Just to set things straight..... My name is Don Sevart and I had California Metal Shaping for more than 20 years. About 90% of the posts here are totally WRONG. WE NEVER STAMPED race car bodies or any other body. GOT IT?? The ONLY stamping machine we had stamped Model T Radiator face plates which said either FORD made in USA or FORD made in CANADA. EVERY single body we ever made, and only God knows how many, were made by a combination of both Yoder and Pettingel Power or Trip Hammers. This is nothing new but for some reason people think we stamped bodies. NOT! They were HAMMERED by either Leo Berger who taught all of us, Arvin (RED) and me. LEO BERGER was the finest metal man of all. He would be the first to deny it but it is true anyway. Dick Troutman, of Troutman and Barnes, could have anyone hammer the skins he used to build bodies but he drove all the way from Irvine to downtown LA to have Leo hammer the SCARAB and the CHAPARAL bodies. We would hammer them in sections and Dick and a guy named Lars would weld them together. We did only the hammering in the case of Dick Troutman. Troutman's first job after leaving the Navy was working for another great car builder, FRANK KURTIS. There are lots of stories about California Metal Shaping but I was there from 1980 until I locked the doors some 20 years later. As to the post with all the bucks and mockups, I built the Auburn Boat tail Speedster and the Cord 810 and 812 fender bucks, the Duesenberg bucks were built by Leo Berger and I believe Paul Fey, not 100% on Paul but I know Leo was part of it. He hammered most of the Duesenberg Fender sections and I and others would assemble them. More to come....
......Maybe a post on the main board would go a long way toward clearing things up. Not everyone pays attention to the intro section.
If Mr. Berger is (was) your Father, by all means fill us in on his life and skills, etc. Pictures are always a plus.
Wow! Such nice words. BTW, I am Bill Berger (Leo's son). You are correct my father would never take credit for his work.
Welcome Don! It is great to have someone with first hand knowledge of one of the most legendary metal shaping shops, unfortunately when little is known about something people sometimes fill in gaps with hearsay which leads to people quoting it as factual. Please post on the main board about the history of California Metal Shaping, I am sure you will have a positive response and pictures are always appreciated.
Hello Jimmy Berger: I'm Ken Hausman grandson of Chad Schultz and my Mom is Elinor daughter of Chad. I new Leo and Stanley, Red and Bill the old wood butcher that built the wooden "Bucks" for all the projects. I still have some of Bill's tools from the shop, winner of his tools when he passed was my dad Ken Hausman and I have the same name
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