VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1946-1948 Differences between 47 and 48

Other than the accessory hood ornament and the vertical bar in the grill on the 48 is there any differences between the 1947 and 1948 Chaveolet of the same body style?

I know that they both are sort of ho-hum but thought maybe I could discover something that would let me see that there was something special about one of them.

I have always thought that the 47's grille and accessory hood ornament were a little better looking than the 48 but not by much. They both take a back seat to the beautiful 1941. Just saying...

I know that Gene has pointed out there was an upgrade to the 48 engine, something about the valves, I think, but what else.

I suppose one could get the same two-tone in either year. That did help the looks some but not much.

Note: This is not an attempt to get the stuck-out pinkie Champagne Fleetliners up in arms against the fist grabbing beer guzzling non-fleetliners so if that happens don't blame me.

This here, right here is a serious inquiry, so please treat it so.

Thanks,
Charlie

The big change and improvement in the 1948 engine was on the bottom end. Main beaings were now the precision type which meant the inserts could be replaced (one or all) without line boring the bearings. The babbitt was made much thinner on the rod and main bearings. Doing this enabled the emgines to go many more miles without requireing bearing adjustments. The thicker babbitt would compress over a period of time causing the bearing clearence to increase.
Cam timing was changed to give better performance at higher engine speeds. It was difficult to get most '47's up to 85 MPH while a 1948 could get up to near 90 MPH.

The general interiors trim and colors were changed for 1948.

The belt mouldings (alll models) were made wider and the loop mouldings around the side windows on Fleetmasters was changed. Many of the exterior colors were changed and on two-tone cars the wheels were the same color as the top rathern than the bottom.

When I drove the '47's and '48's when the two and three years old I always thought the "48"s were peppier, engine had a different sound, and they did go farther between overhauling.

Gene,

That was a sound and educational reply. Thank you.

To everyone else: There you have it, folks. The 1948 was a much superior car to the lowly 1947. Makes me think, who in the world would want a 47?

I have a used complete 48 engine. I think I'll slip it into the 41 coupe when it gets tired. That way I can flash past the lowly 1947s and cause them to eat my dust. Nothing better than that, huh?

Hurray for 1948s! Sorry for you 1947 Fleetliners. I guess you need to keep your 47 hid behind closed doors and only take them out now and then to let them drip on the driveway. 216 engines enjoy that. Never park one next another over night. They may get amorous thoughts and try to breed. What we got right now is enough. A 48er may thing "too many."

Note: This is a lame attempt to get off that boring tag thread.

Just kidding all of you. Nothing serious here after all. I did find Gene's comment interesting.

Best to all,
Charlie

Here's difference with the ornaments


1947 &48 Factory ornament



1947 accessory ornament



1948 accessory ornament

And just because we love you so much Charlie...I won't leave you out



Look familiar??????

I always thought the 1947 accessory looked good and the 1948 just OK.
The 1946 had the best production and accessory ornament.
1942 production was fair and the accessory great.....same for 1939, 1940 and 1941.

The hood emblems are also different between the 47 and 48. The 47 has a trunk emblem/badge and the 48 does not. 48 has a accessory grill guard and 47 does not but you will see 47’s with a tube style grill guard.

the tube style was not a
Chevrolet accessory.
1948 did have some new and or changed accessories.....like the cheaper heater, sun visor, full wheel covers, and optional 15" wheels with low presure tires.
and a hydraulic bumper jack.

Hm my 48 came without!!!



Jianis

Is this the 1947 hood emblem??I kind of thought it was only on the Fleetmaster




Here the 1948 hood emblem

Yes. That's the '47 hood emblem. I see that Chevs of the 40s is now selling reproductions of both of them.

jjianis and CC,

Thanks for all those great photos.

I agree that the 46 accessory hood ornament was a good looking one. That blue glass really set it off.

How about the water falls trim at the back below the taillights. Was that on just the fleet lines and were they on the 47 and 48s?

Thanks for all the interesting posts on this thread. And, thanks CC for that lowly production of the 1941 hood ornament.

Best,

Charlie

I believe 47-48 Fleetlines only???Not sure

Fleetmasters and Fleetlines.

I might be confused but I own 2 different 48 fleetmasters the blue one in the picture above thats here in The Netherlands And this one in Greece





They have different emblems But I thought it had to do with the fact that the Dutch one was assembled In Belgium and the Greek one was imported from the States.
The Greek one I know his history since 1966 ( shame the emblem was stolen in the mean time ).
The Dutch one was garaged since the late 60s So I asumed that both had their emblems since new.
Now I am confused!!! have to search for the corect ones!!!

Jianis

There's lots on e-bay...you may need to plate most of them though

Yes, you are correct. These are for 47 and 48 only!

But as Gene noted, for both Fleetlines and Fleetmasters.

I already have got one out of e:bay but I am not going to plate it as I intend to keep the *car* in its original condition.

Jianis

My 48 Fleetmaster coupe has the waterfalls.

Water Falls...Interesting!!Leave it to Charlie....I will need to add that to my Chevy parts dictionary

Lemme see if i have it straight. They were on all 47/40 Fleetmasters and Fleetlines. But not on the Stylemaster. That right?

Nor were they accessories. Is that right also.

CC, I called them "waterfalls" because I didn't know the right name for them. Thanks for pointing out my stupidity for all the world to see You're a real pal, you know that? What is the right term for them?

Best,
Charlie

Chevrolet Engineering called them medallions ....same in the parts books.
They were used on all 1947 and 1948 Fleetmaster and Fleetlines.

I think "waterfalls" is most suited as water falls on the lower mounting stud since it is just behind the rear wheel. The upper stud is in the trunk. The lower stud and lower half of the mounting plate is usually rusted away. Finding a pair with good mounts turned out to be a challenge I could not meet. Had to repair mine with some clever ingenuity. Don't ask.

Mine were also rusted away on the bottom half.......

Thank goodness for JB Weld