There will always be people who don’t feel quite at home in their time and place, and without them, there probably wouldn’t be a car hobby today. In my home state of Michigan, one of the most vivid examples of that uneasiness was Henry Ford himself; although he was largely responsible for creating the world he lived in, he famously responded to it by founding one of the largest museum complexes in America: the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village. Even that man of progress didn’t quite feel comfortable amidst the din of the rat race he helped to foster. Obviously, there were complications in 1948 that we in 2025 don’t fully understand, but cars were not one of them. This simple 1948 Chevy, for sale on craigslist in New York, is about as simple as a mechanical contrivance can be, and you could be cruising like it’s 1948 for a mere $6,500. Thanks to Mitchell G. for sending it our way.
To be clear, you’ll have to fully immerse yourself in the lifestyle to enjoy this old Chevy. As the lower-range Stylemaster, it was a bare-bones two-door sedan designed for 45 mile-per-hour highways, not the expressways of today. It is a car to buy because you want to slow down and enjoy life as it might have been just after World War II, when America was finally settling into peace time, at least for a bit. This Stylemaster has recently been revived from a 33-year hiatus, and has a new fuel tank, battery, and wheel cylinders; it runs and drives but needs new tires. The engine itself is a “scoop-and-dipper” 216 with 90 horsepower; one upgrade for 1948 included interchangeable main bearings in place of the poured babbitt bearings that Chevy previously used.
The ad claims that the car has 78,000 miles on it, and the interior fabric looks as if it might be original. Stylemasters came standard with a rubber mat instead of carpet, so it might be worth a look at the floors, because those mats do not allow moisture to readily evaporate. The more expensive Fleetmasters would have had more chrome trim, a bright horn ring, armrests, and carpet inserts for the front passengers, among other upgrades to show others that you spent a little more money on your new Chevy.
Green was a popular exterior color in 1948, and Chevrolet offered three varieties. This one appears to be Satin Green, which is a nice, mellow color for a car that’s built for life in the slow lane. It’s no secret that the market for once-common cars of the 1940s and ’50s is extremely soft, as few buyers remember seeing them in their natural habitat. But with a little luck, there will always be some of us who are nostalgic for a time we don’t remember, and I hope there will always be Chevrolets like this one waiting for us.
Nice old Chevy. Seller might think about moving that plastic fuel filter somewhere else other than right over the exhaust manifold. If it burns up the car before he sells it he and a potential buyer will miss out on some fun.
Thanks for mentioning the fuel filter location. I checked my 55 chevy and the filter was in the same place. I moved it down by the fuel pump today
.
yes, there are still a few of us advanced maturity folks (sounds better than old timer or”senior cutizen”) around that remember when 48 Chevies were new and at least one on every block. This one represents the era well but has frugal stamped all over it. Nice it has survived and in what appears remarkable condition.
The term that’s applied to me is usually either “Geezer” or “Old Fool”, depending on whether speaker is someone who doesn’t know me…or my wife!
I have owned a couple of these. The brakes master cylinder is under the drivers floor board. It WILL need rebuilt. The fuel line is steel. A pin hole in it will make it real hard to start. The carberator is easy. A quick clean and rebuild is easy. The car is in remarkable shape. Run it on 10w30 conventional oil. If you put synthetic in it you will find the oil leak. This would be a great first classic car. It is so easy to repair.
A later full pressure 235 will go in there easily, a 4 speed T-5 from an S-10 bolts up with a readily available adapter plate, and a change in rear end gearing = a car that will easily do 70 mph. Whether or not that’s a wise thing in a car designed to top out at 55 is another matter. But it would turn this into a fun daily driver if occasional highway driving is required.
If I was going to go to the trouble of an engine swap, I would move up to a 250 cubic inch Chevy. There may even be enough room in there for a 292.
Going to these would have to change bell housing, transmission and rear axle as well
A Chevy L6 216/235 weighs 630 lbs!! lol
A Chevy small block V8 weighs 575 lbs.
A Chevy L6 194-250 weighs 440 lbs.
It would also be interesting to swap a 250 into a ’53 vette.
You said exactly what I was going to say until I saw your comment.
I drove a completely stock 48 Chevy daily driver, with 216 3 speed. I easily cruised at 70, went up to 80 a few times. I’m not sure how you’d connect a T5 with the torque tube rear axle
Depending on the 235, water pump has to be modified.
For the 1500 miles a year we put on the wife’s this would be a way more fun alternative.
What a beautiful piece of history. I have a 15-minute, back-road commute to work and I would LOVE to do it in this: understated elegance disguised as utilitarianism. Thick steel. No digital BS. 10/10 would argue with the wife to have this in the driveway.
To Aaron Toth: it amuses me to see you and others describe a car such as this in terms of an unfamiliar relic, a piece of history not fluent in your memory — when people like me went to look at these in the showroom as brand new cars. In 1948, we still had rhe remains of a war-shortage on new cars; so you took what you could get, and you still stayed on a waiting-list sometimes. Only if you were SOMEbody, did you get to pick just what you wanted, and then order it. Mostly, if the Fleetmaster was the only one available right then, you chose that, or you did without. If it didn’t come with the clock or the radio, then that was a matter you might be able to take up with the dealer by mid-1949 — or, not bother. For anyone born before 1960, the 1948 Chevrolet is a common sight. Far more common than the 1942, 1946, and maybe the ’47; the only one of this type that might be even more familiar to you, is the 1941 model. 1941 Fords, Plymouths, and Chevrolets, still were numerous in everyday usage in 1960. And ’48 Chevys were everywhere. For many of us, these are simply “normal” cars. An “old” car, to me, was something from 1919 clattering down the street. And personal perspective somehow seems to stand about still: the way I experienced things in 1954 remains my perspective now. And I think that is true for many people. Newer things simply layer upon what came before, without the things which were before seemingly “old”. I began buying records in the 1940s, and I still “experience” them as “new”, exactly as I did then. And so, when I notice that the edges of the sleeve on a given 78 are becoming browned with age, or are getting brittle now, this “OLD”ness always strikes me as a shock — then I have to TELL myself, “Hey, IDIOT: you’ve HAD this record for more than 75 years: what did you EXPECT??”. But that ISN’T what you expect, somehow. When you were ten, anything from 20 or more years before you were born, was somehow wonderfully “ANCIENT”. But then something from within your own lifetime is simply “NOW”, no matter how long you live. Does anyone else experience it this way? — or, am I nuts?
My Dad bought me a 48 Fleetmaster in 69 for $40.00
I got it running and drove it to collage for 2 years.
After 2 years learning how to make
“Collages” I bet you’re good at it! 😏
I have a 1947 Fleetmaster four door. The only thing I would add to the comments above about using it regularly is to start braking twice as far in advance as with a modern car. Un-assisted drums and bias plies just don’t stop or turn quickly. I don’t use it much, but if I did would consider a fatman front end swap to give it better steering and modern brakes.
Mostly I play with LBCs, but I love the old school nature and engineering of my original Chevy, bought from the family of the original owner. As a friend says, though, “you don’t drive these cars, you operate them”.
I own the exact car but in 1947 I’m in Los Angeles and would not part with it. I installed a 1982 250 engine and 3 on the floor transmission. All sitting on a 1974 Nova subframe and rear end. Runs like a champ Power Steering, Power Brakes Front Disc Fully restored. Wish I knew how to add pics.
I live in LA. All I’m hearing in my head is War’s “All my friends are lowriders” dut dut dut dut dut dut dweet … (1975)
I’m one of those people of a certain age that gravitates towards these cars. I would be making an offer on this if I didn’t already have my 1952 Plymouth. I think this car would drive very similarly to mine. Don’t spend too much time on the interstate and cruise the backroads and you’ll be fine. GLWTS.
As a high school senior in 1971 I kept a ’47 Fleetmaster in the woods outside of the boarding school I attended…or more accurately was consigned to. ((never end a sentence with a preposition unless you are making a comment on a web site) :) I paid fifty bucks for it and drove it into the woods to use for midnite hijinks . In fact my senior picture has me sitting in the engine compartment, legs over the radiator with the hood propped up on my head. Kids!
I bought this car in April, exactly as described here except it was down to $5,500, I bought 4x new tires (no not the crazy expensive Coker 6.00-16’s but some cheap low profile 185/55-16’s for now) and it’s an absolute riot to drive (if you’re not in a hurry). So far all she wants to do is be driven, and it was worth every $ by me !