Vehicle Description
1947 Chevrolet Fleetline Aero Sedan
The 1947 Chevrolet Fleetline Aerosedan, despite being the most
expensive two-door closed car in the Chevy lineup, was still the
most popular model of the best-selling brand in America in 1947.
Let's say you're not convinced that appearance is an important
factor - maybe the important factor - that drives car shoppers to
choose one vehicle over another. Then consider the 1947 Chevrolet
Fleetline Aerosedan. Why? After all, mechanically, it was the same
as any of Chevrolet's other 10 models offered that year. In
standard equipment, it varies little from most cars in the
Fleetmaster series, out of which the two-car Fleetline subseries
was derived. It had to be the looks. Aerosedans had the benefit of
fastback styling that was very much in vogue in the Forties.
General Motors gave the style a big boost in 1941 when it launched
a well-received armada of B-body Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick, and
Cadillac sedans and coupes. When a fastback roofline was extended
to the A-body program in 1942, Chevrolet jumped on the bandwagon
with the Aerosedan. An instant hit, this two-door companion to the
notchback Sportmaster four-door sedan topped the Chevy sales charts
in war-shortened 1942. When postwar production resumed for 1946,
the Aerosedan slipped back into the pack, but then shot back up
into sales leadership the next two years.
For consignment, a 2-door aero sedan from the bowtie company in
1947 Fleetline street rodded form. This car is in nice condition,
has a big 8 cylinder engine under the hood, an original style
interior and bleeds 40's style. Showing as an older build, it runs
well, and is a nice drivable car for someone who likes the look of
the late 40's motoring mixed with street rod looks and that sexy
sexy aero back styling.
Exterior
Bathed in a 4-tone paint job of pale yellow, copper, beige and
brown, the finish remains shiny and fairly rust free but we do note
areas of blistering, bubbling and evidence of bodywork cracking out
with the majority of the issues reserved for the lower sections of
the body. Chrome trimmings remain bright and shiny, with some early
signs of fading on the chrome grille bars. Moving down the sides
reveals an almost "Fairlane" swoop sweep to the paint hues and the
original charm of the rounded bulbous looking hood and hanging side
fenders with some chrome trimmings have been retained. The running
board is about to go away with the turn of the decade it totally
will, but this car still has small running boards connecting the
fenders which are highlighted by stainless trimmings. This moves us
to the ever sloping roofline that simply melts down into the
heavily tapered trunk lid after passing the near horizontal rear
glass. Bright and shiny chrome Cragar wheels are on all 4 corners
and are wrapped in staggered width raised white letter BF Goodrich
tires.
Interior
A swing of the doors and we see the metal painted pale yellow and
woodgrain door sills which border embossed tan broadcloth covered
panels. These are dressed to the nines with chrome cranks and
actuators as well as tan vinyl armrests. The seats tubs are the
original and have the original styletan striped broadcloth covering
them in a clean coloring, and appear as nearly new with only minor
staining. The front bench sits in a tub of smooth vinyl surround
and a rear bench sports the same pattern and appears with
similarstaining as the front. bench and does offer plenty of
legroom. Low pile yellow carpet floods the floors, and it appears
as new thanks to the deep pile brown carpeted mats and a tight tan
headliner has been installed. Upfront, a yellow and brown metal
dash is appearing original and looking nice and aged with no real
damage. Original gauges and horizontal ribbed trimmings have some
smaller knobs peppering the front panel. A Grant GT wood rimmed 3
spoke steering wheel in front of the dash with a tachometer
strapped to the column. A modern AM/FM/CD stereo is occupying the
lower dash central and a trio of white faceAutoGage gauges hangs
below.
Drivetrain
Shoehorned into the patina riddled engine bay is a 350ci V8 topped
with an aluminum intake manifold and Holley 4-barrel carburetor.
Some chrome is on for the valve covers, air cleaner lid, and
alternator giving some nice contrasting bling to the patina. Bolted
to the back is a Saginaw 4-speed manual transmission with a
hydraulic clutch that sends power rearward to a Ford 9" rear axle.
Aside from theobvious powerplant change, the wiring appears to be
updated as well.
Undercarriage
Patina and surface rust cover nearly every inch of the
undercarriage with the flooring and frame remaining solid. Invasive
rust has taken a hold on the inner rockers and a few of the body
hangers, but all else remains solid. Independent coil springs in
front and leaf springs in the rear provide the ride and power disc
brakes on the front work with power drums on the rear to bring
thissleek rod to a halt. Headers snake their way down from the mill
and connect to dual exhaust with Flowmaster mufflers for the big
exhale.
Drive-Ability
She started right up and ran smoothly. For a large car, it
accelerated nicely, handled well for its size and thanks to the
updated brakes stopped very well. We noted that the speedometer and
odometer did not click off the miles and there were an abundance of
squeaks and rattles coming from the car during our drive.
Despite some exterior faults, this car presents nicely as an older
build using a very popular and hardly seen thesedays aerosedan. TLC
will bring that exterior right back up to snuff, and you will be
able to pile your family in and go for a Sunday drive...Remember
those??
14EKL64261
14-Baltimore, MD Assy Plant
E-1947
K-Fleetline/Fleetmaster
L-December
64261-Sequential Unit Number
TRIM TAG
STYLE 47 1007-1947 Fleetline 2 Door Aero Sedan
BODY M19918-Baltimore Body #
TRIM 132-Tan Striped Fabric
PAINT 347-Wing Blue
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 850 vehicles for sale
with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle
barn find collection is on display. This vehicle is located in our
showroom in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, conveniently located just
1-hour west of Philadelphia on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The
website is www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888)
227-0914. Please contact us anytime for more information or to come
see the vehicle in person.
