1936 Chevrolet

It’s not unusual for a car to have a nickname and Rich Rowe lovingly named his 1936 Chevrolet “Dave,” after his deceased older brother.

 Rowe, of Edgerton, said that his twin older brothers, John and Dave, bought a ’36 Chevy and cruised it around the coal region of Shamokin, Pa., when he was about 10 years old. John enlisted in the Army but Dave was rejected because of a congenital heart condition. Dave and Rowe were buddies while John was in the service.

 Dave insisted that Rowe, at age 12, learn to drive the Chevy, ostensibly so he could take his brother Dave to the hospital in case he “had the big one.”

 “We pulled the seat all the way forward, added a cushion from an old green couch and a pair of pillows for a back rest,” he wrote in an article for the newsletter of the Vintage Chevrolet Club of America. “I could see over the hood and reach the floorboard pedals. I was driving.”

 In the ensuing years, Rowe’s brother owned a succession of cars, but Rowe always liked the ’36 best. Dave died in 1962.

 Rowe found another 1936 Chevrolet Master Deluxe in 1974 when his brother-in-law moved to Valley City, N.D., but it wasn’t for sale. A couple of years later, after the Chevy had been sitting in a field where it became a home for mice and rust, Rowe was finally able to buy it.

 Rowe got rid of the mice, fired it up and took his wife, Anne, for a ride. “We did a few doughnuts,” he wrote.

 When Rowe moved to Edgerton in 1990, he left the Chevy in N.D. to be restored. For five years it was neglected as the restoration shop shuffled between owners. Rowe rescued it once again and this time vowed to keep it. That’s when he named it Dave.

 Mike Doll of Northland Auto Restoration in Mandan, N.D., restored the ’36, and Rowe brought it to Edgerton.

 In 1999, he bought another 1936 two-door Chevrolet Master Deluxe from Baldwin City, Kan., but it is rough and needs a lot of work. Rowe named it John, after his other brother, who is still living. 

 When the second car is restored, Rowe will have twin Chevys. John and Dave, together again. 

 “I know my brother Dave is out there somewhere,” Rowe said, “grinning from ear to ear.”