Cavaglieri Restorations
Small independent shops are keystones of the automobile restoration industry, and among the more notable of these is Cavaglieri Restorations, recently relocated to a new 4,000-square-foot facility near Van Nuys airport in L.A.’s San Fernando Valley.
Proprietor Joey Cavaglieri’s early automotive experience came as a racing mechanic, beginning with Pete Brock’s BRE operation, then working with Bruce Burness fielding a Formula 5000 Lotus for George Follmer. He built engines with Ryan Falconer, did F5000 with John Morton, IMSA with Brad Frisselle, Can-Am and Indycars with Rick Galles for Al Unser Jr. and then Indycars with Frank Arciero’s team. By 1986 he was tired of “living out of a suitcase,” and told Arciero he was quitting, but Frank said, “Why don’t you take my old Lotus 19 and restore it for me?”
Thus did Cavaglieri Restorations get its first project. “It wasn’t like I’d intended to do restorations,” Joey explains, “but while I was doing research on that car I went up to Fresno to see Don Orosco who had a 19 I wanted to look at, and he asked me what I was going to do when I finished. Then he said he had a Brabham BT8 for me, and that’s kind of how it went, one car led to another.”
Foremost among the cars he’s since restored are three of the eight Porsche 550 prototype Spyders, including the very first, 550-01, for the Collier Collection, comedian Jerry Seinfeld’s 550-03 and the Carrera Panamericana-winning 550-04 that’s displayed in the Porsche Museum.
“I’ve been very lucky with having projects come my way that have had great historical significance,” Cavaglieri explains, “starting with Arciero’s Lotus. I haven’t come across another car that has had the list of significant drivers that that car does. Doing 550-01, Porsche’s first purpose-built racecar, the first Spyder, was the most difficult project for me; that’s when I realized it was my time to step up to the plate.”
The proof of that particular pudding came at Amelia Island in 2005, when 550-01 took home Best of Show in the Concours de Sport.
“My emphasis is to be correct with history,” he continues, “because I kind of get worst-case scenario projects—like 550-01 needed almost the entire body rebuilt—so I’m pretty heavy on research before I start on a car. The hardest part is when you don’t have another example to go look at and see how things were done.”
While Cavaglieri’s admitted area of expertise is racecars, he’s no stranger to roadcars, and would gladly tackle more such projects as he strives to broaden the reach of his independent operation.
CONTACT INFO:
- Cavaglieri Restorations
- 7032 Sophia Ave.
- Van Nuys, CA 91406
- (818) 994-2764
- e-mail address: [email protected]
