"14 repair/restoration shops near DC

[walter]

My brother and I recently inherited our Father's first car-a '14 Touring. It needs a new wheel,cleaning out or replacement of the gas tank and my brother wants to add electric starting capability. While we'd love to use and enjoy the car, neither of us is inclined to take on these projects. While the wheel is something we could do, the other two are more than the standard, "let's go tinker with the "T."
Any recommendations as to shops near Washington, DC?

Thank you.

[Scott_Conger]

To your direct question, someone will undoubtedly chime in very quickly.

Now unrequested and perhaps unwanted advice: once your dad's car is operable, the car should be able to easily started with the crank alone. Two of my 4 T's are stem-winders and they start just fine with little drama.

Welcome to the affliction, and best wishes for many happy miles.

[walter]

Scott,
Definitely agree - she starts amazingly well with the crank. The one issue is that most of the roads around here are busy and filled with crazy drivers, all rushing to get someplace faster than the next person. My brother isn't thrilled with the idea of the car stopping on a busy road and getting out to stand in front of the car and crank it. Not sure he's entirely incorrect.
Thank you.

[Scott_Conger]

Understand completely.

As a refugee from Urban frenzy, I can sympathize. Once you are fully acquainted with driving it, you'll find that stalling is an exceedingly rare occurence. Not likely to assuage your brother's concern, hearing that from a complete stranger.

In any event, please enjoy the car and use it. You will find that you begin to reflect on things as "before the T" and "after the 'T"

[Tom Hicks]

Chevy Chase and NW is a beautiful area and perfect for driving T's!


If you are unfamiliar with how your T handles and its capabilities, I suggest that you start by driving suburban roads between 2 and 5 a.m. You might need some auxiliary lighting for the rear, you can get a kit that is easy to put on and take off. Then drive! When you are totally familiar with your car and can drive without thinking about which pedal to push or when to push it, you can do daylight driving. Begin day time driving on a Sunday to get familiar with the routes you want to take, good places to pull over, what lane you want, etc.

The basic rules for me are:

1. No rush hour driving
2. Stay on streets with 35 mph limit if possible
3. Fair weather only
4. Drive on roads I am familiar with

My guess is you have many miles of 35 mph streets right in CC, and by navigating carefully you can go almost anywhere and only have to cross higher speed roads, seldom drive on them. You should be able to access DC this way and it is also a great place to drive your T.

City streets with lower speed limits can be safe if you are careful. They do take constant attention to where you are going and defensive driving. I find the city more interesting to drive than back roads. And everyone waves!

And, I have not yet had a problem with stalling out while driving.

[Rich Bingham]

Of all the things one frets over, it's usually something else entirely unforseen that "gets" ya.

[John kuehn]

I think “a busy road” says a lot. Most Model T’s don’t get up and go like the majority of cars and trucks these days. Some folks like me live in an area where there are farm to market roads and far enough away from a large city to be able to drive a T without much trouble. But cruising along at 30mph and seeing a car come up behind you running 60+ mph can get scary! A slow moving vehicle sign can help with that.
Some T owners that live in cities get a trailer and go out of town to drive their cars to feel more safe.
The trouble is always having to watch the other folks that aren’t use to driving with somebody going 30mph in highly traveled areas. Some T owners do drive with a steady amount of traffic but not me. I dont trust the “faster” drivers.

[Tom Hicks]

City driving is good, just avoid rush hour and major arteries.

Here is a map of Chevy Chase:

https://www.bing.com/maps?q=map+chevy+c ... qwO0ezn%21

I don't see speed limits, but I suspect that you can drive through residential areas to parallel most of the main roads. Typical subdivisions around Richmond have 25 - 35 mph speed limits, are easy to pull over to the side on the streets, and seldom have traffic. I suspect Chevy Chase is similar.

I drive almost daily weather permitting, and I find suburbs and city driving are both good!

Most of the main suburban roads that have a 45 - 55 limit also have a paved shoulder that I can easily pull over on. Traffic tends to run in packs determined by lights, I can drive the shoulder for a minute and the pack goes by. Normally I avoid these roads, but I drive them ocassionlally depending on where I need to go, and I have not had a problem yet.

There are a lot of roads further out in the county that have no shoulders and deep ditches. Senic farmland and forests, but very dangerous as people really fly on these roads and rightfully get aggravated when they have to follow someone who is driving well below the speed limit and can't or won't pull over to allow traffic to pass. I cruise country roads sometimes, the most dangerous have a 45 - 55 limit and are twisting and winding. You can go around a curve or over a hill and someone following will not see you until they are right on your butt. I consider these back roads the most dangerous area to drive a T.

So where ever I drive my T's I try to take a lot of things into consideration, and I always try to not inconvenience other drivers.

Bottom line, suburban and city driving is GOOD!

[walter]

Thank you for all of the responses.

Actually, my brother and I have been driving the car off and on for years. We're pretty comfortable with that and we may just decide to stick, as much as possible, to the more residential streets.

i also understand from one friend with experience in the matter that adding electric start may entail much more than we are interested in doing.

Still looking for a shop to do the wheel and the gas tank.

Happy Motoring!

[Scott_Conger]

Walter

the work entailed to add a starter is considerable: pulling the engine and stripping down the transmission to get to the flywheel to update it with a ring gear, etc.

If you do A wheel, I'd do in a pair (fornts or rears). Shipping or bringing to Calimer's or Stutzman are both great choices though you'd need to find someone to remove the wheels if you cannot.

To get the tank out for cleaning and sealing, the body will likely have to be lifted...a shortsight on the factory for pre-15 Ts. Not an enormous amount of work, but wanted to warn you that the cost may be higher than you would think for a simple fuel tank fix. A restoration shop will lift the body...a corner garage will want to cut away at the seat frame (please for posterity, don't do that). I'll add, but am not necessarily leading you in that direction, that new tanks are not that costly and may bring joy cheaper and more certain than a repaired original. Myself, I am always torn over these sorts of decisions as I like to keep as original as possible. If you choose to go to new, keep the old tank and stash it away somewhere for future generations.

Best wishes to find THE shop soon.

[walter]

Scott,
Very helpful.
Thank you,
Walter

[Model T Mark]

I’m a little further away but have 30 plus years of restoration experience. Mainly Model Ts if your interested, I’m in southern Michigan. I have experience with partial restoration to complete restorations. You may contact me at meyre14t@yahoo.com.

[walter]

Mark,
Thank you. I've seen your posts for some time on the Forum and have heard good things about your work. I'm hoping to find something closer but, will certainly be in contact if that doesn't pan out.
Regards,
Walter