Dan Brinton’s 1950 Chevrolet
Customer: Dan Brinton
Lives in: Nebraska
Vehicle:1950 Chevrolet Styleline Deluxe Bel Air Two-Door Hardtop
“My Father-in-law, Milburn “Mel” Shurtleff purchased this Chevy new from a local Chevrolet Dealer in Lincoln, Nebraska on November 6th, 1950 for $2,030.00 three months before he got married.
This Windsor Blue and Grecian Gray Hardtop has the original 216.5 Cu.In. O.H.V. 92HP six cylinder engine with 3 speed manual transmission. Options include, clock, deluxe pushbutton radio, heater, oil filter, turn signals and back-up lights. Mel and my Mother-in-law, Lee, went on their honeymoon in this Chevy and later they brought all three of their newborn children home from the hospital in it, including my lovely wife Jody. It was driven daily until the early 1970’s when it was parked with 115,000 miles on the odometer and stored in the family’s garage.
In January 2002, Mel gave this car (Including the original title and the original bill of sale) to me and Jody. I did all of the work myself, mechanical, upholstery, body work and paint job and after 2 1/2 years we finished the restoration.
I would like to thank The Filling Station for providing a myriad of difficult to find items such as the original cloth covered battery cable and several tags & decals that certainly gave the engine a “new” and finished look.
Jody and I now take our Chevy to the local drive-in on Friday nights from April through October for the weekly show n’ shine. We have also competed in various car shows within a 100 mile radius of Lincoln that we drive the Bel Air to and have won or placed many times. I have done my best to keep this Chevy as original as possible, from the unpainted engine to the original style wide whitewall bias belt tires.
It is most satisfying when people look at this Chevy and tell me how glad they are that I kept the car original or, how they remember a Chevy similar to ours that was their family car.
I am extremely grateful to my Father-in-law Mel, for giving me the opportunity to restore and preserve this, as the 1950 dealer brochure accurately called it…”The Beautiful Bel Air”.”
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