Classic Vehicle Mechanical Refresh
Our shop offers full mechanical refreshes of classic vehicles. Below we outline what all that exactly entails along with a list of services we can offer along with repairs we do not perform. We are NOT a restoration shop, and are not equipped to perform 6 month long project car restorations. We will start with defining that classic cars are those manufactured prior to OBDII standard. (For most it will mean 1996 and older). These vehicles require more in depth diagnosis as there is no computer giving you codes to trace the issue. The only way we can remain profitable and still work on these types of vehicles was to develop a procedure around them on how to properly intake the cars, bill correctly for time (No book hours listed for classics), maintain vehicle turnover time, and maintain highest level of customer satisfaction. The vast majority of shops will not service these types of vehicles due to time of repairs, parts acquisitions, difficulty of troubleshooting, and lower profit margins compared to modern vehicles.
Classic Car Intake Process
Required on all cars without exception!
In order to remain profitable as a company we normally only allow for one classic vehicle at a time to be undergoing a refresh as they tie up lift space longer than normal repairs. We keep a categorized database of all people who reach out requesting service on classic vehicles along with contact information, vehicle year make and model, and date the request was made. Not all classics will make the cut to be eligible as some will need full restoration. It is for this reason Jose and Shawn will need come to inspect your vehicle prior to the vehicle being brought to the shop. This is done at no cost to you, and is just to determine if the car is refreshable or to the point it need to be restored (Cars within 25 mile radius of our shop). Currently we are booked 4 to 8 weeks out on classics, and average turnover time is one to two weeks.
Drivetrain Services & Repairs
Engines:
We perform engines seals and gasket replacement, motor mounts, bearings, pulleys, belts, engine replacement or rebuild.
Transmissions:
We can perform transmission replace or rebuild, transmission mounts, filters and fluid flushes
Rear end and Driveshafts:
Replacement of carrier bearings, u-joints, shaft replacement, differential lube and service, axle bearings, chunk replacement (Not performance upgrade), gaskets, and axle replacements.
Suspension and Brakes
Suspension & Steering:
Replacement of shocks, struts, leaf springs and shackles, upper and lower control arms, ball joints, sway bars and end links, tie rods, steering rack, steering column repair/replace, watts linkage, panhard bars, and ball joints.
Brakes:
Rotors, pads, shoes, and drum replacement. (We do NOT "pad slap" cars, and only turn rotors or drums if replacement is unavailable), brake hoses, springs and hardware, brake line repair/replace, wheel cylinders, wheel bearings, brake switch, booster, master cylinder, and proportioning valve.
Coolant and AC System Services
Coolant:
Radiator repair and replacements, cap replacement, fluid flush and fill, reservoir and overflow tanks, Water pumps, hoses, thermostat and housing, and heater cores.
Air Conditioning:
Charging, hose replacement/repair, compressor, condenser, charge port repair, and conversion from R12 to R134
Fuel and Tuning
Fuel:
Fuel pumps, gas tanks, fuel pickups, filter replacement, hoses and lines, Injector cleaning and replacements, and Carburetors rebuilds and replacements
Tuning and General Repair:
Set timing, tune and adjust carburetor(s), Spark plugs and wires, distributor cap and rotor button, set and adjust points, and trace vacuum leaks.
Electrical
Electrical Services:
Diagnostics, tracing of grounding issues, faulty lights, replacement or repair of faulty wiring and insulation, sensors, fuses, relays, flashers, Testing/charging/replacement of battery.
* Note: Custom wiring from upgrades performed by vehicle owner may require deeper diagnostic and increase to labor cost as it add time to repair and service.
Unavailable Services
The following services are ones we do not perform or offer.
- Paint work
- Body work/Panel Repair
- We do NOT install customer supplied parts. (Some exceptions can be made at the discretion of Jose or Shawn if the part is OEM and hard to acquire).
- Fabrication of parts
- Aftermarket performance upgrades (Superchargers, Turbos, Fuel Injection conversion kits, and air ride suspension). These are too time consuming and causes to many issues when applying to older cars with stock older drivetrains.
- Kingpin replacement (We simply are not comfortable doing these yet…)
- Interior upholstery repair or headliner installs (We have people we can sent the vehicle out to)
- Convertible top replacement or repair (We have people we can sent the vehicle out to)
Price/Cost/Rate
Diagnostics:
Our labor rate is set at $139.00 an hour, and all classic vehicles will require a 2 hour minimum diagnostics. This will make the classic diagnostics $278.00. This is non negotiable on all classic cars for their first time at the shop. We have to pay our guys for the time they spend diagnosing, researching, measuring, testing, and ordering parts. Most classic vehicles have had several owners over the life of the vehicle, and it take significantly more time to accurately isolate issues and reverse engineer many years of work without a computer system to point someone in the right direction.
Billing:
All billing will be based on time and materials to complete the job. There is no book hours or estimates on how long these jobs take on average. example: brakes normally take one to two hours, but a rusted bolt or incorrect brake hardware could cause the job to take double that time. This is the main reason most shops will not touch older vehicles. We can generally give you a ball park estimate of what it will cost to service or repair one of these from experience, but please bear in mind this is just that a starting point subject to going up if we run into unforeseen issues like rust or correcting previously incorrect repairs.
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