How to find a good machine shop?

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Pajamarama

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At some point in the next 6 months, I'll be taking out the F22B1 from my Accord Wagon and getting the block worked on by a machine shop. I have been told the head is warped beyond repair but I'd like a second opinion from a machinist.

First thing I have to admit is that I have little/no experience doing this. It's a first time thing that I'm doing for fun and to learn. At the end of it, I may have a working engine as a bonus.
smile.gif


I have no idea how to tell the good machine shops from the bad ones. I don't really have any friends or coworkers who are into cars so I can't get any recommendations from them. Google and the internet seems to be of limited use -- very limited results in my area when doing web searches.

So my question is: how does a newbie choose which machine shop to use? I'm in Atlanta, GA -- I'm not expecting anyone to recommend one in my area but if anyone can it would be great.

Thanks.
 
unles you this all the time i would get a good mechanic and have him get a engine from Jasper engine. in the long run it might cost less. this way you wont be doing any rework. just an old car guy.
 
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Find out where the local car shows are. You know those parking lots or local parks where all the people who have a nice old car bring their vehicles and pop the hoods and hang out for hours. Auto parts stores can tell you where they are if you don't know. Go to one of those shows and talk to the owners of the vehicles. They will tell you where to go for any car service: trany work, engine work, body work, interior work, exhaust work, electrical work, junk yard to find parts that are hard to get, you name it. If you want to find out who to see to get something done right, those are the people who have been there and done that.
 
Originally Posted By: morris
unles you this all the time i would get a good mechanic and have him get a engine from Jasper engine. in the long run it might cost less. this way you wont be doing any rework. just an old car guy.


^^ this^^^^^
 
I do welding for two local automotive mach shops at times. Look for shops that do automotive work. They will have the machines for block abd head work and also a cleaning machine that completly cleans the heads and block. As already mentioned, check with good repair shops. They will know the qualified shops in your area.
 
Originally Posted By: Doog
Originally Posted By: morris
unles you this all the time i would get a good mechanic and have him get a engine from Jasper engine. in the long run it might cost less. this way you wont be doing any rework. just an old car guy.


^^ this^^^^^


Went through the "Get a Price" thing on the Jasper website.

Apparently they don't handle engines for my car.
 
Originally Posted By: Pajamarama
Originally Posted By: Doog
Originally Posted By: morris
unles you this all the time i would get a good mechanic and have him get a engine from Jasper engine. in the long run it might cost less. this way you wont be doing any rework. just an old car guy.


^^ this^^^^^


Went through the "Get a Price" thing on the Jasper website.

Apparently they don't handle engines for my car.


Look here: http://www.jdmenginesamurai.com/jdm_engine_guide.htm

or here: http://www.japanmotorimport.com/
 
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One thing to look for is a clean shop. An engine put together in a dirty shop is an engine not long for this world.

While a shop can have dirty sections for removing engines or other mechanical work, there has to be at least one clean well lit section for putting it all back together. You don't want someone assembling an engine in an area where it is going to pick up dirt, and that dirt is not going to be seen.

I know one high end engine shop where they build very expensive engines good enough to run in some serious racing, and that entire shop is unbelievably clean and very well lit.
 
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I've been through a few unpleasant machine shop experiences before I found these guys:

http://www.promarengine.com

They are a small but high volume shop and do nice work, easy to deal with too. How it works; purchase the rebuilt engine, install it, then ship back the old core, (postage paid of course).

If they don't have one in stock, ship your engine, they rebuild and send it back.

Not gonna be cheap however, rebuilds are expensive these days.
 
Originally Posted By: Rock_Hudstone
I've been through a few unpleasant machine shop experiences before I found these guys:

http://www.promarengine.com

They are a small but high volume shop and do nice work, easy to deal with too. How it works; purchase the rebuilt engine, install it, then ship back the old core, (postage paid of course).

If they don't have one in stock, ship your engine, they rebuild and send it back.

Not gonna be cheap however, rebuilds are expensive these days.


Checked out the site. Very impressive. Looks like they do good work. But $2400 to rebuild my engine ain't gonna happen. Paid $2100 for the whole car. Working on the engine myself or scrapping the car are the only options. I'd like to do it myself but if this isn't something a novice can do I guess it's good to find out now.
 
It's hardly the end of the world provided you have a good place to do the work indoors with decent lighting. If you were planning to pull the head off outside where wind could blow dirt around this might be the time to quit early.

Even if your head turns out to be scrap the machine shop should be able to source a good core, clean it all pretty-like, and do a valve job. Once you get it home, you get to screw it all up good and listen to it run.
 
Originally Posted By: Pajamarama
Originally Posted By: Rock_Hudstone
I've been through a few unpleasant machine shop experiences before I found these guys:

http://www.promarengine.com

They are a small but high volume shop and do nice work, easy to deal with too. How it works; purchase the rebuilt engine, install it, then ship back the old core, (postage paid of course).

If they don't have one in stock, ship your engine, they rebuild and send it back.

Not gonna be cheap however, rebuilds are expensive these days.


Checked out the site. Very impressive. Looks like they do good work. But $2400 to rebuild my engine ain't gonna happen. Paid $2100 for the whole car. Working on the engine myself or scrapping the car are the only options. I'd like to do it myself but if this isn't something a novice can do I guess it's good to find out now.


That is why I would look at something like a JDM or similar for $500-700. You may get lucky and find a good boneyard engine for $250-300
 
Are you just pulling the head? If not by the time you rebuild a long block, it would be easier and more cost effective to just find one already rebuilt/remanufactured with a warranty.

When you go inside, see what they have laying around. Does it look like a lot of high dollar engine builds. Is it clean? Do they take care of their equipment? Ask the guys at the local race track who they use.
 
I live in Atlanta area also. Try these guys.

http://www.doverusa.com/products.php

I bought some reman heads for my Ranger a couple years ago (exhaust manifold stud broke off). Seem to have a good rep.

They're just south of the airport. I didn't check to see if they have yours in stock but they do the work in-house. If nothing else, talking with them can be an informative conversation. The guys I spoke with were friendly and seemed informed.

Like others have said, the head work may be sufficient to get the engine going again. To me it depends on the miles on the engine already. A low mileage used engine may be a better investment, though it is a risk obviously.

Then again, if you're just doing it to learn, then consider it the cost of tuition at the School of Curiousity.
smile.gif


Good luck and keep us posted.
 
RockAuto has your engine for $1470 + shipping - discount. Plus $800 or so to install it.

I got a Marshall engine through RockAuto. Cheaper than going to Marshall themselves or Jasper.

I have a little over 30K on the engine and going fine.

You want a reman engine vs rebuilt.
 
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"Apparently they don't handle engines for my car." i was a fraid of that. it seams to me that there is a LOT of different engines. my self i dont go to shops that run race cars. cause on thru, fri they will be working on the race car, for the weekend allso racers sometimes seam to think that the factory doesnt know how to build cars.
 
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