SAN FRANCISCO: The 1948 Chevy was a handsome car. It
wasn't low slung and modern like the first postwar Studebakers,
or streamlined like the contemporary Packard, but it certainly
was handsome. This car was the last chapter in the history of
a model line that started in mid-1941.
While
the 1942 Chevy appeared quite new with its low, wide grillwork
and headlights smoothly blended into front fenders that flowed
Buick-like into the doors, the underpinings were much as had
come before. Civilian automobile production shut down to make
room for war production in early February after less than 260,000
cars had been built. Between 1942-45 a number of '42 models,
held in storage for "High Priority" buyers by the Office of
Price Administration, were slowly released after June 1943.
These were all "blackout " models with painted brightwork. The
rest of the folks drove old cars or took the bus. (My mom couldn't
drive at the time so she sold my dad's '38 Master Deluxe while
he was overseas - boy was he mad!) Enter, the car famine.By
1946 America needed new cars. The old ones were worn out and
replacement parts were in short supply. Most of the American
manufactures just started cranking out facelifted '42 models.
Chevy installed a wider, less fussy grille and started selling
all they could build. The '47 Chevrolets sported an even wider,
much more attractive grille and some cleaner, more up-to-date
side trim. Sales were booming. Chevy set an all-time convertible
sales record when it produced 28,443 units.But the Chevy started
to look old by 1948. Not bad, just old. Nash, Packard, and Hudson
had introduced their versions of Buck Rodgers space rocket and
GM wouldn't be ready to show its next generation of cars until
1949. The '48 was the last and the best of its pre-war line.
Chevrolet's venerable 216 cu.in. six had finally been updated
with precision-type main bearings instead of the old rough fit
and reamers, and a vacuum assist for the three speed column
mounted shifter. In total, 776,000 Chevys were built that year
before the lines were shut down to re-tool for the all-new 1949
models.This particular Drive Report car is owned by Gerry Peter
of Fairfield, California. Gerry found his '48 Fleetmaster convertible
in Redwood City, CA. He bought it, in pieces, from the widow
of the fellow that started the restoration years before. After
sorting out the boxes of unlabeled parts, Gerry was able to
find the missing bits and start restoration. Every part was
stripped, cleaned or sandblasted, and either plated, painted
or replaced with brand new pieces. The car was then re-assembled,
using all new rubber and hardware. The rebuilt running gear
was installed into a newly painted metallic maroon body. The
interior features red leather seats while the power top is covered
in tan. Options include the vacuum shift, a spotlight, and a
rare set of factory 15" wheels painted body color and correctly
detailed with beige striping.
The Classic Drive
This
is not my first time around the block in a '48 Chevy. In 1965,
I bought a nifty Fleetline Aerosedan (fastback) from the local
butcher in Menlo Park, CA for $75. Drove it to Woodside High
- and to visit my girlfriend on weekends. She had moved over
35 miles away and in the Chevy, with its maximum safe cruising
speed of 50 MPH, it felt like a hundred miles. I used the hand
throttle as a primitive cruise control and watched the VW vans
fly past. My '48 might have been slow but it never once let
me down.A '48 Chevrolet somehow appears larger than it really
is. It's high, the doors are big and heavy, and all of the styling
components are large. The hood is big and so are the fenders
if you count the part that is attached to the door. Still, if
you park one next to a Chevy from the mid-'50s, the '48 looks
like a compact. Quite an illusion.This is one of those "armchair"
cars that remind one of sitting in grandma's salon. I grabbed
onto that bigger-than-life, white steering wheel, tugged the
shifter into neutral and pressed my toe down on the floor mounted
starter pedal. The little stovebolt hardly cranked, and ticked
right over - just like my old fastback (damn, I wish I hadn't
sold that car !). The fully instrumented dash sprung to life,
the little needles jumping to their appropriate places.As I
again found myself tugging at the shifter, I remembered that
it was vacuum actuated. I'm not sure what the reasoning was
for a gearchange that could be easily shifted with one finger
- very slowly. If one tries to shift faster, even using a complete
hand, the assist slows the process down as well as eliminating
the gate feel. Shifting feels much like stirring well beaten
whipped cream. Someone must have thought this was a good idea
but it is absolutely lost on me!On the road, the car feels big
and durable. Gerry's Fleetline sits high, rides soft and smooth
and leans like a speedboat in the curves. You sit behind that
really big wheel, shifting that easy but slow shifter while
listening to the lethargic six moan through its low-end-torque-intensive
power range. What it doesn't have in outright performance is
made up for by a feeling of a quiet strongness - sort of the
Gary Cooper of cars.
This
was obviously the last incarnation of a pre-war car. It was
handsome, well fitted, and had benefited from the engineering
and material advancements made since 1941. These cars were solid
and hard to break. Gerry's maroon beauty is a testimony to a
time in America when things were built a bit better and life
was a lot slower. A time before the interstates when a car trip
was to be a comfortable adventure, rather than a high speed
bore. A time many of us, down deep, would like to go back to
- or at least visit for awhile. By Rick Feibusch © AutoWire.Net
- San Francisco
References:
www.autowire.net
www.carnut.com
http://smolak.ca
