I had owned a 1948 business coupe that I used for parts to build a 47 Fleetmaster Conv back in 1990’s. I always liked the body lines of the business coupe and kept my eyes open for a project car. In Sept 2019 I found this car on Facebook market and it looked like a good candidate. So…. I bought it and shipped it to CT. The car came from Wahoo Nebraska but it had spent most of it’s life in Avoca Iowa where it was known as puddle jumper, which is what we call it today.
Upon arrival I went through entire car, it needed a few mechanical repairs but generally it ran and drove. After rebuilding brake system, new exhaust system and of course all lubrication oils changed, we found a very sound car, no holes in the floors or trunk. I cleaned underneath the car (no under coating) and painted the under carriage. Next was to strip it down to metal and paint, years of sitting in a barn had taken its toll on the paint. (I tried to bring it back with sanding and compounding, but cracks where too deep to recover). Just before stripping started I found a trunk insert on Ebay. It fit right in as if it belonged there. After a complete repainting in original color we use the car all summer long usually from mid March to the end of December. I should add that we had radio converted to AM/FM it really makes the drive a lot nicer. Vacuum shift mechanism still works. I enjoy taking it to car shows here in CT. Not something seen every day.
Next change will be black-wall tires. In it’s day I’m sure the car never really had white walls on it.
