Rick Donovan was destined to have the 1966 red Corvette that sits at his Riverside home.

Nearly two years ago, the Berwyn business owner began looking to buy a Corvette like the one he bought as a young man returning from service in Vietnam. As he and a friend were returning from a trip to Minnesota, his friend made the fateful decision to pull into a rest stop. Just as they parked, in pulled a flatbed truck loaded with three Corvettes.

“I asked (the driver) if he wanted to sell it; he called his boss, and I bought it right on the spot,” Donovan said of the Corvette.

In near-perfect condition, Donovan has done little to the car except to rebuild the original 427 engine with the help of the father and son duo of Ben Ceyer and Rick Piepraszewski at Berwyn’s Weimer Machine on Ogden Avenue.

“The way you see it is the way I bought it,” Donovan said.

On Saturday, Donovan will join hundreds of other classic car owners for the 18th annual Route 66 Car Show. Ceyer, the show chairman, said the day will include about 100 awards for categories such as Intriguing Interior, Pleasant Paint and Lovely Lowrider. This year’s grand prize of $500 will go to the best convertible.

In addition to the stunning array of race cars, muscle cars and tricked-out vehicles, spectators can also enjoy live entertainment, food and children’s games from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Ceyer said the event, which typically draws about 10,000 people, started as an attempt to bring awareness to the revitalization efforts along Ogden Avenue.

“(Ogden) was dying,” Ceyer said. “It was looking shabby, and everybody saw the writing on the wall and said we have to do something about this.”
Their answer was to form the Berwyn Historic Preservation of Route 66. With the help of money from a tax increment financing district, the group started to improve the streetscape and rehabilitate older buildings.

Eighteen years later, the show has helped bring tens of thousand of people from around the state to see the new and improved Ogden Avenue. As longtime Ogden business owners, both Ceyer and Donovan have witnessed the rebirth of the infamous corridor.

Donovan, who runs Quality Craft Auto Body & Auto Sales with Lou Pohnan, showed his Corvette at the Route 66 car show last year, and enjoys the camaraderie it builds with other Ogden Avenue business owners.

“I do a couple a year and I like the Route 66 show because I get to see everybody,” Donovan said.

Ceyer said the show has already registered more than 400 participants as of Tuesday 9/2 and can accommodate between 500 and 600, depending on how tight volunteers decide to park the cars along the eight closed-off blocks of Ogden Avenue. Participants may register the day of the event but are not guaranteed a spot, Ceyer said.

In the meantime, Ceyer said his wife and son are busy helping him run the shop and organize the show, which, weather permitting, is shaping up to be one of Berwyn’s best.

“Thanks to (my family), they put up with me here getting this show organized,” Ceyer said. “On the day of show, they’re out working on it too. It’s a family effort from beginning to end.”