Dennis Rogers’ rare 150 Utility Sedan
From New Member, Dennis Rogers:
“I bought a running & driving 1955 150 Utility Sedan in 2011 and spent the last few years restoring it – now I guess it falls in the resto-mod category. It was a very clean car that spent its entire life in eastern WA – original floors and trunk pan, the only rust was in the headlight eyebrows and a 2″ spot on RR quarter. Paint was redone in the original Seamist Green, interior paint in the original Shadow Gray/Ivory, and the upholstery is stock Black Vinyl/Gray Cloth.”
“The utility sedan is a 2 door post that came with no back seat (a cargo platform on the floor instead) and the rear windows do not roll down – a somewhat rare model, the cheapest car Chevy offered – I think they made around 11,000 of them if I remember correctly. Style designation on the cowl tag is 1211B.“
“From my research I found that many of these cars had the cargo platform removed and a back seat installed when they were traded in to make them family friendly. That was the case with mine as well, but you could still see the weld marks on the floor where the platform braces were originally attached, and where someone did a rather sloppy job of mounting the hooks that held the backrest piece of the seat in place. Also, the rear quarter windows are installed in a fixed position and no mechanism for opening/closing them is provided.”
More from Dennis:
“Prior to 55 these cars were called business coupes or businessman coupes – they changed the name to utility sedan for some reason but I think Chevy continued to make them through 1959 or 60. They were used by door-to-door salesman, utility companies, and others who wanted a very basic, inexpensive car or one that had a lot of storage space in addition to the trunk.”
“The cargo platform is made up of 6 metal support braces, a plywood top, and a rubber floor mat. The rear upright piece is masonite and the original interior rear quarter panels were painted cardboard material. I had the rear quarters and upright piece covered in black vinyl for a more finished look. Interestingly, I got the plywood and masonite from a vendor that sells reproductions and the pre-drilled mounting holes in the masonite lined up perfectly with those already in the metal trunk divider.”
Originally a 6 cylinder with 3 speed car, it now has a fairly stout small block, TH-400, Ford 9″, with front suspension and rear 4-bar setup from Jim Meyer, disc brakes all around.
My goal was that of a sleeper – stock look including steel wheels and dog dish caps, but upgraded drive train, etc.”
Dennis, you achieved your goal. Thanks for sharing with us.