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It is with some compunction that I post this as I am not in the habit of bad-mouthing companies, but my experience with the subject business has left me much less than happy and I thought I should make public my experience to see if anyone else has had dealings with them and to warn those who may be considering their services.

When I bought my car early in 2016, the glass face on the clock was broken and the clock did not work. After considerable investigation online, I found that a replacement glass was not that easy to come by, as the clock numbers are 'painted' on the inside of the glass. I was able to track down an identical unit on Ebay (non functioning, but with a good glass) and, after emailing back and forth with Jim at Smiths Classic Clocks, I was assured that he would be able to make one whole clock out of mine and the donor piece I had rounded up online. I did send them in, paid for 'a repair' and 'a shipping' through his online order page and soon received the clock(s) back. I was doing a lot of rewiring and other work on the car and it ended up being several months before I actually reinstalled the clock and when I twisted the fuse holder together, the clock started ticking and I thought I was in business. Unfortunately, that only lasted a few seconds and then nothing. I of course checked all the obvious things, power, ground, wires etc., and everything checked out.

I then emailed Smiths and was told to return the unit(s) back to them and I went through the whole process over again. Because it was past the 90 day warranty, I was billed a second time. When I got the clock back I decided to check it out right away, on a 6 volt battery I had in my shop: identical result; it ticked for a few seconds and then nothing. On top of this, the hands were way out of sync; when the minute hand was on 12, the hour hand was halfway between two numbers.

I emailed them back almost 2 weeks ago and have not even received a reply. Frustrated, I started checking with other repair facilities and landed on Clock Works in Wisconsin. I mailed the clock(s) to them and once received, they called and informed me that virtually nothing had been done to the internal workings of the clock. The guy said it looked like Smiths might have sprayed a bit of lubricant into the movement, but nothing else. Apparently, the unit had been reassembled incorrectly too. He also said that, like me, he didn't want to badmouth any of his competition, but that Smiths Classic Clocks was very well known to him, and not in a good way. He advised me that they will be able to repair my clock and Clock Works guarantees their work for a year (vs. 90 days) and while their fee is a bit more, it is still, very reasonable. (certainly less than the two bills combined from Smiths AND the double shipping!)

Don't know if anybody else out there has had dealings with Smiths, but hope this will be a red flag that at least one customer of theirs is utterly dissatisfied.

Sad to say I had a similar experience. Basically the owner is not a clock mechanic IMHO, but a clock vendor. He "fixes" clocks by taking movements from similar clocks and installing them. He told me he would like to sell the business. Maybe clock works will buy his inventory of clocks. The clock he fixed for me runs 15 min fast per day and cannot run slower because it has a controlling spring from another clock that can't be adjusted. It's way to the left of "0", as far as it will go. When we are done with this update on the Duchess, I may send it to Clock Works to get it right.

I understand that battery powered quartz clock movements are available for retro fitting the original movements. No direct experience with the quartz fix, but have heard from those who have done it that they are satisfied with the change. JWL

Not surprised to hear of 'similar experiences'. I have always wondered about those testimonial pages on business websites - always full of glowing accolades; but they obviously don't post the 'bad ones'!!! It really isn't that accurate of a dipstick on customer satisfaction, but it does give one a 'false sense of security' when deciding on who to deal with!?!?!

Re the quartz conversion, yes, it is an option and Clock Works does them - apparently one can go with a 6/12 volt power option, or a battery operated version. I think it significantly changes the look of the back of the clock and, in as much as that is very visible when the glove box door is opened on the '39, I thought I would try and keep it original. And, not that I ever plan on showing my car, as it is a daily driver, but I have read that quartz conversions warrant demerit points when a car is judged. Just sayin'.

I had a quartz conversion done decades ago by Borg (not THAT Borg!) themselves, who made the original clock and it was impossible to tell it from an original front or back. They even installed a new lens. The only clue was that the second hand swept rather than ticked through the seconds but it kept perfect time and always worked even when the car sat untouched outdoors for years and years at a time. Of course, it was a larger clock than that of a prewar Packard but still, they can possibly put it inside the original housing.

To be fair, I wanted to update this post with the resolution I reached with Jim at Smiths Classic Clocks. I did not hear back from him after informing them that my clock did not work following the second go-round with his repair shop and so I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. A couple of days after that, I received an email from Jim who openly admitted that he had 'dropped the ball' with this transaction and said he was sorry and would refund my money. He has since done this and I feel he has acted reasonably and taken responsibility for failing to repair my clock.

He DID maintain that the clock worked fine at his end both times and cited possible 'amperage issues' with my power source. I had hooked it up in the car the first time and the battery was starting the engine fine and so I presumed it would run the clock. The second time I checked it with a 6 volt battery on my bench that I had just charged. The result was the same both times: it ticked for a few seconds and then quit. Can anybody shed any light on this!?!?!?

irrespective, it is on the way back from Clock Works in Wisconsin and I will test it immediately upon receipt. I guess that will tell 'the final story'.

To finish this 'tale' off, I did want to post that I received my clock back from Clock Works in Wisconsin
http://www.clockwks.com/The_Clock_Worx.html
I hooked it up to the same battery it failed to work on previously, (when returned to me by Smiths) and it is now keeping perfect time. Clock Works did a beautiful job of reassembling it so the glass does not rattle, and when I went to set the time, I could not believe how easily the hands/movement adjusted. No problem recommending these guys!