| Re: Good mechanic |
Subject: Re: Good mechanic by bogus on 2010/11/3 5:57:05 Yes, I remember, you had a BMW, IIRC. I gave you a pen! That red thing was a tragic mess... such a shame. Yank that iron turd out from under the hood and drop in an LSx conversion with a TKO 5spd. That would be a great start to making that 84 righteous. If you want to trust the 93, do yourself a favour and get a spare, working, ECM. Trust me on this one. I am fighting a dead ECM right now, and it isn't pretty... I dare you to find one! Oh, they pop up on ebay, that's where I got the one I am using now, but I sense this will get harder and harder over time. BTW, you can use the ECM from a 1992/93 Corvette or 1993 Camaro/Firebird with LT1. Just swap the eprom. The CCM and EBCM (brakes/traction control) computers are VERY durable and rarely fail. The ECM is very durable, too, but it is under hood and I suspect it is prone to heat related failure over time. It will be the best $250 insurance policy you will EVER buy. I do all my own work, and I mean ALL my own work. I have found with Corvette ownership you have to make a decision: 1. Pay someone a shit load of $$ to fix it, or, 2. Learn how to do it yourself. Now, I have an edge, I was a mechanic in college and continued turning wrenches on the side. Only during parts of the 90s when I was commuting a lot did I resort to dealers (we did have a good Honda dealer in Dover, DE). A few more casual observations: * Martin Chevy in Torrance is beyond useless. * Cormier has a good parts supply, but I don't know their techs. The problem these days, many of the C4 techs are gone - retired or moved on. If I had to suggest a good mechanic, this is the group I would recommend: * Johnson Alignment for all your alignment needs, Hawthorn at 190th * Sweeney Exhaust, on Sepulveda, at Western, behind the Jiffy Lube. He realigned my Corsa system and welded it up. Did a very nice job. * Shoji's Mobil, PCH and Anza. Super clean shop, good guys and he deals with only the best local specialists in the area. Great place for general service. * Henry's Service Center (Smog Check Only). 22515 Vermont, behind Harbor UCLA He's a good guy who does good smog tests and a good price and quickly. He also is one of the few around that can deal with a Corvette. * Jerzy Boyz Carwash in San Pedro, Gaffey and Miraflores. The owner is a personal friend, and sometimes visitor here. Pete is good people and his car wash rocks. * One Day Paint, Torrance, on Western, just south of Carson. Yes, you heard me right. I had my 92 repainted by them this past March and they did a KILLER job! Base/clear in factory colour, it looks GREAT. You would never know it has 175k miles on it. * www.tirerack.com, tires at a great price! * Sam's Tire and Alignment, Rosecrans, in Hawthorne. They are a drop ship installer for tirerack.com. They do great work at a great price. We have used them a couple of times and I will continue to do so. * Service Center, on Narbonne, just off Lomita in Lomita. These guys are about the best speed shop in the south bay. The only thing, they are a bit odd, from a personality perspective. They can get many custom order parts and get them quickly. * www.summitracing.com, mail order speed shop. Not bad, not great... of late there seems to be a lot of discord about the lack of customer service and incorrect items shipped. In general, the C4 is easily serviced by a good mechanic. The problems arise when you get into certain soft parts and Corvette specific diags. In general, a shop that can work on a Z28 should have no problem dealing with a 93 Corvette. HOWEVER, if you start to get weird things happening that are specific to your Corvette, such as the keyless entry, you need a Corvette specialist to help. That's my personal experience with locals. Here is my take... I needed to replace the radiator in my 92. I had a choice, another OEM replacement, for $200, that would last 3 more years... or, unass the cash and get a nice DeWitt for $500 that will come with a lifetime warranty and will do a better job. Because I wasn't paying someone $200 to diagnose and such, I was able to get the DeWitt. A decision I am very happy with, thank you very much. Don't hesitate to reach out if you do have a problem. I honestly know the 92/93 Corvette inside out/backwards and forwards. Last summer, I needed to replace the clutch... so I did that... and yanked the engine, degreased the entire mess, replaced all the oil seals, clutch hydraulics and put it all back together again. Here we are, a year+ later and the car is running like a top! I share this so you know why I run this site. I am not a BS artist, I do this to share what I have learned so others don't get screwed. I have owned my 92 for 10+ years. And without learning these things, I would have sold the car 7 years ago. Seriously. You need a fat wallet to keep it going, or a good tool kit and the knowledge to make it happen. I want to share that knowledge. Before this place started to gain traction, I was still active at Corvette Forum. I don't want to go into details about that place, but lets just say their rules are rather, uh, draconian. That's a good term for it... However, a woman shows up on the site concerned about a service bill she received from a Corvette shop in the Chicago area. Several of us reviewed the bill... OMG... what a mess. I remember the train wreck, just don't remember the train, so to speak. For example, they charged her full $$ amount for a pad change... and also replaced the rotors! With a full charge for labour. They charge labour for a water pump replacement, when they were in there doing the OptiSpark anyway. In short, they double tapped her for labour to the tune of about $1000.00!!! I hate that and I will do whatever I can to help others avoid being taken in that manner. She did take our advice and went back... and bitched loudly. She got most of her cash back! And never went back to that shop, EVER. You have to watch these places... You really do. |
