The Stylemaster was Chevy’s base trim level after the war. The design was carried over from the pre-war 1942 Master Deluxe. This old Chevy was driven until the 1970s and was retired with only 94,024 miles. In the 1970s there were still a few cars from the forties and fifties being driven as daily drivers especially in places with drier climates like California. They were just old cars, like cars from the 1980s are now. The owner of this Chevy had the engine rebuilt in 1964, but with only 11,876 miles on the rebuild, it was parked for the last time. It’s been rescued after 40 years and offered for sale here on craigslist for $2,450. It’s now in Winston Salem, N.C. The seller says it looks solid underneath.
It’s all there, just worn, water stained and dirty. The dash might be nice under all the dirt. There could be some interesting things in the glove box. Turn signals were required in some states, so the add-on accessory was a popular item.
It’s only be surface rust at this point, but it might just look the same inside the engine. Do you think there’s a chance the engine will turn?
Usually, when I look at an interesting barn find, I have a vision of what it could be. But with this Chevy, all I see is a lot of dirt, dust, and rust. If the engine is free and the rust not too severe, it might not take a huge amount of work to make this Chevy drivable. Perhaps a wash could get the finish down to patina. However, it will take a lot of cleaning before you’d want to even sit in those seats. It would be great to see this old Chevy stay as stock as possible, but it just might take too much work to be worthwhile. Perhaps this could be a good start for a resto-mod. Thanks to reader Bill W for the tip on this old Chevy.
I wonder why it has red stop lamps on the front? That would be illegal in most places I think.
Also, it needs washed.
I have always wondered why cars don’t have stop lamps at the front as it would be nice to know what the intentions of the driver of the car coming towards you are. Wouldn’t it be nice to know that if you see the brake lights of the oncoming car are on then you can safely turn left in front of him in the knowledge that he is not going to hit you. At the moment drivers flash their lights but I still don’t know if they are allowing me to turn or warning me not to turn, but if their forward facing stop lights were showing then I would know that it’s safe to turn.
Nah… It could go another week or two before it needs to be washed. Probably waiting until the carpets need steam cleaning to do the whole thing at once.
Maybe they are not red, l believe they’ve turned yellow due to years and weather
Gott in Himmel! I had the very same ’47 model hidden in the woods by my high school back in 1972. Bought for 50 bucks and ran it off road in the woods. Same two tone color scheme, .except the springs were sticking through the front seat. Had my senior pix taken with me in sitting in the engine compartment as if to stick it to the administration! Lol! Kids….so dumb! But it was so much fun!
Looks pretty solid, although it’s hard to tell with the trailer fenders in the way. How hard is it to take the photos AFTER you roll it off the trailer?
Seems like a reasonable price if it is as solid as it looks. Clean it up, do something with the seats, make it stop properly, and drive it. Probably not worth restoring from a financial perspective. But it could be a fun daily driver that you wouldn’t be afraid to leave in a parking lot.
– John
Times have changed. Only 94k miles? When this was built that was a huge number! Used to sell it quick at 60k because trouble was going to set in, and the car was ready to be scrapped if it made it to 100k miles.
Here’s the saved ad http://www.craigslistadsaver.com/view.php?name=CraigslistAdSaver1081
Yes, trade in at 60,000 in the late forties/early fifties, since 100,000 was the upper limit of what a car could be expected to run without an engine rebuild. There were ads for Perfect Circle Piston Rings in the major magazines, just like there are ads for Weather Tech floor mats today. Now, although the non-maintenance types figure 100,000 is time to trade, and 200,000 is the max, 300,000 is not uncommon for Hondas, Toyotas, full sized Fords and GM’s, Audi’s, and random others, and over 600,000 for some Volvo’s, Mercedes, and even full sized Fords/Lincoln in limo services. But I remember an article in a car magazine decades ago about a ’48 Pontiac 8 which had gone over 280,000 miles, so it could happen even then, as well as Boston taxis which were, according to my father, “never turned off except to change the oil on the early am shifts” and therefore engines had little wear, most engine wear coming from cold starts. Back in the day of “setting the choke” by hand, or by putting the accelerator to the floor and then releasing it, to “set the automatic choke”, he had me turn the engine over 3 times before setting the choke in order to lubricate the piston rings before it would fire. Now, the computer does it for us, my Toyota and Audis turn over 3 or 4 times before firing, except when in the city mode where the engine turns itself off at stoplights, and turns itself on instantly when one takes one’s foot off the brake. So do not be afraid of high mileage if the engine sounds sweet and there is no smoke coming out the tailpipe.
My dad thought this would be a swell car for a 16 year old! I refused to drive it and he took it back. Imagine taking girls out in this barge? When guys were cruising in 54 bel air hardtops!
This brings back memories. I have kicked myself for over 40 years now for not buying the one offered to me for $125.00 in the early 70’s. Perfect body in dark blue, good interior and ran great, all it needed was kingpins which is a simple repair although a little time consuming as a do it yourself job. Of course even in the early 70’s these were still seen as just old cars, as I had ridden to my high school graduation in my friends ’50 Chevrolet in 1969 that he paid $75.00 for. Of course I could say the same about a lot of cars I could have bought but did not, and also the few I bought and later sold such as my ’56 GMC window panel truck with no rust. If only I had a time machine.
The saving grace on restoring these cars is the mechanical and chassis portions are simple to work on a cave man could do it.
I keep saying that these type cars are getting to be the only vintage cars left to build. Two door cars are getting expensive and are being shipped overseas by the container full. You can make 4-door vehicles look good without breaking the bank. I bought a perfect ’50 Chevy from my father inlaw because I could not leave my ’30 Model A parked without being with it. Sold it to a friend who still had it with 250,000 miles with original motor and no rebuild! Just change your oil, they will last!
Take it from a mechanic of over 35 years now, it’s SO true about changing the oil & filter regularly. It always equates to engine longevity. Period.