Any good Stude "shops" in the MD/ PA area? HELP

[rickauf]

Hi all, i had posted previously about my 65 wagon and it;s carb/ possible trans woes. I appreciate all the input.. but i just don't have time to fix her. (or the know how)

I just want to take her to a shop that can diagnose it.. and fix it.. and slap on some new brakes, if possible.
I am in the annapolis md, area. have truck and car trailer.. would be willing to drive just about anywhere.. but looking for something in the DC- Harrisburg- Philly- Baltimore- Richmond 'quad". I have a few free weekends upcoming that i can actually drop her off.

its a clean car... and i just want to be able to drive her!!!!!!!!!!

any input greatly appreciated!!!

thanks!

[Gunslinger]

With everything has EFI now it's not as easy as one might think to find good places to work on carburetors and transmissions as obsolete as the Borg Warner. I live in Frederick and there's a great carburetor and general repair shop here. They do excellent work diagnosing and rebuilding carbs. As far as trannies go, I'm not so sure about them but I really don't know. The name of the business is K&K Automotive on Route 355.

There's a good speed shop near me that brings in a transmission guy as they need. That's Frederick Performance Center north of town near Thurmont. They installed the crate engine and 700R4 transmission in my Avanti II. They did great work. A speed shop nearby you may be just as good. You might check with some local car clubs and ask them for advice on a good shop locally.

[larryyano]

Witmer Automotive in Ephrata, PA. They really know Studebaker's and have a lot of parts on hand. This is a family owned operation and have rebuilt 3 engines for me as well as transmissions, brake systems and even some engine bay painting. I highly recommend them. 717-859-1078. Kirk who answers the phone is not very talkative, so have patience. Abe and Kent to most of the work on the cars.

[LarkTruck]

Witmer Automotive in Ephrata, PA. They really know Studebaker's and have a lot of parts on hand. This is a family owned operation and have rebuilt 3 engines for me as well as transmissions, brake systems and even some engine bay painting. I highly recommend them. 717-859-1078. Kirk who answers the phone is not very talkative, so have patience. Abe and Kent to most of the work on the cars.

Yeah, what Larry said. Witmer's are very good, honest people. You will look long and hard to find a better all around Stude Shop. But, if you can't hook up with them, try Abe's second son Kim, who now has his own shop, Cedar Ridge Garage, 717-336-3245 also in Lancaster County Pa. Jim S.

[Bamajak]

Repair

No answer from John P.................

[M15 Trucker]

Richauf,
Have you asked John Palous if he could do this for you? He lives just outside annapolis and restores Studes for a living. To contract him, go to the Community pulldown tab, in the dark blue area, near the top of the forum page. Click on the members list, click on the "J" in the alphabet, go to page 5 of the "J"s and click on the intials JDP. from there send him a private e-mail to see if he could do it for you and then wait fro his reply.
Mike

[mbstude]

I think JP's been busy selling stuff at Best Buy lately.

[rickauf]

Seriously?

i will look him up. does he have shop... or is he a private collector that does it on the side, etc. just wondering because, although new to Studes.. i did not know of any resto shops in this area.

thanks!
... also.. someone told me about a transmission shop (cannot remember the name) near Gettysburg pa, that favors Studes.. any info on these folks?
sounds like i have some very good options, and i really appreciate it!
rick

[Skip Lackie]

As Matthew noted, John Poulos has recently returned to full-time employment, and as a result, is posting here a lot less. I suspect he missed your original post. He does not have a full-time professional shop, but has been in the part-time Stude restoration, buying/selling, and parts vending for more than 30 years. He has many contacts in the Stude world, and also knows where to get work done in the Annapolis area that he can't do himself. Even if he doesn't have time to work on your car, he may be able to recommend someplace local that won't be intimidated by a 40 year-pld car. BTW, as noted, your trans is extremely similar to Ford automatics of the same era, so any experienced transmission shop should be able to handle it. And Stude brakes are just drum brakes -- like everyone else's drum brakes of that era. Even a well-equipped gas station should not find anything unusual about them.

As an aside, it's worth noting that members of SDC can purchase a copy of the membership roster from the club store. It lists names and addresses for all members, and phone numbers and email addresses for most. It comes in handy at times like this. In the meantime, you can email me at lackie at erols dot com and I'll give you John's email address.

[Bob Andrews]

Yep, JDP's a good choice if he still wants to do work in his shop. But be aware you hve to be patient contacting him. I tried for a month to reach him- PMs, e-mails, calls- and never did get a response to any of them. To this day. I had to pick up some equipment and tried to make arrangements that would include a visit, but he never responded, only through one post on some thread here that the machine would be by the garage door (and it was). So Linda and I loaded it when no one was home and went on our way.

If you do get any reponse, you can tell him I did get the equipment without incident. And tell him none of his contact info is working

[Bamajak]

Did you ever find Big John.............

[Studedude]

JDP's contact information:

Phone; 410-757-5147

email: avanti@erols.com

I have recently communicated with him, both by phone, and email.

BUT... one does have to realize that he is now involved in corporate retail sales, during the most busy season of the year.

Folks involved in such activity, generally do not have a life of their own until sometime in February.

That said, John will, indeed, know who in your area can help you, and will be glad to share that information with you!