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1948 Chevrolet Fleetmaster

Only minor styling updates were applied to the 1948 Fleetmaster as Chevrolet (like other manufacturers) worked aggressively to keep pace with demand, while other efforts were focused on all-new products for 1949. Initially, there was a shortage of critical materials, notably sheet steel. Before production could resume its normal pace, a United Auto Workers strike was called on November 21st, 1945, crippling assembly lines. The strike was finally resolved on March 13th, 1946. A mere sixteen days later, Chevrolet became the first GM division to resume production.

Chevrolet began post-War automobile production with the entry-level Stylemaster offered primarily with two-door body styles, including the business coupe, sport coupe, and two-door town sedan. The sole four-door body style was the Sport Sedan. The Fleetmaster, which included the Fleetline sub-series, replaced the prewar Special Deluxe group. Body style included a sport coupe, convertible and town sedan - all with two doors - plus a four-door sport sedan and station wagon. The Fleetline sub-series added a four-door Sport Master Sedan and a two-door Aero Sedan. These body styles wore fastback GM 'Sport Dynamic' body shells and the Super Deluxe trim level with distinctive brightwork. All production Chevrolet (U.S. models) vehicles rested on a 116-inch wheelbase platform from 1946 through 1948. The passenger cars measured approximately 197.75 inches while the station wagons were 207.5 inches long. Power was supplied by a 216.5 cubic-inch six-cylinder engine with overhead valves, a cast iron block, four main bearings, and solid valve lifters, and it developed 90 horsepower at 3,300 RPM. A three-speed manual transmission sent power to the rear wheels, and four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes provided the stopping power.

When the 1948 models were introduced in February of that year (and produced to January 1949), the Chevrolet Fleetmaster wore a new vertical chrome bar for the grille, and a new ornament and emblem for the hood. These were essentially the extent of the styling updates that distinguished them from the previous year's designs.

Standard amenities gracing the 1948 Chevrolet Fleetmaster included a two-spoke Deluxe steering wheel with horn ring, wood-grained dashboard, wood-grained window sills, chrome windshield surrounds, leatherette rear seat scuff covers, leather-topped front seat armrests, and front floor mat carpet inserts. The illuminated glove locker was also standard, and the clock and cigarette lighter were now standard on both the Fleetmaster and Fleetlines models. Both models could be accessorized with a dome lamp with an automatic switch at the driver's door. The Fleetmaster was also available with two-tone Bedford cloth upholstery; the standard upholstery was pile fabric.

The two-door town sedan was priced at $1,380, the sport coupe at $1,400, and the four-door sport sedan at $1,440. The sport sedan was the most popular with 93,142 examples built, followed by 66,208 of the town sedan and 58,786 of the sport coupe. The convertible and station wagon body styles were the most expensive, with the former priced at $1,750 and the latter at $2,015. 20,471 examples were convertibles and 10,171 were station wagons. Optional accessories could add another 25% on top of the base price. Sales of the wagon were much fewer than those of other body styles in the lineup, and it is believed that Chevrolet lost money on every one of them.

Chevrolet's first production Woodie wagon was a 1937 version of the truck-based 'Carry-All' two-door. Chevrolet and other GM divisions began to offer a wood-paneled Station Wagon in 1939, constructed in-house. Fisher Body produced the wood bodies for Chevrolet and Oldsmobile from 1946 to 1948 only. The wooden bodies of the Chevy featured ash framing with mahogany panels that were factory-finished with varnish as a protective coating. The top was covered in Spanish Grain Leatherette, an early vinyl version, over a wooden frame. There were steel fenders and a hood, usually painted dark colors to accentuate the wood's natural beauty. Two colors were available for these vehicles from the factory: Oxford Maroon and Live Oak Green, with the maroon color being the more popular choice.

The wood-bodied wagons were labor-intensive to build by hand and were discontinued in favor of all-steel bodies during 1949. These wood-bodied station wagons were equipped with three rows of seats from the factory; the front seat and rearmost seats held three passengers each and in the middle was a two-passenger 'jump' seat that was shorter in width to allow passenger entry to the rear seat. The rear two seats were removable.

Chevrolet Fleetline
The 1948 Chevrolet Fleetline continued to be a sub-series of the Fleetmaster with body styles that included the Sport Master Sedan ($1,490) and the two-door Aero Sedan ($1,435). The Aero Sedan was very popular with 211,861 examples built, along with 83,760 of the four-door Sport Master Sedan. The fastback vehicles had Super Deluxe features that included three-quarter length belt molding, Triple stacked speeling moldings on the fenders, and five vertical slashes on chrome beneath the taillights.


by Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2022

1948 Chevrolet Fleetmaster Vehicle Profiles

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1948 Fleetmaster
$2,000-$20,000
1948 Chevrolet Fleetmaster Price Range: $1,379 - $2,000

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Fleetmaster

Specification Comparison by Year

Year
Production
Wheelbase
Engine
Prices
228,065
116.00 in., 207.50 in.
6 cyl., 216.50 CID., 90.00hp
$1,125 - $1,600
116.00 in.
6 cyl., 216.50 CID., 90.00hp
$1,280 - $1,891
116.00 in.
6 cyl., 216.50 CID., 90.00hp
$1,379 - $2,000

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