The Jaguar was something to behold, all right, but it was the car next to it that held Frawley in thrall - a 1934 Rolls-Royce.
There's some lapse in memory about how much they paid for it - $1,000, $3,000, $6,000? - but this much is certain: Surrendering to heady impulse, they bought it.
"I was attracted to its styling and mechanical complexity," recalls Frawley. "It looked like fun. Then we got it home and realized how bad it really was."
Nevertheless, the Rolls begot a passion that begot a business - the Frawley Co., devoted to the mechanical restoration, repair and service of Rolls-Royce and Bentley motorcars made before 1981.
"It's a hobby that got out of control," says Frawley - for both of them. Skillings is equally devoted to the business. When not managing accounts and handling customers, she occasionally times engine valves and rewires electrical systems.
Nothing cosmetic
The Frawley Co., launched in 1984, is located in a former machine shop in Parkesburg, Chester County. Frawley, 62, and his two full-time mechanics specialize in bringing mechanical systems up to snuff. They do not do cosmetic stuff.
They are to the grease monkeys at the corner gas station as a Silver Wraith is to a Camaro. Mike Farrell, 59, is a refugee from the corporate world with an MBA. Stan Scantlin, 60, is a master engraver who created bank notes for the U.S. Treasury.
During the last 25 years, Frawley and his associates have worked on more than 260 cars, representing 28 distinct models of Rolls-Royce and Bentley, ranging in vintage from 1913 to 1980. Their customers hail from all over the United States and the world.
They have applied their skills to exquisite vehicles owned in the past by the likes of J.P. Morgan, Mary Martin, Tony Curtis, and the ruler of Bhopal, India.
