Looking for machine shop for 440 rebuild

[ling102]

I am looking for a machine shop that specializes in big block Mopar engine rebuilding in the Syracuse or Rochester New York area.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks guys.

 

[gkent]

There's nothing special about a BB Mopar that any competent shop can't do it.

 

[dadsbee]

If you want to cross the border and make your money go further, Smiths Falls isn't far from you and my old high school buddy Tim McCoubrey has been building Mopar engines (and others) for longer than I want to say.. 40+ years. Cylinder Head Engineering. www.facebook.com/Cylinder-Head-Engineering-322041881647879/?tn-str=k*F

 

[BSB67]

There's nothing special about a BB Mopar that any competent shop can't do it.

I've lived in multiple locations. Never had to go more than about 20 miles to find a competent machine shop. Maybe just lucky, I don't know.

 

[bm02tj]

Just make sure the cam fits correctly and is not to tight
most need bearings scraped by some one that knows what they are doing

 

[davek]

Drakes ,they hot tanked my block and did my cam bearings. The old man is a Mopar Man. Or ask my friend Sammy at Rochester brake and clutch,he just had his 68 hemi build last year. They are in Rochester.

 

[gkent]

This guy hangs out on Moparts. I think he knows his stuff. He's in Syracuse.

http://www.competitionwedge.com

 

[super-bee_ski]

There's nothing special about a BB Mopar that any competent shop can't do it.

yeah, I disagree with this POST...I recently sent HEADS to a Shop in Lancaster CA, well known in the Antelope Valley, Mojave Desert, CA (30 miles from Edwards AFB, 49 miles from my house) and then was not satisfied with the on the HEADS with the fitment of the Valve guides so I took the ?Heads (#2 1969 SC/Rambler made out of 1,512 total produced) to Valley Head Service, North Ridge CA (Been in Business since 1955, Same Owner...Spearheaded SEMA...anyway, they looked at the HEADs said the Guides were Loose and the Valves I purchased from t them were "in-sufficient Chrome" and piss poor Quality....So, I asked them to re-do the Heads and now they are "Balancing" the entire engine...
In a NUT SHELL...it makes a difference on where you take your engine...This Shop HAS been reliable for the past 25 years but now, it has fallen from Grace..I have had 3 engines done by them but no more...they have fallen from Grace...
And, the Valley Wide Head Service shop is cheaper than the Lancaster CA Shop...!!!
Give me a beer or 5!

 

[oldbee]

Haven’t had to look recently, but it seems the good shops are less frequent than they used to be(especially Mopar specific).

 

[super-bee_ski]

This guy hangs out on Moparts. I think he knows his stuff. He's in Syracuse.

http://www.competitionwedge.com

As Stanton says...someone like this for your Machine Work
I DO NOT disagree with our Esteemed Colleague Stanton on a previous post...
My POINT is: Quality Control is an on going process, never to be neglected, no matter how expensive a Machine Shop is
It is Evolutionary, QC must be adhered to no matter how good a shop was in the Past
THAT is what bit me with the Lancaster CA shop to go un-named
Another example of what I experienced, the Valves seats in the HEADS, the Exhaust Valve Seats were too thin, and as WE all know the only way a Exhaust Valve is cooled on a running engine is when it re-seats against the Head
The "Thin" bevel they created was much too thin...
SO: A\gain, Quality Control "Starts at the Top" and the Shop Manager should have caught the incorrect work performed by yet Technician
Good shop?
Sure, for 45 years
I now will never go there again...

 

[vintage chromoly]

I’d just add, that just because a guy bills himself as a “mopar guy” doesn’t guarantee the work.
As has already been said, any good machinist can work on any engine from any manufacturer.

 

[super-bee_ski]

Yup
All good points...

 

[ling102]

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to answer my question, and sharing your experiences.

 

[Don Frelier]

This guy hangs out on Moparts. I think he knows his stuff. He's in Syracuse.

http://www.competitionwedge.com

This should be close by and the prices look reasonable to me.

 

[Hemirunner]

I’d just add, that just because a guy bills himself as a “mopar guy” doesn’t guarantee the work.
As has already been said, any good machinist can work on any engine from any manufacturer.

While this is generally true, it increases the success rate when they’re familiar with the Mopar platforms. We disassembled one that came from a very competent Chevy shop. It had teflon pipe dope on every head stud because they’re used to doing it with the Bow Tie stuff, lol

 

[andyf]

I am looking for a machine shop that specializes in big block Mopar engine rebuilding in the Syracuse or Rochester New York area.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks guys.

If you are in Fulton then Comp Wedge is only about 15 minutes away from you. He is a Mopar guy. Surprised you don't know about him since you're so close.

 

[andyf]

The local shop I work with is run by a Ford guy, specifically a guy who loves FE engines. But he would starve to death if he only worked on FE engines since he only gets to build one or two of them a year. Chevy race engines pay the bills but he also does a lot of Mopar big blocks. I was over there yesterday helping him dyno an EFI engine and he had five Mopar big block stroker engines in the shop. I think they were all 505 engines with 4.250 stroke. Most had Trick Flow heads, three of them had Holley Sniper fuel injection on them. Come spring there is going to be a lot of big Mopar engines out pounding the pavement around here.

So the moral of the story is that he is a Ford guy who builds really nice Chevy race engines but can also build killer Mopar engines. The only thing he doesn't like to work on is the really old or oddball stuff.

 

[BSB67]

The local shop I work with is run by a Ford guy, specifically a guy who loves FE engines. But he would starve to death if he only worked on FE engines since he only gets to build one or two of them a year. Chevy race engines pay the bills but he also does a lot of Mopar big blocks. I was over there yesterday helping him dyno an EFI engine and he had five Mopar big block stroker engines in the shop. I think they were all 505 engines with 4.250 stroke. Most had Trick Flow heads, three of them had Holley Sniper fuel injection on them. Come spring there is going to be a lot of big Mopar engines out pounding the pavement around here.

So the moral of the story is that he is a Ford guy who builds really nice Chevy race engines but can also build killer Mopar engines. The only thing he doesn't like to work on is the really old or oddball stuff.

Very similar here too. My local machine shop is run by a family. They are Ford guys that do a bunch of Chevy stuff. Mostly roundy-round stuff. You will see some kind of a rice eater 4 cylinder head on one bench, and a pair of $25,000 BBC motors at the next work station. At any given time there are at least 2 BBM in the pipeline. They do a lot of race stuff, and almost none of the race stuff is Mopar

 

[Don Frelier]

The local shop I work with is run by a Ford guy, specifically a guy who loves FE engines

Matt at Proformance Specialties in Marion, NY he's a big Ford guy. He used to have his shop right downtown in Rochester.
He built my 383 (387) in the Charger, no issues.

 

[Challenger340]

There's nothing special about a BB Mopar that any competent shop can't do it.

And therein IMO, lies the crux of the many potential problems in the definition of the word "competent" ?

Seems these days even blind chickens can get the odd kernel of corn... doesn't mean they can see.