What’s the oldest iconic Chevy you can remember? The Tri-Five, introduced in 1955, is probably a popular answer. As is the Deluxe series before that. But I think the Master is the first genuinely iconic Chevrolet.
Introduced in 1933 as a replacement for the Eagle, it remained in production until 1942 with yearly updates. It was produced in no fewer than nine factories in the US and six additional plants in Canada, Asia, Africa, South America, and Europe. The Master was the last Chevrolet exported to Japan in knockdown kits. Toyota also used reverse engineering to copy a 1933 Master’s engine for its first-ever production car, the AA.
Offered in various body styles, including a coupe, cabriolet, sedan, and pickup truck, the Master was hugely popular at the time. Chevy sold almost a half-million examples in 1933 and even more than that in 1934. Sales surpassed 900,000 units in 1936. In all, Chevrolet built about five million Masters through 1942.
Due to the low survival rate of 1930s and early 1940s cars, many of these classics are no longer around. And most of those that still exist are rotting away in junkyards or barns. Some of them soldiered on as restomods, but the number of cars restored to factory specifications and unmolested survivors is very low.
And that’s precisely why I get excited whenever a rusty example comes out of storage and makes it back on the road. Like this 1938 Master Deluxe version documented by YouTube’s “BackyardAlaskan.”
Last on the road in the early 1970s, this four-door was given an unexpected second chance at life after around 50 years. And I say “unexpected” because the Chevy is a rust bucket. There’s more surface rust than paint on the body, a tree smashed the rear section of the roof, and the interior is as rough as they get. It’s the kind of car that most people would send to the crusher.
But not our host, who struggled to clean it up and get the old engine running again. This is downright amazing for a mill that hasn’t had a single drop of gasoline in a whopping 50 years. More impressively, he also got the Master driving again and took it for a spin around the shop.
If you’re unfamiliar with the 1938 Master, the Art Deco-styled Chevrolet came with a 216-cubic-inch (3.5-liter) six-cylinder under the hood. The Master Deluxe version also sported independent suspension, which Chevy introduced in 1937. The company sold 465,158 Masters in 1938, 302,726 of which were Deluxe models. The four-door you’re looking at is one of 76,323 sedans built.
Granted, it’s not as rare as other Chevrolets from the era, and it’s nowhere near as desirable as a Tri-Five Bel Air, but seeing such an old survivor back on the road is downright fantastic.
