I put myself through business school working at Hill and Vaughn, a classic-car restoration shop founded by America’s first Formula One champion racer Phil Hill and collector Ken Vaughn.

There, I worked mostly on interiors, sewing frog skin, buffalo hide, and every material you could imagine. But I also was a mechanic, rebuilding engines and repairing the many parts and systems that have made cars run since Henry Ford’s day. Like many Americans, I learned by doing with my hands.