John Hughes
Realizes His Dream Car
Warrenton -
July '99
John Hughes stopped by to see his 1939 Chevrolet Coupe. John tells quite a story about how he came to have this stylish automobile.
At the age of 14
(in 1962), I got my first glimpse of the '39 Chevy coupe which was to one day belong to
me. My parents had purchased a new house which was a few blocks away from the house where
the coupe "lived". As I have always been interested in old cars, the coupe made
quite an impression on me and as I avidly read my issues of "Hot Rod", I would
envision restoring the coupe and some day driving it home. Over the years I watched the
coupe sit at the head of its driveway and wondered why the people who owned it never drove
it or seemingly even paid it any attention at all.
The years
passed, high school, college, the Army all came and went. I married and moved to another
state, had children and eventually moved back into the area. Yes, the old coupe was still
there, getting shabbier as time went on. One day in 1983 I drove past and much to my
horror, the coupe was almost stripped bare! The owner had died and the heirs were parting
it out! Being a creature of impulse, I purchased what was left and installed it in my
garage until I could get around to restoring it. More years passed, the coupe sat in the
garage and I never found the time or, I suppose, had the requisite skills to restore it. A
friend at work mentioned that he had toured a local restoration shop with his Model A club
and gave me a brochure for WTH Restorations.
I contacted Tommy and after touring the facility and looking at
some of his projects, I decided to entrust the old coupe to him. It was quite a challenge
because the years of neglect and the parting out process left us with nothing more than a
shell which needed extensive work. I think the picture says it all; the body has been made
to look better than it did when new, and soon the assembly process will be completed. The
old coupe will live again and travel the road at the young age of 60. Thanks, Tommy!