When William Durant, having been pushed out of General Motors, decided to re-enter the automobile business, it was to engineer and racing driver Louis Chevrolet that he turned. As an interim measure, he brought out a light car called the Little, but Durant had in mind a more substantial automobile. Louis Chevrolet, meanwhile, envisioned an even larger car than Durant wanted, and so when the first Chevrolet car, the Classic Six, debuted in 1912, it weighed nearly 4,000 lbs. and sold for $2,250.

That was clearly not a car with which to battle Henry Ford, so a crash program was begun for a smaller, less-expensive car. The result was the H-series Chevrolet of 1914, with a 170.9-cu. in. OHV four designed by Arthur Mason. This engine would remain in production through 1928. The H-series, which included the Royal Mail tourer and Amesbury Special roadster, was Chevrolet’s mainstay until the arrival of the low-price 490 in 1916, which remained in production through 1922.

The 490 offered here is presented in black with green trim, including the dashboard and wheels, and a black interior. It features wooden wheels, a rear-mounted spare, a black fabric top, and a dashboard with Chevrolet gauges and a Stewart Speedometer. For the enthusiast new to Brass Era automobiles, it would be a tempting choice, offering durable construction with the bonus of being something “different” than a Curved Dash Olds or Model T.