VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1946-1948 To restore or not to restore? 48 Fleetmaster PICS*

Okay, so I am relatively new to the car restoration world and I am in need of some help in determining whether or not my car is worth putting any money into or not.
First I'll describe my car as accurately as possible than ask some questions that I would like to hear feedback on.
I just acquired a 1948 Chevy Fleetmaster 2 door sedan. I actually traded my 1993 honda civic with 200+K miles for it.
Condition: Well, it currently is not in running condition. However, if you poor gas in the carbs and hook it up to a battery it starts and runs breifly.
The body. This is where my biggest concern is. I know I can get an engine and electrical system going no problem since i have experience with these things already. HOwever, I have NO experience with body work/metal work and I just don't know how to evaluate the current condition of the body.
The car was described to me as having "a good frame and good floors"
This is sort of a vague description, but I took it to mean that the frame was straight and solid and the floors were not rusted through.
The Frame: When you look underneath the car the entire underside of the vehicle is completely encrusting with rust. There are no visable areas where its rusted through, but there is lots of rust everywhere.
The Body The roof, hood and doors appear to be in good shape in that there are no major rust spots and definitely no rust through at all. The four fenders have rust through and bondo in various locations and especially along the bottom of the car.
Otherwise, the car is very complete all parts are present. The back seat upholstery is actually very nice and alot of the interior is still in good shape. The floors have light rust, but nothing rusted through. The thing I really like about it is that its never been messed with or torn apart. The odometer reads 66,000.

So my questions are: Is this car too rusted to be worth putting money into? I know I can buy replacement fiberglass fenders and new bumpers etc, but can the frame be restored? Would it be better to just buy a new/restored frame? How do I evaluate the condition of this car properly? Can anyone show any before and after pics of a car that started in similar condition?

My current plans for the car are to rewire it for a 12 volt system and do some brake work, suspension work etc so that I can get it road worthy (just for short distance, weekend cruises is it) Can this be done or is it not worth it? Thank you so much for any input you might have!
Pics:

This car looks a lot better then my 53 truck when I bought mine.
I was going to do only the brakes , clutch and what ever to make her road worthy but all of a sudden I got the old car sickness and took everything off down to the frame. I think you need to get the frame power washed. I will let the experts comment on this nice looking 48.I think she can be restored. It all depends how far and how much money you want to spend. I would join this VCCA club though because YOU WILL need the help. Good luck on this project and thanks for getting another old Chevy back on the road...Oscar

Thanks for the kind words and input. I think eventually I would like to do a complete frame off restoration, but that will have to wait about 5 or 6 years until I get some money coming in. (I'm a student still). However, it makes me feel a lot better knowing that someone else thinks its in restorable shape.

Yes this car looks great compared to some I've seen. If I were you I would join this club and the experts can help you along the way for what ever you need. It was the best thing that ever happened to me when I got the old car sickness...Oscar :grin: :grin:

Hatfielj; There is a couple places to look on your car to see if it is structurely safe and able to pass a safety. Check the floors out and see if you have any rust through.If there is you can patch them up. look at the floor under the rear windows and see if there is any rust thru there. Also check the outer body mounts from the cowl to the rear just behind the b posts. These mounting brackets protrude out from the frame and are attached to the floor braceing that goes to the inner rockers. If you are going to have a weak spot in the frame as in rust through it will be around these outer brackets. Your car looks very solid for the year and will make a nice project. It is very restorable and as the other guys said, joing the VCCA would be a great help. Now is also the time to start researching the how to's on body work. Sites like Autobody101 and SPI's user forum are two good sites. You may want to take a night course also. Get it running and make sure it stays cool and shifts ok. Check the brakes and lines and don't cut any corners. You are on your way to getting into a hobby that is very rewarding. Good luck and plz keep us posted.

Cheers!!!

46aero: Thanks for the tips! I will inspect the areas you mentioned and see where I stand. Also, thanks for the suggestions on websites to check out. What is spi? I will definitely look into joining the vcca as it appears you guys are going to be a great resource and very friendly and helpful. I'm getting more and more excited about this car now!

Hatfielj, you are getting excited because you are getting the old car sickness and there ain't no cure. Good luck on your project...Oscar

The car looks very decent and definately restoreable. The grill looks to be a 47 ??? Are you sure it is a 48.

I'm pretty sure its a 48. The model/style number is stamped on the fire wall and it says 48-1001. The grill is missing a peice that I have in the trunk. Perhaps thats why it looks unlike a 48?

I'm going to try and get the car up on jacks this weekend and take some pictures of the underside of the car to get all of your opinions on the condition of the frame, etc. Thanks!

If we all could start out with a car so complete there would be no challenge. I say restore and have fun. Remember half the fun is the hunt for that little parts treasure and the people you will meet. The other half is the satisfaction and the smile as you drive down the road. :)

Yes, the car looks pretty complete and restorable. I don't mean to rain on your parade, but be aware that in the course of taking things apart you will discover many additional items that need repair or replacement. Inevitably a fairly straightforward restoration will take many times the amount of time and money you originally envisioned. Still, it's a great learning experience and you will be able to take great pride in your accomplishment!

Coach

Make sure you take lots of pictures and take lots of notes when removing parts from this car. It will help you in the long run...Oscar

Advice well taken. And I couldn't agree with you more. I renovated our kitchen last summer and it was the same story. A project I originally envisioned costing 3-4K ended up costing us 8-10K instead :cry:
So, that is why I am being very careful with this in the beginning and not buying or doing anything until I have a very clear and realistic plan for what I want to accomplish. For the time being I plan on learning everything I can about this car and car restoration in general. In the mean time I will be going over the car head to toe and trying to figure out exactly what will need replacing and/or fixing and try to determine what I can do now and what needs to wait. Who knows, I might have to wait quite some time before doing anything with it. I might just have to spend the next few years slowly taking it apart and documenting all the parts and things that need replacing. It all will depend on what I end up doing next year at this time (I'm a med student and I have to start internship next year) So, I will be hard pressed for both time and cash, but after about 4 years things will start to pick up and I'll be ready to invest a little more in to it.

Take your time, it will all happen sometime or another...Oscar :) :)

Very nice 48!!! You should see what I started with...

This will be a nice project!!!

Fleet47, I would love to see what you started with. Do you have any before and after pics?

I will try to find some tonight, and Email them to ya.

Cool, thanks

Just to add a little detail from personal experience. When I first got my '35 it had terrible clutch chatter. Figuring I knew how to change a clutch and pressure plate I dove into one weekend. I found a cracked bellhousing and transmission case, along with various other leaks and problems. Several years later my search turned up a supposedly rebuilt engine and most of the parts I needed. I figured I should first paint the firewall before installing the new engine, but just where does one stop when stripping paint? So, the entire car was stripped, body work done, interior gutted, repainted, rebuilt, replumbed, rewired, reglassed, re-everything...all because of a little clutch chatter. Oh, and it only took 28 years to get her back on the road! Sad but true!

So, think very carefully about how you may approach your repairs or restoration. If only repairs, you can probably keep her on the road most of the time and enjoy the car. If a restoration, you will learn everything about the vehicle but probably miss out on those cool summer evening drives to the ice cream store or a weekend tour. Of course, you could always get a second vehicle (drive one/restore one) but that's another story.

Coach

Thanks coachhill for the input. Your story is kind of what I'm afraid of if I start taking the car apart now. I figure if I can just get it running and driving a little I can at least enjoy it for the time being until I have enough time and money to take it completely apart and restore it correctly.

Hey hatfielj,

Just to sort of confirm what Coachhill said earlier this morning.....

We purchased a 107k mile 68 Impala convertible in 1990. The 327 engine and TH-400 trans were said to have been rebuilt. And receipts appeared to confirm that. The interior was original and very nice. The top was good. It clearly needed a repaint. I wanted a bit more than tape and shoot; but did not want to incur the expense and hassle of taking the car apart. We took the bumpers off. Then the hood and deck lid. The DA showed terrible quarter panels. So I had to purchase two new reproduction quarter panels. As long as we were that far into a "re-paint," we also got a new grille and a new windshield. Other sort of "minor" problems came to life. Of course all these other minor "little things" are $250 each or $500 each and so on. After spending way more money than originally intended to just paint the car, we had a really nice Flame Red (Early 90's Corvette, IROC, Suburban color) 1968 Impala convertible. A great car that we drove all over the West Coast to NW Meets, Reno, All-Cal Meets and so on.

For me, I've never had any desire to restore a car. Too much hassle. Likely too much money. (This 're-paint' re-confirmed that whole idea.) So I've always bought cars that were pretty much done. Or original cars that were very nice. And then just kept them up. Doing repairs or partial 'restoration' work as needed. Basically I don't know which end of a spark plug socket is the working end. Well, not quite; but pretty close. So, a full restoration just wasn't (still isn't) in the cards for me. Nonetheless, I've had a dozen or more really nice cars in the 30-35 years I've been in this "hobby." Some of which you can view by clicking on my light blue picture thing at the bottom of my posts. ( http:// www etc. etc. )

It seems like you might want to continue to give very serious thought to the '48 project. If that's "your special year" you might even want to look into acquiring one that's already 'fixed up' and use it. You know, have fun with that car and then when your schooling / internship / finances / etc. are in order you could launch into restoring the one you have. Just sort of rambling. Just some food for thought.....

Old cars are really fun. "We" all seem to get a real kick out of them. I know I sure do!! I hope you have fun regardless of how you go about this "old car hobby" thing!!!

Bill.

42bill; thanks for your response. Your insight/advice is much appreciated. I think your advice on giving very serious thought to the project is very good. I think just trying to have fun with it for now is the best advice. Since I am limited in resources, space (I have a rather small garage for such a huge car), tools, and know-how, I think the best thing I can do is use it as a learning tool for the time being. I can really study the various systems and how they are supposed to work and get a good working knowledge of the electrical system, engine, transmission, etc... before attempting any serious overhauling. Just getting the thing to run a little bit may take me quite awhile. I just need to keep telling myself that its just for fun now and even if I can't drive it yet at least I'll be getting a little closer to that point as time goes by. If I had the money it sure would be nice to have a second car like it to actually drive while I work on the other one, but thats going to have to wait too:)

There's one thing I can surely say with a good amount of certainty now: This car is going to be a true test of my patience

Yes, a true test of your patience. And likely your pocket book also. But it is (sorta) fun. Especially if you're a bit more mechanically inclined than I am.

I see in the "other" post you're already tinkering around. Trying to get it started. Asking questions and getting good advice.

Well, have fun.....



Another suggestion, check around and see where the nearest VCCA region is. There might be somebody close to you that's a member. That could be a source of 'in person' assistance. If there is a region near you, give strong consideration to joining. In the meantime, 'use' Chevy Chat all you can.

Yes as Bill said find reliable help or advise close by,even if your willing to pay big bucks there are very few people that you can take the 48 to and solve the simplest problem,chef

The car is a '48-see belt and revele mouldings but the T bar on the grille is missing.