1947 Chevy Fleetline Aerosedan: Company...

[craigrk]

So, yet another adventure begins.

I have quite eclectic taste when it comes to vehicles.  Mostly dominated by a love of pickups and vans (light commercial vehicles mainly - LCV's).  Realising that I needed something suitable to haul the family around (most LCV's are two seaters), I spotted this...



Well, after watching it for a few days, I finally got permission from SWMBO to place a bid on the day the auction was ending.  Well, later that day (15 April 2016) I had committed myself to my first US import as an "early" birthday present.  (I say "early", as while the commitment to first came about 2.5 weeks before my birthday, delivery of said present would take months...)

That started a whole trail of activity, sorting out payment and arranging shipping of my new acquisition.  Following weeks of angst which included tracking a 65,000 ton container ship from Oakland California to Southhampton, yesterday I received these photos from the recovery firm (STH Transport) who I contracted to pick my new baby up from the Southhampton to deliver to my home in Surrey.



More later as I am typing this while waiting for the recovery truck to arrive at my home before I need to leave for work...

[grizz]

Hey Craig !!!

What great news !!

I suspect you did not sleep a lot.

I nearly (I mean very nearly) bought a 1948 Fleetline about 25 years ago in Johannesburg.

Looking forward to hearing more and seeing what other eclectic taste items you own or have owned.

[Knugcab]

I really love those GM Fastbacks!

[qwerty]

Fantastic looking thing.
Can't wait to see more pictures.

Tom

[craigrk]

Jun 21, 2016 6:37:07 GMT qwerty said:

Fantastic looking thing.
Can't wait to see more pictures.

Tom

Well here's all I have right now.  These are all the photos lifted off the Ebay listing.  Recovery truck should be here in the next hour.

[forkliftfred]

Great looking car. That's a brave move buying such an old car from abroad. Are parts easy to find?

[qwerty]

40's American cars ceetainly had some style!

Tom

[legend]

these are so cool, I'd love that

[penski]

Love it. Fixed it a bit for you



*n

[lufbramatt]

That is sub zero cool. It does mean you can only dress in a pinstripe suit, trilby hat and carry a tommy gun around with you at all times though.

[nalesutol]

Very nice. Are you planning a ground up rebuild or a mechanically sound/decent interior but the rest left untouched build?

[grizz]

PS. I see the car was in C10 company over there.

[craigrk]

Jun 21, 2016 6:47:29 GMT forkliftfred said:

Great looking car. That's a brave move buying such an old car from abroad. Are parts easy to find?

HE who dares wins! (Mostly). Most parts, especially mechanical are available in the US. I actually shipped it with a full brake refurb kit as an example. I tend to use my gut on these, and asked the seller questions. He seemed forthright, so I took the gamble and it paid off. The vehicle is fantastic, less rust than my '51 plate Mercedes.

Jun 21, 2016 14:06:40 GMT nalesutol said:

Very nice. Are you planning a ground up rebuild or a mechanically sound/decent interior but the rest left untouched build?

The latter. My thoughts are to do the following (in order, incomplete list):

1. Clean the car totally, lots of dust, etc inside
2. Get the engine running out of a can to see its condition
3. Rebuild the brakes
4. Clean and coat underside
5. Get the petrol tank cleaned/coated inside
6. Get it running properly
7. Get interior done totally
8. Drive it!!!!!!

[luckygti]

That is all kinds of win, what a great looking car. You sir, shall be bookmarked looking forward to updates as you get started.

[craigrk]

Jun 21, 2016 12:33:14 GMT penski said:

Love it. Fixed it a bit for you



*n

You've got the right idea, a bit more extreme than I'm thinking, but yes, it's a bit high.  It currently has 16" wheels, so the plan is 15" wheels, same hubcaps, and perhaps two inches of drop via lowering blocks and perhaps a coil out of the front.   The aim is about 3" drop in total.  Not slammed, but at the height it should be.  The picture below is of a similar vehicle in Australia which has wide whites and a 3" drop.



PS: I have some fender skirts already...

[Uber Cool]

Love it, you cant beat the excitement/anguish/sleepless nights/panic then relief of waiting for a car to arrive from USA having purchased it off photos. I've done it twice and cant believe they actually arrive when you think of all the peoples involvements it needs to get from door to door.

Looks a great project, hope with stick with the straight 6 if it runs nice.

[qwerty]

Your plans sound perfect. Make sure to keep us up to date.

Tom

[craigrk]

Jun 21, 2016 22:01:11 GMT Uber Cool said:

Love it, you cant beat the excitement/anguish/sleepless nights/panic then relief of waiting for a car to arrive from USA having purchased it off photos. I've done it twice and cant believe they actually arrive when you think of all the peoples involvements it needs to get from door to door.

Looks a great project, hope with stick with the straight 6 if it runs nice.

Hi Uber,

Nice to see you on here as well, definitely planning on keeping the 6 in at this time, only time will tell.  

This is the vehicle that I'm wanting that 15" 6-stud wheel from you for!!!.

And yes, the sleepless nights etc are a pain, but all worth it in the end.  

Next real update probably only on the weekend as I need to go out of town on business tomorrow.

[william123]

What a beautiful car, loads of pics as the work continues, please !

[legend]

I'd love to do a pro touring one of these. with wide steels 6 speed and an merc OM606. Just a dream for me though. very jealous of this one