Ladies and gentlemen, have you ever been thrown out of a machine shop? Have you ever argued about clearances with a machinist til you both were blue in the face and found out you were both wrong and then went back and ****ed it up to get the job done? How bout taking all your parts in only to get a 45 minute sermon from the guy about Jesus Christ Our Lord ( he had converted the month before ). That was before he looked at my parts and declared it all junk. I have and some times I have gotten prices that took my breath away. This will really pertain to So. Cal. in that I live in Los Angeles/ S.F.V. and I need a a good, honest, reliable, friendly, knowledgeable, kind of on time ( **** happens, I know ), fair priced, machine shop that has friendly, knowledgeable front desk people, who will remember me by what I brought in, if not by name. I know, asking for a lot. Will sacrifice some self respect for accuracy of work. Don't want to hear "Haven't seen / worked on one of these in ages, but we'll do our best". The engine is a 70 Cadillac 500 and has some quirks to them and I need the usual ( clean, bore [w/ torque plate], deck, align hone, perhaps crank grinding, perhaps dowling the mains, nothing exotic). please refer me to them ( also install the cam bearings the right way the first time ). Or rather just let me know who in the L.A./S.F.V area I can go to and I'll take it from there. Also any good machine shop stories past or present would be great. Must include details, times and NAMES. Unless it's REALLY juicy and revealing. Then it's up to you. Thanks in advance, One Finger John.
Clarkes Machine Shop in Bellflower is OK. They do a lot of race car stuff and have been around a while. Hope they're still in business. The economy has been tough.
Can't help you in LA, but if you can venture behind the Orange Curtain, Valley Engine & Machine in Fountain Valley is one of the BEST anywhere. From old junk to Ferrari's Rick has a reputation that has been earned over 30+ years. 10885 Kalama River Ave # K Fountain Valley, CA 92708 (714) 964-1344
I don't argue with my machinist, he's a 65 year old eastern european who could crush me with one hand Good luck in your search, sometimes a machinist you can deal with can be hard to find...
I've never heard of such a thing. Every customer that drags a project in here gets exactly what they demand from my dog whipped *** !! The customer is always right you know >>>>.
Valley Head Service, owner Larry Ofria, 19340 Londelius St, Northridge, 818-993-7000. Located near Tampa and Parthenia. Larry is a real drag racer and specializes in older engines. He did the machine work on my 283 sbc that is in my roadster. Also has done at least three sets of sbc heads for me in the past 4 years. Great company to deal with and will fill out a work order with specific charges so you know what you're getting to. The FOGGER
F & F automotive. I just found this older guy, named Frank, about 3 weeks ago, he knows old engines, and did the heads for my nailhead in 1 day. F&F 5337b Cahuenga Bl. North Hollywood CA 818-506 6934
You're building a Cad 500? Then it's easy. Maximum torque Specialties. 13641 John Glenn Rd #B, Apple Valley, CA 92308 http://500cid.com/MTSHome.htm At least they'll already know the little "tricks" to the Cad engine. Ralph
TRUE! My buddies used to have a hot rod and custom shop in the same complex as him and they sent him a lot of stuff.. never did them wrong.
i have yet to meet one who didn't know more than i did. i mean other than a blowhard who isn't really a machinist. you know more than the machinist and you aren't installing the cam bearings yourself? you need to invest in a lisle cam bearing tool.
Hoggyrubber, Hoggyrubber, Hoggyrubber. You must live in a land of perpetual perfection, where god like machinist dispense wisdom daily and the citizens bow down in acknowledgement of their automotive expertise. Springfield , Mo. must be beautiful this time of year. The reality is that some machinist don't keep up with the times. Some machinists don't do good work. Some machinists are hacks. Some machinists are drug and alcohol addicted. ALL machinists are human and they make mistakes. Just like some one else said " trust, but verify ". I have checked all my machine shop work and at times I have found problems. When a man takes my work, says "Yes I can Do that", then ****s it up, I'm pissed. Especially when to correct the problem that HE caused requires a sleeve ( std. bore block BADLY done on a block that is not common i.e. M.G. TC) or welding or machining to .030 under on a crank that could have been peachy .010 if the center rests had been loaded properly. As the price of the parts go up, so does the B.S. when those parts are ruined. You bring in a std. $500.00 crank and they call two weeks later saying "Yeah, had a little problem with the crank grinder, we can fixit, crank will be .030 on the mains, .040 on the rods, cost ya more for the work. Do ya want to go ahead and do it?" I have been thru that h***le, don't want to again. Been thru the lawsuits too. And don't get me started on "compe***ion valve jobs" or "had to replace ALL the valves". WHY? "Had to". We all have a purpose in life. We all have only so much time on this Earth. If I wanted to buy or rent the tools to install the cam bearings the correct way, I would. If I wanted to devote MY time to becoming a machinist, and become proficient in that field, I would. I just want to take my parts to a competent person who will do what we agree upon, within a reasonable time period, at the price agreed on. I have other interests and obligations in my life that require me to go to a professional for their services. In doing so I will PAY to have the job done correctly so that I will have the time to go about my life and enjoy other interests along with building said Cadillac engine. "Trust, but verify". Good words to live by. One Finger John
Strikes me that a torque plate for a Caddy - early or late - would be difficult to find at most machine shops. Factories didn't use torque plates far as I know and they probaby still don't. Not saying they're not a good idea, but for a street runner I wouldn't sweat it. The race-o type machine shop in Tulare, California did my 455 Buick (.030 over), decked etc. No Buick torque plates there, but he did have em for Chevy's. Hell, everyone has stuff for Chevy's. 49,000 miles later it's still running great and has good compression.
greeting from the land of perfection,hahaha. there is nothing wrong with checking their work, i wasn't saying that. i personally check everything i get back. i have taken stuff back in that looked questionable. what i found was their technique and equipment is really better than mine, and i don't have cheap stuff. some are def better than others so i'm not saying just because they are a machinist they are right. but if they have been around for a while you will prob find they are right about 99.9% of the time whether you are talkin' clearance or Jesus. the situation for me is if i can do it good enough, or better, why take to them. i remove/install my own cam bearings- do 2 or 3 engines you have paid for the tool. but a lot of the other stuff i wouldn't attempt on my own, if it was that important of a project, even if i had the stuff to do it. it seems in a lot of trades we pay for their mistakes, but some are not like that. i have had them redo stuff for free when i had part failure, not their fault. how are you doing the ***embly with only one finger? just kidding! hope you find a shop that does better for you, hr
For the big block Cadillac 472 / 500 you will need the parts as well as the expertise with machining and modification. Maximum Torque Specilaties is definitely the way to go. JB 472
Hi Hoggyrubber, sorry I was a bit sarcastic this morning (12:34). Like life , I have my ups and downs. Finding a machinist who will talk to you without ego is real tuff to find. The last one I had was named Wink and has a shop across from the Hollywood Cemetery. Nice guy who would take the time to explain the reason why he did something, how he did something, and how much it would be. Prices were always reasonable. But, he seems to be semi-retired and I can not get synchronized with his schedule. I keep trying. To all that have suggested MTS, I am well aware of them along with Jerry Potter in Tennessee. Both are members of the Cadillacpower forum and the info, people, and experience they share are second to none. I guess I am lazy in that I do not want to travel to Apple Valley for machine work (although I might, to pick up parts and have machine work done, I'm getting old). I am very tactile and really need to touch, feel, and handle what I am buying. That is why I find it very hard to buy on line or thru mail order. And you had to bring up the finger thing. I have thumbs. I get along. Just kidding, I have all my digits. As a matter of fact, I am a m***age the****** and have been so for twenty years. Along with being a foreign car tech, cam grinder, all the service departments in new car dealership (parts and service writer), hospital maintenance mechanic, and building on site manager. Have to be flexible in this day and age. Keep those suggestions coming in for the S.F.V. and L.A. and send in the machinist stories. Or are you afraid they might get back to your machinist and he'll blackball you. Later and thanks, One Finger John.
I got all excited the other day when my stuff turned out better than expected and refered a friend only for him to get screwed. I don't have faith anymore. From now on, I am going to tell the machinist what specs and throw a ****ing fit until I get it.
The Jalopy Journal
