The Vintage Garage

Billings Cooke, Principal Engineer Billings Cooke has worked on Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Brass-era and steam cars his entire life.  Born in North Brookfield, Massachusetts, Bill grew up around The Vintage Garage and the many cars that found their way into the shop and the family's own collection. While Bill has earned a reputation as one of the premiere Rolls-Royce and Bentley engine builders in the world, he is skilled in all areas of maintenance, rebuild and restoration of pre-war and early post-war cars.  Bill's personal passion extends beyond Rolls-Royce and Bentley vehicles.  He personally owns and enjoys two steam cars: a 20 horsepower Stanley and a 1903 Grout, one of only 3 in the world.  He also enjoys a 1910 Maxwell AA and is currently building a replica Ford GT 40. Bill earned a BA in Business Administration from New England College in Henniker, NH.  His many articles on vintage car restoration have appeared in The Flying Lady and he has conducted hundreds of seminars and lectures on Rolls-Royce and Bentley maintenance, rebuilding and service.	R. Pierce Reid, Principal Engineer Pierce Reid has been enjoying and working on vintage cars his entire life.   After college, he went into public relations and marketing.  During a successful career spanning nearly 20 years, he helped launch some of the most successful and recognizable companies of the early Internet days.  Between 1996 and 2005 he served as Senior Vice President of Schwartz Communications; ran a unit of General Dynamics ATP Advanced Programs; and was a co-founder and VP Marketing at Qovia, Inc. a successful VoIP telephony company.  He also has worked as a consultant to the DoD and Pentagon in the area of psychological operations and military information operations. In 2005, he opened his own restoration shop, often working closely with Bill Cooke of The Vintage Garage. Pierce began his mechanical career restoring vintage motorcycles, Porsches and several Land Rovers.  Looking for the ultimate mechanical challenge, he graduated to working on Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars in the mid 1990's, quickly establishing a reputation as a knowledgable and thorough hobbyist. He served as Vice President (Technical) Pre-war of the Rolls-Royce Owners Club.  In addition, he has published more than 100 articles on mechanical restoration and history.  He is widely recognized as a speaker and seminar instructor.  He is a two-time winner of the Frank Cooke Technical Manuscript award and served as Technical Editor of The Flying Lady. In 2006, Pierce and Billings Cooke re-opened The Vintage Garage in Stowe, Vermont. Pierce currently has a 1923 Silver Ghost Playboy, a 1936 Bentley 4.25L and a 1914 Model T Ford Roadster along with several motorcycles. Outside of his work at The Vintage Garage, Pierce continues to consult in defense.  He is a sworn law enforcement officer and serves his community as a part-time member of the Stowe Police Department.  He is also an avid outdoorsman.  Pierce earned a BS in Technical Communication from Clarkson University and went on to pursue an MS in Studies of the Future from the University of Houston at Clear Lake.
Bill Cooke, in his element, line boring a small horsepower engine for its crankshaft.  Numbers like .002" main clearance, .004" end play, and zero mis-alignment between 1 and 7 make this a job for experts!	Principal Engineer Pierce Reid with 1905 Rolls-Royce Light 20hp