Not long ago, Pete Jackson found himself toiling away on the floors of some of the region's most noted automotive restoration shops. Determined to replicate the metal forming techniques that helped birth some of history's most iconic motors, Jackson honed his skills at this largely forgotten craft, using hammer and dolly, making wooden patterns without guides. Three years ago, frustrated with the lack of proper tooling at many shops, he struck out on his own, and he started big.
Jackson's first project at his Huntsburg, Ohio, workshop, Pete's Custom Coachbuilding, was a 1936 Packard owned by a volunteer from the National Packard Museum in Warren. "The hammering and shaping was all designed and figured out in the 20s and 30s, and that's what coachbuilding is about," says Jackson. "American coach companies built with power hammers, and they were all about speed, while the English, they rolled them out with English wheels using aluminum, because it was a softer metal to work with."
While not cavernous, Jackson's shop is custom tailored to restoring vehicles. With no signage, and its placement off a rural road, it's certainly discreet. A Lennox Metalmaster is used to form fenders and body panels from single sheets of metal, in addition to elaborate flourishes, such as louvers and dimples. Once the rough body panels are formed, Jackson uses a modified pneumatic planishing hammer to further smooth, shape, stretch and form pieces. He uses custom fabricated railroad sweeps to gauge radiuses. "They're based upon making railroad tracks and the curve in the railroad, where you set out a certain curvature," says Jackson. "Harley Earl used that formula to design cars."
Although his methods speak to a bygone era, the techniques create seamless lines that can only be done by hand, and mimic the original artistry used to construct the cars he is restoring. "It's an old-fashioned thinking that was lost over the years," says Jackson. "It's the idea of shaping a whole piece in a sheet - everyone else wants to make them out of three or four pieces of metal."
As Jackson's reputation as a master craftsmen spread by word of mouth, his client list grew with it, though the cars got smaller. Much smaller. "I had one Isetta, and it grew into two, and then grew into three," says Jackson of the post-WWII microcar that was popularized by the character of Steve Urkel on Family Matters. "The Isetta stuff is kind of popping right now... I think it's because you can park them easily, and store them."
Other diminutive rides have come his way, too. Amid his shop tools and classic auto posters have passed a 60s King Midget, a '67 Lotus Elan, and one of the smallest and most unusual projects, a 50s-era Berkeley roadster. The tiny front wheel drive British open top is fitted with a three-cylinder Excelsior motorcycle engine. "There are not too many parts available for that, but that car was at least complete, so we have a lot to work with."
One auto collector has entrusted Jackson with an incredibly rare 1968 Gurney Eagle Formula One race car, named for the famed American race car driver, team owner and constructor. Jackson will make all the panels for the auto from scratch, working from a wooden buck and pictures he has found through research.
Jackson collects, too. An avid VW fan with numerous Beetles, he wanted an interesting shop truck. He found such a vehicle in the possession of scooter enthusiast and Ohio City Pasta owner Gary Thomas, who had two Italian-made 1957 Lambretta LD three-wheeled trucks, powered by 175cc engines on 8-inch wheels - specs similar to those found on vintage Lambretta scooters. When Jackson purchased the "flatbed" version, Thomas, in turn, hired Jackson to complete the cab version of his '57 Lambretta truck. "I saw how meticulous he was," says Thomas. "There aren't many people doing work like that - he can make any part for you, and everything he does is really nice."
Thomas hopes to have the fully restored vehicle by next spring, when he'll use it as a delivery vehicle for Ohio City Pasta, bringing his pasta to markets and selling it directly out of the Lambretta. Although his truck was last in service as a New Jersey ticket patrol vehicle in the 1950s, he relishes the thought of using a 50s Italian delivery vehicle to deliver his pasta in Cleveland more than 50 years later. "It's really bringing everything full circle," says Thomas.
As a specialist shop of the highest order, Pete's Custom Coachbuilding is restoring more than vehicles. It's restoring tradition. From custom metal fabrication to expert body work and paint, Jackson and his small team can tackle any job, though they leave engine rebuilds to a trusted network of specialists. "I try to keep everything in house, but you got to draw the line somewhere."
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