Throwback to when trucks looked better than supermodels.
Trucks today are just a little too big and a little too square for our taste. When did the world decide that all trucks should be larger than a house? We ache for the days of big fenders, rounded hoods, and bed that we could actually reach into the back of. We want this 1948 Chevrolet Thriftmaster.
Just look at it. It’s prettier than almost any date you’d have sitting in the passenger seat.
Thankfully this truck is a California original, saving it from the tortures of rust that have destroyed so many of these incredible machines. The fact that this ¾-ton five-window truck had a recent restoration is just icing on top of the rust-free cake. While most of the truck appears to be original, the motor has been swapped in favor of a more powerful 250 straight-six from 1969. We think that’s the perfect motor for this kind of truck. A bit more horsepower and torque without losing the character of an old carbureted inline-six. We wouldn’t tow a four-horse trailer with it, but that motor upgrade makes the truck more usable for everyday tasks.
The only problem we can find with this truck is that it looks so nice we’d be afraid to use it for real truck duties. That wood in the bed looks more perfectly polished than a professional bowling lane. How could we ever dump a load of mulch onto that?
Even if you don’t want to use a truck like this to haul things, it would still be the perfect companion for weekend adventures. The four-speed manual means wider gearing for highway trips, and that flat, polished bed would be a great seating location if you took a trip to a local drive-in movie theater.
If you are in love with this truck like we are, you can pick it up from Classic Auto Showplace in Troy, MI. It’s currently available for the bargain price of $32,900. And if red just isn’t your color, Classic Auto Showplace also has a nice blue 46 Chevy pickup as well.
