About

About Us

This section tells you all about The Magneto Guys and how we started in the business of repairing magnetos.
Some years ago now, our attention was drawn to an entry on a forum posting which mentioned us:
'THE MAGNETO GUYS: Never heard of them, but they came up on Google, where they speak highly of themselves......... Friendly and knowledgeable.'
Note the comment '....speak highly of themselves.....' Isn't that the case with all websites which are designed to promote a business? But it did highlight the fact that it is not just what we think of ourselves that is important - click on one of these buttons to find out what others say about us!

The Magneto Guys - History

The Magneto Guys is run by Steve Marks. His interest in how things work led to a career in mechanical followed by electrical/electronic engineering. This multi-disciplinary background eventually resulted in a move to the educational sphere when he became a lecturer first in Electronics, then Software Engineering and finally with a responsibility for courses in Computer Aided Engineering. Then in the late 1980s, he left to set up his own company offering Electronic, Software and Mechanical Engineering design services to companies and individuals throughout the UK. His company – Micro Design Ltd – specialised in microcontroller applications. All high tech stuff you may think but away from work, Steve’s hobby interests were based on a much earlier era. Steve has owned motorcycles continuously since he was 14 years of age and has also dabbled in the vintage and classic/custom car fields along the way. 

Steve takes up the story..... 

"Early in 2006, I was in conversation with good friend, Tony Holder, when the subject turned to magnetos. Not surprising as Tony had been working on magneto repairs and restorations for the past fifty years – the last thirty odd years on a full time basis. Unlike some other magneto restorers, Tony had always taken on any magneto. At last count he had worked on the offerings from 77 different manufacturers. That’s ‘manufacturers’ not ‘models’ so Lucas, for instance, counts as just one in that total figure! During that conversation, Tony mentioned that he had a backlog of over a hundred magnetos waiting to be repaired and I said ‘what you need is someone to help!’ to which he replied ‘Yes, but who would want to?’ Well, to cut a long story short, I decided that the team at Micro Design Ltd could cope without me for one day a week and so began what we came to call ‘day release’ – Tony teaching me the ropes and at the same time, me helping (hopefully) with his workload. Little did I know all those years ago that the electromagnetic principles which I was teaching, would come in so useful now! Knowing the theory is one thing but Tony’s vast knowledge, not to mention his fifty years of detailed note taking, has been an almost unbelievable opportunity to learn the trade properly - something for which I shall be forever grateful"

Once Steve had completed his ‘apprenticeship’ he set up ‘The Magneto Guys’ which, for a while, ran alongside 'Micro Design Ltd.' However, demand for magneto repairs grew rapidly and it wasn't long before the decision was made to close down the electronics side and magneto repairs then became a full time occupation for him.

With more and more work coming in, it soon became clear that more manpower would be needed. Steve's son, Andy, had, from a very early age, shown a keen interest in engineering and vintage motorcycles and so was an obvious candidate. One slight problem was that he had chosen to go to university a couple of hundred miles away which meant that his involvement was limited to just the holidays! None the less, always a very quick learner, these holidays were spent very productively, not only gaining several prize winning bike restorations to his credit but also becoming an important part of The Magneto Guys. After successfully completing his university education in 2013,  Andy chose to join the Magneto Guys full time. 

Andy, having made lots of parts for his own restoration projects, also makes some of them available for other restorers - see the range of parts on his website: Kingpin Components. The range of parts he offers continues to grow all the time and so Andy now shares his working time between his own business and working for The Magneto Guys.

In late 2019, Tony, having turned 90 years of age, finally decided to retire. We are very sad to report that his retirement didn't last long. He passed away on 6th March 2021, just a couple of weeks short of his 92nd birthday. Despite the Covid restrictions in place at the time, a good number of people turned up at the funeral with vintage cars and motorcycles - it is almost certain that they were all using one of 'Tony's' magnetos!

Tony Holder (1929-2021) - Good friend and mentor - RIP

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