The website looks good, but when I attempted email contact it bounced. Has anybody here dealt with this outfit?
http://antiquespeedometer.com/index.htm
Used to be Chris Cushman and another guy. They did a Stewart Model 26 for me about 12 years ago. It worked OK and looked great. I don't think they are in business any more.
I recommend Russ Furstnow.
Steve,
DO NOT deal with this outfit. My story with them:
I ordered a beautiful brass Jones speedometer from them ($1200). I sent $600 as deposit - the rest to be paid when shipped. The guy I dealt with was Phil Knighton who I believe runs this outfit. The months rolled by with no communication. Every few months I would call and leave messages and email. No response. After about a YEAR had gone by and some more unanswered messages and emails, I cancelled the check and just gave up. After about 14 months, I got an email saying my speedometer was ready! (By this time I had sold the car that it was intended for.)
I answered back saying he was way past a day late and a dollar short.
Regards,
Jon
Chris Cushman rebuilt a speedo for me, but that was many years ago. As Royce said, Russ is the go-to guy now.
From what I understand, Phil is the broker and another unnamed fellow does the actual repair. I and another person I know have not had good experiences with Phil and when I tried to contact the fellow who was doing the work I never received a return email.
Phil is a retired attorney who has worked for or has connections with the oil industry. That is my recollection.
Pol was Chis cushman's partner years ago. Chris quit long ago.
If anyone wants to get into speedometer repair I have a Sun speedometer repair/test outfit. PM me if interested.
Russ Furstnow is THE person to have restore your speedometer. He wrote the M.T.F.C.A. book on restoring speedometers.
He's probably not the cheapest guy around but, he's reputable, honest, and knowledgeable.
There used to be a speedometer repair shop in Bell Gardens on Florence Ave. that I had repair an early Cushman Scooter speedometer. I had sent it to an "expert" that advertised in the Cushman Club magazine.
When I got it back from the "expert" (paid in advance, of course), he had completely ruined the original face, stuck a vinyl sticker of a newer face over it, and mailed it back with the movement out of the housing. He had thrown away the odometer barrel because "The new face covers the hole anyway".
When I called him to complain, he said something to the effect of "Well, that's the best I could do with it".
Faced with a speedometer that was actually in worse condition than it had been when I mailed it, I took it to the speedometer shop in B. G.
They had been in the same location since the 50's and figured they would know how to fix it.
I was right. They had the parts (with the exception of the face) and the guy I talked to knew how to repair it.
One little problem. They fired the guy before he had a chance to call me to tell me it was done. Six months passed before I went to the shop to check on the progress to find he was a goner.
The new guy had no knowledge of my speedo. A week later, I got a call from the new guy to tell me that they had found my speedo and he would bring it by my house, "Cash only".
He showed up with gage-in-hand. It was all together (including a brand new odometer barrel). I paid him cash, which he promptly shoved into his pocket, climbed into his car, and sped away. I doubt seriously that the money ever went into the till at the shop.
O.k., everybody wake up now. I can hear you snoring from here.
Moral to the story, send it to Russ.
I sent my Stewart Model 160 to Bob's Speedometer in Michigan. They did exactly as I asked and the performance of the speedometer was great when I tried it out last weekend! It took longer than expected, but didn't go over budget. I would use them again.
Cheers,
Willis
The reality is that anybody who is doing good work on archaic machines or parts today is going to be behind, behind, behind. If you are looking for fast, good and cheap it ain't gonna happen. Everybody I know who used to do good work on things like speedometers, carburetors, gauges, etc., is old and getting older every day. A lot of the guys I used to know have died, got too old to work or just got tired of it.
Back to the shop, I'm working on a Stromberg O-2 for a guy in Montgomery, Alabama.
steve, that website does look good. But that guy never responds.
I agree Russ Furstnow is the man. I have had dealings with him with regards to speedo restores and parts and found him to be extremely capable and very honest.
I just bought a complete Stewart speedometer setup from Russ Furstnow for my 16'.
I am thoroughly satisfied. He is great to do business with.
I probably need a different wheel gear than the one I got from Russ (My fault.)
I failed to mention that I run Universal "T-Driver" tires.
They seem to be slightly oversized. Am I correct?
First of all, thanks for all the positive comments and support. I try my best to do quality work, and I tell my customers that I don't want to keep their speedometer any longer than they want me to keep it!! The tough thing is to keep a parts inventory on speedometers since very few parts are being reproduced today...and that also can become a cost factor.
Mike, in regards to your road gear question, Universal T Driver tires are MUCH larger than other 30 X 3 12" tires. They are great tires, but the speed will register slower due to their size.
Finally, if I can help with your speedometer questions, please contact me at 1stnow@msn.com.
RussFurstnow
Thanks Russ. Your knowledge is second to none and work impeccable. We are fortunate to have men like you and Stan keeping us going (and knowing how fast we're going).
Who ever contacted me about a Sun speedometer tester please send again. I fat fingered the delete button. Thanks, PK.
very interesting, I have some speedo issues I am going to have to look into, thanks.
Whenever I see a T with a speedometer I like to ask the owner why the front wheel drive in on just one wheel. Some of them take it absolutely seriously.