any good restoring shop around the bay area?

[darshie76]

Hi guys

I guess that i have hit the mark where i gotta bring the car to a restore shop....i have no more time with my 2 kids, so if i wanna see my 911 SC targa done before hitting 70, i gotta do the jump and let a pro to take care of almost all the fun

anyway....i am looking for a place around the bay area that can do a good job without hitting concours standards....heard prices around 30-40K that are a little bit over my budget (i can get directly a restored car at that point, with certifications and history).

I was looking for a good interior and exterior job, and then for some mechanical work, like an overhaul of the tranny (is giving me a lot of pain, since it not engage 1st and second gear unless i force and wiggle the lever a bit...does not grind or make noises, is just not getting in but is annoying) and maybe a check to the engine...that poor thing ran for more than 170K and i guess is time for a checkup (even if it run without problems would be good to know if there is anything that require some love, before that the damage gets more expensive ).

So i am looking for a place (or multiple places) around the bay area (even if i gotta go out a bit is fine; i just don't want to reach another state ) where i can get interior and exterior done, and some mechanical work done too.

I know that many of the fellow members here do a lot of work by themselves (that was the reason why i have got my car after all....but then got kids), but i hope that some of you have suggestions about good shops that does a reliable work, instead of just sucking money out of me for something that is not worth the price paid.

Thanks in advance!

[stevedollar]

The guys at Sports Car Market would tell you that restoration of any car worth less than $300k will put you underwater because of the labor costs. They always say to buy someone else's restoration at a discount if you want to look at it from a strictly economic point of view. That said, I am adding to the acquisition costs by slowly making my '87 Carrera more perfect and I wouldn't have it any other way. After all, I wouldn't trade in one of my kids, would I?

I had Jack at Jeda Generations upholstery (San Jose) recover my seats and replace some missing bits of carpet for a reasonable price. He uses the correct German materials and does quite a few old Porsches. He was recommended by Don at Don's Autoworks in Campbell. Bascom Trim and Upholstery advertises in the local PCA newsletter (Prieta Post) but I haven't tried them yet. I thought Don did a great job on the mechanical stuff, but check out Porsche auto repair on Yelp for lots of local recommendations.

[UrQuattro]

Try giving Valhalla Porsche repair over in Lafayette a call and see what the owner thinks. He won't steer you wrong. If he asks, tell him that he just worked on my 81 sc targa, Michael Williams.

Michael

[darshie76]

Thanks Steve and Michael,

I wish that i had 300K to spend in cars...I would have in my garage a ferrari dino, a 911 SC, a lotus esprit and an acura nsx perfectly restored

I will check with Jack; hopefully he does full carpet replacement for a reasonable price (the price of the entire set goes between 500 and 1800, but many wanna charge me 4-5K...i would say that 1K for a 2 day job is more reasonable )

Will also give a shot at valhalla, hoping that he does not see me as money bag with leg to milk

When i got my 911 I planned to do the bulk of the work by myself, and indeed I fixed a lot of things (the car was basically horrible when i bought it), without even spending too much (got new seats for 500, restored the top with 1K, got parts to replace for the interiors for 100 and paint to change the interiors for 80; then the exterior was sanded, fixed some rust patch and painted again for less than 200 dollars); in facts i paid more my mechanic to do the maintenance and fix problems (almost 4k)

I am trying to get at the point where i can look at my car and see no differences with cars that are on the market on autotrader for 18-20K; and this means that between interior, exterior and tranny I wanna spend maybe 6-10K...but many of the people that i spoke with were too happy to give me the royal service and charge me an arm and a leg, when i stated clearly that all that i want is a car that must be able to run on the street every day from home to work and back; and let me have some fun on hwy 17 on the weekend...i don't want a concourse car, otherwise i would not have purchased the car that i purchased, but would have spent more to get a better car

Anyway; should i bring the car to Maaco for the paint and body work, or is there a place around that is reliable and work with Porsche?

And is anyone ever tried the services of California porsche restoration? it popped out on a google search

[UrQuattro]

I'd recommend against maaco. They use poor quality paint, and their prep work leaves a lot to be desired. That's why I recommended giving a call to Valhalla. The owner of that repair shop has been working there for 37 years (no typo), and is a really great guy. I just had my car serviced there and he was awesome (there's no affiliation with him at all). When he picked me up from Bart with my car to get me, he was surprised that I went to him vs. one of the shops on the peninsula. I live in daly city, but he was named as the guy to go to for cis issues.

He knows all the really good, honest shops in the bay area off the top of his head, and so I bet he'd have a recommendation for you that won't break the bank.

If you are gonna be painting the car at all, it really is worth paying for high quality paint and especially for great prep work, as that is where a decent paint job will become amazing.

He does close early, I think around 3:30, since he starts so early in the morning.

If you end up over at his shop for some reason, ask for the tour. He has some amazing pieces of Porsche memorabilia and a massive collection of parts on hand.

Michael

[MH911]

Another place to check out for body and paint is Bodystyle on Brokaw Road in San Jose. They painted a replacement hood for me. Stripped it down to the metal, filled the small imperfections and gave it a good coat of paint. It came out a perfect match.

[jderrick]

I do not have any leads for the interior and exterior. As for the mechanical, give Tom Amon a call (408) 429-0545. Perhaps he could suggest some paint and interior shops as well. His site can be accessed at the following address Mobile Porsche Repair - Mobile Works West brings the Porsche Repair SHOP to YOU

Good luck with your project,

John

[PCA7GGR]

+1 for Cecil at Bodystyles. He did an excellent RS conversion for me back in the 80s and his standards have remained high.

[darshie76]

Thanks for the suggestions!

Michael, I hear you....Maaco was kinda like my last resort since everyone that used their services always says that they would go elsewhere if their car was not a beater

Valhalla sounds good, but is kinda out of my area (I am in SJ); and they don't even have a website, so is kinda hard to figure out how do they work; I will give them a call thou...but i bet that he want to see the car for an estimate, and i will end up driving there

I've heard of bodystyle; he is very close to my home, so i guess that i will stop by there as first step; since they do interior and exterior work is a good solution.

how is the price range? Would be nice if he would use email

John, i have tried Tom and he was not really able to resolve one of my mechanical issues; I have a good mechanic that is called Mervin (Rennshop in santa clara); but he is utterly busy, and getting time to leave the car to him for a month or more to do the mechanical part only is a problem...in the worst case I will have to do the mechanical part little by little....the main priority now is to find a good restorer for the outside and interiors

[ToddM]

Cecil costs an arm & a leg.

Contact Freddy: idoporsche@sbcglobal.net

Look at my garage to see what quality he is providing at a fraction of the cost; using orig Glasurit, bare metal repaint.

[ToddM]

Also Tom has great rebuild 915s; Im running one of his rebuilds now. Just because he couldn't resolve your past issue, I'd recommend him in a heartbeat for a new transmission... again, excellent pricing & quality.

[agentogden]

Check in with Hi-Tec in San Rafael. IF they won't do it they will know someone that can. Been there 30yrs. Maybe buy the '55 speester there too.

Hi Tec Automotive - (415) 258-9619

Also -- Easy Porsche in Emeryville may have some ideas. Porsche salvage.

AO

[darshie76]

Todd, where is Freddy located? does he have a website?

BTW how much is an arm and a leg for you? I expect to do interior (Carpets, dash, seals) and exterior (paint, chips and dents, suspension and so on), plus transmission for about 13-15K; hoping that there is nothing wrong with the engine (otherwise i guess that it will take other 4-5K minimum on top of my other estimate).

Of course the less i spend the more I am happy , but if i gotta spend money like i did in the past, and have the work done twice, then i prefer to do it just once and be done with it.

So you are telling me that is better to get a 915 directly instead of fixing mine? Was my understanding that getting a 915 to just swap is not a good idea since you don't know what they put in....am i wrong?

Tom had to work on my ignition for various times and in the end was not able to get why my car was not working properly...i can understand that there are times when you cannot fix something (used to fix computers for years, know the feeling of that issue that you have no clue why it is happening); but at the same time is ringing a bell about the fact that there is not a single mechanic that knows every aspect of the 911...some are great with electric stuff, others are awesome with engine stuff, other with the setup and so on; so no blame on him

[ToddM]

Originally Posted by darshie76

Todd, where is Freddy located? does he have a website?

BTW how much is an arm and a leg for you? I expect to do interior (Carpets, dash, seals) and exterior (paint, chips and dents, suspension and so on), plus transmission for about 13-15K; hoping that there is nothing wrong with the engine (otherwise i guess that it will take other 4-5K minimum on top of my other estimate).

Of course the less i spend the more I am happy , but if i gotta spend money like i did in the past, and have the work done twice, then i prefer to do it just once and be done with it.

So you are telling me that is better to get a 915 directly instead of fixing mine? Was my understanding that getting a 915 to just swap is not a good idea since you don't know what they put in....am i wrong?

Tom had to work on my ignition for various times and in the end was not able to get why my car was not working properly...i can understand that there are times when you cannot fix something (used to fix computers for years, know the feeling of that issue that you have no clue why it is happening); but at the same time is ringing a bell about the fact that there is not a single mechanic that knows every aspect of the 911...some are great with electric stuff, others are awesome with engine stuff, other with the setup and so on; so no blame on him

No one stop shop is going to do what you need. You are better off going to a specialist for the body & paint, another for the interior and another for the mechanical work.

Freddie is in Martinez and if you want I can show you my car in person so you can see the quality of the finished product.

You could goto Cecil but the paint alone would likely exceed your $15K total ballpark.

Tom admitted himself he isn't the best with the electronics. Sometimes these cars get electrical gremlins that can be a real b!tch to wort out. Tom gives a warranty with all his rebuilt transmissions. He will show up, drop the engine and swap the tranmission in an hour. He really amazes me with his efficiency and he is very trustworthy; he'll tell you exactly what is in there.

For all general maintenance, electrical, fixing odds & ends I always use RMG in Sunnyvale.

[MH911]

When I was searching to get my replacement hood repainted, Freddie was one of the contacts I made. He had given me a quote. I had also made contact with Cecil. His quote was pretty much right on with Freddie. Both seemed to have good reviews ( here on Pelican ). So, Cecil won because of location. I surely wasn't looking for the cheapest or a shop that's going to charge top dollar, but a shop that was going to do quality work.

[MH911]

I have also done some business with Tom. He did my PPI and attempted to diagnose a problem I was having. He was not able to resolve it. It was a electrical problem with one of the sensors. Also, I don't think it was stated above. I may have missed it, but Tom does not have a shop. He is a Mobil service working out of his SUV. He can do engine rebuilds out of his home, but he would come to you, pull your engine and bring it home. I would very much recommend Tom for doing work on our P-cars, but I don't think he would be the answer for a restoration.

[ToddM]

Originally Posted by MH911

I have also done some business with Tom. He did my PPI and attempted to diagnose a problem I was having. He was not able to resolve it. It was a electrical problem with one of the sensors. Also, I don't think it was stated above. I may have missed it, but Tom does not have a shop. He is a Mobil service working out of his SUV. He can do engine rebuilds out of his home, but he would come to you, pull your engine and bring it home. I would very much recommend Tom for doing work on our P-cars, but I don't think he would be the answer for a restoration.

The guys I know that do "restorations" wouldn't touch an SC and you would be at least 2x over in price of this gentlemens budget. I was only recommending Tom for the transmission and/or mechanical work.

FYI I won't get into details but Cecil's quote was sunstantially more than Freddie's for a strip to metal and repaint. Both do quality work, both use quality materials (Gasurit).

[MH911]

Sorry for my misunderstanding there Todd. I agree with you that Tom would be the guy to go too ( wait, he comes to you ) transmission and/or mechanical work. His name has been recommended to me by several people here in the South Bay. I know that I will definitely be using his service in the future.

Don't know about our different experiences with Freddie/Cecil. I just know for me, Freddie was geographically undesirable.

[ToddM]

Morgan Hill is a bit of a haul to Martinez but basically you're just dropping off your ride for a couple months

Part of my cost was to buy another car for a daily driver. Now I only drive the 911 part of the time which has been nice as 100 miles round trip every day in a 911 definitely takes its toll.

[MH911]

My baby was down for two months due to that sensor problem. I really hated that. Fortunately, I have my truck too, but it's just not as much fun. 100 miles? I do not envy you there.

Where do you East Bay guys go for a quick drive? I was thinking up going up and over Mt. Hamilton today after the fog lifts.