How to pick a machine shop

Just got back from a quick luchtime trip to the great city of Bunnell, Florida where I had the task of finding a shop to press couple bushings out of a pair of control arms. My Harbor Freight press just wasn't up to the task (actually, it probably was, but my collection of dies and such is lacking).

Anyway, Bunnell has two kinds of shops: The kind that specialize in selling tires and oil changes to old ladies and rarely get their hands dirty, and the kind where the grease on the walls is so thick you could write your name in it.

Problem is the first kind probably wouldn't want to mess with a "custom" job like mine, and the second kind is too busy repairing the farm equipment of the locals to give to much time to my simple project.

So I drove around the industrial area of Bunnell for about 10 minutes (well, pretty much all of Bunnell is the industrial area), until I saw the place that would surely be able to handle and appreciate my small but important job:

The deciding factor: Three engineless Miatas in front of the building. Needless to say, the proprietor was sympathetic to my plight, and took the job with a smile.

I always look for greasy places with engine blocks on the floor. There are usually unusual cars/trucks outside looking light in the engine bay. They always have a "guy" who knows what I need, likes beer and has a few cycles to spare shooting the E36 M3 about racing stuff.

The last one I used (to have a driveshaft shortened) had a vintage fire truck and a very pretty 70 cougar outside. You know those guys know their E36 M3 for those two things to be there at all.

I look for the ones that have a "crank forest."

As in... a room with hundreds of cranks standing up and tagged.

My preferred shop has many, shall we say, "larger" trucks around back.

My adopted tire place has floor to 16ft ceiling stacks of tires. I have used them to plug a few tires; they don't try to sell me anything. I asked about mounting and balancing prices, and they said that it's $50 for all four corners. I remember paying a lot more elsewhere.

A local parts place does some services (replacing wheel bearings, for example). They have great prices too.

N Sperlo wrote: My preferred shop has many, shall we say, "larger" trucks around back.

Haha, like trucks with a BIG FOOT-print?

the second shop, how old is the farm equipment they work on? If any of it seems to be from the 80's or older then that's exactly who you want doing any machining and non safety system related fabrication

My place is about the worst looking place I've ever seen. Guy has old Taurus' in the front lawn, a completely stripped early 90's town car, and just junk all over. I don't think that they have ever thrown a single thing out or taken it to the scrap yard. And they know where everything is in there too.

He's a Ford guy, big time. Hates anything non-ford. But I take most everything there (well, everything that isn't European). He is currently putting a 5.0 out of a Fox body into a C4 Corvette just to piss people off.

This is the last place I stopped at.

Two buildings, both full. My business partner dropped off a Mopar 383 block.

I deal with a few machine shops for the things I can't do here. One of them looks exactly like that one. A father and son team, the place is a disaster, but they do quality work, and build some very fast race motors.

heh... my preferred shop.... you can eat off the floors!

Ok... not really... but it is as spotlessly clean as I've ever seen a working machine shop

That there could pass for one of my old buddy's machine shop, good volume, great work. Don't let the clutter affect things, they know where every last nut n bolt is.

In reply to fasted58:

I take pity in those "organized" folks who can't comprehend the floating point importance/"last time I used it" pile of stuff organization system.

Its even ultra secure, only the creators of the pile know where everything is.

I used to deal with a good engine machine shop run by an ex WW II aircraft mechanic and his sons. After the old man passed one of the sons moved away and the other got fed up with other family members wanting part of the profits without putting anything into running the business so he left too. The shop lasted less then a year when run by a long time employee for the "owners". I knew of another shop that was also a auto parts store/repair shop. They dropped the auto parts business what with the competition from the O'Riley's, AutoZone's, and Advance outlets. Then they dropped the machine shop and went to just auto repair.

I only found this out when I needed a head milled. I did an internet Yellow pages search and found a place about 10 miles south of me. I called them and they "Sure we can do that". So I ask when, and was told that if I bring it down today they would do it as I wait. Sweet! So I get there or I should say I get to the area that they are located. You see they work out of an shop located behind a farm house & barn. They didn't tell me this and I didn't ask.

So finally I figured that that farm house has to be the place as the address is what was listed. I wonder around and finally find a open door to a pole barn building and go in. Yep, it a machine shop all right. None of that modern CNC machines but just good old American machine tools!

The place is run by a father/son. The dad sits in the front of the shop and BS's with the customers and the son and help work in the back. When I brought my head in the son said to follow him and we went into the shop. He takes the head from me and starts setting it up on their mill. A few minutes later we're cutting metal. He takes very thin cuts and makes 3-4 passes and taking off less then 0.010 of an inch. We BS while this is going on and 30 minutes later we are done and after a bit more BS I ask how much? "Oh, twenty bucks should do it."

Since then I have had them do the machine work on 3 different engines I done as well as a few misc. other work. I only wish I could sent them more work. Just very nice people to deal with!