Product Description
Automotive, Manufacturing
My Dad, Ken Bowers and my mom Judy are the original founders of Advanced Chassis. They started drag racing in the sixties with a 1968 Camaro that they called the grape (it was purple). Time went on and he went into partners with his good friend Paul Wilhelm in a 67 Camaro that they had raced for years. They also campaigned for a beautiful 69 Camaro for several years after that. In the mid-eighties Dad decided to build himself a new roadster in our garage. For the time, it was state of the art and was beautifully finished. Dad went into a tear in the late eighties winning everything around. Just then the company he had always worked for building electrical substations went out of business. After other chassis builders saw his car, he first went to work with Dana Sterling in Delphos, and later for Zeeker Performance in Hicksville, Ohio. One day Zeeker’s gave him a tiny raise and two months later he started Advanced Chassis in a little burned-out house turned into a shop. Down the road from our house that we lived in. That was in 1988 (the year I graduated). By 1997 we had way outgrown that little place and decided to build a new one where are still located today. 107 Victory Ln. in Antwerp Ohio.
I worked for dad in the beginning but had the chance to go and work for BF Goodrich with full benefits and great pay, something a small new business couldn’t quite afford. I worked the weekend shift while I went to college during the week. I met my wife there as she was doing the same thing to get her nursing degree. I still worked with dad around the shop from time to time and when BF voted to go on strike over the swing shift, I never went back. We found a way to make it work and in 2012 I bought him and mom out completely sending them into retirement. Now my wife of 30 years and I run the place with our employees and have expanded the business into designing components that we ship around the world. Originally, we were strictly drag racing only. In the early 2000’s I was approached about making a cage on a mini rod tractor puller, and that morphed us into being one of the biggest builders in the world and winning six National Championships along the way. As of this writing (August 31st, 2023) we have been in business for 35 years, we have nine employees, and continue to impress a lot with the work and quality we provide. Thanks Dan!
