Large Marge is for sale. She is a 1950 Chevrolet Fleetline Deluxe 4-Door (VIN 3HK-I-142907, Engine S/N HAA114628). She has her ALL ORIGINAL 216 Stovebolt Six engine and three-on-the-tree tranny, along with starter, generator, and distributor (data plates match production year, as do casting numbers on head and manifolds.)
She is fully operable and suitable for use on Sunday drives. She goes, turns, stops, and gets attention wherever she goes.
She represents the first post-war GM design, introduced in 1949 and carried through to 1950 with minor trim changes. Modern features include push-button start (instead of on the floor) and hydraulic (instead of mechanical) brakes. Her ‘Fastback’ Fleetline body style is like nothing else, and was not produced after the 1952 model year.
Large Marge has a good old dependable 3-speed manual transmission, though 1950 models were available for the first time with the revolutionary automatic (2-speed) transmission. (Many pages of the service manual are devoted to explaining this baffling new development.)
Large Marge is a longtime Dallas resident, purchased by her previous owner in 1980 from a car dealer on Main Street named Eldon Earthman (who wore a porkpie hat). She was repainted in the early 80’s from her original beige to factory-correct ‘Moonlight Cream’.
Paint job was well done, to include door jambs and edges, bumper valences, etc., but has begun to deteriorate and she needs a new paint job and some minor body work. Her paint is checked, cracked, and peeling in some places. About 2 years ago her roof became embarrassingly peeled, and so the roof has been painted as near as can be matched to the rest of her. A few other areas have been less-carefully touched up to maintain her ’50 foot’ status. She has some rust (not extensive) on her rear bumper valence, her left quarter panel, the bottom of the rear doors, and on her wheel skirts.
She came to me in 2001 after sitting for about 3 years, not running, with no brakes, and the driver’s floor pan Flintstoned out. My son and I spent 2+ years (off and on) collecting parts and restoring her to as near original as possible.
When we removed the existing aftermarket seat covers, I concluded that they had been installed when Large Marge was brand new, as the original grey broadcloth material underneath was in superb condition. The seats had only minor wear at the driver’s position, and the passenger side and rear seats were like new, the stitching as sharp as the day she left the St Louis assembly plant in 1950.
Prior to installing the NOS genuine Chevy accessory seat covers, I covered them all in plastic and additional cushioning to keep them preserved. The accessory seat covers have, unfortunately, finally begun to deteriorate after 15 Texas summers.
She has her original Fulton windshield visor, rear wheel skirts, deluxe accessory hood ornament and steering wheel, factory heater, wind-up dash clock, and front and rear bumper guards, with front accessory bar.
Large Marge has been converted from her original 6V electrical system to 8V. Gee, that’s unusual; Why not a 12V conversion? This way, she gets to keep her original generator, bulbs, voltage regulator, and gauges, but she starts up with much more enthusiasm and her lights all burn brighter. Her voltage regulator has been adjusted to accommodate 8V, and the only hard part is finding an 8V battery (she has a new one Dec18 from Tractor Supply).
Since 2001 she has had the following work done:
Interior
New Headliner
Door panels recovered
Painted upper and lower dash, and all door trim
All door and trunk weather-stripping replaced
Window channels, beltline seals, and welting replaced
Driver floor panel replaced, and new carpet throughout, plus floor mats.
New kick panels and rear deck panel (hard to find)
New trunk liner panels and trunk mat
Exterior
Engine compartment weatherstrip and cowl seals
Door/hood/trunk rubber bumpers
Beaded pads for hood emblem, trunk handle, license lights, and tail lights.
Door handle pads
Hubcaps polished, with decals and stainless steel beauty rings added.
Blue decal inserts on grille letters, painted verticals and hood and trunk emblems
Blue-dot tail light lenses
Third stop light in rear window added for safety
Monster white wall (3”) Coker tires, G78-15 for much better profile than the original (Volkswagon-sized) 6.70-15.
Mechanical
Refurbished head, with hardened exhaust valve inserts for unleaded gas.
New push rods, replaced some rocker arms, clean and polish rocker arm shafts.
Painted head, valve cover, push rod cover, and upper block (blue, not original grey)
Painted engine compartment (black)
New fuel tank (plastic)
All new brake shoes, wheel cylinders and new master cylinder (2019)
New water pump
New fuel pump
New distributor vacuum advance
Rebuilt carburetor, with original gold/yellow chromate coating reapplied.
Rebuilt generator, new brushes
Adapted to 8V electrical system, as above
Extras
Spare interior front door panels, front (hard to find)
NOS oil filter (not installed)
Spare misc parts, including fuel pump, tune up parts, hubcaps, trim cloth, and exterior touchup paint.
Lots of literature and manuals, including Owner’s Manual, Parts catalog, factory Service Manual, several aftermarket service manuals, illustrated sales brochures, magazine ads, ‘Engineering Features’ publication, and book of complete specs from GM.
Vintage 6V accessory plug-in work light
Model car kit, unassembled (1951 Fleetline model)
Things not perfect
Driver’s side windshield cracked
Windshield wipers need replacement
Rust and paint, as noted above
Radio does not work (needs tubes)
Radio antenna removed
Bumpers need chrome or replaced
Slight, isolated water staining of headliner and carpet
Accessory (butterfly) steering wheel rim material is cracked
Rear arm rests and front seat back robe hook not installed (spare parts)
