1933 Chevrolet Master Eagle Comes From a Time When Chevy Wasn't Mediocre

Some Americans who were young in the 60s will even tell you most General Motors muscle cars were poorly built piles of junk, too, as blasphemous as it sounds.

Sadly, the number of people still kicking around who were able to experience the arguable quality-zenith of Chevrolet is starting to dwindle somewhat. But in all probability, they witnessed it in this car, a 1933 Chevrolet Master Eagle. This example comes to us from one of our very favorite custom car dealers, MAXmotive of Cheswick, Pennsylvania.

Back in the 1930s, American cars came out of plenty of places other than Detroit. Back before, Americans realized how dirty and pollutive gas and diesel vehicle production is, at least. General Motors employed factories in far-off places like Kansas City, Oakland, California, Tarrytown, New York, and even in nations like Argentina, South Africa, and Belgium. In these far-off days of Chevy's past, the Series CA Eagle/Master chassis was used throughout the entire line of vehicles.

Even GMC was using this rugged platform for their line of light-duty trucks, but this drop-top two-seater version is absolutely wicked-looking. The star of the show on this car is the "Omaha orange" painted spoked wheels with whitewall tires, but the engine is notable as well. Think of the 206 cubic-inch (3.3-liter) "Stovebolt" inline-six as the LS engine of the 1930s. A strong, dependable engine is seen under the hood of a slew of different GM models of the day. The six-cylinder engine jetted 60 horsepower to the rear wheels through a three-speed synchromesh manual gearbox.

For comparison, that's less than 20 horsepower away from the 78 horsepower Mitsubishi Mirage on sale in 2022. Some cars advance slower than others, it seems. Happily, the interior of this Master Eagle is made of finer materials than the Mirage. Tan leather, polished chrome door handles and window cracks, and vintage steering wheel all come from a time when most passenger cars were designed for looks first and function a close second.

At $49,500 before taxes and fees and less than 2,000 original miles (3,218 km), this is a wonderful occasional weekend drive machine. One with a touch of quality you won't find on a modern Chevrolet, at least this side of a C8 Corvette.