This 87-year-old beauty is proof that those myths about vintage cars aren’t always fiction. The sedan did sit in a barn in Vermont for 30 years, although that isn’t where Wayne MacIsaac found it.
The Wappingers Falls resident first saw it in 1999, years after it had been rescued, at the annual Rhinebeck Antique Car Show and Swap Meet. “I traded my two-door, two-seater 1930 Ford Model A coupe because the Chevy was a four-door with a back seat where I could put three or four kids,” MacIsaac says.
He also liked “the beautiful styling they had, the flowing lines, the fenders, the suicide doors. And I like the wing windows that let air in.”
MacIsaac appreciates the cowl scoop, a flap outside the windshield. When a handle under the dash is pushed, the flap opens, allowing air to flow at the driver’s feet.
“It’s an easy car to drive,” MacIsaac says. Although it lacks power steering, it handles well on the highway and he has no problem keeping up with traffic at 65 to 70 mph.
Chevrolet produced six Master Deluxe models from 1933 to 1942. The body on MacIsaac’s 1938 version is original, but he made changes to the interior and under the hood. The 216 cubic-inch, six-cylinder engine became a 350 cubic-inch V8. The three-speed stick shift gave way to a four-speed automatic transmission with overdrive. The suspension was replaced and he added front disc brakes, along with a Mustang front end for better steering.
The Specs
Main assembly: Flint, Michigan
Models: Coach, Coupe, Sedan, Sport Coupe, Sport Sedan, Town Sedan
Total production: 302,726
Four-door sedan production: 236
Engine: 216 cubic inch, overhead valve, straight six-cylinder
Horsepower: 85
Transmission: 3-speed synchro-mesh, manual floor shift
Carburetor: Carter single barrel
Weight: 2,920 pounds
Cost: $795 (about $17,700 today)
The mohair fabric bench seat was replaced with brown leather buckets, and the rear bench was reupholstered in the same leather. The odometer and speedometer were upgraded; MacIsaac thinks the car has been driven about 150,000 miles, including 30,000 with him behind the wheel.
The original sedan had no radio, but MacIsaac added an after-market radio and CD player, hidden in the glove box. The speakers were also placed out of sight under the front seat. “When the music’s on, you’d swear it’s coming from the dash,” he says.
The paint is a story in itself. When he bought the car, it was black. He had it painted in Cadillac pearlescent white with purple flames on the sides. That lasted 12 years before he painted it Army green. An Army veteran, MacIsaac said the color and “Rat Patrol” painted on the hood and rear are an homage to the 1960s TV show that followed the exploits of a World War II allied jeep patrol in North Africa.
He hasn’t needed replacement parts but acquired fenders and a hood from other collectors “just in case” and because the price was right.
Since buying his first car, a 1952 Chevrolet, MacIsaac has leaned toward that brand. He has three Chevy hot rods, a 1954 Suburban, a 1956 two-door handyman station wagon and a 1965 panel van.
He isn’t afraid to take the ’38 on longer drives, including a 300-mile roundtrip to an annual car show in Lake George, one of many where he has shown his cars. “I have probably 100 trophies in my garage,” MacIsaac says. “But I don’t know which is which!”
