It’s nice to catch up with old friends, which we did 30 years later in White Post, Virginia, to talk again to some unique, world-class car guys.
Clarke Courier
Clockwise from top left: 1. Billy Thompson II is proud to see tiny White Post finally listed on the 1984 Virginia Highway map; 2. Billy Thompson II gives an auto tour of local historic homes in 1983; 3. Billy Thompson II hams it up with television celebrity Willard Scott in 1989; 4. Billy II, W.R. III and young Billy Ray IV strike a pose with Uncle Albert in front of the company’s restored 1931 Model A, circa 1987; 5. Five helps staff with quality assurance inspections; 6. Billy Ray IV, Five and W.R. III with the company’s 1931 Model A shop truck.
Pull up at One Old Car Drive in the tiny village of White Post, Virginia, and you’ll meet the Thompson family, owners of one of the largest and most elite full-service antique car restoration businesses in the country.
The last time we visited White Post Restorations was in September 1988, when contributor Ross W. Simpson introduced readers to four generations of William Raymond Thompsons (Billy, Billy II, W.R. III and Billy Ray IV), who have owned the world-renowned operation since it opened in 1940 (read that story at blueridgecountry.com/WhitePost).
At that time, owner Billy II—a superstar in the antique auto world who was admired as much for his trademark handlebar moustache as his meticulous restorations—had just promoted his son, W.R. III, from body shop technician to operations manager. And we met W.R.’s three-year-old son, Billy Ray IV, who was eagerly training, small sweep-broom in hand, to be next in line for upper management. Business was booming at White Post Restorations, where clients with deep pockets were taking numbers to get in line for top-to-bottom restorations that sometimes took years, and hundreds of thousands of dollars, to complete.
Fast forward 33 years, and the folks at White Post Restorations are still performing magic as they painstakingly transform historic heaps of rusty metal into glossy award-winning auto showstoppers for clients from around the globe.
The shop itself hasn’t changed much. It’s still a rambling maze of modest buildings occupying more than an acre under one roof, with sparkling-clean storage and workspace for more than 60 vehicles. On this day, the bays held an assortment of rare beauties shipped from all over the world to this quiet hamlet in the Shenandoah Valley.
For enthusiasts, the eye-popping lineup could double as a museum tour. One bay held the last remaining 1918 Kline Kar, originally manufactured in Richmond, which White Post is preserving for the Virginia Museum of History and Culture.
Other bays held a 1959 Mercedes Benz 220S, a 1912 De Dion-Bouton, a 1956 Corvette, a 1932 Cadillac, a 1963 Porsche 356 BT-6 from a collector in Phoenix, a 1970 Mercedes Benz 280SL from Texas, a 1954 Chevrolet 4-door 210 sedan and a 1963 Cadillac that was custom designed for the Rockefeller family (the last remaining of its kind) and now owned by John Warner IV of Virginia.
Collecting antique cars is expensive, so it’s no surprise that White Post serves high-profile clients, including corporate executives, movie stars, politicians and foreign dignitaries. Confidentiality is expected, so names are hush hush for the autos owned by royal dignitaries of several Middle Eastern countries, including a 1955 Cadillac that belongs to a member of the Bahraini monarchy, and for another car belonging to a local television personality.
A 1954 Chevrolet 4-door 210 sedan; to the left of a 1932 Cadillac recently acquired by a client in Northern Virginia.
It’s no secret that actress Stephanie Powers tapped White Post to restore her beloved 1967 Mercedes, and she still speaks highly of their service.
“The White Post restoration was impeccable in every detail, and I am thrilled to know that they are still in business restoring cars to beyond their original beauty,” says Powers.
White Post’s long client list includes hotel magnate John Willard Marriott, Sr., actress Elizabeth Taylor and even Jacinto Peynado, former vice president of the Dominican Republic, among many others.
Actress Stephanie Powers in her 1967 Mercedes in a 1988 photo.
Some things at White Post have changed significantly since our 1988 story.
Shop owner and chief showman Billy II, the one who elevated his father’s two-bay auto and farm equipment repair shop into the legendary business we know today, passed away unexpectedly in 2011 at age 72, leaving son W.R. III to take over operations as owner and president.
W.R. knew he had big shoes to fill. Billy II had auto connections around the world, but he was also considered the unofficial mayor and social chair of the White Post community.
“It was a shock, but Dad left everything in order,” says W.R. “I thought I could handle it alone,” he says, “but after a few months, I was working myself to death.”
So, W.R. did what his father had also done years before—he pulled his own now-grown son, Billy Ray IV, away from a job he loved in the body shop to help with management as vice president of operations. In a case of history repeating itself, the duo settled into their new roles, and life continued to march forth at White Post.
Today, Billy Ray has a five-year-old son of his own who is named, you guessed it, William Raymond V.
“I was hoping we could call him Liam, but it never stuck,” says Billy Ray. “Everyone took to calling him Five, and it’s the only name he’s ever known so far.”
A 1959 Mercedes Benz 220S undergoes mechanical rehab.
Like all the William Raymond Thompsons before him, Five is growing up in the shop. Billy Ray’s wife, Crystal, also works there, so she brings him to work with her every day. Five has his own space in the conference room, where he naps, plays, reads books and eats lunch. Instead of going to preschool during the COVID pandemic, he learned to read and write in the shop while sometimes exploring what’s going on in the auto bays. “It’s a great education in itself,” beams his dad. “My great-grandfather, my grandfather, my father, myself and now my son—we all learned about cars right here.”
The day we visited, little Five was busy asking his dad for a hose to wash a bucket in the body shop. Just like his daddy and grandfather at his age, Five has his own small broom and is already helping out.
“He earned himself two dollars the other day sweeping out the upholstery room,” grins Billy Ray. “He knows what each room in this shop is for, and his favorite vehicle is my grandfather’s old Model 50 John Deer tractor. He wants to drive it and is already asking for his own tools.”
Billy Ray studied business at college, but he says working at the shop is exactly what he always wanted to do.
“I saw that my son had that drive and passion,“ says W.R. “I knew I couldn’t retire after Dad died—I had to keep the place going for Billy Ray.”
The last remaining 1918 Kline Kar is undergoing preservation for the Virginia Museum of History and Culture in Richmond.
In contrast to Billy II, who thrived on showing off his personal fleet of antique vehicles and giving shop tours while dressed in a jaunty racing cap, bow-tie and vintage wardrobe, W.R. and Billy Ray are more reserved. They admit they’ve made some changes.
For starters, unlike Billy II, who accepted only complete restorations, they’ve decided to handle partial restorations on a case-by-case basis.
“We still adhere to the same high level of work that my grandfather demanded,” says Billy Ray, “but if someone just wants an upholstery job, we have in-house experts to do it.”
They also accept younger cars now.
“It’s generational,” says W.R. “Your grandfather’s antique car today was maybe from the 1960s.”
With 17 full-time restoration technicians, White Post is one of the few shops in the world that handles every detail of an authentic restoration under one roof, including mechanical, upholstery, sheet metal fabrication, paint and body, woodworking and coachbuilding and concierge services.
“That way we can control the total quality of the restoration,” says Billy Ray.
White Post chooses technicians carefully, and they tend to stay. Six employees have been there more than 30 years, including master restoration technician Tommy Larrick, who came on board in 1975.
“Our most recent hire came from an undergraduate summer internship through McPherson College in Kansas, one of the only colleges that offers a four-year undergraduate degree program in restoration,” says Billy Ray.
Every car that arrives at White Post is still assigned its own designated space, and every project begins with research by W.R. and Billy Ray, who over the years have amassed an impressive library of antique car manuals and books.
“Just doing the research for the project binder can take six months,” says Billy Ray. Technicians then photograph, disassemble and catalog every nut and bolt before restoration begins.
W.R. and Billy Ray also continued Billy II’s side specialty of mail-order brake sleeving and rebuilding services, which they say accounts for about 40 percent of their overall business. Television celebrity Jay Leno is a repeat customer.
Billy II’s heart belonged to super-charged front-wheel-drive Cords – “fast, rare and expensive.”
“We handle a lot of Leno’s brakes,” says W.R. “He’s got a great Duesenberg collection.”
W.R. and Billy Ray said they get most of their business through word-of-mouth recommendations. Milton Babirak, an attorney from Loudoun County, Virginia, owns two identical 1950 and 1951 red MG TDs. He turned to White Post to redo some brake cylinders, but ended up arranging a tour of the shop for his friends from the Chesapeake Chapter of the New England MG T Register.
“There are other smaller shops that may have a handful of technicians, but none have the same depth of expertise as White Post,” says Babirak.
What motivates someone to own and restore antique cars?
A 1972 custom-built Lincoln waits in bay with a 1959 Mercedes Benz 220S for mechanical rehab.
“It’s a fantasy escape that gets you out of everyday life into a completely different world for a little while,” says Babirak.
W.R. says for some it’s akin to collecting masterpiece art. Billy Ray says it depends on the owner. “For some, it might be sentimental—a family car that they’ve had their whole life, one they helped their grandfather change the oil as a kid. Others might not know anything about cars, but they like to enter shows and own winners,” he says.
Does it ever get old being surrounded by rare and historic vehicles?
“We have our favorites, but we do look at it as a business,” says Billy Ray.
W.R. agrees. Billy II had been the true collector, one time owning nearly 30 antique vehicles of his own.
“My dad sure loved the super-charged front-wheel-drive Cords,” says W.R.
“Grandpa liked cars that were fast, rare and expensive,” laughs Billy Ray.
Billy II sold his collection before he died, but Billy Ray has searched for and bought back a few of them, like his 1931 Model A shop truck, and he is looking for his International High Wheeler and 1926 Buick as well.
“I’m sentimental about cars,” says Billy Ray, whose own collection includes the Toyota pickup that his parents bought him when he was 16, a full-size Chevy truck and a Corvette. “I also like pre-war cars from the 1920s and ‘30s for their elegant styling and coachbuilding.”
W.R. claims to have no favorites, but is fond of cars from the high-performance muscle car era.
Little Five’s favorite cars? “Anything with a rumble seat,” laughs dad, who explains that Five often tags along for mechanical test drives through town. “Right now he’s got his eyes on a 1932 Cadillac.”
Maybe we’ll check back with Five in a few years, when he’s old enough to take us on a spin himself.
Billy Ray's Favorite Restorations
Ask Billy Ray III about his favorite restorations, and this normally shy guy of few words suddenly lights up and rattles off catalog-worthy descriptions that include specific details of even the smallest features.
Billy Ray III’s own words here:
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1972 DeTomasa Pantera. A very recent and completely custom restoration which was completed in 2020. It included a 427 CI LS7 custom built Thompson Motorsports of TEXAS engine, Mast Motorsports heads, GP Headers Inc. headers and custom dry sump oil system. Harrop Engineering intake manifold featuring eight individual throttle bodies actuated by throttle by wire. Gear selection handled by Numeric Racing shifter. Every inch of the car was custom-designed and fabricated. The car began as a personal project for our client; he is an engineer and had already handled much of the design and product selection. After many years and still not having a finished car, he decided to hand the project over to us. This was a unique project for us as it was a sharp departure from the work we are known for and allowed us to showcase the tremendous talent and range of ability of our restoration technicians. I think it proved that after over 80 years in business, we still provide true craftsmanship. It also helped us garner attention from a demographic that would not have otherwise known about us.
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1934 Mercedes Benz 500K. Owned by Bill Marriott of Marriott Hotels. This was an interesting restoration as it was done before the internet was available. The car was received as a “basket case.” My grandfather had to hire a translator and communicate via mail with people in Germany to get information and parts for the project. The restoration file holds copies of these letters—I stumbled upon it a few years ago when we were moving our files to a new storage facility. I spent hours enamored with the project, reading and looking through the various communications.
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1911 Robinson Fire Truck – “Jumbo.” This restored firetruck is owned by the Staunton Fire Dept and located at their facility in Staunton. Jumbo is/was the first motorized fire truck in Virginia. The sheer size of Jumbo made the restoration extremely challenging; the engine had to be lifted utilizing a local farmer’s loader.
The story above first appeared in our Sept. / Oct. 2021 issue. For more like it subscribe today or log in with your active BRC+ Membership. Thank you for your support!