Recommendation for motor work in San Jose?

[Randy Rosenberg]

Hi Van,

My only experience in San Jose has been with Mustang Corral (Elliot Franklin), however he moved to Auburn. My other experience is with Top of the Hill in Livermore - Craig Hill knows the in's and out's of SPFs very well, since he's been working on them for about 10 years now, and with his recent partnership with Ted Yamashiro, TOTH can build you a killer motor to your liking, fulled spec'd, dyno'd and broken in, ready to go. TOTH ain't in San Jose nor are they inexpensive.

In my opinion, you need to look for a shop that can R/R your engine with some knowledge of SPFs, assuming you don't R/R your engine yourself. And I suspect that any local engine builder will want to use their own supplier for stroker parts, so if I were you, then I'd shop builders, not stoker kits. Many owners have had good luck with buying crate engines - they seem to be consistent and a good value for the money spent. The only down side is if you have any problems with a crate engine, then who will fix it, and if the engine needing R/R and shipping back to the builder, then you're dealing with added expense and down time. So, finding someone local to do it all has some conveniences, however in the short term a local builder will most likely be more expensive than purchasing a crate - the long term may include a risk.

Last, if I were to need a new engine, I would have TOTH build me an engine and install it. That why if any problem arises, then I only have one place to go to get "whatever" broke fixed.

YMMV,
Randy R...

[shelby racer]

The shop is Campbell Auto Restoration - ask for Kevin or Mark - tell them John O'Boyle and Richard Ravel sent you.

Kevin will be at SEMA next week so it may be a few days before he gets back to you.

phone: 408-371-5522

I have no personal experience with them, but they have a great reputation. I was going to reccomend elliot of mustang coral, but I knew that he moved over a year ago. I agree that expeience with cobras (they are kind of "different" to work on) is a big plus. Ted makes great motors (not cheap as mentioned) and Top of the hill is the local superformance source it would be worth while talking to every one you are considering and getting quotes and prices and a feel for them and what ever after sale support they do.
John(;-)

[LETSRCE]

There's Mike Braun in San Francisco. He has built a few motors for us.
He's real good and real slow (busy) 415-810-7863