Chevy gasser becomes dear to both father and son
The eighth annual Race and Performance Expo rolled back into town last weekend, hosted at the Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles. Visitors were treated to dozens of vendors showcasing the latest in speed and performance parts and technology.
A returning display was the Car Builder's Showcase, where area builders spotlighted their recent builds. It was here I heard the tale of Dave VerSchave's stunning tangerine 1955 Chevrolet.
His son, Al, grew up hearing his dad dream about building a gasser-style vehicle.
“Since I was real small, he talked about building one,” the Tinley Park resident said.
When the elder VerSchave was still a youngster, he watched the movie “American Graffiti” and always wanted a '55 Chevy like the one he had seen racing on the big screen, his son said.
In 1997, VerSchave purchased a rust-free 1955 Chevrolet from a seller in Las Vegas. Work commenced immediately and even 12-year-old Al participated.
“This started to serve as my education for building cars,” VerSchave's son said, describing the training that would later guide his career path. While the father and son made some headway, other four-wheeled projects arose and, in 2000, the Chevy was relegated to storage.
During the next eight years, Al went on to open his own hot rod shop, AVS Fabrication.
With renewed vigor in 2008, Al VerSchave helped get his father motivated to finish the gasser. In March 2014 that goal was reached. The majority of the final product is nearly spot-on to Dave VerSchave's original vision all those years ago, except for the color choice.
“I got older and found (that) less and less I wanted to maintain a black finish,” said Dave VerSchave. The dark, dull hue was traded for a glistening blended Sunset Pearl and Tangelo PPG paint job.
Underhood is a 427-cubic-inch big-block V-8, good for a stampede-thundering 700 horsepower.
Other touches include a full roll bar, Wilwood disc brakes and a 3-inch exhaust pipe system, which runs through the frame. The lustrous '55 packs plenty of show but is used regularly for “go,” too.
Dave VerSchave still races at area tracks, including Route 66 in Joliet, boasting a best of 10.46 at nearly 128 mph on pump gas.
VerSchave's love of speed can also be seen in the group of signatures he's gathered on the underside of the trunk lid. Here, he's collected autographs of some of racing's best, including “Big Daddy” Don Garlits, Kenny Bernstein, Shirley “Cha Cha” Muldowney and Roland Leong.
The vehicle isn't just reserved for straight-line jaunts. VerSchave pilots his street-legal creation all over the suburbs. “One look and you'd think he only races it,” Al VerSchave said. “But he drives it everywhere.”
The vehicle's name is a nod to a wheeled machine VerSchave never had growing up.
“As a kid, I wanted a Schwinn Orange Krate bicycle,” Dave said. “I couldn't afford it, so this is my modern version.”
“This car has been a big part of my life,” Al VerSchave said. “Being able to help him complete it and watching him use it is such a rewarding experience.”
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