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« on: August 03, 2008, 07:07:22 PM »
Inland hot rodding pioneer Phil Braybrooks dies at 77 in his Riverside
home
10:00 PM PDT on Saturday, August 2, 2008
By PAIGE AUSTINThe Press-Enterprise
WE will miss you Phil
RIVERSIDE - As he did throughout his life, pioneering hot rodder Phil
Braybrooks will go on leaving his mark even in death.
A lifelong hot rodder, a one-time speed-record holder and founder of
the landmark J & M Speed Center in Riverside, Mr. Braybrooks will be
buried Wednesday in a coffin worthy of a speeding ticket and a man who
dedicated himself to high-performance hot rods.
"His coffin is candy-apple red with gold flames on the side," said his
wife, Pat Braybrooks. "He loved his hot rods."
Mr. Braybrooks, 77, died with his family in his Riverside home Thursday
of congestive lung failure. He is survived by his wife, six children
and five grandchildren.
Services are scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday at Crestlawn Cemetery,
11500 Arlington Ave.
An early champion of the drag-racing movement, Mr. Braybrooks helped
build the region's hot rodding reputation and pioneered the concept of
high-performance parts shops. J & M Speed Center is one of a handful of
local performance shops to survive the era of online auto parts sales.
"Phil has been an icon in this business," said Tom Ameduri, owner of
Hot Rods in Norco. "He was the first guy out here in the Inland Empire
who brought performance parts to an actual storefront."
He was famous in the industry and will be missed, Ameduri said.
"Phil had a dry sense of humor and a straightforward manner," Ameduri
added. "He spoke his mind and he earned the right to. Phil was here
doing it before anybody else."
Born in Orange in 1930, Mr. Braybrooks was hooked on hot rods from the
beginning. He took a job in a muffler shop and once had to trade the
hood of his car for gas to get to work.
"He told himself then that he was never going to be that poor again,"
said Pat Braybrooks. "And he was very lucky to have made his fortune
doing what he loves."
Mr. Braybrooks served as an aviation mechanic in the Air Force during
the Korean War and came home to work at Lockheed Martin until he could
save up enough money to open his own muffler shop in 1957, said Pat
Braybrooks.
He began selling speed parts on the side and quickly found his side
business more profitable than mufflers. He opened a speed shop in 1962 and
moved to Riverside's auto mall in 1971.
In recent years, Mr. Braybrooks was inducted into San Bernardino's hot
rodding hall of fame, and he received the Dale Earnhardt man of the
year award, family members said..
"He worked Monday through Saturday for 50 years and spent his Sundays
with his family," said his daughter, Lisa Somody, who now runs the
family business.
As much a family man as gear head, Mr. Braybrooks took his children to
Knott's Berry Farm on Sundays and planned family vacations full of
horseback riding and water-skiing, said his daughter.
He also doted on his grandchildren as much as his hot rods.
"He loved all of his grandchildren," said Pat Braybrooks. "They would
all climb into his '29 Roadster and pretend they were at the drive-in,
watching movies from the television on his workbench. He will be missed
by his family and the industry."
Reach Paige Austin at 951-893-2106 or paustin@PE.c
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