A partnership of Bob Henderson and Wolfgang Fechner took over the business in 1971, a second hydra-deck was acquired and the business shifted to the (now) Midway Motors site in Kaikorai Valley. For Heavy salvage a Leyland Hippo was purchased and the wincing gear largely transferred from the Austin. Also to complement the growing fleet were Holden one-tonne utilities, and an International C1300 4WD for off-road, and still in the fleet.

Gerald Shaw, with family support, took the business over in 1981 and shifted it to the original Cooke Howlison building in Ward St, which had been tenanted by Millers Mechanical. The Leyland was replaced by a Kenworth W923, an ex logging truck, substantially modified for heavy salvage by Gerald Shaw. This was followed by an International 3-car transporter.

In 1988 Reilly's was purchased by Ron Gilkison, who continued to expand the fleet with various vehicles including a Mazda Titan electric wheel-lift, a deck truck with crane, and Landcruiser 4WD.

Reilly's continuously entered processions and truck shows, winning trophies, as well as events such as rally and speedway salvage, and the annual rigs-for-kids event, to this day. And the storage requirements continued to increase, especially with the advent of police and council impounds, with up to 6 buildings necessary at one stage, as far away as Tahuna Park.

In 1991 Ron took over Wyllies, the main opposition and their fleet which included another hydra-deck, an AEC heavy salvage, a V8 Landcruiser, and V8 Bedford. In 1997 Ron sold the heavy salvage division to Brian Lilley, who had been with him since 1988. Much of the heavy salvage gear from the ex Wyllies AEC was supplanted into a Mack heavy salvage truck, still in the fleet, and the Kenworth subsequently disposed of to a classic truck enthusiast.

In 2002, Brian, together with Ian Smaill and Phil Burrell purchased the company. The latter two would be replaced by Rob Williams, who purchased the entire company when Brian retired in 2014.