracted from the snippets of information, such as the magazine excerpt (seen at 14:49) that talks about the ride’s first autocross run once complete or the neat first place trophy proudly shown at the very end.