I'd like to put up a post and make it sticky so everyone knows which companies in SoCal (or maybe elsewhere too) are thirdgen friendly and worth dealing with. Feel free to post your favorite companies, just please make sure you give as much detail and contact info as possible. I'll start with my father's shop

Don Lorentzen
SoCal TPI
Custom chips 86-92 TPI and 92-95 LT1

Lon Salgren
Top Down Solutions
(626) 369-0040
Specializing in thirdgen f-body convertibles and suspension parts

Classic Industries
Classic Industries, Specialists in GM muscle car restoration and performance parts.
18460 Gothard St.
Huntington Beach, CA 92648
(714) 847-6887

(CLOSED)
Thomas ***
House of Camaro
(818) 700-7970
Specializing in 82-89 Z28 and Trans Am used and salvage parts

(CLOSED)
IROCZDave Staubli
Third Generation USA - Welcome!
Lots of thirdgen Camaro and Firebird info and parts


Got more?

 

House of Camaro
8115 canoga ave, canoga park ca 91304
http://www.houseofcamaro.com/

 

We've moved the site to it's new server. There are still some glitches in a few php files that prevent you from registering on the web site. But you can still browse it in the meantime. Just e-mail me or phone withyour shopping list to place an order for now. I purchased the equipment to accept credit cards now (Master-Card, VISA & Discover). The old site I posted will be abandoned. Thanks to Colin Opseth for getting my web site up and for hosting it temporarily on his site until we could get it moved.

www.top-downsolutions.com

Lon

 

although this guy has mainly fourth gens on his lot, he has alot of connections and did a bunch of bodywork on my 90 'bird when i first got it. also, my dad bought his 91 5.0 transam from him. he is located in sylmar. here is a link to his site www.camaroking.com

 

2 requests for our area...

1. brake shops?

2. engine tune-ups?

thanks

 

pvknight, Dyno Don handles those.

 

thanks for the info kevin! you spoke with my dad (steve) about your dad rebuilding my carb. hmm, it's difficult to get a hold of him. did you get my e-mail btw?

 

For factory original parts in the Orange County area try Guaranty Chevrolet in Santa Ana. (714) 560-4286. Ask for Leonel.

 

A friend of mine is looking to paint his car on a college budget (~$500) He's not looking for perfect finish, just something that looks good and will last him 2-3 years. With that said, anyone have a recommended shop or location among Schiebs, Maaco, and 1Day? heh, we'll have to settle for one of these guys for now. I've heard quality differs a lot according to the individual branch.

 

I've heard Maaco is a lot better than Sheib. I don't know about 1 Day.

 

update: 1Day paint job on my buddie's Accord came out super clean for $600 with body work & color change (white > silver)

now, although i am now an ex-2-thirdgens owner anybody know a good driveline shop where i can get my out of balance driveshaft realigned? i can't believe GM took a step back on the 4th gens. my 91 TA was silky smooth up through 115mph with the alum. driveshaft... just makes me miss it more.

translation: need a driveline/suspension shop in the area

 

Since we are on the paint subject.

Jass Auto Body, Armando Any make any model, color match free estimates Quality Work at Reasonable prices. Cell 714-469-6364
He is real cool.

 

well i checked out jass, and they quoted me, $1500 just for paint, and $800 more for color change! yikes!!!! and i told them i would install the fender i purchased my self, so no body work had to be done, i thought it was way too much...so i went across the street to maaco, and they quoted me $663.50, for the same thing! but then again i dont know if that sounds right either? they said they would sand it down and paint under the hood and door jambs, the guy answered all of my questions, and understood why i was so skeptical, he said that jass probably quoted me that much, because they didnt want to take my car, i dont know if thats like an industry standard or something, it doesnt sound like good buissness practice, but the macco guy sounded pretty honest, he wasnt pushy at all, he said that they are cheaper in price, because they are huge company and all of their materials are purchased cheaper and they always stay pretty busy, and they have to be competitive, because of so much competition, he said if was not satisfied with job, to take it back no questions asked and that they would fix it!...if any body knows any other good shops with reasonable prices please let me know, i have done all kinds of stuff to my car and i just need the paint job to finish my restoration. thanks.

 

i highly recommend 1 Day Paint & Body.

i've been to Earl Schiebs and they do a very poor finishing (wetsand/color buff) job. maaco on the other hand is notorious for cheap paint materials. my friend got a $650 1 Day Paint & Body paint job with minor body/prep work on his accord and it looks awesome. minimal orange peel, good attention to detail, and i think it has a 3 yr warantee. 1 Day's top of the line ~$1200-1500 paint job is also super nice saw some painted cars in person.

'92 Accord paint 1

'92 Accord Paint 2

 

Sadly, Thats very possible...when I was driving my moms 78 Blazer and got hit(minor damage, its a big lifted all steel truck) the insurance gave us a list of shops to try and the first one we took it to seemed good, but when the guy came back with the estimate it was like $5k! The damn trucks is not even worth that much! He wanted to replace almost everything on the left side of the truck(fender, door, mirror, molding, lenses, step, etc) and made a big deal about having to fix some rust "or its pointless to paint it" and he "cant be covered for it" etc...we made some suggestions of what would be ok to leave(the dent in the door could be easily pulled out, the door molding was fine, the mirror was fine as was the step, and the rust we dont care about there 2 little spots that have been there for years! etc) My dad realized that this guys really didnt want our business and after looking around it became evident why...all we could see were year 2000+ wrecked cars(and I mean wrecked, brand new rolled jeep liberty, side of a saturn torn off, and a new mercades that they were straightening the frame on) These guys didnt want to take any piddly fender benders that werent going to bring the shop any less than $6k in work...so they scared us off by giving us an outraguse price! So we reported them to the insurance and they had previous complaints so the insurance took them off there list!

In the end we got the truck fixed(and detailed) for about $1,500 TOTAL and the paint was great(custom color my dad had made 17years ago was matched perfectly!) all it needed was new molding on the fender, new turn lense, dent pulled out and painted!
Ta-da! all better!


I also suggest 1 Day, thats were we had our truck originally painted and it came out great and has lasted!

 

well thanks for the pics guys, that accord looks pretty good, and the blazer does too! i'm gonna go check 1 day out, although it sucks to see that these places try to take advantage of poeple, i cant believe how dishonest they are, it's been so difficult to restore my firebird, from trying to get it running to figuring out why the hell it surged on my me to finding wheels and t top bags and mirror light switches, and now i have to deal with these idiots! but i got this far, and i look forward to posting new pics of the finished project, well thanks alot for your help guys if there is any other suggestions about paint and body than let me know, thanks for your time guys.~jorge

 

Ok difference between jass and maaco

Jass
Strip paint, strip parts from car that would prevent from looking professional, primer, block, primer, block, coat, sand, coat, sand, coat, clear, color sand clear...

Maaco
Light sand, masking tape, cheap paint

THAT's the difference
If you think $2,300 is expensive for paint you haven't asked around. Go ask any other company, $5k is the average...

Get it done right, or don't get it at all and by the way I am having them do my car...

If you think Maaco or 1 day paint and body are restoring your bird, dude you are mistaken. That's the cheap way of getting some minor damage "covered" up... Ill get some pictures of a Maaco paint job from my camaro. It was originally a maui blue convertible. Previous owner took it to maaco, they barely scuffed up the previous paint than proceeded to paint the new coat and now it chips all over the place. I stripped my car interior and drivetrain and I am letting them take it down to bare metal. I am paying more than you, but I know I am getting a good job... Not a "1 day" job. Think about it. How does 1 day or Maaco correctly paint a car in one day? THEY DONT

 

Did I say he was cheap? I said affordable, Of course Maaco is going to be real friendly to you after you told them you just got this estimate they want you to come there. You can't even compare the 2.

 

He told you that Jass probably didn't want to take your car? I bet I could just show up there any time and throw him my keys and he would have it painted in a week. You can't even compare the 2 places like I said before. I just showed up there last week for my front fascia to be painted and I asked could you take it off right now, he said sure he had someone take it off and it was done 2 days later. I just show up not even knowing it's ready and ask and he said it's ready to go and they slap it back on. Im giving the option to every one to go see him if they want a nice affordable paint job that they are going to be happy with and appreciate the price, b/c like Jstcrzyengh"James says there is a lot of places out there that are really expensive. And if you want a nicer paint job than Jass Id tell you to go to Pete Santini in H.B his price just for one fender on my Flamed camaro was 1,200 bucks Just one fender repainted.
My paint job cost over 10k and 10 years later it still looked great. What will a Maaco paint job look like in 10 years, So don't forget you get what you pay for, it's your choice.

 

For any of you guys needing work done at a machine shop, I'd recommend Bob's Automotive Machine Shop in La Cresenta, CA. He's honest and does excellent work -- he has a lot of clients in the racing field, and the shop's been around for somewhere over 30 years IIRC. He's also very familiar with the SBCs, big-block Chevys, GM V6s, etc.

(818) 248-2887
3621 Foothill Blvd, La Crescenta, CA

I don't have the area code on me, but he's about a quarter of a block west on Foothill from Dunsmore Ave, on the north side of the street.

What he does, according to his bizcard:
Valve Grinding
Head Resurfacing
Magnaflux Inspecting
Valve Guide Replacing
Engine Cylinder Boring
Wrist Pins Fitting or Replacing
Hot Tank Service
Glass Blasting
Engine Balancing
Porting and Polishing
Press Work
Engine Rebuilding
Heliarc Welding
Complete Blueprinting
Starters & Alternators
Generator Repairing
Flywheel Grinding
Broken Bolt removal
Disc & drum turning

 

................

 

Nope, I don't think he does ... you want to talk to Mike Teeman, he is in charge of the parts dept. I don't know if he knows about the club, he does know me though.

 

Any reservations about me calling him and mentioning your name in an attempt to get some help with my parts problem?

 

Uhm, yeah go right ahead, that's why I posted about myself knowing him. Be sure to mention that I am from Jenibella Racing.

 

Thanks for the info Kevin. I just emailed your Dad for a quote on my 96 z28 and my 88 Camaro.

 

anyone here know any good places to go to get an lt1/l98 swap done? my rs is very very sick, and so is the transmission... Also, what would the approx labor costs be on something like that?

thanks in advance for your help
-Tim-

 

Dyno Don in Anaheim. No idea on the cost.

 

I had mine done at one day came out good!

 

Go to Maaco in Orange
670 N Batavia St, Orange, CA 92868
(714) 771-7107

Jerry Zanka is the owner and he dealt with me personally. Total color change (red > black) for around $600.00. Ended up with a couple of drips and runs, but nothing at all noticable--especially for $600.00! Great job and a pleasure to deal with.

 

That Maaco quoted me $1600, but I must have a few more dents, plus a broken front spoiler.

 

It helps if you go on an off day. I worked right down the street, so I could see that it got slow for a couple of weeks. Maaco has quotas, so he was willing to cut a deal. If you're near any chain body shop like maaco, earl sheib, etc, try to scope it out. They all have quotas to fill and most will ***** out some labor just to meet their target numbers.

 

i just moved here so im looking for some help. does anyone know of a good mechanic or shop that can install my HSR and fix some vaccum leaks? i dont want to just go to anybody... thats like leaving your infant with a stranger!!! ha im located in Van Nuys. thanks guys

 

dgnretj,


If you can get your car down to Orange, Dyno Don can install that for you no problem. Just give him a call/PM to make sure he is free.


To add one more to the So Cal Third gen friendly companies:

- For transmission work give OC Transmissions a call.
Dave runs the place. His son and a recent hire are on staff too. He does high quality work. He isn't going to be the cheapest but not the most expensive either but rest assured you will never have to question the strength of your trans (relatively speaking of course). Let him know that Rabi (Robbie) sent you over I'm sure he'll remember the bird!!

OC Transmissions
1375 Logan Avenue, Unit F
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 546-9900


Disclaimer - I am not getting anything out of this, he isn't my relative, nor will there be any kind of beneficial returns due to this posting. The sole purpose of this is to give people out there the knowledge to address their trans issues because I was there. I blew out 2 tranys and began to ask around. He came across as being knowledgeable and honest. After doing my trany (which has around 65k of hard HARD driving/racing and never once having any sign of a problem), I feel confident in recommending him on this board.

 

Kevin, My name is Angel, and I see your father has a shop and he specializes in camaro's, correct? I want to know if his prices are reasonable and if there are any discounts for TGO forum subscribers? I need some work done.

 

Contact Don directly. He is the official mechanic for our club so yes you already get great prices and excellent work.

 

I just found a great place for tires... It's called Imperial Tire Plus in La Mirada,
(562) 944-3330 at 14321 Imperial Hwy. The guy that I was working with (Art) gave me a set of tires (245-45-17) for 88 a tire, and they were at least 100 everywhere else I was looking. Check them out if you need tires. Good deals, and a friendly guy

(I know Kevin mentioned that he was needing new tires last time I was down there)

 

one question, any third gen friendly shops in the 909 area hell ill even take some in the 951

 

Ive been looking too, cant seem to find one though...

 

Lam Auto Repair
1990 Long Beach Blvd
Long Beach, CA 90806
(562) 599-4244

His rates for labor very reasonable.. I've taken my last 3 f-bodies to him.. He's a no frills shop... He handles most jobs for these cars...

Brakes, suspension, tune-up, trans & engine work..

 

Dan Paramore
DPR Racing Technologies
1015-1/2 W.190th St.
Gardena, CA 90248
Tel: (310) 523-4074
e-mail: dan@dprracing.com

Custom Built Heads & Engine Modifications
Including other engine, and car services

Great customer service
Small family professional company

 

for breaks theres a place called C.H. Topping, they r in long beach the guys name in vince and they r great!
520 West Esther Street
Long Beach, CA 90813-1529
(562) 432-0901

 

cv
this guy is right i work for paint shop and this is how it really works. whe

mostly do insurance work and do 1 to 2 restorations a year.. i painted this

truck this is over 20 thousand dollar paint job on top of that the extra custom bodywork that was done. just to give u guys a heart attack!!!

pics of my work





vid of the truck almost ready to hit the streets
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_fhgX4BEL4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRKjxYWGX-A

 

hahah my uncles shop. great guy ^^

 

Looking through these posts i didnt notice anyone mention an exhast shop anyone know a good custom exhast shop ?

 

theres a place on PCH called advance muffler, 1110 E Pacific Coast Hwy. Long Beach, CA 90806 | Phone: 562-599-5006
www.advancemufflerlongbeach.com

 

For Paint and body work:
Maaco Collision Repair and Auto Painting
670 North Batavia Street
Orange, CA 92868
(714) 771-7107
Ask for Jerry

For Exhaust work:
General Muffler
1202 N Glassell St
Orange, CA 92867-4707
(714) 628-8798

For Window Tinting:
Classic Window Tinting
263 South Tustin Street
Orange, CA 92866-2321
(714) 633-6331
Ask for Lance

 

Kevin does your dad build custom engines? headporting,& tuning? Is he located near the Fullerton La habra area? can I tell him you referred me?

 

Yes to all questions.

He's in Orange near Angel Stadium and the Ponda Center.

 

these guys are very thirdgen freindly!

Gene and Slic @
GENE JONES RACING &
PRO STREET TERRORIST
1080 s. Cypress
La Habra Ca 90631

 

Hey guys! I'm new here and ive been doing tons of reading on these forums. Anyone know of a Iroc friendly shop in the San Fernando Valley? I know theres the Camaroking nearby, but is there anyone else? if not ill have to drive to Anaheim to Dons place...thanks guys!