Harley Hoschar's 1935 Chevrolet Coupe

I've always enjoyed working on classic cars and street rods. Even as a child I would help my Dad work on cars. My job was to get up inside the engine compartment and screw in head bolts with a speedwrench. Then he would come back and torque them down. He had all kinds of old cars around

My favorite was a 1935 Chevrolet Coupe. He sold the car in 1963 to get parts for the family station wagon, which happened to be a 1957 Chevrolet. "The Yellow Goose". Dad was always working on cars to get the family through tough times. No matter what Mom always had a car to drive.

As a child, I grew up loving that old coupe, hoping that I would some day get it back. After I married I told Karen, my wife of twenty-eight years that there were two cars I wanted in my life. One was that Old Chevy Coupe and the other was an Old Corvette to restore. Well over the years I've kept up with that Old Coupe as Dad had sold it to my Brother in laws Brother, Don Whittle. Don had done a lot to the car over the years with his brother Jim, I think the first thing they did was drop a Corvette Motor with two fours (2 four barrel carburetors). Over the years a lot of things were done but it was never finished.

Don was with American Airlines and was transferred all over the country. This car has seen a lot of tow time. When I would call Jim and talk I would always ask about the Coupe. That went on for a number of years. During that time I was lucky enough to have owned and built several Hot Rods. My first car to really rebuild and tweak was a 1967 Camaro. It had a nice engine with headers, good-looking wheels, It was a lot of fun till I woke up one morning and it was gone. Someone lower than dirt had stolen it out of my driveway. I got it back a few days later totally stripped, no engine, transmission, interior, hood, deck lid and of course no wheels. Have you ever seen a grown man cry after loosing a close friend? That was a bummer. When I got the car back I started gathering parts again. But knowing what I was up against I decided to sell the car and build an old car.

A close friend, Connie Duke had a 1923 T Bucket Roadster that he had lost interest in so I bought it. He had started the project but didn't finish it. After gathering more parts at swap meets, building an engine and transmission, fabricating what I couldn't find, the car was finally done. It came out great. It didn't take long after getting caught in a couple of rainstorms to think about a closed car. I traded the T Bucket for a 1929 Model A Coupe project, that was the stupidest move I've ever made (never trade a finished car for a project). After loosing interest and spending to much money on the Model A it was sold after finding a 1955 Chevrolet 2 Door Hardtop that had been setting in a garage for ten years. This car could have been sold four times on the way home from Lake Country Estates, that was a fun car. After selling it next came a 1928 Model A Two Door Sedan, this car was a blast, It was bright red with flames, V6 Buick engine, automatic transmission, tilt steering wheel, a/c and heat, what else could you ask for. This car looked good and ran great, but even then the Coupe was still in the back of my mind.

In July of 1998 when talking to my Brother in Law Jim Whittle he asked me if I was still interested in the Coupe. His brother Don was about to retire from American Airlines and was wanting a Sedan to drive his grandkids around in. Fireworks went off in my head. No one can imagine that feeling the only thing I could relate it to would be winning the lottery. I was as happy as the kid with a new ice cream cone was. After thirty-five years I was finally going to get Dad's Coupe back. Jim and I took the Model A out to Simi Valley California in September to make the trade. After getting the Coupe home we had a family get together to celebrate the homecoming. Dad had passed away in 1980 but it sure felt like he was still with us and enjoying the moment.

I gathered parts for the next four years and built a nice engine and John Thun rebuilt the transmission for it. Jim did a lot of the work on the car and after fifteen months the car was ready for the interior to be done. When the Coupe was finished it was proudly named "DADS 35". This car holds a special place in my heart and will never be sold. It's enjoyed and driven by the family.

A special thanks goes out to Jim and Don for making a dream come true. Without Jim this car would still be in pieces.