The Chevrolet Series 490 (or Four-Ninety) is an early American automobile, made from 1915 to 1922 by

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...

. Introduced in June 1915, the 490 sold for $490 ($ in dollars ). Chevrolet 490 was an immediate success and established the brand as a big player. The name would not denote the price for long (in 1921, the average price was $820), but it would stay low enough to take a chunk out of the

Model T The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relati ...

market. The Model T started at $495 at the time. Chevrolet was soon so profitable that Chevrolet owner

Billy Durant William Crapo Durant (December 8, 1861 – March 18, 1947) was a leading pioneer of the United States automobile industry and co-founder of General Motors and Chevrolet. He created a system in which a company held multiple marques – each s ...

began buying shares of GM stock with his Chevrolet stock, enough that he was able to take control of GM and merge Chevrolet with it. Electric horns were standard. And by 1921, standard equipment included a speedometer, and ammeter, dome lights (closed-body cars only), and headlight dimmers.

Models

All 490s were only offered with the Overhead Valve 171-cubic-inch (2.8 L) four cylinder, producing . This would be Chevrolet's main engine until the "Stovebolt" straight six replaced it for 1929. Chevrolet owner Billy Durant was a firm believer in the

OHV An overhead valve (OHV) engine, sometimes called a ''pushrod engine'', is a piston engine whose valves are located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier flathead engines, where the valves were located bel ...

engine, as that had been the reason for the success of his earlier automobile company,

Buick Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...

, which he had taken over in 1904, and used to found GM in 1908. He lost control of GM in 1910 due to stockholder and banker issues, and Buick still had the patent for the OHV engine, but GM did not dare to sue Durant. Durant would use Chevrolet to regain control of GM in 1917, which he merged with Chevrolet that year.

The first Chevrolet and GMC trucks

The same year Chevrolet merged with GM, Durant wanted a pickup to compete with the new

Ford Model TT The Ford Model TT is a truck made by Ford. It was based on the Ford Model T, but with a longer wheelbase, and a heavier frame and rear axle, giving it a rating of . Production When the first three units were produced in 1917, the Model TT was so ...

. The answer was two models, the first 1918 Chevrolet Series 490 Light Delivery chassis cowl rated at half a ton and based on the passenger car. The second, not based on the 490, was a one-ton 1918 Chevrolet Model T (oddly enough) "Ton Truck" shared with GMC. It had a payload capacity rating of 2,000 lbs and sold for $1245 retail. Much like the

chassis cab A chassis cab, also called a cab chassis or half truck, is a type of vehicle construction, often found in medium duty truck commercial vehicles. Instead of supplying the customer with a factory pre-assembled flatbed, cargo container, or other eq ...

of today, they gave consumers a cheap, flexible platform to build on. Its steering wheel and gear shift lever, along with the instrument panel and gauge cluster, were also lifted from the passenger car. A chassis cowl included the chassis with engine, transmission and the front sheet metal which comprised the hood, front fenders, headlights and grille.HowStuffWorks

Production notes

References

Klamath County Museum
{{Chevrolet cars timeline 1911–1949 Series 490 Series 490 Cars introduced in 1915 Vehicles introduced in 1915

Models

The first Chevrolet and GMC trucks

Production notes

See also

References