Gear Box
Every month we expose your favourite things.
Phil Reilly
This zealous vintage race car engine specialist also digs jazz and his wife's Morris Minor.
Ever since Reilly, along with partners Ross Cummings and Ivan Zaremba, learned engine and chassis restoration under Steve Griswold, the trio's business of Phil Reilly & Company has been one of America's leaders in the pursuit of vintage motor sport. There are no signs outside: only the address on an unpretentious building in Corte Madera, north of San Francisco. But inside it's a haven for Alfas, Maseratis, Bugattis and Offenhauser-powered Indy legends.
What's going on here today stems from Reillly's 33-year old confluence with entrepreneur Steve Earle. These two have had a symbiotic relationship ever since 1974, when Earle created his Monterey Historic Automobile Races at Laguna Seca. Come this August, Laguna's vintage racing marque is the '50s-'60s Indianapolis roadster; a favourite of Phil Reilly's.
William Edgar
Morris Minor
My wife Kathy's favourite saying about our 1967 Morris Minor 1000 is "You can't take yourself very seriously when you're driving that car." But it's a nice counterpoint to SUVs.
Brabham F1 Model
I got this Tamiya kit model in 1974 but putting it together was beyond me. Ten years later I bought the real ex-Carlos Reutemann BT44 from Bob Howlings for 10,000.
Anniversary Present
This was a wedding anniversary present styled after an Indy roadster. Kathy grew the rose. The smartest decision I ever made was to marry her.
Uncle Oliver
I never knew myu uncle Oliver, but his influence was strong. He's at the wheel here in 1931, a year before being killed in a crash. It's the only picture I ever had of him.
Lady Day Album
Billie Holliday in myh ten-CD set, has a musicality way beyond any other singer I can think of. Whether it was a novelty tune or Gershwin or Cole Porter, she made it her own.
Cosworth Engine Trophy
Cosworth's DFV engine is symbolic of a big chunk of what we do, looking after about 50 of these four-cam V8s for vintage racers. It's in my pantheon of great engines, along with Miller, J12 Hispano-Suiza and small-block Chevy.
Hammer
My ball-peen hammer belonged to the late Quinn Epperly, one of the great craftsmen of the American racing scene. As a tool, it feels just right.
Nikon Camera
In 1966 I became team photographer, whatever the team was, and have run thousands of rolls through my Nikon F. I show the slides at our Christmas party.