1949 Cadillac Series Sixty-One Coupe

Cadillac styling for the 1948 model year had been all-new and strikingly modern, introducing tail fins allegedly inspired by the Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter of World War Two fame. Under the hood, however, had been the same old 346 cubic inch "Monobloc" flathead V-8 that had been powering Caddies since the late Thirties.

For 1949, however, the all-new postwar styling was joined by an all-new postwar motor. This new overhead valve V-8, dubbed the 331 Series after its displacement in cubic inches, was billed as "America's Newest, Finest Motor Car Engine". It was an oversquare design with a 3.81" bore and a 3.625" stroke and sported hydraulic lifters, a two-barrel Carter carburetor, aluminum pistons, a 7.5:1 compression ratio, and made a claimed 160 SAE gross horsepower at 3,800 RPM.

The Series Sixty-One was the entry-level Cadillac and had previously ridden on a shorter chassis, but for the '48 model year it had been moved to share the same full size C-body chassis as the Series Sixty-Two, so the big differences were in trim and appointments.

The slick lines of the '48-'49 Caddies make them popular starting points for classic hot rod builds, like this striking purple example photographed with a Canon EOS-1D Mark IV and an EF 24-105mm f/4L IS zoom lens in September of 2022.

1949 Ford F-1

The Ford F-series pickups were launched in 1948, with that first generation being known as the "Bonus-Built" line. They replaced the previous pickups that had been basically carried over from the prewar line of Fords.

Much was made of the new cab, which was roomier, had better visibility, was easier to enter and exit, and generally a better place to spend a work day. So much had been spent developing the new driver's accommodations that it was referred to in ad copy as a "Million-Dollar Cab". Other innovations included telescoping shocks at all four corners (earlier trucks had used cruder lever shocks) and V-8 engines available at every level of truck from the heaviest-duty F-8 all the way down to the ½-ton F-1, like the Fox Red 1949 model in the photo.

Available powerplants for the '49 F-1 dated back to the prewar era, though, being either a 226 cubic inch (3.7L) flathead six making 95 SAE gross horsepower or the classic Ford flathead V-8, which displaced 239 cubes (3.9L) and was rated at 100 horses. Both three- and four-speed manual transmissions were on the menu.

This one was photographed with a Nikon CoolPix P7000 in April of 2015.

1949 Chrysler New Yorker

Back in the summer of '21 I motored down to southern Indiana to grab lunch with some friends. On the way down, I noticed something red and old in the grass alongside U.S. 231, so on the way back I pulled over and snapped a photo.

I didn't get out of the car because I didn't want to go tromping around in some dude's yard, but I did have the 24-120mm f/4 VR on the D700 and it had adequate reach.

That's a 1949 Chrysler New Yorker sedan in Pepper Red. Chrysler was the last of the Big Three to tool up fresh designs after World War Two; the '48 New Yorker was basically a warmed-over 1942 model. The '49 had all new sheet metal, although the 135 horsepower 323.5cid flathead straight-eight and four-speed "Presto-Matic" semiautomatic transmission carried over from the '48 model.

Despite the tall grass, the car was in great shape, including fresh-looking rubber, and showed every sign of being maintained and driven regularly.

It was a gorgeous day and U.S. 231 was perfect for a bit of top-down cruising in the Zed Drei...