The Egyptian Body Shop

"I am a Business major at the University of Dayton. I came to interview Don "Smokey" for a class business project I had for my Entrepreneurial management class. I gained so much insight by diving into his experience and expertise in this business. Don had so much advice and wisdom to give me, I was given a full tour and I got to see his collection of classical American cars, including his very own 1946 Willys jeep. I recommend going to their open house to see for yourself!"

"Top car restoration and old school pin striping. True legend get him to do your work soon he is getting up in age not too many wonders left. Great great great. He is in process of hiring new body man to help. Top quality man. Don surgery was successful he said feeling like new. Don't think he is going to be able to take on anything new or large project age is catching up......"

"Old school guy with honest answers and if he can't get to it he will refer you to someone just as good. Low staffed from what he told me but even on a walker this man keeps pushing and I can respect the hustle. Check him out cause he won't let you leave without helping you get what you need."

"Its comforting to know thought and consideration is behind every bit of the work being performed and never having have to second guess quality or if something is being done correctly!!"

"Don is a great guy. A rare breed of old school hard work ethic coupled with a desire to produce quality designs and creations. However, I just can't in all fairness, and in good conscience, recommend his shop to other people. I have a rare Dodge Power Wagon that I wanted to have the front & rear bumpers, front grill, and wheel well inserts treated in Line-x, then have the grill inserts and tow hooks powder coated red to match the truck paint, and lastly have the chrome dodge & ram badges painted flat black & red to match the bumpers. 8 of the 12 badges and emblems his shop painted peeled and flaked off within a few weeks. The truck was garage kept and rarely driven (my 3rd car). I sent Don the pictures and explained what happened, and he seemed mildly interested in fixing the failures. He asked if I powerwashed the truck or did something else to it, then offered to fix it if I drive the truck back to OH from DC. When I told him that was an unreasonable expectation and asked him to reimburse me for the labor his shop charged to paint and install those emblems & that I'll have it fixed here in DC, he suggested I pay another body shop to remove all those badges and emblems, package them up, pay to ship them to him to examine & maybe fix, & then pay a shop to reinstall them, and said "sorry S**t happens", that was disappointing since I really like Don, and it's clear that his workers failed to properly prep the parts before painting. Don's been doing this for 40yrs or more, & he clearly has forgotten more about cars and restoration than most people will ever know, but I think for very basic jobs like mine, complacency and lack of attention to detail were clearly evident. For nearly $4K, there's better options for that type work."