1948 Playboy

the 1948 Playboy was originally intended for the booming postwar car market.  Built in Buffalo, New York, the first production batch of 97 cars was made for the first Playboy dealers.  The idea was to sign up dealers and issue stock to continue production.  However, the crash of Tucker, which was organized in a similar way, spelled doom for Playboy’s chances of equity financing.  We  think there are fewer than 50 Playboys remaining.  This one is by far the nicest one in existence now.

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They used Continental 4 cylinder engines of 48 Horsepower – plenty for a car that only weighs 2035 pounds!  Indeed, this car will cruise comfortably on the freeway!  It uses a Borg-Warner 3 speed transmission with overdrive.  The size and lightness allowed the use of unit body construction.

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This 1948 Playboy is both extremely rare and beautifully restored.  The professional photo-documented restoration was just completed, and the car won AACA first and then AACA senior in national competition!  I would feel confident stating it’s the best one in the world!

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The restoration was done completely, a total frame-off effort that is of the highest quality.

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This car has a retractable hardtop – a 2 piece arrangement that pivots the main piece down, and uses the forward piece as the tonneau boot!

Beautiful, correct and authentically done.

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Lovely rear compartment.  Every bit of this car has been restored to the highest standards.

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The Playboy emblem beatifully restored withcloisonne enamel.

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Antique Automobile club National First prize and then the AACA senior award on top of that!  These awards were achieved in 2013.

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This restoration was professionally done, frame off, with no expense spared. This is, without question, the best Playboy in the world right now!  The restoration was carefully photo documented, from it’s initial purchase in Arizona through the entire restoration process.

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Here it is, “As-Found”.

Down to the bare metal!

Color on the body

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The rebuilt engine is carefully installed.

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Note the care that was taken on the subcomponents!

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The renewed exhaust system.  There are far too many pages of these restoration books to show – suffice it to say, the restoration was both comprehensive and thoroughly documented.

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The quality of the restoration is impeccable.  The rarity of the car is astounding!

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The hardtop / folding top feature is incredibly advanced and interesting.

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The Metallic Blue paint is of the highest quality, and the bodywork is arrow-straight!  Every piece of chrome and stainless is like new.

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Perfect interior.  It has been completely restored and looks like new!

to give you an idea of the obsessiveness of this restoration, this console trim required new tooling in order to emboss the metal with the checkerboard pattern.  The step plates were done in a similar manner.  This kind of attention to detail is what wins trophies!

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The Dashboard , steering wheel and instruments are spectacular!  Note the 3 on the column shift lever.  This car also has a factory installed Borg-Warner overdrive, which works great, and allows the car to maintain 65 – 70 MPH speeds!

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The Continental 4 cylinder engine is like a jewel inside a blue jewel case! Every detail correct and beautiful!

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Every detail in place! Note the correct air cleaner decal and battery.

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Beautiful!

The trunk is as beautifully finished as the rest of the car!

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Here’s a detail of the top liner.

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The pivot point of the hardtop is just behind the doorhandle.  It is a fascinating design feature!

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Absolutely stunning. Incredibly rare. The best in the world!