4 minute read
GRIOTS GARAGE TOUR
Editor - The OPR visited Griots’Garage last year, Bill kindly provided his article for us to print.
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You’re a car person, so tell me, what’s the first thing that comes to mind when someone mentions Griot’s? Right, most of us within driving range of Tacoma think of their store with shelves and display cases loaded with the latest tools, liquids, and all car care paraphernalia to make your vehicles look their best. Something else that comes to mind are the monthly Cars and Coffee gatherings, each themed with some of your favorite marques. That’s all good, but over the years Griot’s has expanded to offer other services, still with our beloved cars in the spotlight. A couple of months ago the Olympic Peninsula Region sponsored a drive to Tacoma to see what else is going on. Maryann Elwell did a phenomenal job of planning the day, and after a short drive from Gig Harbor we arrived at Griot’s Motors, just down the hill from the more familiar Griot’s Garage. Griot’s Motors offers classic car restoration, sales and consignments, auto detailing, and secure, heated auto storage. We were met by Phillip Griot, Griot’s Motors principle. We were ushered into the new (2018) 30,000 square foot building, and in customary fashion it was a brightly lit, immaculately maintained facility, with the familiar Griot’s red and grey color motif. If you look at their website, you’ll see that Griot’s motors has been around since 2008, and “has overseen and experienced countless restorations, engine swaps, concours winning details …”. In the fascinating introduction Phillip told us how increasing demand and the expanding services pro-
vided by Griot’s Motors necessitated a dedicated facility. He told us about a number of the special projects they’d taken on and how some of the projects evolve while underway, as owners think of changes or upgrades they want to make while the vehicle is disassembled. In the main bay are at least five lift stations, some of which had project vehicles in various stages of their restoration or modifications. One was a Willys Jeep owned by Phillip’s father and founder of Griot’s, Richard. Apparently, Richard was adding to his collection (more about that collection in a bit) and the ground up restoration was well underway. As I recall, a few modern updates were being incorporated, but given the age of the Jeep, some of the parts must be fabricated on site from scratch.
Phillip took us around to the other lift stations and to some of the cars parked in the bay. Each was unique and had a story. From the main bay we stopped at the high-tech paint booths. These booths can control their environment, from eliminating particle contamination using HEPA air filters, to the temperature and of course humidity, all to assure the highest quality paint application. Leaving that building Phillip led us across to the vehicle storage facility.
Here is where folks who want climate-controlled storage can park their precious rides in climate-controlled safety. Most of the vehicles can be accessed regularly and are not required to be in a non-driving storage state. There must have been at least 70 vehicles parked inside, most hooked up to battery tenders. We were able to wander among the vehicles, discovering more than a few unique examples, both classic and more recent, from Italian hyper cars to a lifted very rugged looking 4-wheel off-road motor home, to a project 240-Z in a state of disassembly or assembly … it was impossible to determine which. After that amazing tour of Griot’s Motors facilities, and an introduction to the capabilities and services they offer, we were off to the final stop, Richard Griot’s private car collection.
It is accessed through an unmarked door off the display area of Griot’s Garage. Passing through the door you are immediately assailed with automotive eye candy. Each of these cars has a story and Phillip spent time relating several of them; funny, nostalgic or the car’s moment in history! There were a couple of Richard Petty’s stock cars, winning Formula 1 racers, rare Italian super-car examples, a couple of uniquely equipped 911s, a VW Thing, and much more. For a more detailed tour of Richard’s collection check out PCA’s YouTube video (2019). It is also a great interview with Richard where he explains the genesis of Griot’s Garage and stories behind some of the cars in his collection. A more recent video (2021) features Nick giving a tour of the collection. You can watch other videos that provide more fascinating stories behind the cars in the collection, which of course, continues to grow. We concluded our visit to Griot’s with a great Olive Garden lunch catered into Griot’s dining area, decorated like a 1950’s soda shop. If you can ever take advantage of a ‘full’ tour of Griot’s operations in Tacoma, jump onboard. We’ll sure do it again!
Bill
Editor - Many thanks to Garth and OPR’s Bill Corrigan in getting us the article..
