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?