’48 Chevrolet Pickup: Our Obsession of the Week

Resto’d Chevy 3100 hides an LS1 engine under the hood that’s cranking out 400 horsepower. Clearly, it has the looks and the performance.

Restomodding a classic can be a tricky thing. It’s easy to go overboard by ruining the character of a vintage vehicle when bringing it into modern times. This modified 1948 Chevrolet 3100, though, is an example of what’s possible when everything goes right.

Listed on Modern Muscle Cars, this black and orange 1948 3100 features an airbrushed paint job that harks back to the muscle car days; plenty of chrome, which can be found on the grille, front bumper, and badges; as well as wood in the bed. The exterior touches look even more aggressive thanks to the slammed stance the truck has, which, according to the listing is, “low, yet high enough to clear typical road hazards.” In other words, it’s the perfect height.

The interior also features modern touches, including genuine leather upholstery, which is bespoke to this truck; digital gauges; power windows; and a stereo that plays CDs too. The interior, as you probably guessed by now, retains the same black and orange scheme as the exterior with a healthy slathering of chrome to keep things interesting.

While the engine is more than enough to stun viewers at a Cars and Coffee meet up,
the engine bay is absolutely spotless.

The real treat, though, lies underneath the hood and will surely take unsuspecting victims by surprise. A 5.7-liter LS1 V8, which generates 400 horsepower, powers the gorgeous truck and sends its power down through a 4L60E automatic transmission with overdrive. And while the engine is more than enough to stun viewers at a Cars and Coffee meet up, the engine bay is absolutely spotless.

The listing is priced at $54,900, which may seem like a large amount of money, but this custom machine would cost a lot more to build from scratch. From what we’re looking at, just the glorious sound of the LS1 makes it worth every penny.