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Thread: Good Machine Shops?

  1. #1

    Default Good Machine Shops?

    Can any of you Spec Miata or other gear-headed-types recommend a good machine shop in Ft. Worth or Mid Cities area. I am going to need my block bored/honed and resurfaced this winter, so I need to find a good, reputable place to do the work. Thanks
    What's left of a '96 Miata with stock clutch.
    My car exceeds my driving ability. That's the only possible explanation.

  2. #2

    Default

    I've had a reasonable amount of luck with Arlington Automotive Machine and Charles Machine Shop both in Arlington.

    Arlington Automotive has done the following for me:
    disassemble, clean, and reassemble a Honda H23 head with a valve job
    head milling
    crank balancing
    flywheel balancing
    pressure plate balancing

    A friend had Arlington do:
    block boring & honing (Honda Civic and Honda S2000 blocks)
    crank balancing
    head disassembly and reassembly

    The only problem we ran into with Arlington is they tore up the valve seals on a Honda D16 head when they reassembled it. The tool they used ripped a couple of the valve seals. They took the head back and corrected the problem. The D16 Civic engine that he rebuilt runs very strong. No problems at all with the machine work. Same goes for the S2000 engine. The owner cracked a ring land, so the block required honing. It's still going strong.

    I used Charles Auto Machine for my current Honda head. He did the milling and a 3 angle valve job. He also did some misc. machine work for me. He's good at what he does, definitely. His main market is V8 guys, but it's a one man shop. He's the only employee, and you can see all of his equipment when you go into the shop. Impressive indeed. I plan to use him when I do my next race engine build. He only takes cash, though, and he's usually not as fast as Arlington.

    Oh, Iain did use Charles to remove a broken stud from his exhaust manifold. Arlington said Charles was the only place in town that had the equipment needed to remove the stud without destroying the manifold. Sure enough, he had the manifold ready the next day, in better than new condition. :)
    Billy
    98 Prelude - track car
    Former 99 Miata owner

  3. #3

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    I had a place in Ft Worth called Ray's Champion Spring rebuild completely a Ford F100 with a 351M engine, they did a spectacular job.
    I am not sure if they do Imports, but if they do I can attest to their good work. They replaced from tip to tip everything on the truck for 6 grand including the Motor rebuild.
    99 Miata Black

  4. #4

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    my buddy adam was going to use alamoautosports in arlington. they deal with imports. http://www.alamoautosports.com/
    -AJ Ngo

  5. #5
    Obnoxious at any speed altiain's Avatar
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by BAM!
    my buddy adam was going to use alamoautosports in arlington. they deal with imports. http://www.alamoautosports.com/
    I wouldn't trust Alamo to work on a tricycle, much less my car. The one and only time I had the misfortune of using their services, I got to watch them take the catalytic converter off of my '98 Prelude and beat on it with a sledgehammer until they had flattened it enough to get a swaybar to clear. Never did they actually check to see if they had the right part. They didn't - they were trying to install a front bar designed for an entirely different generation of Prelude.

    Their shop motto is apparently "If it doesn't fit, beat it with a sledgehammer until it does. If it breaks, try to find a way to blame it on the customer, and hope he's too stupid to notice our mistake."

    In fact, it was Alamo's complete and utter incompetence that led me to start working on cars myself. At least I guess I have that to thank them for.
    Iain

    "We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw

  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by altiain
    In fact, it was Alamo's complete and utter incompetence that led me to start working on cars myself. At least I guess I have that to thank them for.
    Yep... for $60/hr, you can buy yourself a pretty nice sledgehammer to do the beating yourself!

  7. #7

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    Hey Kags1969 or shuhart1 who do you guys use for machine work??

  8. #8

    Default

    Hans Fuestel in Fort Worth does good work. Kim Barr in Garland built my motor, but I am not that happy with it.
    2001 Trans Am - heavy battle axe

  9. #9

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    is stoid racing in garland too far?
    andrew used it and his car is pretty fast.....
    rick stephens from san antonio uses them too on his old 350 hp drag miata.....
    knowing that, i just wonder if theyre affordable.
    -AJ Ngo

  10. #10

    Default Thanks

    Thanks for all the replys!
    What's left of a '96 Miata with stock clutch.
    My car exceeds my driving ability. That's the only possible explanation.

  11. #11

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by POS Racing
    Hey Kags1969 or shuhart1 who do you guys use for machine work??

    John Day Custom Engines - 972-235-7405 (I think this in the number.) He is right by Town North Mazda

    Wells Racinging in Duncanville is also good.
    Chris - 2014 Chevrolet Camaro SS
    2013 Red Miata Sport
    2006 Winning Blue Miata
    2000 Red Miata
    2011 Red Mazda2
    2015 Smart Electric

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