The Tale of Two 1940 Chevys: A His and Hers Together from the Beginning

Of course chasing any car is the best part of the car collecting experience especially when the car or cars are something really great and have been tucked away for a very long time. Greatness can be defined in many ways of course, a great car does not have to be a famous racing Ferrari or a Duesenberg, but it can also be something a bit more common but with a wonderful history and originality that make that car or cars stand above the rest. 

This story is a tale of two 1940 Chevrolets, a Special Deluxe Convertible and a Special Deluxe Coupe. 

The city of Bridgeport, Connecticut, especially in the pre-WWII era, was a wonderful and vibrant place full of beautiful history, architecture, people and many world renowned corporations making the city rich in both money and greatness. In the automotive world Bridgeport is most well known for being the home of the once great Locomobile Company of America. People came to the United States with hopes and dreams of becoming something great and Bridgeport was the image of what the American dream was. 

The Capriotti family of Bridgeport was a great example of immigrants from Italy who came to Bridgeport in search of the American dream. They made their way becoming business owners and working hard, specifically owning the luxurious Brooklawn Palace restaurant in the teens through the 1950's. In 1940 the then divorced Lenora Capriotti and her father, Frank Cozza, set out to purchase a new car, which would be the first time ever owning a car for Lenora. With two kids and being a single parent she needed one to get around town. They went to the Bridgeport, Connecticut Chevrolet dealership, Cochrane Chevrolet, and apparently couldn't agree on which body style to purchase so they decided to purchase two Special Deluxe cars with exactly the same options and both in black, only one was a coupe and the other a convertible, a his and hers of sorts. It was a wonderful thing to have just one car, but back then to walk into a dealership and purchase two brand new cars was really something else. Lenora moved back with her parents with her kids and both cars were kept in the small garage there. She drove the convertible while her father used the coupe. Lenora wouldn't drive too far as she never had too much of any reason to drive away from Bridgeport or the surrounding area, although there is a Washington D.C. license plate topper on the car so it may have taken a road trip there at some point. Both she and her father drove the two cars for the next three decades, never to purchase another new car again! Frank unfortunately passed away in 1975 at which time Lenora parked both cars in the garage and locked the doors never to drive them again. My dad and uncle grew up in Bridgeport and as kids they can both remember seeing Lenora and her Chevy convertible driving around in the summertime. There was an old Italian deli of local fame named "Sorrentos" where everyone used to go and Lenora would drive the convertible there every Saturday afternoon and park it in the street. My dad remembers seeing it often. Of course eventually the car disappeared, never to be seen again on the road. 

Fast forwarding to around 2016 when a local friend mentioned to me that a friend of his had told him about two old Chevys sitting in a garage in Bridgeport. He gave me an idea of where the house was so one day at lunch time I took a ride in my red MGTC, that I drove almost daily at the time, to the street where he told me the house was. I looked in the windows in 4 or 5 garages until sure enough I looked in the windows of a garage and there they were sitting with inches of dust and flat tires. The garage had old carriage doors from the 1920's and there was just enough room for both cars to fit. I couldn't believe it. A black convertible and a black coupe perfectly preserved and stuck in time. The cars were surrounded with a bunch of interesting antiques as well. Even though they weren’t something like a big early Mercedes or a Bugatti or something, but it was still a thrill to see them sitting there only 5 minutes from our shop. There wasn't anyone living in the house, but as I was getting back in my TC a gentleman from across the street came over and asked what I was doing. I explained that I am a car collector and I was told about the two Chevys in the garage so I was trying to find out how I can find the owner. He explained that he grew up with the son of the people who used to live in the house so because he could see I was in an old car he gave me the number to Lenora's son. The gentleman told me that he thought “the old lady” purchased both cars brand new. I remember going back that day and telling my dad and uncle how I found the two cars and they were so excited because they knew right away that it must be that 1940 Chevy they would see the lady driving every Saturday afternoon when they were kids. I was able to speak to the son and we met a few times at the house over the next few years. He wouldn't open the doors because he was afraid he wouldn't be able to close them. He said no one had been in the garage since 1975. I would call him twice a year after that and he would always promise that he would call when he was ready to sell and he kept his word. Out of the blue about two months ago he called and we purchased both cars on that same day. I also ended up purchasing the remains of a 1940 Harley Davidson Knucklehead from the garage as well as his brother's very original 1966 Volvo P1800S in light green color that he had stored down the street for 45 years! You never know what is still sitting around and these two 1940 Chevys are wonderful, but the story and originality of the cars together is just amazing.

Today the two cars are just in incredibly well preserved original condition. Identical in every way from when they were ordered and purchased new, to the options they both have down to even their current condition and patina. They are 100% siblings. Both are equipped with radios, heaters, fender lights, deluxe steering wheels with chrome horn rings and factory deluxe bumper guards. The convertible has an original large GM passing light and the coupe has a pair of period amber fog lights as well. Upon our acquisition of the cars we installed new whitewall tires, restored the braking systems with new wheel cylinders, new master cylinders, new gas tanks and new water pumps. We also rebuilt the carburetors. They both run and drive so beautifully. I was informed by Lenora's son that no one ever drove the two cars other than his mother and his grandfather. The cars are complete with their original upholstery and even original purchase contracts from Cochrane Chevrolet when they were purchased new together and old registrations dating back the the mid 1950's. They both also have their old Connecticut blue license plates. They are now for the very first time offered publicly for sale together as we believe they should be kept together. Asking $55,000 for the pair. Contact us today to own these wonderful one owner from new his and hers 1940 Chevrolets with a wonderful story. 

Alex