Past, Present or Future, His Automobiles Are Models of Perfection
For 20 years, Gene Sherman restored old cars, but his latest project is a tandem, two-passenger commuter car of the future--”the only extra room is for a briefcase”--that he made for exhibition at the Los Angeles Car Show next month.
His commuter car is powered by a motorcycle engine to minimize cost, he said.
“There is no end to the changes that will be taking place in cars,” Sherman said. Cars of the future will use heat-resistant ceramic alloys that eliminate the need for cooling systems and will have solid tires like those on skateboards that still give smooth rides, he said.
He also forecasts that fuel tanks will be made of a self-sealing material that will close over punctures and prevent explosions. His commuter car will be on display Jan. 7 to 18 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
Despite his toying with the future, “I’ve always been fascinated by older cars,” said Sherman, who now earns a living making 18-inch model cars that cost $4,000 and more.
Sherman restored older cars for 20 years at the 100-car Briggs Cunningham Museum in Costa Mesa. After it was sold and the museum moved to Florida, he began pursuing his new career of model building.
“Now I wake up at 6 or 7 a.m. and sometimes work past midnight when I’m on a model project,” said Sherman, who works in the garage of his Costa Mesa apartment.
In between designing and building model cars, Sherman continues to work on other car projects.
He is in the midst of restoring a quarter-scale 1931 Model A Ford roadster that was once used in the movies. “Those are the ones you see getting smashed up,” he said. “They are the exact duplicates of the real cars.”
Although each model takes about 100 hours to complete, “it’s a thrilling way to make a living,” he said, “and my happiness is contributing something to the happiness of other people.”
In addition to the happiness it brings, “it’s an art form that I’ve always enjoyed,” he said. “It allows me a great deal of freedom of expression in shape, lines, texture and even color.”
Sherman credits his model-building ability to his upbringing.
“To do this type of work, you need patience,” he said, “and that’s one of the things my parents taught me.”
They also taught him to take care of his own car. He drives a 1964 Pontiac that his father bought new.
Five years ago, Doran Tregarthen retired with his wife, Ettie, in San Juan Capistrano after a 39-year career in education that included serving 14 years as school superintendent in districts in Paradise, Chico and Oxnard.
He became content with tennis, sailing, writing and listening, especially to a priest whose sermons often carried the message: “Pray sincerely to God and ask how you can be of service to God.”
So Tregarthen, then 64, entered the seminary and now is looking forward to his ordination into the Episcopal priesthood Jan. 7 at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in San Juan Capistrano.
“It has been a joyous 5 years, and I am looking forward, eagerly, to my ordination,” Tregarthen said. “My wife was surprised at first since we’ve worked hard all our lives and here I was entering into another career. But she’s fully supportive of this.”
He currently serves at the church as chaplain for children in preschool to fifth grade at St. Margaret’s School.
It works for the FBI, so 4 months ago the Garden Grove Police Department started issuing a “10 Most Wanted” list similar to the FBI’s.
Now it’s working for Garden Grove police.
“We cleared 4 cases in the first 4 months,” said Lt. Stuart Finkelstein, “and now we have a habitual burglar in jail because of the leaflet.”
He said the San Diego Sheriff’s Department uses a similar leaflet system, “but we’re the only ones using it in Orange County.”
The leaflets, distributed throughout the Southland and to local merchants, are primarily used to locate major crime suspects and habitual criminals, he said.
