Forums » Off-topic discussion » GRM approved Mechanics 1 2

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  Dec. 25, 2010 9:24 a.m. Jeff Dork

  Hi everyone, Merry Christmas.

  I was just reading the I hate mechanics thread and it got me thinking. We need a thread for GRM member/user approved mechanics. It would be a great resource to have, that way you would know about the father/son shop that does great work that can't afford to advertise other than by word of mouth.

  So I'm thinking if you know of a good mechanic (should be someone you've dealt with) you would post something like this at the top of the post:

  City: State or Province: Name of Shop: Contact name:

  This could become a great resource. It would have saved me a ton of money on my recent MPV debacle in Toronto where I didn't know anyone and got hosed at a stealer.

  Thanks,

  Jeff

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  Dec. 25, 2010 12:44 p.m. Zomby woof Dork

  MT Motorsport

  Richmond hill Ontario

  905-597-6668

  Excellent, honest mechanics and megasquirt specialist.

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  Dec. 25, 2010 1:32 p.m. Matt B HalfDork

  Approved by GRM itself (featured in mag before) and my rinky-dink service requests. (Besides my little services, I did organize a dyno day there for a handful of Integra owners that went much smoother than I imagined)

  Balanced Performance Motorsports Suite 101 720 North Price Rd., Sugr Hill, GA 30518 (678) 546-3133

  http://balancedperformance.com/

  That said, I miss Dr. Hondaa in Tucker, GA. The owner, Jim, was the coolest, down-to-earth, friendliest, most knowledgeable mechanic I ever did meet. The vintage Ferraris and Italian fare that often graced the shop were and extra bonus too. (He and his guys migrated from the old ATL Ferrari dealership in the 80's). Jim deserves his retirement, but dammit if I don't wish someone would have taken up the torch and kept the place and it's people going.

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  Dec. 25, 2010 2:01 p.m. Lesley SuperDork

  Thompson & Thompson Automotive, Peterborough, Ontario 705-743-4452

  Mopar guys who drag race and restore all kinds of custom vehicles (currently have a Packard hearse from The Godfather in the shop!). Really great people, make sure you have lots of time since they love to talk. Dead-honest, and can figure any kind of mess out, whether it's a muscle car or import. They did the Frankenstein swap on the Mighty Dak.

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  Dec. 25, 2010 2:18 p.m. Mental SuperDork

  Bavarian Autohaus Moore/Norman Oklahoma. Don't be fooled by the appearance, they are good, honest, and approved by BMW USA for Warranty work.

  5727 York Drive Norman, OK 73069-9505 405-364-7260.

  "Guns make you stupid. Duct tape makes you smart." - Micheal Weston

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  Dec. 25, 2010 8:15 p.m. Woody SuperDork

  Murray Bros. Garage

  Woodbury, CT

  These guys are the real deal. Tune ups, tire mounting, emissions tests and much, much more.

  http://murraybrothersgarage.com/

  Andrew built this car by hand. He drives it to work.

  

  Police often question him, just because they find him interesting.

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  Dec. 25, 2010 9:00 p.m. Jeff Dork

  Fantastic, let's keep this going. Thanks Zomby and Lesley for the local reco's. I can use them.

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  Dec. 25, 2010 9:35 p.m. oldtin Dork

  Chassis service, beach park, Illinois 847.336.2305

  Owner is Jim. Driveline and chassis work. In his younger days Jim did formula 1 wrenching with some work on Jack Brabham's cars.

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  Dec. 25, 2010 10:43 p.m. Sonic Dork

  HP Engineering, 9 Walts Way, Narragansett, RI 02882
  401-789-6700
  Owner is Hank Pacitto, a racer and general great guy, tell him Sonic from DFH sent you.
  

  For any European car, especially M-B, Vanderveer Motors in Norwood MA is fantastic. I completely trust Peter and the work he does, as he takes care of my Mom's cars. He gives appropriate advice, and is honest about what needs to be done and what can wait, and what to spend the extra for quality parts, and what can be the cheap stuff. I am completely at ease with my mom getting her car serviced there, so much so that I don't even ask to know what he is going to do, I just find out about it later and always agree.
  http://www.vanderveermotors.com/
  930 Washington St, Norwood, MA, 781-255-0797

  Chris - 2007 BABE champion, 2008 2nd place. Miata, MGA, DiscoII 2010 - Trifecta of Crap in the Wartburg. $2002, $2006 $2010 challenger

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  Dec. 26, 2010 9:10 a.m. Javelin SuperDork

  Bob's Lil Car Hospital

  Kelso, WA

  360-577-1187

  Website

  GREAT people, family owned and run. They mostly do the normal maintenance and repair, but can fix anything. They regularly serviced my old neighbor's 1959 Buick Electra, they fixed my go-kart, installed the rollbar in my Miata, and have done engine swaps and restorations (mechanical) including a turbo Corvair last time I was there!

  Michael Pinto - 73 AMC Javelin / GoKart / 93 Miata STS / 01 Grand Prix GT

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  Dec. 26, 2010 10:43 p.m. Jeff Dork

  This is great, let's keep it up.

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  Dec. 26, 2010 10:56 p.m. Tom Heath Webmaster

  foreshadowing
  Great thread!
  /foreshadowing
  

  

  I tried drag racing, but kept blowing the apex for turn 2... Xbox Live gamertag— GRM Tom

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  Dec. 27, 2010 7:31 a.m. PubBurgers Dork

  Tim's Auto Service

  On Airway Rd. in Dayton, OH. (937) 252-8467.

  Good guy. Prices are just OK but he does great work. I take all my "I don't have time to deal with this" repairs to him.

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  Dec. 27, 2010 10:16 a.m. Type Q HalfDork

  For the San Francisco Bay area,
  

  PR Motorsports in Hayward for Toyota, Honda, most importantly MIATA repairs and Go Fast bits. The shop has been building very fast Mazda's for 30+ years.

  For emissions and general repairs, Acutech Auto in South San Francisco.

  Tough times don't last. Tough people do.

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  Dec. 27, 2010 10:44 a.m. AngryCorvair SuperDork

  Bowie MD, Auto Tech Car Care, 7950 Annapolis Rd, 301-464-9200. Owned by a close personal friend of mine. Ask for David or Greg, tell 'em Patrick sent you. Not a hot-rod shop by any means, but they're awesome at diagnostic stuff and they do everything except body and paint. All the latest tools, and they put a very high emphasis on training / competence at using those tools.

  if you're gonna be a bear.... be a grizzly bear!

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  Dec. 27, 2010 2:37 p.m. Jeff Dork

  Tom Heath wrote: foreshadowing Great thread! /foreshadowing

  Tom, any way we could sticky this or make it easily found? I know lots of folks ask for stickies for threads, but this one might be worth it. I leave it to your capable hands.

  Jeff

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  Dec. 27, 2010 2:50 p.m. cwh SuperDork

  Southeast Florida- Hardee's Tire in Hollywood. Honest, fair price, stand behind their work, can/ will fix just about anything. Not a race shop, but I've done business with them for over 10 years. Chuck and Woody. 954-922-1568.

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  Dec. 27, 2010 3:15 p.m. alex SuperDork

  J Hinrichs Auto Repair
  217 Upton
  St. Louis, MO 63111
  (314) 352-9463
  Contact: Rusty or Jerry (they're the only guys there)

  This is a real old-school shop that's been in the Hinrich (pr. HINE-rick) family since the '30s. Nothing fancy - no race team or factory connections - just a couple guys who've been fixing cars all their lives. They run maybe the messiest but most productive and successful (in terms of getting it fixed right the first time it goes out the door) repair shop I've personally encountered in my life in this town. Honest, knowledgeable, deeply weird but totally trustworthy guys.

  The only two things in life that make it worth livin' are guitars that tune good and firm feelin' women.

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  Dec. 27, 2010 3:45 p.m. rob_lewis Dork

  Jeff wrote:

  Tom Heath wrote: foreshadowing Great thread! /foreshadowing

  Tom, any way we could sticky this or make it easily found? I know lots of folks ask for stickies for threads, but this one might be worth it. I leave it to your capable hands.

  Jeff

  Or, is there any way to link it to a Google earth page thingy like our location is?

  -Rob

  "I berkleyed up the kink!" My 8 year old after losing a race by .025 seconds.

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  Dec. 27, 2010 5:33 p.m. JoeyM Dork

  Lance's Automotive Repair
  500 Avenue K, Winter Haven, FL
  (863) 299-0044

  Definitely the most honest mechanic in town. A great guy who can fix anything from a daily drivers to a ski boat.

  914Driver: "Except for us {GRMers} who the hell would build a 1932 Japanese car?"

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  Dec. 28, 2010 9:15 a.m. curtis73 HalfDork

  I'll throw my own name in the hat.

  Cottman Transmission
  1405 N I-35
  Round Rock TX (also South Austin and Cedar Park)
  78664
  Call Curtis at 512-388-3388.

  My builder is a rockstar. He tears into Jatcos, ZFs, RE5s, Manuals, you name it. He's gooood. I'm honest to a fault, so I won't BS you.

  Since its a corporate business, we often don't go too heavily into custom stuff, but we are pretty much full-service. Bolt-on upgrades for suspension and such are no problem, but we don't really have the facilities or profit structure for things like putting an LS1 in a Miata, or converting from auto to manual. We don't do alignments, A/C, or tires, but pretty much anything else we can tackle. For alignments, A/C and tires, there is a Firestone about a block away that is surprisingly good and I can toss you over to them with some discounts.

  Look online for some coupons. Somewhere floating around is a $39.99 coupon for an auto trans service (gasket, filter, 5qts) and a $100 off trans rebuild. Otherwise just mention that you are on the GRM forums and I'll just cut you a deal.

  I'm bringing sexy back

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  Dec. 28, 2010 9:46 a.m. mndsm Dork

  MAPerformance- Plymouth MN.

  They did the custom intake mani on my ms3, and the work is unbelievable. Also do custom hardcore fab work (They currently have a Rhino side-by-side in the shop, with a Honda D-series in it, because they were bored) also have an 8sec FD with a 4g63 and the worlds scariest turbo in it, have built NUMEROUS high HP cars, and one time I was in there, had an RB25 shortblock swapped into a 74? Datsun 240z.

  Go fast or go broke.

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  Feb. 3, 2012 4:22 p.m. Brett_Murphy Dork

  Bump.

  If I find someone in the Raleigh, NC area I'll let everyone know. I am seriously looking.

  If brute force isn't solving your problem, you're not using enough.

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  Feb. 3, 2012 4:48 p.m. ReverendDexter SuperDork

  Santa Rosa, CA:

  Dan Clary Automotive.

  Dan's a great guy and local autocrosser. He's who I take my Mustang to for all the stuff I can't do (or don't want to do and can afford to farm out ). He's built up a pretty crazy SVO and he's very familiar with Mustang aftermarket supsension.

  Hammond Autowerks

  Craig is another local autocrosser, and his shop specializes in German cars. I have no experience with him outside of the AX club, but I wouldn't hesitate going to him if I ever had a Merc/BMW/Poor-shuh.

  I don't care how fast I'm going, just that I'm going as fast as I can.

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  Feb. 3, 2012 5:11 p.m. friedgreencorrado SuperDork

  Barry Palmer Auto
  787-A South Marietta Pkwy.
  Marietta, GA 30060
  

  VW, Audi, and the occasional BMW. Barry's son Mikel does most of the wrenching these days. Serious enthusiasts, Barry used to club race (SCCA SS and IT), and Mikel has built a 16v G60 that does this:
  

  http://forum.vwsport.com/pics/data/500/16V_G60_9_6_2007.jpg

  How can it be a midlife crisis, when I've driven sportscars my entire life?

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