51 Deluxe Cruisin for a Bruisin

Posted by Michael Harrington on Dec 11, 2011 in Featured, Vintage Rides | 2 comments

Flat Black 51 Chevy Deluxe Cruiser

Author and Photographer: Mike Harrington

We have all heard the expression. “I’m going to beat you till your black and blue”. I don’t know about you, but anyone I’ve ever seen with a black eye or a serious bruise, the bruise looks more black and green. Kind of like this here ‘51 Deluxe custom owned by Dead Sleds member Crow and his wife Adrianna. Now before you splatter your drawers thinking “not another black primered car!” Throttle back for moment and take our word for it… This suede sleds body work is smoother than a velvet Elvis under a black light while puffing a cigarette packed with Mexican hay.

Many times a black sled will be bathed in apocalyptic black to hide the flawed body work. However, during the construction process of Crows blacktop bruiser he and club member Cepe spent a year massaging the metal on the ’51 Chevy bringing her back to life. That massaging came in the form of shaving all the prickly protrusions from the body of the Chevy. Some prefer to call them emblems and door handles, we’ll call them gone. What’s a proper cruiser with out some sort of a shave job?

As is typical of many a hot rodder or sled pilot they can’t seem to leave well enough alone on their vehicles. You may notice in the pictures that in some of the shots there are green metallic scallops and in others, they’re not there. It’s simple really; it’s the theory of evolution taking shape.

It started as an out-of-date stocker, then to the black and green machine you see here and finally a few more green scallops were added between photo sessions. No hot rod or custom car is ever finished they are just abandoned. And with just a few years of ownership of the 1951 Chevy Deluxe under his belt, evolution is key.

Besides the ever trusty small block Chevy mill residing under the hood, what makes the 51 Deluxe good is the air ride system that gives the Chevy its brutish stance. We could take another page describing all the things that have been done to this car, but the best part of it is that Crow, his wife Adrianna and the kids hop into the car and take it on rides any time the mood strikes.