A great car story I found on face book written by
https://www.facebook.com/daniel.knigge?hc_location=stream
My car 1938 Chevy 2-door sedan which was my Dad's that he owned from 1991 to 1994. Restored in 1992 then sold back to the same owner in 1994. Until October 2011 when I bought it back. I'm now the current owner. It was shown on American Pickers Fast Eddie episode in December 2011. They filmed it in May 2011 and offered Ed $5000 from Frank but didn't get it from what Ed told me that when he had the pickers out to look at stuff. Love my History Channel. And I have something that I had history with on it. Thought this would interest the Chevy guys here.
THIS IS THE HISTORY OF THE CAR 1938 TO PRESENT
Built in July 1938. For $668 in 1938. 1938 Chevy two door Town Sedan (Master) converted to Master Deluxe May 1992 by my Dad Rick Knigge. Built by Chevrolet in Flint, Michigan. Hauled by a steam locomotive in a boxcar on to if I'm right Sioux Falls, SD where it was bought... at the dealership.
Last name of Delong the wife of the husband was named Lavonne who actually bought it new in 1938, not sure who the husband's name was. They where farmers who lived outside of Valley Springs, South Dakota not far from Sioux Falls about 10 miles east almost on the Minnesota border.
They only drove it on a Sunday to church and on a special occasion. Most of it's life it has sat inside. The family was driving one day and the engine had a piston rod that had shot out the side of the original motor (around the 1950's) at the time this happend. The farmer who owned it Delong decided to store it for what was said for almost 20 years in a barn covered up.
The farmer had another motor that was in a Chevy truck with the same exact engine as the one condemned that had the piston rod shot out of it. So he decided to take the motor out of the pickup and put it in this one to make it run again. The Delong's had a son who was a teacher who teached in Valley Springs, SD. And had apperently bought it from his parents. He taught in Valley Springs and moved to Worthington, Minnesota in 1977. The car was sitting at a house south of Worthington, MN on HWY 60. One day Ed Woizeschke was driving with his wife Gayleen and had seen it sitting on this teachers property for sale. He bought it and took it home from there and drove it to South of Windom, MN on Highway 71 where he and his wife lived.
By 1988 I was born. 38 Chevy born in 1938 My Grandpa Gilbert Knigge was born in 1918 and my Dad 1948 and me 1988. Put them together you get 1918, 1938, 1948, 1988 4x 8's in a row. Previous to 1991 my Father Rick Knigge (Dick) had a problem with drinking. He and my Mom had separated about three times and by 1991 he was finding ways to drop the alchohol completly. He had talked to Ed Woizeschke who was dried up from it. Ed said one day you need a car or somthing to work on to keep your mind off of that booze. And Ed had introduced this car to him. One time we had come out there and from the previous year 1990 Dick Tracy the movie had come out. Which had the same exact car in it. He showed this movie to my Dad and said he had that car. It was in a photo in the movie (Dick Tracy sitting at his desk holding a photo trying to identify one of Big Boy's Gang's cars in th beginning of the movie). And one day we went out to go get it and I can remember Ed opening the doors to this big white quansite barn. And here sat this old car with halfway flat tires and original paint from the factory in 1938. I walked along the side of it and looking just above the front fender as much as I could see over at my height. Then I walked back to the back and looked at it (this is my version of seeing it for the first time). I was already in love with it.
After being restored in May 1992 just the paint job. After about 2 1/2 years at the time in 94 my Dad had other plans to go back to his former habits which was a major health risk to him. On June, 30 1994 he had sold it back to Ed Woizeschke for reasons I still have don't know to this day. In January 1995 the divorce had come. And some how I was told after the divorce years later it was sold back to Ed but I had also been told by him it was in storage at Larry and Betty Genglers house before the devorce. Since then I made it an effort to buy it back since I was in Kindergarden to buy it back. In this car was some of the best times I had with him when he was sober and it also shows what the potential that could have been if he had stayed clean thoughout his life. When my Dad passed Aug 1, 2011 I decided to buy it back from Ed and since then I have been having fun just working on it. When I got it home it was sitting in my garage. My feeling was like I won a million on a lottery ticket cause it was sitting in my garage thinking that this actually isn't happening.
How did this car come back 18 years later. For a long time it seemed that it would never be back and here it is. It amazed me when Ed told told me he only drove it about 2500 miles ( odometer readings) and then parked it. It never had an oil change since my Dad worked on it oil (never went past 3000 of driving) . Only things added were a head gaskit, air pumped into the tires, and gasoline added. So when I drove it home I was working on stuff that was worked on 18 years ago by my Dad. And yes this car at the time Ed owned in May 2011 5 months before I bought it back American Pickers from History Channel (Frank) almost got it for $5000 Ed said but it didn't go though. It's a car that has been nicknamed the Fast Eddie car and also my Dad's sober car that he put his alcohol money into. When I got it back I thought of all the dreams a long time ago back when I was even 6 years old of owning it again but it was impossible to even finding a way to bring it back with the amount of money it would take plus storing it.
The last time I was in it running was spring of 1995 me and Dad went out to Ed's place and hadn't seen it in almost a year. It sat under a shelter out of the sun and rain. Ed my Dad and me decided to ride in the 38 to Happy Chef and that was back when you could smoke in a public place. We ate and they talked and smoked at the same time. Almost too much to take in sitting so close by them in those small booths that they had. Then we went back out to Ed's place with the 38 that was the last time I was in it running. When you had been in it as a kid you remember the timing on when you shifted and what the car sounded like. When I got it sounded exactly the same as what I remember it as. Some how it stayed out there for 17 years and 4 months and it came back plus it had about 5 different people over the years wanting to buy it. It was almost like it was waiting there for me to bring it back home. Crazy!
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