$2.85 in 1949, is about $40 today. So 91 weeks of that, plus the unspecified down payment, would exceed $3600 in today’s terms, possibly over $4000.
1949 saw the first episode of the Lone Ranger, which ran 52 episodes that season. The first broadcast of the Emmy awards. The first televised charity telethon, for a cancer foundation.
There were 4 television networks in the USA. ABC, CBS, NBC, and the much lesser known DuMont network, which operated from 1940 to 1956.
There could even be someone reading this post right now, who remembers watching the first episode of the Lone Ranger on a TV like this Zenith model. 1949 was 77 years ago. A 12 year old then, would be 89 today.