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Editor's note: This is part of a series at KSL.com featuring some of Utah's coolest cars. If you own a customized vehicle — from sports cars to semi trucks — email fjolley@ksl.com with a photo of the vehicle and a brief description for consideration.SALT LAKE CITY — What’s remarkable about Gordon McKervey’s 1941 Chevrolet Coupe is not how much work went into it, but how much work went into all of the many cars McKervey has built.
You can see from the “before” picture of the vehicle that he didn’t start with much. He said he bought the body of the Chevrolet Coupe out of someone’s yard. McKervey did all his own bodywork and built his own tube frame.
The vehicle now has a Mustang II front end (for which he made his own cross-member), a narrowed Ford 9-inch rear end and a tubbed trunk to make room for the 2-feet-wide rear tires.
Under where the hood would be sits a 550-cubic-inch big, block Chevy engine with a blower. He’s not sure of the exact horsepower, but said it is plenty for him. The engine grates at a manual-shifting automatic transmission. It was built for speed: There is no air conditioning or power steering, and it has the stock seat. McKervey said he doesn't take it to the track, though, because it wouldn’t be legal for all the horsepower it has.
He said he was drawn to the ’41 because at the time everyone else was building cars from the '30s, and this vehicle was different. McKervey said he keeps working on it, saying he can’t leave anything alone. If you’ve seen it at a car show, you might want to see it again.
McKervey claims to have built thousands of cars, a few of which are in museums. He said that before he built his ’41, he owned 24 restored cars. He said he sold them off and invested in houses instead about 20 years ago.
He has since built his car collection back up, with six cars under construction now. He built a 1959 Ford pickup for his wife and a 1957 Chevrolet pickup for his mother, who passed away not long after it was completed. He had also built her a 1955 Ford Thunderbird before that.
McKervey drives and shows the “loud, obnoxious” Chevrolet Coupe, which obviously is his favorite vehicle, among the many other cars that have come and gone from his garage.
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Scott Stanger, aside from being the only owner of a Nostalgia Funny Car in the state of Utah, has raced cars as a hobby since he was a young man.Brian Champagne has reported on cars for more than nine years. He holds a master's degree in communications from the University of the Pacific and teaches at Utah State University. Contact him at iaabfl@yahoo.com.
