Company:Nickey Chevrolet
| Industry | Automotive sales |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1925 |
| Founders | E.J. and Jack Stephani |
| Defunct | 1973 |
| Headquarters | Chicago , USA |
Nickey Chevrolet (also called Nickey Chicago) was a Chevrolet automobile dealership located in Chicago , Illinois, USA. Founded in 1925 by brothers E.J. and Jack Stephani, Nickey Chevrolet became one of the largest factory dealerships, specializing in high performance muscle car sales and services.[1]
Nickey Chevrolet was originally established at 4120 Irving Park Road. When the Northwest Expressway (completed on 5 November 1960 and later renamed the Kennedy Expressway) was constructed, Nickey Chevrolet moved to 4501 W. Irving Park Road in Chicago. Nickey Chevrolet eventually grew to a 200,000-square-foot (19,000 m2) facility.
The service department specialized in engine swaps, transplanting 427 cubic inch displacement (CID) "Big Block" Chevy engines into the very first 1967 Camaros,[2] and soon after into Novas, Chevelles, Impalas and Corvettes.
Nickey Chevrolet modified cars to their customers’ specifications; a customer could walk into the dealership, pick out a car, and then have it modified to their taste. Because of their rarity, many of these dealer-modified cars are maintained in museums or private collections and are rarely seen in public.[3]
The dealership was sold in 1973 and became Keystone Chevrolet. The New Speed Shop and Automobile Conversion Centre was named "Nickey Chicago", and closed in 1977.
In 2002, a muscle car collector and enthusiast, Stefano Bimbi, purchased the legal rights and trademarks for the Nickey brand. The new company, Nickey Performance, now located at 6927 N Alpine Road in Loves Park, Illinois, builds, sells and services vehicles branded as Nickey Super Cars, and has also taken steps to establish a registry for Nickey-modified cars.[4]
References
- ↑ Mike Mueller (2017) (in en). Camaro: Fifty Years of Chevy Performance. Motorbooks. pp. 104–105. ISBN 978-0-7603-5034-8. https://books.google.com/books?id=gtxiDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA104.
- ↑ Arvid Svensen, "The Last Nickey Camaro", Hot Rod, February 21, 2014.
- ↑ "Jim Jeffords and Road America - Historical Research, in memory of David McKinney" (in en). https://forums.autosport.com/topic/179850-jim-jeffords-and-road-america/.
- ↑ "Provenance puzzle lacks only backward K" (in en). https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2007-04-29-0704260519-story.html.
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