Training Chevy
Author’s first car was a 1941 Chevrolet Master Deluxe business coupe that has been in the family since the early 1960s.
By Danny Lowber
My very first car was a 1941 Chevrolet Master Deluxe business coupe that has been in the family since the early 1960s. The car was bought new in Boise, Idaho, by a man from Kuna, Idaho. In 1951, “Shorty” Clark purchased the car in nearby Kuna, Idaho, from his uncle, the original owner. Shorty used the car for hunting in the Owyhee Mountains and even traveled with it to California and Yellowstone National Park. Shorty happened to be a good friend of my uncle, Leroy Yates, who owned a gas station in Nampa, Idaho. Shorty worked part-time for my uncle and they both spent time working on the ’41 Chevy.
My grandfather, Floyd H. Lowber, bought the car from Shorty in the early 1960s and used the car for irrigating farmland for himself and my dad. My grandfather also put a hitch on the rear bumper and hauled heifers to the sale yard. As a kid, I enjoyed many days riding along with him. We would put syphon tubes in the trunk and gopher traps and a shovel behind the front seat since there wasn’t a rear seat in the car.
When Grandpa bought a used pickup around 1966, he, along with my dad, Lawrance A. (Larry) Lowber, thought it would be a good first car for me and my three siblings, Gary, Patricia and Tim. The car was restored with a Midnight Green paint job and a black-and-white interior. The Chevy was simply handed down to each sibling as we learned to drive. Of course, we each bought other cars during or after high school. I obtained the car in 1968 when my older brother, Gary, relinquished it to me for a 1956 Chevy two-door. I was proud to shine up the car before taking it to high school, and I eventually turned it over to my sister, Pat. Little brother Tim was the last to drive the car, and the old Chevy was put up on blocks in 1974.
Gary and I each went into the service soon after high school, and it wasn’t until March 1999 that I mentioned to dad that someone should restore that car. After 25 years of being out in the weather and around livestock, it took quite a bit of work to get the old girl on the road again. Dad agreed, and we proceeded to refurbish the car with help from my friends Paul Jahner, Ben Steffens and Lee Ward. The original color was black, but Mom (Margie) and Dad assisted in the choice of color. Both Dad and I liked red, so I chose a dark Chevy Grenada Red. Lee Ward painted the car.
I am proud to say that this is my first car and I like exchanging stories with other people at car shows who have owned a similar car, especially the veterans who connect the “prewar” car with the period prior to Pearl Harbor and the United States’ involvement in World War II. The old timers recalling their dates and marriages centered around their own ’41 Chevy is truly special.
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