About Tom Meadows

I began my apprenticeship in Italian car service at Prevedello's Auto Repair in San Jose, California in 1973. Prevedello's was the only service agency for Ferrari at the time in San Jose and serviced Lamborghini, Maserati and Alfa Romeo as well. This was, in many ways, a golden era for young mechanics as Ferrari Daytonas were brand new and what are now classic Lamborghinis and Maseratis were used as a training ground for the new apprentices.

Over the years I have owned several shops and have worked in many European repair shops including Ferrari of Los Gatos in 1977 and '78, and again in 1989. In 1987 I worked for Anton Krivanek's Vintage Racing Service which specialized in the restoration of Fiat 8V motors and chassis. Working for Anton was a tremendous education in very limited production Italian Exotics. This was the era when Italian cars began to skyrocket in value, and we saw some very exotic equipment come through the shop in that era.

Motor racing is something I have always enjoyed and I crewed for an SCCA Alfa Romeo racer for over ten years, and have always supported vintage racers and their cars at many different levels.

I drove my own Ferrari 250 GTE for 13 years and was also the technical editor for the 250 GTE newsletter for 20 years. During that period I wrote numerous technical articles for the club on the subject of service and restoration.

I have always had a talent for electrical work and a gift for tuning and this is why I have chosen to specialize in Magneti Marelli distributor calibration and repair. Many years ago I realized that these units are at the very heart of good 12 cylinder performance and began a serious study of their repair and maintenance.

Early on I learned the value of formal education and I have six years of University level education with an emphasis on engineering and Industrial Design.

I have always had a strong passion for Italian cars, and I look forward to sharing my skills and knowledge with you.