Just as the topic states........What should I look for in a reputable shop? What things should I talk to them about having done to the motor, before deciding where to go?
I'm gettig ready to build my 2.4 for high boost, and need some direction.
this one might be good for a sticky
Jason
USACi =>146.9db
14.88 @ 90.73MPH =>GM Charger, Motor Mounts, Catback exhaust
well just from my recent experience..
find out if they do all their own work, and if they dont..what parts of your build some other place is gonna do. personally i would only go to a place that does all their own work
i dont know how much you're gonna spend but its usually pricey to do this stuff... before you talk about price a shop should be willing to give you a tour of the place, the machines/tools etc.
how much do you know about what you want done to your engine? parts, machine work...and so on. do you have the parts, do you want them to get your the parts..etc.. what brand parts do they deal with.. even if you know what you want to do ask 'em their opinion, you may be suprised at the answer you get.
a good shop should have menu pricing for most jobs i would think
be very clear on details and have them written down so you know what's getting done.. anythings that missed means you wont get it back when you expect it
look for a place thats been around a while.. like 20 years or more.. just my opinion.
are you having just the motor built or are you having someone do all the labour of taking it apart and putting it together? i dont know that you'd find a shop that does the whole thing.. but maybe
other thing is when do you need it back? if you change your mind, or need to order parts mid way through it'll likely delay something
14.82 @ 97 mph
Jason, hop on mnsportcompacts. I'm sure quite a few of the guys can lead you to someone.
Totaled 2008
Also bring some info on a 2.3 oil swap. Cause if I was you I wouldn't build an LD9 without doing this swap.
Performance machine shops are built on reputations. A good one will have a good rep, and visa versa.
Know what a shop is good at before even going there.
Taking a tour as mentioned earlier is nice, but not always possible.....insurance reasons.
You also want a shop that you arent the only one asking questions.
For example, when I was getting my motor machined, I asked around, and found the best shop in the area for bottom end work. Since that is what I was getting done.....perfect. I went to meet with the owner, and talked about my build. He asked what I was doing with the motor....boost, DD or race, or both....what all I wanted him to do, and what he thought should be done on top of that (which I would take his advice if possible).
I supplied all the parts for him. Throughout the process of him machining everything as well as assembling the rotating assembly, we had the wrong connecting rods, which I was able to swap out quickly for him, and the main bearings I had supplied (federal mogel) had a hair to much gap. He ordered in a set of clevites, which put the gap well within spec.
You want to find a shop that does similar builds.....a good 4-popper background is essential for someone doing work on my motor. If I was looking to have a SBC done, I can find reputable shops all over the area, but a turbo 4-cyl build, only a couple decent shops around.
go to a track, see what people are running, and ask where they got there work done at. see if there is a machine shop that keeps popping up.
Jason had some very good suggestions. To add to what he said if you are building an engine for boost it is important to have the head checked for cracks and to make sure it is not warped. Any reputable shop would do this before they performed any work on the head. You will also want to get the head ported and polished. In order to this correctly they need to be able to make sure all ports flow equally. They would need a flowbench to do this. Not all shops have a flowbench which is no big deal as long as they have it tested. (Most shops that don't have one will take it to another shop that has one to test it)
Trey Latham (aka TRD Cav Fire) wrote:Also bring some info on a 2.3 oil swap. Cause if I was you I wouldn't build an LD9 without doing this swap.
I storngly agree here. There is a giant thread about how to do the 2.3 swap and many people such as my self that can help. This work should be cake for a machine shop.
This almost goes without saying but just any machine shop is not a automotive machine shop. So look for one that is an automotive machine shop as automotive machine shops have machines designed for automotive aplications. I have to get back to work now but I will try and add more to this later.
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