HOLLYWOOD STAR
Not far from the movie star glitz, an industrial neighbourhood in North Hollywood, California, is home to John Esposito Restoration, a shop devoted to the revival of air-cooled Porsches – 13 employees perform (almost) all renovation tasks in a well-equipp
As restoration shops experience growth, their founders tend to spend more time on the phone behind a desk than with a 10mm spanner in hand, leaving the share of the wrenching to their employees. John Esposito will find some truth to that statement, although nobody will keep him away from his toolbox. Not by necessity, but because he loves working on cars to this day – Porsches in particular.
Already as a young lad, Esposito wanted to be a car painter. His parents were supportive of his somewhat unusual interest, so his dad bought him a compressor so that John could hone his skills at home. ‘I began by painting bicycles for the kids in my neighbourhood’, he recalls. ‘And then I wanted to do cars, because I used to go down to the LA Convention Center for the custom car and hot rod show – I loved all their paintjobs.’
John took metalshop classes all the way through high school, before learning to be a machinist in college. In parallel to his study, he found a job in a body repair shop and has since remained in the automobile field, helped by a variety of esteemed professional certifications.
That first place of employment handled many Porsche 356s, thus he became acquainted with the model. He then worked for a very famous custom car builder, Larry Watson, known for his outlandish paintwork all the way back to the 1950s. John worked on plenty of Porsches there as well. Around 1978, while employed by another bodyshop, he found a ’58 356 coupé sitting on the property. ‘I opened the door, sat on the door jamb… That was it, I was hooked’, he continues. ‘I ended up buying it and, since then, I’ve owned twelve 356s and six 911s.’
From 1985 until ’92, John had his own company specialising in body repairs. His business venture did not quite work out, as vintage cars didn’t hold the value they have now, hence he went back in the labour force. When losing his job in 2009, he told his wife he would never work for anybody else, thus he rented a small 90sqm shop near Los Angeles with $2000 in his pocket – and so was born John Esposito Restoration.
One of his outside mechanics sent him quite a bit of Porsche-related business, which led John to consider moving closer to him in North
Opened the door and sat on the door jamb… that was it, I was hooked.
Hollywood. When a 190sqm shop opened next door, he jumped on the opportunity, staying there until 2017 when he resettled in another nearby building, still in the same industrial
neighbourhood. He now has 3000sqm at his disposal and 13 employees, including his daughter Laurina, who is General Manager.
The activity revolves around aircooled models, with a strong emphasis on pre-1974 ‘long hood’ 911s. Among them, several desirable ’65s and ’66s are being worked on, or awaiting their turn – but the company also handles a fair number of 356s. Occasionally, later 911s show up, too, but they usually need collision repairs or a paintjob, rather than a full restoration.
The operation is set in three different buildings. The first houses the offices, lobby and parts storage, adjacent to ‘The Clean Area’ where the team reassemble and finis h the vehicles.
Across from there, another structure houses a car/parts storage and paint shop, with spray booth and prep stations. The third building set in the back specialises in bodywork and, in a separate room, the mechanical shop. John ponders: ‘We do pretty much everything. For interiors, we also work with local upholstery shops; but once the pieces are done, they are brought back here so that we can reinstall them in the cars.’
Having plenty of specialised tools certainly helps with the daily chores, starting with a Celette bench. This dedicated fixture system recognised by the Porsche factory allows the crew to straighten and repair vehicles after they have been involved in accidents, minor or not. The Esposito team has plenty of new sheet metal and good used components in stock to complete the tasks.
Helped by his reputation, folks occasionally contact John and ask him to buy parts: doors, bumpers, etc. He even has a small outside area he nicknamed ‘The Junkyard’ where he has remnants of derelict 911s, which come
The activity revolves around air-cooled models…
in handy when he needs to cut a specific panel, for instance.
Over the years, the shop has worked on several race cars, some having been involved in track mishaps damaging their bodies/frames; they might therefore need attention helped by the Celette bench. Other uncommon and/or rare project cars have been pampered as well, such as several ’73 911 RSS, 550 Spyders, Pre-a 356s, Carrera Speedsters and coupés… When we stopped by, John was putting the final touches on a ’61 Cabriolet, an uncommon model built by the Drauz karosserie. This T6 has a single engine grille, therefore mixing traits of ’61 and ’62 356s.
A handful of addition al vehicles caught our eye, such as a fully redone ’67 Bahama Yellow 911 looking beautiful on its narrow 4.5-inch Fuchs rims. John and his staff laboured on other desirable models as we walked with camera in hand. The list includes a ’57 Speedster, a 911E Targa (converted into a 959 Cabriolet in the ’90s!), a Mexico Blue ’72 coupé, a Targa Florio-winning ’68 coupé, and more. There is never a dull moment in Esposito’s three buildings.
As mentioned earlier, John still enjoys working on Porsches. He explains: ‘I do almost all the assembly and finish work on the cars at the end. But I still manage the shop and, of course, I make sure everything is going the way I want it. I tell my crew: I don’t ask for much, I just want it perfect!’
He also likes to improvise on bodywork, especially custom fender flares for 911s – no pair is alike. He will soon start a small production for ’69 to ’73 models. ‘We love doing Porsche cars here. After 47 years in the field, I can’t wait to work on the next one!’
I tell my crew, I don’t ask for much, I just want it perfect…