Chevrolet 1946 - 48 custom & mild custom

1947 Chevrolet Stylemaster Cabriolet



Restored as a touring show car, everything on the Cabriolet
was done right. Set up as an Old School sleeper, the workmanship
on this beauty is excellent. Built to show and drive...



Florida Owner #2 did just that, driving this car all over the SE USA
for about 15K miles since the build was completed. And it still looks


like it was completed yesterday...

Excellent body panel fit and finish. Excellent dual stage Burgundy Metallic
paint that was completed to a high standard. Most of original chrome trim
was removed and the door handles shaved.



New chrome bumpers and grill...

Brand new Cream vinyl interior that looks like new. Very nice door
panels and carpet. Gorgeous burgundy dash with modern gauges
and controls. Beautiful high end convertible top and boot.



Newly rebuilt 348 V-8 engine with tri-carb setup.
Newly rebuilt 350 Turbo automatic transmission with
column shifter. Camaro sub frame and Camaro rear end
allows an exceptionally smooth ride.

Vintage air conditioning



Power assists, tilt wheel and new CD player make it ready to cruise.
New painted steel wheels and new wide white radial tires.
Chrome trim rings in the trunk for those that prefer that look...

Le 348 et le tri carb ...
Ca fait partit de mes rêves ...

ma petite contribution ...
j'aime bien le top chop pas trop juste comme il faut à mon gout

C'est vrai JP, qu'elle a de jolies proportions. Je trouve que le toit pourrait encore être descendu d'un chouïa à l'arrière

c'est justement qu'il descend pas trop que je le trouve réussie aussi... elle a un toit très homogène et tout en rondeur...ce qui met en valeur ses formes sous la ligne de caisse... enfin je trouve...
Suis pas fan du nouarmate mais bon... elle est sublime cette chevy...

The business coupe was a very popular body style in the 30s and 40s when travelling salesmen would crisscross the country showcasing their wares, which they carried with them. As a result, coupes like this would carry only a front seat and a massive cargo area that included the rear seat area. Of course, from the outside, they looked like any other 2-door coupe, and they were quite handsome with great proportions. The builders left the stock sheetmetal alone, and the forward-canted B-pillar on this one suggests speed, while the neatly integrated fenders extended into the doors for cutting-edge post-war style. The steel was straightened and finished to a very high level before being covered with Corvette Turquoise from the 1957 color pallet. Most of the original trim was retained as well, with much of the chrome being refinished within the past two years, so it has a show-quality shine that really sings against the turquoise paint. As a final period detail, there are ornate pinstripes in the usual locations on the nose and trunk lid of the car, as well as LED taillights that are a touch of the 21st century.



The interior was also reupholstered within the past two years, offering black and white buckets and a neatly finished cargo area behind the seats. In terms of style, this interior hits a lot of high notes with its simple design and combination of materials that add interest. Simple door panels incorporate the original arm rests, door hardware and painted garnish moldings, so it fits together like a factory piece, because it is. The steel dash was painted to match the body, then filled with bright trim and clever gauges that fit neatly in original-looking bezels. A modern GM tilt column wears a steering wheel from a 60s Cadillac, and an A/C system has been installed under the dash with subtle vents that stay out of sight. This particular business coupe was not originally equipped with a radio, so the enterprising builder added an AM/FM/CD stereo head unit in the rear cargo area, along with a pair of powerful speakers in their own enclosures.



The engine is a 350 cubic inch Chevy V8, always a great choice when building a rod for the road. Its been carefully fitted in the vintage Chevy engine bay with great service access. A few chrome bits dress it up, and niceties like power steering and brakes and R134a refrigerant in the A/C system mean it feels and works like a modern piece. A 700R4 4-speed automatic allows effortless high-speed cruising and the chassis is borrowed from an S10 pickup, so service parts are easy to acquire and inexpensive. Dual glasspacks give it a period vibe, as do the wide whitewall radials on 15-inch steel wheels with full hubcaps.

 Up for auction is a 1948 Chevy.  This car is a frame-off restored vehicle and EVERYTHING is new.  It is channeled 6" on a 1972 Chevelle frame.  The motor is a 327 Chevy with an Edelbrock 4-barrel carburetor.  The car features a power tilting hood and trunk, shaved door handles, and a full custom interior.

Bodywork by: Frank DeRosa Sr. & Jr.;

Modified 1946 Chevy Grille and splash pan
1954 Buick headlight bezels
Shaved hood, cowl vent, doors, drip rails and trunk
Fender extension molded to doors
Rounded doors and trunk lid
Chopped top
Rear Fenders molded to body
Tunneled 1950 Ford taillights
Molded rear splash pan



Interior:

1947 Oldsmobile Dash
Vintage Air, A/C and Heat
Column, IDIDIT
1964 T Bird Bucket Seats
63 Chevy Impala Console
Painless Wiring Harness



Painted by: Tony Parker, Crown Works Garage
House of Color, Candy Brandy Wine with a Pearl Lime Green Base Coat



Suspension:

Front-end is a Mustang II with a sway-bar
Rear-end is Ford 9” with a 4 link and air bags



Engine:

1971 Chevy 350
BUILDER: Hubbard Machine
CARBURETOR: Edelbrock
IGNITION: MSDS
EXHAUST: Headers, Glass packs with Dual Side Pipes




Transmission:
Chevy, 350

Wheels, Tires, and Brakes:

FRONT, 15” Steel rims with Modified Buick Fiesta Hub Caps, Disc Brakes
REAR, 15” Steel rims with Modified Buick Fiesta Hub Caps, Drum Brakes

Very cool chopped and bagged 46 Chevy coupe. Heidts front clip with tubular a-arms and power rack and pinion. Crate 350 dressed old school with 3 deuces turbo 400 with long stick lokar shifter. Awesome chop job bad to the bone pillars slanted forward. Body and paint are in great shape. A very traditional 50s mild custom. Everything works as it should including all lights and gauges.Tilt wheel and nice stereo.Runs and drives great. Brand new Coker WWW on chrome steelies. Power disc brakes front drums in rear. Very nice 50s style interior with matching trunk. Front and rear air ride works great and lays low. Working cowl vent. No hood but who would want to hide all that beautiful art work?

You almost have to squint to see the possibilities of customizing a '48 Chevy Stylemaster. And while it seems '49 and later Chevys were tailor-made for the sleek and rounded lines of a customizer's torch, the '48s hadn't quite gotten there.
1948 Chevrolet Stylemaster Frenched Headlights


When a friend of Jim Eckard told him about a '48 Chevy that was for sale on the Internet back in 2008, Jim's initial thought was "'48 Chevys are butt ugly!" but he decided to look at the advertisement anyway. Jim had recently sold his '32 coupe and was looking for another project and, having been into hot rods and customs for more than 50 years (at 17, he owned a '49 Chevy while still in high school), he was open to anything.



Jim, who lives in Glendale, Arizona, called the seller, who was based in Beavercreek, Ohio. After some discussions and looking at more photos, Jim bought the car and had it shipped to him. It showed up in worse condition than what he had anticipated as it had been kept in storage for years.

After he replaced the tires and got it up and running, Jim took the Chevy to a local rockabilly show, and folks kept asking him if his car was the one from the High School Confidential movie. After checking into both the movie (a 1958 black and white film starring Mamie Van Doren full of '50s teen angst and hell-raising hot rodders and weedheads) and the person responsible for creating one of the cars in the film, namely legendary customizer George Barris, Jim learned more about his car.


For a climatic drag racing scene in the movie, a chopped '48 Chevy is supposed to crash and roll over, though because of its stance and weight it was unable to do so on cue, so the director reportedly ordered the car dropped from a crane onto its roof to create the desired effect. Barris had built two identical cars for the movie, one of which was the crane-drop car. But was Jim's car the survivor?

As Jim did more research, it turns out his '48 Chevy was built in 1985 and, at best, might have been influenced by the car in the movie but it wasn't the original movie car. When asked recently where the movie car ended up, Barris wasn't sure where it was, though others and Jim believe it might be somewhere in the Midwest. Undeterred, Jim continued to work on the car and, working with a budget over a period of time, upgraded to a crate engine and rebuilt trans, as well as having the car repainted.

The chassis under the car only retains 6 feet of the original, as a '74 Nova front clip was added while an '80 Olds Cutlass rear suspension system went in, and air shocks are found on each corner. Steel wheels (15x6) wrapped in Coker BFGoodrich rubber (215/70-15 and 235/75-15) are topped with '57 Cadillac hubcaps.
1948 Chevrolet Stylemaster 1957 Cadillac Hubcaps

Auto & Truck Specialists in Glendale, Arizona, did the work on the 350 engine, which was installed in front of a smoothed firewall and outfitted with a COMP Cams camshaft, a Moroso aluminum water pump, early Vette valve covers, an Edelbrock manifold, and twin Edelbrock carbs. A TH350 trans was also bolted up, which is fitted with a Hughes 2700 stall converter.

As with any custom, most of the work was in the body and, from the chopped top down, Jim's car has a lot of it. Almost 5 inches were taken out of the windshield posts and 6 inches from the rear area. The posts were then leaned forward 4-1/2 inches and the side windows filled. The vent windows were removed from the doors and the backlight is made from a Ford Granada windshield.

A frenched radio antenna was added to the passenger door's fender section and '40 Ford fender skirts cover the rear wheel openings. The rear fender seams were also leaded smooth, and other custom tricks (nosing, decking, frenching, shaving, and so on) were all performed correctly. The grille came out of a '46 Chevy and '59 Cadillac taillights are used out back. Other custom touches include smoothed-out bumpers and a pair of 112 Appleton spotlights added to the windshield posts.


Arthur's Auto Body and Frame in Phoenix covered the car in a special non-metallic maroon blend with Chavos Pinstriping (from Phoenix) following up with lots of pinstripe. Except for new carpet added by Hot Rod Interiors in Peoria, Arizona, the interior in Jim's ride is 28 years old. Even the stock clock from 1948 still works (if you wind it up) and, years before Jim owned the car, George Barris autographed the glovebox door. An A/C and heat system from Vintage Air makes cruising in his sled a lot more comfortable, and a marine Naugahyde is used over the split-back bench seating.

After spending more than he thought and investing more time than he imagined, Jim Eckard is finally having a good time with his chopped Chevy. He's been hitting the car show circuit in the Southwest when he isn't cruising it in and around the greater Phoenix metro area, and he recently displayed the car at the 2013 Grand National Roadster Show (where he placed Third in the Early Custom 1935-1948 class). He also picked up a STREET RODDER Top 100 award at last year's Goodguys show in Scottsdale. Both show and go, Jim's Chevy can do it all.

Read more: http://www.streetrodderweb.com/features/1306_1948_chevrolet_stylemaster/

This '48 Chevy, after a 4 year build was completed in 1985. As a Barris Kustom tribute build, it is making it's own history. Goodguys - Memory Lane 2008 - Cool Cusotm 2011 - Streetrodder Top 100 2012!! Streetrodder magazine centerfold/feature June 2013. Invitation to 2012 Grand National Roadster Show - Super Show Henderson, NV Peoples Choice of over 1200 cars. Fort Mcdowell Casino Lowrider Magazine Presidential award. And much, much more!!Dependable, reliable driver! 2011 New 350 Chevy crate motor with 4900 miles on it. All modifications as well as a ton of information on this car upon your request. One of a kind radical custom, that definitely has the wow factor and is a kick to drive. 350 Turbo, vintage ac and heat, and rides like a baby buggy. Hell it even has a backseat for the grandkids!