Catawissa resident Bob Carter chuckles at the idea that he might be preserving his 1940 Chevrolet business coupe as a prototype of hotrods, and drag racing.
The coupes were mass produced in 1932 and would give birth to hotrodding and become an icon of American pop culture. Classic Auto Trader magazine notes that the 1940 Chevrolet body has been a favorite choice of Hot Rodders since the 1950s.
After World War II, small military airports throughout the country were rarely used, allowing hot rodders to race on marked courses. This was the original drag racing.
By coincidence, Carter happens to live near the drag racing track across the road from Nike School where American hotrods, crafted from the classic coupes, once roared.
But Carter is not a drag racing enthusiast or hotrodder. He is a collector, is what he is, and a horse trader. Although the horses he trades are under the hoods of cars and trucks – often models that others have given up on – that he has owned over the years.
“I hate to see a vehicle go to the junk yard when it still has some life left in it,” he said.
Whenever he can, he saves the forsaken vehicles by buying them. At any give time he can have as many as eight, still operating, vehicles parked at his yard. He also has a new car that he and his wife Mary Ann alternate motoring in with his restored 1926 candy orange Dodge coupe.
When asked how many cars and trucks he has bought and sold over the years, he rolls his eyes, shakes his head and pauses. “A lot,” he finally says.
But he has owned the 81-year-old Chevrolet business coupe that he is currently restoring since 1962. He saw an ad in the newspaper, drove to North St. Louis and bought it for $75.
Although it was 22-years old when he bought it and had dents in all four fenders, the coupe was a truly snazzy little car. The streamline body, adapted from the boxy coupes of the 1930s, could hold its own with the big fin models of the 1950s and the streamline bodies of the 1960s.
He drove it for a year, until he was drafted into the Army. He parked it on his parents farm in Campbleton, Missouri. When he retrieved it after completing his hitch he discovered that tie rods were bent.
“Someone drove it while it was parked there,” he said. “Nobody admitted that they drove it, but it was definitely driven.”
He had it fixed and drove it, off and on, for another twelve years.
His wife Mary Ann occasionally rode in the coupe but she always had other cars to drive. She accepts Carter’s penchant for dealing in old cars as a companion to her her own hobby. “She has a huge collection of dolls,” Carter said. Another eye-roll at the question of how many dolls. “She has a room full.”
As the cars he bought and sold brought a constant change of choice vehicles, Carter parked the coupe for good, he thinks in about 1978. “My son Korey was born in 1976 and he remembers riding in it,” he said. “So I think it was about 1978.”
Korey, who has seen the status of the coupe throughout his life will eventually end up with it, Bob said. It could turn out to be a fair legacy. Classic car restorers and dealers are offering restored 1940 Chevy business coupes for staggering amounts, especially so when the vehicle had one owner for a long period of its life.
Last year Carter decided it was time to tackle restoration of the coupe for real. He gave four old trucks that he had rescued from the junk yard to hobbyist restorer Mike Epstein as payment to help him restore the coupe and get it back up and running.
During his 21 years with Wagner Electric and 23 years with Chrysler, Carter had developed a flair for working on cars. He repaired engines and brakes, and took a course in upholstery with Charlie Ash at the Chrysler Training Center and reupholstered the seats in his 1972 Dodge Pickup. So he was ready to tackle the complex task of restoring the coupe.
Carter and Epstein, completely disassembled the coupe, purchased a 1951 Chevrolet motor, rebuilt the brakes, found a replacement steering column, and sanded the steel body down to bare metal.
Soon they will reassemble it. Carter has bought six yards of two-tone blue vinyl and using a friend’s sewing machine he will reupholster the seat and door panels. As the final touch they will paint it a two-tone blue to match the original paint scheme.
“I saw a two-tone green one recently,” Bob said. “I really liked it so that’s the style, only we’ll use blue.”
Soon the business coupe will enter the realm of restored classics that reign on a surprising number of pages of the Internet as restorers and collectors track these old jewels.
For lucky car owners, like Carter, who kept their old cars, restoring them became the realization of a dream.
Carter and Epstein have kept a photographic record of every step of the restoration process that they shared with us. We have asked for one more photo to publish when the restored classic hits the road.
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Always a treat to see the orange coupe parked at the Senior Center! Enjoyed article & enjoy knowing Bob & Mary Ann!