Bringing Automotive Legends Back to Life
Experts Who Reanimated Nick Begovich’s Vision
Tuesday, November 30th | Time: 5:30pm – 8pm
Location: Edward King House (35 King St. Newport RI 02840) and ends at the Audrain Automobile Museum
Tickets: Non-Members $65 / Members $50
Parking: is available in the lot next to the Museum, the Edward King House is just a short walk away
Covid-19 safety: All guests must present proof of vaccination upon entry to the Edward King House. Any unvaccinated guests, or guests who are unable to present proof of vaccination will need to wear a face mask.
Join Donald Osborne, Jeff Adams, and Brian Oliver as they discus restoring cars from the Begovich Collection and gain a deeper understanding on how Engineering + Design = Passion. The mission of the Audrain Automobile Museum to “preserve, celebrate and share automotive history” has seldom come to more vibrant life than in the presentation of the vehicles of the Nick Begovich collection. As a vital part of sharing the vehicles in the Audrain collection is in bringing them to the public on the road, being used as the builder intended- as fully functional kinetic sculpture, the long-parked Begovich cars all had to be recommissioned for use. Experts across five states and two countries were carefully chosen to bring them back to vivid life, while doing all that could be done to preserve the traces of their life with Nick Begovich. Two of the people responsible for this work join us to explain the challenges, opportunities, thrills and frustrations of working to bring history into the present for generations to come. A light reception will follow the seminar at the Audrain Auto Museum where guests can see the cars in-person.
Brian Oliver
Brian Oliver is owner and director of Automotive Restorations Inc. (ARI), a full service restoration facility with over 20 dedicated craftsmen located in Stratford Connecticut. Brian has a lifelong love of vintage vehicles, a passion inspired by his father and countless hours tinkering in the garage. He began working at ARI at age 16, first washing cars and working as an apprentice on the shop floor. Brian obtained a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Southern Connecticut State University, all the while working his way up the ladder at ARI, first becoming Parts & Transportation manager and then Operations Director. In 2017, Brian purchased the company from ARI’s founder, Kent Bain. Brian is passionate about educating future generations of vehicle restoration technicians. He works closely with McPherson College, the only school to offer a bachelor’s degree in Restoration Technology, providing internships and hiring students upon graduation.
Jeff Adams
Vintage Service Foreman and Lead Technician Speedsport Tuning
Jeff Adams has been working on vintage Porsches since high school in 1987, and received his Bachelors Degree in Business Management from the University of Connecticut. Before joining Speedsport Tuning in 2009, Jeff worked in other independent shops and was a lead technician at a large Porsche dealership during Porsche’s transition from air-cooled to water-cooled 911s (993 to 996).
Jeff is one of a handful of Porsche technicians in North America who can rebuild rare Porsche 4-cam engines. Jeff apprenticed alongside first-generation 356 dealer Gerry McCarthy who taught him the intricacies of early Porsches including all aspects of chassis work and the fine art of building air-cooled engines. Today, Jeff’s reputation is known throughout the Porsche collector world and his talents are highly sought after. Vintage Porsche owners across the US send their cars to Speedsport due in no small part to Jeff’s skill and expertise. Often parts are no longer available for some of these rare cars and Jeff has developed a network of fabricators, craftsmen and suppliers who can reproduce the original parts.
Jeff is also a Porsche enthusiast, having owned and daily-driven numerous air-cooled Porsches himself, ranging from early 356s to later model 911s.
Please call Victoria at 401-856-4422 to receive the member coupon code.