22 replies to this topic

[Jerry Entin]

Phil Remington and his friend Linda Vaughn

I am saddened to report that Phil Remington passed away February 9, 2013.
He was known as Mr. Fix It. His daughter Kati and son in law Dave and 2 grandsons Tynan and Brady survive him.

Phil was 92 years young and went to work at Dan Gurney's All American Racing daily.


photo: Albert Wong

Edited by Jerry Entin, 13 February 2013 - 08:40.

[Gary Knutson]

I am one of the very lucky ones to have known Phil over the years. He was an amazing person in many ways.
He always had time to answer questions or offer advice. He will be missed by me and everyone who knew him.
RIP Phil

[raceannouncer2003]

Very sorry to hear this. In 2010, Phil Remington was honored by the Fabulous Fifties group.



Phil with Anne Bothwell, Dan Gurney, and Bob Bondurant.

I am sure he will be sorely missed by Gurney and all the AAR folks.

Vince H.

[Dale Harvey]

Sad news. I have read so much about this mans skills over the years. A great loss.

Dale.

[Tim Murray]

Sad news indeed. There are some great stories about Phil in this very ancient thread:

Phil Remington

and here's his profile on the AAR site:

http://allamericanra...phil-remington/

What a shame he never got to write his life story. RIP Mr Remington.

[Doug Nye]

Condolences to all his relatives and friends. As with so many of these great figures the knowledge, insigt and understanding that posterity loses with them is equally irreplaceable.

DCN

[CJ22]

I have known Phil for over 50 years, loved every moment I spent with him! he is sorely missed, even at great distance... My thoughts also go out to his family, as well as Dan, Eve, Kathy Weida and all those others whose lives Phil touched........Sincerely, Chuck Jones

[jj2728]

RIP. A great loss.
John

[Hse289]

Sad to hear the news. My son and i were lucky to hang out in the paddock at Goodwood in 2002 with Phil Remington.
He was in the company of Ernie Nagamatsu and Dan Hampton. Phil was i talked about my love of AC/Shelby Cobra`s and also the wonderful Goodwood events.
After the racing my son and i went back to the paddock to say goodbye. The guys gave me a team shirt and Phil signed it, i will treasure that.
Paul

[Jack-the-Lad]

Sad news indeed, but what a long life...and so fully lived. Condolences to the Remington family and to Phil's many friends.

jack.

[Magoo]

It was a privilege to know Rem. Incredible fabricator, he made the world's best fabricators jealous and awestruck. Brilliant self-taught engineer, fixed the Ford GT's brakes when Ford's rocket scientists couldn't. Sharpest memory I ever saw--could call out frame dimensions from 1949.

A piece about Rem I wrote in 2002:


http://www.macsmotor...gton-1921-2013/

[JacnGille]

Sad news.

[RDV]

Very sad to hear the news, he was the epitome of a racer, and I had the great pleasure of seeing him work on one of the projects I worked on. Lets hope there is a new generation that will remember him and hope to emulate all he was and did.

[David M. Kane]

A great gentleman and an amazing talent who will be greatly missed by a great many, many people. God Bless Phil.

[tampaguy]

Sad sad news! The greatest generation is passing us by real fast these days! Just like Frederick Remington and his famous bronze statues, the world will have Phil's automotive masterpieces to gaze at and ponder, man was that guy an artist !
RIP Phil and say hello to the chicken farmer for us all ! We will all miss you both very much.
John P. Shea

[Dennis Hockenbury]

“The greatest fabricator in the world, and that’s not his strong point”. That sums it up very well indeed. We will likely not see his kind again. An amazing and inspirational racer to all who knew him.

RIP Phil Remington

[fbarrett]

Phil Remington was the classic example of how a guy who helped win WWII went into the hot rod and race car business and helped others (better-known) to become huge successes. What he did on the GT40 alone was amazing, turning it into a real race car. Without him, its biggest wins would not have happened.

[flatlander48]

In these times, we use the term Legendary far too often. However, in this case, it is fully justified.

RIP

[T54]

One of the nicest men I was privileged to know. Sad, but let's also celebrate his fantastic achievements. I am privileged to own a car he built, almost entirely by himself, and its quality reflects the learned talent this incredible genius had.
There is no one to replace him.
Phil, rest in peace, you truly deserve it.

[E1pix]

RIP, Mr. Remington.

[cpbell]

RIP. I must learn more about him - he seems to have been an extraordinary figure!

[OCTARD]

Rest in peace. What a talented man.

I hope that we're lucky enough to one day have a book on Phil Remington by the likes of Pete Lyons, Doug Nye, Willem Oosthoek and/or Michael Argetsinger.

[RDV]

All American Racers is sad to announce that Phil Remington passed away in his sleep Saturday morning, February 9th, just 2 weeks after his 92nd birthday.
"Rem” joined AAR in the fall of 1968 after an already stellar career in the motor racing world. He was universally admired and recognized as the greatest fabricator of his time. Until his health started failing last summer Phil never missed a day of work, he was an example both professionally and personally to legions of young people who studied under him and who worked by his side .

It will be difficult for us to walk by his old wooden workbench on the shop floor and not hear the sound of his hammer or see a smile break out on his face having just finished his latest masterpiece. Our heartfelt condolences go to his daughter Kati, his son-in-law Dave and his two grandsons Tynan and Brady.23
On the occasion of his 80th and 90th birthdays we wrote tributes to Phil which we think capture the man and his life and work, we like to present some excerpts here:

Watching Tom Hanks try to get off the island in the movie "Castaway" a few years ago, all we could think of was "Where is Rem?" Had the legendary Mr. Fixit, motor racing’s best known fabricator been there, they would have been off that island in no time. Phil would have known how to hammer together a boat from bark and build a make-shift helicopter from old socks. He was a one man fire brigade which the top factory racing teams called upon when in trouble.
In 44 years at our company, nobody remembers Phil missing a day of work. His ability as a fabricator, designer, draftsman, engineer and all- technical -problem - solving- genius has inspired three generations of racers be it behind the wheel, in the pits or on the shop floor. A huge number of alumni of AAR's Remington University have gone on to establish their own often formidable careers in the racing industry.

Born in 1921 in Santa Monica, cradle of the hotrod civilization, Phil served as a flight engineer in the South Pacific in World War II. After the war he started racing hotrods on the dry lakes. A severe motorcycle accident which almost cost him a leg, finished this particular career and launched another. He found out what he could do with his hands, a hammer and a piece of metal. And he could do it faster and better .
And so the journey began which took him around the world with the greatest racing teams of the day. He was with Lance Reventlow in Monte Carlo when he ran the first American F I car, he helped the Ford Shelby Cobra Team win the Championship over Ferrari in 1965, he was in the pits when Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt won Ford's biggest victory at Le Mans in 1967, he joined Holman and Moody on the Southern circuit and led an endurance test for Ford Motor Company through hazardous Afghanistan in the middle 50s. He was at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway when the Gurney Eagles dominated the Indy car scene in the early 70s. He saw Bobby Unser drink that precious bottle of milk after winning the Indy 500 in 1975 in an Eagle which Rem helped build and naturally he was at Daytona, Sebring and Watkins Glen when the GTO Celicas and GTP Eagles won IMSA Championships. Phil -literally - had a hand in every victory.

Modest, handsome, outspoken, politically incorrect, proud, fiercely competitive, cantankerous, enthusiastic and blessed with a wicked sense of humor, he became a respected and beloved elder statesman at the company.
After his wife Joy died in 2000, he lived on his own shunning any talks of help or of retirement. Last spring at 91 years of age, Phil was part of the AAR crew which built the DeltaWing - what a fitting finale to a great life in the motor racing industry!

Justin Gurney, AAR CEO, said Phil's merciless work ethic and can-do attitude reverberated throughout the shop and will continue to be a shining example in the future. "Most of us in the younger generation have known Mr. Remington for our entire working lives. Considering his robust health almost to the very end, we were tempted to think he would live forever. We have been in awe of his talents and afraid of his scorn. If something was not done to his exact specifications, the hammer came down... If for instance he did not like the music emanating from somebody's radio, he would not hesitate to saw it in half during lunch hour. Next time we hear thunder, it might just be Rem with his homemade hammers repairing the Pearly Gates."

Dan Gurney called Phil AAR's ‘Rock of Gibraltar'. "He was a marvel, an old salt and an inspiration to young and old. We owe him a ton of gratitude for all the good things he has done for us and many other racing teams through the last half century. He was an original and can never be replaced. God's speed Rem, we love you and we will miss you every day".
Further data on Phil Remington's life and career can be found on our webpage www.allamericanracers.com An article “Mr. Fix-it” by Preston Lerner which appeared in the July edition of Sports Car International Magazine in 1980 is posted in the "archive" section.