HISTORY
Annings Race & Restoration was established by Phil Anning, a 3rd generation car enthusiast and specialist.
Phil’s connection with the motor car and their repair dates back to Phil’s grandfather Ted Anning. Having left the army after WW2 Ted opened and ran a village pub and vehicle repair workshop in Woodchurch Kent. Fast forward to the late 60’s and this successful business was taken over by two of Ted’s sons Barry and Jonathan (Phil’s father).
In 1972 the brothers relocated the business into larger premises in Hamstreet Kent and it became known as Annings marsh road garage. From a very early age this is where Phil spent his time and forged his interest in motor cars and engineering.
At the age of 15 Phil visited Bill Richards racing with his cousin, (Barry Jnr) who drove a Mini and was looking for a performance increase.
This is where Phil’s real passion for tuning and competition preparation began, Following that visit Phil’s enthusiasm led him to spend most weekends and school holidays working alongside Bill Richards, going to race circuits and assisting with the running of his spaceframe Ford BDH powered Metro and other race cars.
After 8 years working for Bill Richards Phil was approached by Glyn and Nick Swift of Swiftune to join their team, Here Phil worked his way through the ranks to become Nick Swift’s right hand man. During this time Phil crafted a series of works Swiftune cars and built many other road, rally and race winning cars and engines that many in the classic Mini fraternity would recognise across the globe including Goodwood-winning race cars and Works Monte Carlo rally cars.
In the never-ending search for increased performance and reliability required at the pinnacle of historic motor racing, Phil has been passionate about developing all aspects of a competition car and Phil’s desire to make good even better is a strong force within his work.
It had always been Phil’s dream to follow in his grandfather and father’s footsteps and run a family business, so after over 15 successful years at Swiftune Phil took the choice to venture out and continue with the Annings independent, long standing affiliation with the motor car and setup Annings Race & Restoration…
Search through the services page to see our range of work covered and how we can help you with all of your classic car needs