Jim Stokes is a boyish-looking 49 and has spent the better part of his life among some of the finest racing machinery ever built. The Jim Stokes Workshops have had a following among the knowledgeable for some years, but have retained a rather low profile. This has begun to change recently as Jim’s amazing work on the Lancia D-50 recreations has brought serious credibility to that project and greater attention to the range of work Jim and his staff are capable of. Jim himself is quick to admit that he’s doing what he loves and has been fortunate to be doing that for 32 years. Ed McDonough had the opportunity to spend a day with Jim Stokes and do some serious ‘snooping,’ and interviewed him as they leaned on the mezzanine railing overlooking some stunning machinery. Stokes talked frankly about the business of restoration of old cars, as well as his passion for things Italian.
VRJ: Why don’t we start by describing what is in the shop at the moment.
Stokes: Well, if we start with the Alfa Romeos, we have an 8C 2.3 Spyder which was owned by the great Alfa enthusiast David Black and that is having a fairly thorough restoration – we have had it in the shop for sometime. Then there is a rather special Alfa 1500MMS which had a fire while doing a rally last year. We have had to strip out the entire front of the car, re-do all the wiring and go through the engine. We are just putting the original instruments back in as we were able to save and clean them, so it doesn’t lose its originality. Over in the corner is a very significant piece of work, which is the penultimate 8C 2300 Alfa to be manufactured. (This turns out to be chassis 2311249, the 1934 Le Mans-winning Alfa driven by Luigi Chinetti and Phi Phi Etancelin. This car has an incredible history and receives a full ten full pages in Simon Moore’s masterwork on the model. )
