I went to the grocery store this afternoon and when I came back out I saw this car and was stunned! Wow, what a beautiful car! What a thrill to see this! I had no idea what year it was. I got my camera and took some photographs and started to drive away when I saw an older man looking over the car carefully. So I backed up and drove by this car again and asked the viewer what car it was. He knew that is was a 1948 Chevrolet Stylemaster, and said "This car has an automatic transmission in it! They didn't make automatic transmissions back then!" As we were talking, a younger man approcahed the car and said it was his. Turns out his father built this car for a man who wanted an automatic transmission and a larger engine. That men owned the car for years and when he passed away, the car was offered to the young man who now owns it. I was asking about the engine and he said it was a NASCAR engine, and it was 500 Horsepower! We had a really nice chat, and as I drove around the car to leave, he started the engine and it was unmistakable that this was not the original engine! You should have heard that deep throated engine as it sat there idling! What a sound! What a car!
I particularly love the straight on view of this car from the front! Notice how there is a triangular shaped dark thing right in front of the windshield - that is a vent that lets air come into the car and is distributed at the feet of the driver and front seat passenger! All the modern conveniences!
Beautiful car in pristine condition. It is amazing the young mans Dad had the ingenuity to construct this automobile with an automatic transmission. About 10 years ago there was a 1948 Chevy for sale on New Haven Avenue. I thought it would be perfect for me as that is the year I was born and Dad was always a Chevy man, but you need to be a mechanic or have a lot of money to fix it up so I had to pass. Joan
ReplyDeleteYour great photos of a classic car bring back many family memories. Our first family car was a two-tone green 4 door '48 Chevy complete with rear mud skirts, split windshield and lots of chrome. I actually have a vague memory of my dad taking me to the car dealer when we were living in the new Fresh Meadows Garden Apartments in Queens. We had the car for ever, it seems, and in later years it was affectionately known as "The Heap". That old car made several road trips to Virginia and back and also many Sunday morning trips to Jones Beach! Near the end of it's life around 1960, my dad offered me the car but the "four doors" killed the deal for me. Had it been a two-door coupe it would have been a blast to drive - even with the standard in-line six engine and three speed column shift transmission! Thanks for the memories!
ReplyDeleteGlad you both enjoyed seeing this car. When I got my driver's license at age 16 in Connecticut which would have been in 1958, our family car was a 1949 maroon Chevrolet with faded paint that our dad got from Uncle Ray and which I got to drive. That car had a stick shift, as well. No automatic transmissions back then.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful old car! Just learned something new - the vent in front of the windshield. You never know what you’ll see these days. Fun! Betsey
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