You’d be hard pressed to find someone who knows the ins and outs of car parts quite like Chris ‘Sewelly’ Sewell.
The Business Development Manager for VIC/NSW at ACM Parts has certainly done his fair share of laps across the Australian auto industry.
Tinkering with greatness
Chris was one of the first ‘officially recognised’ parts interpreters to come out of Richmond TAFE in the 80s.
At the time, however, his mind was more focussed on his sporting pursuits.
Chris was a talented cricketer in his younger years, playing in the UK, Sri Lanka and the West Indies, representing Victoria and Australia in under-19s.
“As it turned out, when you play against the best players, you think you’re good, until you’re not,” Chris joked.
“There was always someone better, so I didn’t go on with it.”
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So Chris powered on and completed his apprenticeship. Upon completion, he received a very special visitor to his graduation that presented a once in a lifetime opportunity.
“I won the apprentice of the year from my group, and Peter Brock presented the trophy,” Chris said.
“I had a chat with him after it, and he asked me to come work for him.
“I didn’t know anything about racing cars, but he wanted me to come and help with Brock Commodores.”
This began an exciting chapter between Chris and the Australian racing icon.
Chris would venture between dealerships, arranging for conversations of regular Commodores to a Brock-blazoned beast.
Chris’ connection with the Brocks continued on through to Peter’s tragic death in 2006.
His unique connection to racing royalty sparked Chris to write several books.
This included the Brock Bible which catalogued every Brock Commodore sent out the shop.
“I also did a commemorative edition … I did 206 copies of it – same number of races he won – Bev (Brock) and I signed and numbered them and donated the proceeds to the Peter Brock foundation,” Chris said.
All the Kings Men; another book from Chris details the day-to-day life of Peter, Chris and the team working on Brock Commodores.
“I’ve seen so many books about Brock the racer and the person, but not one about behind the scenes at HDT,” Chris added.
Right parts for the job
After his time working with Peter had passed, Chris journeyed across jobs with various companies including Mitsubishi and Kia.
It wasn’t long before he stumbled on to the initial stages of ACM Parts.
“I saw the business model and realised it wasn’t just second-hand parts. It was genuine parts, OEM parts and aftermarket parts,” Chris said.
“Having been in the industry for about 30 years at the time, I could see insurance companies trying to lower their costs and thinking this would be a go-er.
“And here I am 10 years later.”
ACM Parts continues to expand its offerings of recycled, aftermarket and OEM-quality parts across thousands of SKUs and models.
“In the early days, it was linked to Suncorp so we had a guarantee that we’d get access to cars that were total losses,” Chris said.
“But not every panel shop is a corporate shop … there’s mum and dad shops out there looking to minimise costs.
“As we developed, we got more imported and paralleled parts as well.
“We create that competitive tension.
“Back in the day, it’d be the dealer’s price or bad luck.”
Nowadays, Chris plays a crucial role in what is Australia’s largest recycled parts operation.
More sites, more staff and a fleet of ACM Parts trucks – Chris loved seeing the company push for more innovation.
“I’ve seen a lot of change, but definitely in the last three years we’ve really kicked some goals,” he said.
This included cataloguing, which Chris admitted was a far cry from his days with the Brocks.
“I used to be able quote an entire VK Commodore – each part number and price – off the top of my head,” he said.
His own trophy
Chris isn’t one to be short of words, however earlier in 2024 he found himself speechless at the AMA Group Hall of Fame inductions at Crown Casino in Melbourne.
He was wrangled into attending the night by ACM Parts Executive General Manager Adam O’Sullivan, not realising he was going to get the call up.
“There’s nothing worse than going to these types of nights and hearing people talk about how good they are,” Chris joked.
“I went there as a table filler on table #1, which was pretty good.
“Then they announced the Hall of Fame … and they said my name.
“I’m not normally lost for words – I can talk underwater – but I was totally lost up there.”
The AMA Group Hall of Fame recognises members of the company who have made outstanding contributions to it and the wider auto parts industry.
Chris might’ve had too much fun along the way, but his induction was certainly well-earned given his passion and dedication.
“I got a nice big trophy, which I had to carry around the casino all night,” Chris said.
“It was really special.”