By Jim Miga

The weather was perfect, and the event was perfect. A beautiful day to drive up to Newburyport for a tour of Precision Auto Restoration. On Saturday, May 30th, owners Mark Allin and Carrie Holt hosted a series of informal tours for AONE, JANE (Jaguar Association of New England), and the Motorheads (an informal group of car guys, led by Peter Bourassa). We had a very good turnout (at least 50 people), considering that there were several other sports car events that day.

Precision Auto Restoration was founded in 2002, but their expert team has been restoring cars for over 20 years. They specialize in the great European marques from 1950s through the 1970s. In addition to complete restorations, they do routine service, repairs, and race car preparation. Their workmanship, knowledge, and dedication are outstanding. They have recently moved to a new facility, so this was a perfect time to show it off. Besides, they always seem to have dozens of very rare sports and racing cars around the shop.

Upon arrival, people gathered around the coffee and pastries to socialize. From there, we wandered around to look at the rare Ferraris, Cobras, Mercedes-Benz 300SLs, Maseratis, and Porsches, to name a few. Many of these cars were in various states of restoration; however, several were complete. And there were motorcycles too — so much to see! Carrie and Mark gave tours on the fly at various work stations in the main restoration and machine shops. It was obvious that these cars are not restored to be just show queens. They have won many awards, etc. but they also strive to make the cars perform like sports cars should. Some are prepared for serious racing. Frank Price was on hand in the body shop and paint area to explain the various stages that the cars in his shop were going through. In the upholstery shop, Mike Curley demonstrated some differences between the "correct" and "incorrect" materials and techniques used in restoring Ferrari interiors. The group loved it.

At the end of the tour, Carrie provided a list of local restaurants with directions. Many took advantage and had a great lunch in downtown Newburyport. Others did some shopping and sightseeing. Thanks again to Mark, Carrie, Frank, Mike, and Jessica. Check out their website at www.raredrive.com.

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