Norris E. Swaim rose from humble beginnings to become one of the best race car mechanics in the nation.
He went from tinkering on engines in his dirt-floor backyard garage to chief mechanic at a high-end sports-car dealership and for sports car racing teams that won national and international events.
Despite his achievements, Swaim remained a hardworking family man of quiet resolve and humility, family and friends said.
“He was unassuming and didn’t have much to say, but he was one of the top mechanics in the field,” said friend and former race team manager Bill Hamilton of Brookhaven. “A driver can be the best in the world, but your car has to finish to win. Norris found a way to make them last. He was a great family man and an excellent mechanic.”
Swaim of Jefferson, Ga., died Oct. 19 after a battle with melanoma. He was 81. His funeral was Saturday at Bill Head Funeral Home in Tucker.
Born on Aug. 13, 1934, in Lilburn, Swaim faced challenges early on.
The youngest of five children, his sister dropped out of school to care for him after their mother died when he was 16 months old. His father worked long hours as a self-employed handyman.
He met his childhood sweetheart, Loraine Head, in elementary school. To keep her from going to a foster home, he quit high school, and they got married in 1950. He was 16, and she was 14.
While he worked, she continued her schooling, earning a GED and later an accounting degree from Massey Business College.
He got a job as a mail carrier and worked on cars on the side, building a few hot rods for drag racing. To improve his auto mechanics skills, Swain took a few classes in technical school and then worked at a couple of garages.
In 1957, he went to work as a mechanic at Baker Motor Co., a high-end foreign sports car dealership in Buckhead that also sponsored a sports car racing team.
Starting in the mid-1960s, Swaim would travel the world preparing and maintaining high-performance sports cars as chief mechanic for Baker Motor Racing and later Rinzler Motoracing.
“The mechanic is the unsung hero,” said friend and former race car driver Bobby Rinzler of Atlanta. “Norris was just a great man, mechanic, mentor and friend. He never let success go to his head. We had a wonderful 10 years of racing around the country.”
During his career, Swaim prepared and maintained class-winning Alfa-Romeos, Ferraris, Porsches, a championship-winning Lotus 23 and two Chevrons for races sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America, the International Motor Sports Association and the Canadian American Challenge Cup (Can-Am).
He also became the first mechanic to make a Cosworth-Ford FVC engine, which was not originally built for endurance races, last a full 24 hours and win in its class at Daytona International Speedway.
“Norris turned out to be one of those guys who could do anything mechanical with a race car and make it work,” said former race car driver Charles “Chuck” Reynolds of Canton. “We were a shoestring outfit. We did not always win, but our cars finished. He was a gifted mechanic and gifted individual who would be there to help if you needed him.”
During his time on tour, Swaim’s wife was the chief timer and scorer for the team and traveled with him. During the summers, their children would join them on trips and enjoyed meeting famous racers, including actors Paul Newman and James Garner.
“It was hard work, but it was an awesome time in our lives,” his wife said.
In 1972, Swaim was named Mechanic of the Year by the Sports Car Club of America and was inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame.
The following year, Swaim and his wife retired from the racing team to spend more time with their family.
“After our youngest son was born, I told him I could not go anymore. Our oldest daughter was raising the babies we had,” his wife said. “So he quit, too. He said he didn’t get to see four of his children grow up, so he wanted to be there for the last one.”
Swaim then returned to the mechanic shop at Baker Motor Co. He and his sons later started their own business as grading contractors.
After retirement, Swaim and his wife took his siblings on trips to places around the world they’d heard him talk about but never dreamed they’d visit. “The joy we got out of watching them enjoying these trips was the most rewarding thing we did,” his wife said.
Inspired by his career, one of his grandsons is a service manager at a Chrysler dealership and another grandson is an aspiring driver who works on race cars.
Two years ago on Easter Sunday, Swaim attended Southside Church in Athens and accepted Christ at age 79. He and his wife were both baptized a few months later with their 6-year-old granddaughter.
“You could tell that everything in his life led to that moment,” said Southside pastor Jeff Williams. “He was a survivor who worked hard to be successful. Later in life, he realized that it’s not about what he could do but what Jesus did. He embraced that quietly, humbly and publicly.”
In addition to his wife, Swaim is survived by his sons Denzil Swaim of Snellville, John Swaim of Jefferson and Matthew Swaim of Athens; his daughters Jo Beth Cunningham of Grayson and Amy Walker of Lawrenceville; his sisters Louise Lanford of Snellville and Ida Mae Strickland of Lawrenceville; 11 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
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