How Did We Get Here – Part 2

A year and a half after the tornado destroyed our facility and house in Kelvin, we were still putting the pieces back together.

We set up a temporary shop in Cainsville, Ontario. It wasn’t fancy, but it’s where my dad and I spent countless hours repairing and refinishing every car the storm had torn apart. The support we received from guys like Dave Lawley, Robert McKenzie, Vince Ellers, Bob Thibeau, Dave Parr, and Danny and Wayne Anderson helped us get back on our feet. Now it was time to finish the job.

We also took on new projects at this facility, the same kind of restoration projects my dad built his reputation on, and the same standards he drilled into me. One of the projects that came through was a 280 SL Mercedes. The owner of the Mercedes owned Pop Shoppe, the soda distribution company that was all over Canada back then.

Cainsville became the place where we brought everything back: MGs, Austin Healeys, American muscle, European cars. The approach never changed: you restore what’s in front of you, and you do it the CORRECT way.

When the new facility was finally ready and the temporary shop had done its job, my dad and I went our separate ways professionally. There was no falling out, just two guys following the work that made sense for them. I wanted to focus on American muscle cars, taking everything he taught me about racing, restoration, and metal fabrication, and running with it. He stayed with what he’d always loved: early British cars, the foundation of everything he’d built. I moved away from Harry Woodford and Sons and started my own venture called Anthony Woodford Automobilist.

Stay tuned for the next segment of “How Did We Get Here” where we dive into American muscle and the road that led to AWR Racing, Incorporated.

Thanks, everyone, for your continuous support of our family’s journey in the motorsports community.

— Anthony Woodford