Shops in SoCal to swap engines?

[HIDPLANET]

Hello to you all.
This is my first post and I hope to be welcomed to this great forum.
I am being "given" a very nice 1989 mk3/7mgte for next to nothing which is why I say given. It needs an engine rebuild and either a rebuilt turbo or upgrade.

For the money I am saving on a used car purchase, I plan to use this savings in an engine rebuild and turbo work and maybe some performance mods.

SO basically I am looking for reliable shops who can perform this work for me as I do not have time to do any of the work myself.

Ive written to Stene at http://www.topendperformance.com but they do not pull or install the motors, they just rebuild them with upgraded parts. Do not know how good their prices are since I have nothing to compare them with.

Scrtoll down to their stage 1 for a price: http://www.racetep.com/7mgt.htm

BUT that seems a little steep just for a rebuild. I was looking to spend only $5k for a rebuild and labor of both the engine and turbo. Is this possible?

Basically im completly new to this scene but have read a lot of material but need guidance in SoCal. Any help/info is greatly appreciated!

The car exterior is beautiful. Does not need work or paint. Interoir is well maintained and needs little work. I feel this is a great project vehicle since all it needs is under the hood work.

 

[cnewingham]

One Word- DRIFTMOTION

www.driftmotion.com

 

[HIDPLANET]

Thank you for the response.
I dont see what they would charge for a cxomplete rebuild but I guess I can call to find out. Places like that tend to charge a lot of money for the work compared to a Toyota Specialist but its worth a shot.

Any info on how much it might cost?

 

[suprageezer]

I tried to find an answer to that very question last week from Jose at Driftmotion. I spoke with him on the phone got a ballpark price, shot him and e-mail, and then waited for an e-mail back with all the particulars and price. I couldn’t' wait any longer cause my car sitting at home drives me nutz. So I bought a JDM N/A motor off eBay and now looking to get it swapped. So Jose if you read this and want to do my N/A motor swap PLEASE e-mail me a price, and a price for the same job with a new head gasket installed on the JDM N/A I just bought. I have called a few shops down here and will be deciding where it goes next week sometime. I wanted Jose to do the work since everyone here has such Good things to say about Driftmotion.
Rick

 

[born2drv]

Driftmotion and Garage Works both seem to do very good work.

If I get a rebuild done, I'll probably go to driftmotion. They seem like they rebuild motors all the time and very reliably, I've heard nothing but good things from them.

For all my various work I need done I've been taking it to Garage Works because they're closer to me and very professional with fair prices. The owner their has owned like 7 supras and they work on them all the time. They mounted my IC and did my custom hard pipes. They'll also be installing my turbo, downpipe, wideband, walbro, and a bunch of other things next week They rebuild motors too, as well as do whatever you need done. I'd call both shops and go from there.

 

[jdmk3_87t]

Driftmotion FTW! They have brought many supras back on the road and running better than ever before. Trust me.

 

[HIDPLANET]

Is there a website for garage works?
Just trying to keep options open.

 

[HIDPLANET]

I wonder if any of these places want to trade for their services.
Im looking to sell my 1997 Dodge Ram 1500 5.9L V-8 (71k mi), 9" lift w/ 35" tires and nice wheels to pay for the rebuild and parts but if they need a truck for the shop or pleasure id gladly trade it for their services.

 

[johnathan1]

Don't fool around...cal Aaron and Jose at Driftmotion, Aaron's home number is: 909-632-1432 cell is: 714-931-6845. They are very professional, and have very fair prices, they treat your car as if it were their own

 

[HIDPLANET]

Excuse my ignorance, but is driftmotion an actual shop like some of the others?

 

[Ish]

Driftmotion is an actual shop. Go to socalsupras.com and do a search for them. They have pictures of their work. They've worked on most of the cars from socalsupras and have been doing it for years. They know the 7M from top to bottom. Give them a call, you won't regret it. BTW you're not the moderator from Hidplanet.com are you?

 

[HIDPLANET]

Yes im the admin from hidplanet also the owner of the company.
Thank you for the information....I will be driving around talking to different shops so I may drop by theirs this afternoon.

 

[born2drv]

If you want Garage Work's contact info it is:

Garage Works
661-538-9817
37824 5th St. E #H
Palmdale 93550

There's also another guy up there that does a lot of polishing, he does a fantastic job, when I go to GW to get work done I'm usually picking up or dropping stuff off to get polished, chromed, or powder-coated at this shop too. Their contact info is:

Superior Metal Polishing
661-265-1776
37925 6th St. E #307
Palmdale, CA 93350

But if you're looking for a really good engine builder or you're not in this area and more Sout-East LA area, then Driftmotion is probably your best bet.

 

[Ish]

Yes im the admin from hidplanet also the owner of the company.
Thank you for the information....I will be driving around talking to different shops so I may drop by theirs this afternoon.

Thats cool. Thats a very informative forum. I just did a retrofit on my supra with TSX projectors and ballasts using info from your forum. Heres driftmotions area on Socalsupras.com. They have a some info and pictures of the jobs they've done. http://socalsupras.com/phpBB/viewforum.php?f=25

 

[bigaaron]

I tried to find an answer to that very question last week from Jose at Driftmotion. I spoke with him on the phone got a ballpark price, shot him and e-mail, and then waited for an e-mail back with all the particulars and price.

We have been really busy with all the projects we are working on so sometimes a ballpark price is all we can give without writing up a complete invoice, looking at your car, looking at the parts you have already, and talking with you in depth about what you want to do. I am on the forums almost every night but Jose isn't always checking the forums. Realistically, we really give the lowest prices we can so a ballpark should really be good until you say "ok, lets do it for sure". We usually get several inquiries a day for parts and/or labor and we try to get back to everyone as fast as possible. We have all these jobs going right now:

full 2jz rebuild for a mk3, customer is installing it.
jdm 2jz waiting to go into another mk3, old engine pulled out already
full 7m build (brand new 7m shortblock) with custom ic install in a third mk3
working on big brake kit upgrade for two Cressidas
engine swap for a 4th mk3 asap.

Realistically, it will be about 3 weeks before we can take on another project car. We can only have two vehicles here at a time or it starts to look like Pep Boys over here. It's a fine line between taking on enough work to stay profitable and taking on too much work and making everybody wait too long to get their car back. If you don't hear back quickly from Jose, feel free to email me at aaron@driftmotion.com. We try to respond asap, usually same day.

 

[HIDPLANET]

I went to talk to a shop earlier today and decided to take a detour to driftmotions address but it turned out to be a residential address and not a shop. I did not want to intrude and knock on a house door without someone expecting me so I kept driving. I did see the black supra out front with a driftmotion decal so I figured it was the place but I was told that it was a business shop and not a home.

 

[Ish]

Sorry about that. This whole time I heard about their garage but thought it was a small shop. Regardless of their location I've heard nothing but good things about them and they've been around in the MK3 community for a looooooong time.

 

[HIDPLANET]

Not a problem. I'll make contact with them over the phone anyways.
Sounds like they have a lot on their hands right now and i'll have to schedule myself in if their prices meet my limited budget. I will just have to put off transferring the vehicle to me until they are ready to take it in if everything works out. I dont have any room for a 3rd vehicle here so I will have to get it towed to their place directly from the current owners place.
Thanks again for the info.

 

[born2drv]

FWIW I think if you want a good job done it's worth the wait. GW is very busy too, I had to wait 2 weeks before they would see my car (next week) but it's worth waiting for.

I've had my car serviced by other people in big fancy shops that were clueless about the mk3 and did a poor job. GW has a physical shop in Palmdale, DM is a newer business I think that has started from their home garage, but either would do a fantastic job. I'll take experience over a fancy shop anyday. Both of them are worth the wait if you ask me, don't take it anywhere else.

 

[bigaaron]

I'll take experience over a fancy shop anyday.

A fancy shop price usually goes along with the fancy shop.