Tampa Bay Classic Chevy Club
Ed and Chris Loges
In 1968 my ship, the USS Saratoga CVA 60, was docked at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for a 13 month overhaul. As I am originally from South Jersey and had the option of being close to home, I needed wheels. My uncle, Billy Harper, had a 1955 Chevy and I liked it and wanted something similar. We checked out the classified ads and found a 1957 Chevy for sale for $500. The car was in driveable condition and had made its way from California to New Jersey, driven by a guy who had gotten out of the Air Force. It was built in Oakland, California in November, 1956 and was approximately the 19,000th vehicle built, according to the vin number.
My future wife and I were dating at the time and we drove the car down to Ocean City, New Jersey on the weekends. It was my daily driver.
In 1971, my wife and I got married and we owned the '57, a '40 Ford Coupe and a '61 Corvette. I sold the '57 to one of my barbershop customers for $200. He had it about a year, disassembled the car and lost interest, later selling it back to me for $25! I stored the car and began work on it, collecting parts from various sources, including Classic Chevy magazine. I even found the front bumper in a garage attic at a house where I was doing a job as a telephone repairman. In 1973, my wife and I were blessed with a son and in 1974 I put a 283 in the car and it was painted in 1976 by uncle Billy. We welcomed a daughter into our family that year, too.
I recently installed a home built 406 small block Chevy engine, a 700r overdrive transmission and an Edelbrock cross ram intake. The car now has a '57 Oldsmobile rear and is taken to car shows weekly. With the help of my uncle, Edward Harper, I have redone the interior, door panels, seats and headliner. I've had parts driven to me in Florida by helpful neighbors and even stored the rear bumper under our bed for several years after having it chromed. The process of restoring my car has been a labor of love and is worth every moment and every dollar invested! The car has always been white and the interior is black and matador red.
In the summer of 2001, I was fortunate to retire to Florida after close to 30 years with the telephone company. We packed and moved ourselves, with some help of course, and trailered the '57 from New Jersey with care.
I am now able to work on the '57 most days of the year with the warm weather allowing me to spend time in the garage without freezing. I happily attended the 50th anniversary celebration with my car in February, 2006 in Kissimmee, Florida.
I enjoy pleasure cruising and would love to someday drive the car around the country, or at least drive it back to New Jersey to show everyone who has helped me with it over the past 40 years!
I think my favorite part of the '57 Chevy is the fins. A lot of people who have looked at my car call it, "The Fin Car", but it's still just a used car to me. Cars are definitely in my family's blood as my father has owned several antiques and my uncles, neighbors are friends are all car people. Thinking back on all the cars I've owned over the years, I have never owned a new car!
Ed Loges
My future wife and I were dating at the time and we drove the car down to Ocean City, New Jersey on the weekends. It was my daily driver.
In 1971, my wife and I got married and we owned the '57, a '40 Ford Coupe and a '61 Corvette. I sold the '57 to one of my barbershop customers for $200. He had it about a year, disassembled the car and lost interest, later selling it back to me for $25! I stored the car and began work on it, collecting parts from various sources, including Classic Chevy magazine. I even found the front bumper in a garage attic at a house where I was doing a job as a telephone repairman. In 1973, my wife and I were blessed with a son and in 1974 I put a 283 in the car and it was painted in 1976 by uncle Billy. We welcomed a daughter into our family that year, too.
I recently installed a home built 406 small block Chevy engine, a 700r overdrive transmission and an Edelbrock cross ram intake. The car now has a '57 Oldsmobile rear and is taken to car shows weekly. With the help of my uncle, Edward Harper, I have redone the interior, door panels, seats and headliner. I've had parts driven to me in Florida by helpful neighbors and even stored the rear bumper under our bed for several years after having it chromed. The process of restoring my car has been a labor of love and is worth every moment and every dollar invested! The car has always been white and the interior is black and matador red.
In the summer of 2001, I was fortunate to retire to Florida after close to 30 years with the telephone company. We packed and moved ourselves, with some help of course, and trailered the '57 from New Jersey with care.
I am now able to work on the '57 most days of the year with the warm weather allowing me to spend time in the garage without freezing. I happily attended the 50th anniversary celebration with my car in February, 2006 in Kissimmee, Florida.
I enjoy pleasure cruising and would love to someday drive the car around the country, or at least drive it back to New Jersey to show everyone who has helped me with it over the past 40 years!
I think my favorite part of the '57 Chevy is the fins. A lot of people who have looked at my car call it, "The Fin Car", but it's still just a used car to me. Cars are definitely in my family's blood as my father has owned several antiques and my uncles, neighbors are friends are all car people. Thinking back on all the cars I've owned over the years, I have never owned a new car!
Ed Loges
