Chapter 136B

10/11/2006

Ch 136B Road Trip                                                     Sargent Motorworks                       

Volunteer Road Trip: VT & NH

Terry Olmsted 

Overwhelming. The 2 day trip to scenic Woodstock Vermont and the surrounding areas to visit, dare I say, world renowned personalities was a delight! Fifteen of us from the museum took the opportunity to enrichen our lives, and were not disappointed.

First stop was Scott Sargent’s Motorworks just outside of downtown Fairlee, VT.  Downtown being basically a country crossroads rural setting. In fact, we passed Scott’s shop twice before realizing it was the unassuming and  plain looking garage behind the chocolate brown ranch house. A typical passerby would have no idea that from within this garage rare million dollar Bugattis are restored to a state of purity that can fetch top prize at premier car shows like the Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance. We are talking about proper correctness. We are talking about craftsmanship and ingenuity.

Scott takes car of all of Peter Williamson’s cars now. Years ago when first asked to begin work Scott’s reaction was, “What’s a Bugatti?” Now, he has an encyclopedic knowledge base of all things Bugatti in his head. It has to be this way as there ARE no manuals for these pre-war antiques.

Whether it is travel to the Paris Retromobile (French flea market) for spare parts, rebuilding a starter motor during the Pebble Beach competition, forming an aluminum fender on the English Wheel, or completing that ‘just right’ paint job on a Grand Prix racer, Scott has a full plate. In fact, there is enough backlog for his services, that he gets to choose which next project is exciting enough to take on and whether that next client worthy, he said with a chuckle. When you realize that Peter Williamson was the President of the American Bugatti Club from 1998-2003 you wonder whether if Scott was not joking.

[Dark Blue Type 57 SC supercharged worth $5 Mil in bottom right belongs to NJ collector Sam Mann but conked out on NH rally. Here Scott drives his restored  1939 Delahaye 165  across the winners circle in 2006 for famed collector Peter Mullin.  Link to Pebble Beach 2005 where his 1937 French Delage got best in show. In the Bugatti Reunion paragraph Scott describes his 2 yr restore of the Arvis. Another link here. ]