Page 29 - Aug 2022

Q. Let's get started by clearing something up: you're Q. While I've never owned an auto shop, I feel I've
not British Are you a native of Tennessee and
what about your wife, is she British?
A. I was born in Bloomington, Indiana. Nope, on
Cindy--she's not British, either; she's from right here
in Tennessee.
Q. So what brought you to Tennessee?, Was it a
place where had family?
A. I knew nothing about Tennessee before I moved
here to attend the Nashville Auto Diesel College
after graduation from high school in 1977. And,
because you asked, I'm now 62.
Q. So, you're not from there and you're not from
here, how did you get the nickname The British Car
Whisperer?
A. I can feel and hear things that most owners
would never notice about their cars.
Q. That sounds like a good basis for starting a
career. How did you first discover an affinity for
working on cars and decide to turn a technical
education into a thriving business?
A. I think I can say in all honesty that I am really
good at learning from other people's mistakes. I've
never worked anywhere but in independent shops
and I've learned how to do it right by watching so
many people do it wrong-- this includes bosses,
customers, and myself.
In 1983 I was working at an automatic transmission
shop on Main Street, which was next door to a shop
called Classic Auto Works owned by Bob Acuff. I was
enamored by the cool cars I always saw there and
would go over after work and help Bob since he
mostly worked by himself.
He soon told me there was an opening at a shop
called The Autoist ( I love that name to this day) just
up the street. I went to work there and eventually
opened my own shop when the owner closed and
moved away. That was November 1st, 1984.
I've been in my current location off Murfreesboro
Road since 2006. Before that we were in the Gulch
area of Nashville.
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helped to pay for several of them as a devoted
customer of the "sportscar" and it seems to me that
to have a successful business, you not only have to be
able to repair cars, you also have to be capable of
hand holding when things go south. What are the
most common complaints you hear from people when
they first arrive at your door?
A. When I first opened the main complaint I heard
from people was that they weren't confident in
their cars. In other words they were so afraid of the
cars breaking down that they rarely drove them;
therefore, the cars did break down-- a lot.
You really have to keep a car in regular use for it to
be dependable. I got the bright idea to start asking
those folks-- "Well, what if you were with a group of
LBCs?" Then would you drive the car?" To which
they all said " Yes!" That was my impetus for
starting a club.
This is the 1965 Austin Healey Sprite that started
the NBCC. We bought it shortly after selling our
MKII Jag and owned it for 12 years. Then we sold
it when we bought a Triumph Stag. The Sprite is
still around and, occasionally , I see it when it pops
up for sale on Craigslist.
Q. So the club starting point Sprite wasn't your first
British car. What was your first and what do you
currently have in your personal garage? Is there a
favorite?
A. I bought my first one, a 1966 Jaguar MKII in
1985 from a customer. I sold it during the market
craze in 1988. In 1992 I bought a 1985 Jaguar
Vanden Plas and I've owned at least one Jaguar
ever since. I currently own 4, the TR Stag, and a
1976 Mini. A favorite? I'm partial to e-types.
Continued on p. 30