Fay Butler Fab/Metal Shaping

Fay's Ultimate Library

The Custom Body Era
By Hugo Pfau
Printed in 1970 by A.S. Barnes and Co, Inc.
Library of Congress Catalogue Card # 77-94545
232 pages, 55 chapters, 8 color plates
Printed in B&W, 10 inch by 13 inch format
This book is no longer in print, and can only be purchased from used sources.

In the 1920’s and 1930’s, it was possible to have a special body built by an outside company and installed on a number of high quality chassis made by the large automobile manufactures. Independent custom body companies employing a staff of designers, wood workers, sheet metal shapers, painters, upholsterers, basically a whole group of specialized craftsman under one roof. They built the most stylish automobile bodies that gave an owner a very distinctive look in his automobile. These custom coach companies set the trends that the larger manufactures would follow in subsequent years, in a simpler production version. Hugo Pfau was involved in this short-lived industry as a car designer. He worked at LeBaron, one of the leading coach building companies of this era. This is the most comprehensive book written on the subject. Hugo discusses interior and exterior design with an insider look into the industry. He discusses each of the couple of dozen American coach-building companies individually. He then covers the dozen of major car companies that supplied the quality chassis that these custom bodies were placed on, mostly American yet some European.

This book will give the reader a brief but accurate history into this era from a very knowledgeable author uniquely involved at the highest levels. There are lots of pictures, and drawings, nearly all from the actual time frame. There are several color plate pages. The reading is to the point and insightful. This is a must for any car guys’ library interested in the coach-building era.