UPDATE 01/25/2023: Falling victim to a non-paying winning bidder is one of the perils of online auctions, which has been the fate of the owner of this 1948 Chevrolet 3100 Pickup. The previous auction ended with the bidding at $5,500, but the cash wasn’t forthcoming. Therefore, the seller has no choice but to repeat the process, listing this Pickup here on eBay. It has passed the reserve and sits at $4,550 off the back of twenty-six bids. Otherwise, there are no changes in its circumstances or condition.
01/09/2023: Looking around, I’m surprised at the number of 1948 Chevrolet pickup trucks we’ve covered here on Barn Finds. Popular 75 years ago, they are still popular today with restorers, hot rodders, rat rodders, etc. This example has its challenges, but it may possess some possibilities for its next chapter. Located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, this old “Advance-Design” pickup is available here on eBay.
Often a sale vehicle will be photographed right after a wash; it helps brighten up, temporarily, a worn finish. In other instances, the seller neglects to remove indescribable “stuff” littering the interior to such an extent that you can’t actually see the interior. I believe this is the first case where I’ve encountered a sale vehicle that’s a literal snow job (as opposed to a figurative one). The seller tells us, “Truck’s bed should have a wood floor, someone welded a steel floor in it instead…” Accentuated is the claim that this Chevy’s riding on a solid frame. The floors are stated to be good, but there is rust in other places. There are what looks like chunks of Bondo that have broken free from the rear portion of the cab – and where there’s some, more digging usually reveals more. If I’m not mistaken, the wheels are Cragar GTs. I haven’t seen a set of those in years! All in all, this Pickup shows as a reasonable basis for some sort of a redo.
The original 216 CI, in-line, six-cylinder engine and its three-speed manual transmission got the Bum’s Rush somewhere in the past, and this 3100 is now sporting a 235 CI six attached to an automatic gearbox. The transplant runs, but the seller suggests it needs to be rebuilt – which, I bet, will likely lead to a V8 swap. They also stated, “When someone changed out transmission, they cut old transmission cross member out.” And that begs the question, is there a replacement in place, and if not, what’s holding up the transmission? Besides the issue of questionable operation, there’s the entire matter of stopping; the brakes are said to be soft.
I’m not sure what happened to that bench seat beside it not being original (note the fold-down armrest). However, it looks like it has run afoul of a weasel. Additionally, parts of the door panels are missing, and the floors look shaky. Despite the suggestion that they’re OK – they’ve definitely been poorly patched. The dash shows some interesting artwork, but the instrument panel gauges have been left as original and are accompanied by aftermarket, under-dash pieces. Of note is the strap-on turn signal assembly, a common add-on feature to vehicles from this era. Unfortunately, as is often the case, there’s a lot of “whatever” scattered about in the interior compartment that detracts even more from an environment that doesn’t need detracting.
This one has a ways to go to be considered road worthy or useable, but there are endless directions the next owner can employ here. As stated earlier, I imagine a V8 will find its way into the engine compartment (OK, go ahead, say it, “put an LS in it!”). Anyway, if this Pickup were to become your next acquisition, what would you do with it?
Upgrade the engine… transmission of your choice, clean it and paint it, and hit the road. Wheels look good on the truck. Wouldn’t pay much more than the present bid as some serious money is going to have to be put into it. Good solid candidate for the above mentioned rebuild work.
Restomod! Want to see an original?, go to a museum. The wiring “harness” is sketch level 9, and I’d have to see this in person before considering it. Besides the filler fallen off the back of the cab, IDK if thats cracked body filler all over the fenders, or cracked fenders.
This thing cries out for a 351 Ford V-8, with a top loader 4 speed and a Ford 9in. rear. Pop the hood at the next cruise in, and watch the reaction.
The TV show “Sanford and Son” comes to mind. But yes, an LS swap would be in order. Nice truck, and a great article!.Good luck to the new owner!
Those wheels are cool, but are 5 lug, not 6 lug like these would have had originally. So at some earlier point, this truck has had an axle and front brake “upgrade” or there are adapters under those wheels. The interior is nine kinds of sketchy, but most of these era vehicles aren’t going to be a lot better….
You could restore it, but it’d be way simpler to resto mod. No LS though, a nice 350 would be plenty of motor for a truck like this. That or a big block is how people were building these in the 80s when they were just getting popular. You wanna be “different” I’ve seen one a while back with a Mopar slant six in it!
The cab flakes could just be many layers of paint, flaking with weather and temperature changes. But that and frame integrity do need to be closely looked at and considered.
If you have a big budget, there’s aftermarket frames and chassis available for modern type suspension and easy V8 installation.
The engine is a 230 that year had a 216
Yeah, I noticed that too! Of course could be a 194 or most likely a 250….best thing would be to run w/the old 292.
Leave the six in it. It brings a certain feel of authenticity when driving it. Or better yet, find some old Offy parts that someone probably ordered from PAW years ago. I always loved smoking the rears with a modified six banger, and people asking me if it had a V8. My ford 300 I6 was able to do that with half an exhaust system and a RV can. You put a triple carb setup, and a cam with heavy duty valve springs in this old Chevy, you’re gonna cook.
Chunks of Bondo – ? Egad, another rust bucket that needs EVERYTHING !
Love this generation of Chevrolet trucks. It’s a shame that the owner tried to get everything he could out of the front seat. 🙄 I could never let a vehicle I own get in that bad of shape.