10/01/2025
There has been some radio silence on my social accounts for the last couple years. My dad became very sick in late 2022 and needed full-time care, so that took me away from the shop and social media. Many of you had the opportunity to meet my dad at car shows or on my YouTube. He was the man that sparked mine, and many others, passion for the hotrod community that we all love. It is with a heavy heart, I announce that he has passed away.
Dave, or “Louver” as many of you knew him, did precision sheet metal fabrication and built hotrods for most of his life. He was the original "Tinman". He was a local hotrodding legend (or atleast in my eyes). He believed in helping people learn. He often took new coworkers under his wing, at his full-time job, and taught them everything he possibly could about metal fabrication. The amount of his coworkers that have thanked me for what he taught them, has been awesome. As he aged and could no longer work because of health issues, I continued his mission, through my social channels and magazine articles, because teaching and being a leader is something I also value. Dad really enjoyed being a part of that and watching Tinman 2 grow. He mentioned over the last handful of years how much better I had become at building hotrods than he ever was, but without him, I wouldn’t have gotten to this point, so the credit is all his. He gave me the way of thinking and the base that has made me successful in many aspects of life. I will forever cherish the memories in the shop with him.
Family values mean more to me than any business or money. The last 3 years taking care of him have been extraordinarily difficult, but fulfilling in different ways. I spent nearly 24/7 with him. I taught myself to do his dialysis for him at home everyday, took care of his amputations/wounds, took him to appointments constantly, took him to car shows if he felt like going, etc. He never gave up. Defied the odds many, many times. Even in his final days, he still wanted to do whatever it took. Unfortunately his last fight, his left-hand being amputated due to cancer, didn’t go quite as planned and his heart went into total failure for the last time. He always joked that he was “The Tinman & didn’t have a heart”. But that was the furthest thing from the truth. He was one hell of a father, and one hell of a fighter on all fronts. He never let anything bring him down. Always kept a smile and had constant jokes.
He very much enjoyed talking and interacting with all of you over the years. I thank you for that. If you knew him, met him, or would like to attend his celebration of life/car show/cruise on Sunday, October 5th in Isanti MN, please reach out and I will provide the details. Please spread the word amongst the hotrod community so those that knew him personally, are aware. Thank you everyone for your support of our mission, keeping hotrodding alive! -Tinman 2
Edit: Because Someone asked, I have included his GoFundMe in the comment section below if you feel so inclined to help. Thank you everyone for your kindness and support.
