A new and recurring post topic: What was going on in the shop that day?
Here’s the concept: I pick an image from the archive. It will be an image of some cars that were in the shop at Phil Reilly & Co between 2005-2015, hopefully some interesting cars, and I will write about what was there, that one day in the shop.
For readers that are new to travelingwithtools.com, here’s a brief recap:
In 2005, I was fortunate to find a place working at Phil Reilly & Co in Corte Madera, CA. Reilly’s was known around the world as one of the best restoration shops in the United States, a reputation hard won over many years of delivering cars that worked. A lot of shops are known for producing cars that can win at Pebble Beach, but Reilly’s was known in part for taking those show queens and making them perform better than new. Actual driver’s cars.
This post topic isn’t intended to be a history of the company, as my ten years there barely scratches the surface of what came through the doors at 5842 Paradise Drive. But I’d like to share some of the stories that I had a hand in.
First, a word about the man. He’s been gone for over a year now… Phil Reilly was not only a master story teller and an encyclopedia of motoring history, he was a mentor and a genuinely decent human being. Though we didn’t have a particularly close relationship, I miss him terribly. I hope to share some of the magic that he and his partners, Ivan Zaremba and Ross Cummings created over the years.
The inaugural photo of “One Day in the Shop” features four Bugattis and an Alfa Romeo. With the help of many teammates, primarily David Wallace, I put together the engines in the Type 59 in the foreground and the red and black Type 57C behind me. The yellow and black 57SC was passing through… I don’t think I touched it with a wrench.
Here’s a brief look at the 57C’s assembly. This was one of the most standard engines I built at Reilly’s, with cast pistons and stock rods. It was also one of the only engines I built there that was not run on the dyno, but on a test stand in the driveway! (Update: April 20, ’24… just found pics of it on the dyno. That was some other Bugatti!) The car was part of Peter Mullin’s collection, another great car guy that has recently passed.
Type 57C: Going through a selection of valve guides to choose for the best fit. 
Checking the rod fit in the piston bosses… not exactly centered but sufficient clearance on both sides. 
The Roots-type supercharger that gives the 57C suffix (compressor). 
An important note about hardware access… 
Pistons coated in honing oil from making the pin bosses fit the pins. Note the awful initial balance numbers! 
Preparing to seal up the cam covers. Sump goes on last. 
Degree wheel and pointer for cam timing. 
A big friggin’ gear to drive that supercharger, but a helix for less noise. 
Reilly’s shop never had a lift… all of the car work was done on stands. Stubbornly old school. 
Old school pistons and stock rods. 
The Alfa 8C 2300 was a good example of a car that had been restored elsewhere, but heavily revised in Corte Madera.
The carburetor for this 8C Alfa was not in very good shape. 
The old boat tank and pump/regulator setup to set the fuel level in the carb mounted in the vise. A pair of carbs for an 8C2900 are also on the bench. A bit of a mess that day! 
The car was mostly beautifully prepared, but there were some issues… 
Just look at the roached threads on that rear axle. 
The gearbox came out for reasons I don’t recall. 
Imagine how many hours were spent at the factory machining parts for this clutch! Note the magnesium crank case. 
The clutch operating mechanism in the bellhousing. Note the ball bearings that work on the throwout bearing. (the allen head screws should be taper pins) 
An amazing piece of engineering!
The light blue Bugatti is a Type 39 and if I’m not mistaken I think it was my last engine before leaving the company in 2015 to start Travelingwithtools. (Ed. note: it may have been Ryan Noble’s project, now Noble Crank & Cog) Below is what you can expect if your roller bearing Bugatti crank exceeds its intended lifespan. Being a 1500 cc short stroke model, a new one for the 39 was not available and I recall that the crank was rebuilt at Ivan Dutton’s UK shop.
The Type 59 belongs to Charles McCabe, a California enthusiast with a number of fantastic cars. This car got quite a lot of work besides the engine in preparation for a run at Goodwood. Looking through the images, there were jobs I had no hand in and had forgotten all about. The whole car is a genuine work of art. I’m proud to have had a part in its preparation.
David Wallace with the engine at the start of the project. 
Type 59: The crank is set in the crank case with the cam gear drive mounted. 
Type 59: Rods and pistons assembled with the top end, inverted. 
Type 59: Rod balancing in process. 
Type 59: The piston pins get juggled to from lightest to heaviest to balance the pistons, and can be lightened if needed. 
The unique Type 59 step-down axle… to achieve a lower center of gravity? 
Dave Wallace went through the complicated set of gears. 
Parts magnafluxed and ready to go back together 
Chuck Mathewson and Ross Cummings do a little tuneup on the front axle.
David has a new venture called the Kyne-Wallace Company based at Sears Point raceway, with Chuck Mathewson joining him. Two of the longest serving members of the Phil Reilly team, I remember Chuck’s 30th year luncheon at Marin Joe’s, and that was many moons ago now!
All and all, a good day at the shop. (Not to confuse you with the idea that all this work happened in one day. These projects all lasted over the course of a year or more.)
Got a question about any of the parts pictured here, or a story to share about life in the shop? Let us know in the comments below. Cheers!
TRAVELINGWITHTOOLS 
Leave a comment