TheSamba.com :: View topic

Sat Aug 17, 2002 8:57 pm

Can anyone recommend a good and honest repair shop, preferably in SF, that specializes in VW's and Bus' in particular? I require exhaust maintenance and some restore work. Currently I've worked with San Francisco Auto Repair and know about Gary Lavere restoration in Concord. Has anyone out there had experience (good or bad) with any of these places? Any others? Thanks.

Tue Aug 20, 2002 11:03 am

I have lived in S.F. for 7 years and had a Bus for 7 years:

Tassi - Colma - 650 755 1355 - I use them.
John's VW - San Mateo - 650 574 4643
Valley Wagon Works - San Anselmo - 415 457 5628 - Bought parts from them, nice guys.
LaVere's - Martinez - 925 229 2847 - Nice shop, bought parts, might be tough to get in and expensive.
Bugformance - San Jose - 408 926 8830
Volks Authority - San Jose - 408 286 7306 - Might be just parts.

Sat Sep 28, 2002 9:38 pm

Fred's Garage - 416 "D" St, Industrial Way
Redwood City, CA 94063, 650-368-5343

Fri Jun 12, 2009 10:34 pm

I'd recommed Fred's Garage - 416 "D" St, Industrial Way
Redwood City, CA 94063, 650-368-5343: they are my first choice, they only do VW and Audi and have lots of parts on hand, also prices very reasonable although turn around time can be hit or miss.

Tassi - Colma - 650 755 1355 - I use them for parts only, work can be kinda sloppy and they have a reputation for holding on to your car for unreasonable amounts of time. I had a rebuilt transmission installed there years ago and I wouldn't go back.

LaVere's - Concord - 925 229 2847 - yeah expensive, resto place and not too up front about estimate and time commitment, not sure about the quality of the work as they are still holding my car, and have yet to see any(work) yet.

Mon Jul 25, 2011 11:10 am

Looking for someone who rebuilds air-cooled engines in the Bay Area.
Besides Tassi and La Vere's [-X, what shops locally are rebuilding air-cooled engines? Are any left?

(and no, Valley Wagonwerks and The Buslab do not rebuild air-cooled)

(Asking for a friend. My engine is fine, thank you very much)

Mon Jul 25, 2011 11:22 am

if it is a T4 no one of any caliber. Lots of T1 shops. T4 parts have to go to So Cal to be checked and worked on. There is a guy in Sacramento where we are but I personally would not use him, do a search under AVP.

Colin is passing thru NorCal tomorrow if this is an urgent situation but he is on the way to a reunion so won't have much time. What is the situation with your friend?

Mon Jul 25, 2011 11:22 am

He built my engine and I love it:

http://www.jansenenterprise.com/

Been running since March 2010... took a 3,000 mile, 13 day roadtrip 5 months later never skipped a beat.

Mon Jul 25, 2011 11:26 am

chabanais wrote: He built my engine and I love it:

http://www.jansenenterprise.com/

Been running since March 2010... took a 3,000 mile, 13 day roadtrip 5 months later never skipped a beat.

sure - that is a type 1 motor. Many places do those as well as the machine work.

Mon Jul 25, 2011 11:44 am

I believe Ken does Type 1 and Type 4. Finding a place is one thing, finding a good place is another.

Tassi used a broken off spark plug for an oil drain plug. Would you have them build your engine?

Mon Jul 25, 2011 11:52 am

chabanais wrote: He built my engine and I love it:

http://www.jansenenterprise.com/

Been running since March 2010... took a 3,000 mile, 13 day roadtrip 5 months later never skipped a beat.

That is a nice looking engine!

Mon Jul 25, 2011 11:53 am

Well, I think that lots of shops did rebuild Type 1's, but those numbers have diminished greatly.

OK, so here is more. I was hanging around at an unnamed shop (one that we would generally think to be a likely rebuilder) and overheard the Service Manager tell a caller that, no, they won't rebuild their (pancake) engine. He instead referred them to Tassi who is well known for being flaky. When the call was finished, I asked how they could, with a clear conscience, recommend that shop for a rebuild. The answer was (and I am paraphrasing) that they were the only ones left. I replied "But what about (well-regarded unnamed shop)?" and was told that their quality had gone down so far that they would not recommend them to any customer.

So this is why I am asking. With a good restaurant, things change when the chef leaves. With a great shop, things change when the ownership changes or the old mechanics retire. Several local shops have stopped, for a variety of reasons, working on old air-cooled cars and I am hoping for up-to-date information on who is still rebuilding their own engines.

Mon Jul 25, 2011 12:50 pm

What did Ken say after you talked with him?

Mon Jul 25, 2011 1:01 pm

We live in a suburb of Sacramento and when I build an engine I expect things to be done right. We took our parts to Los Angeles to be machined - a 1,000 mile round trip several times. We did this because after calling around it was obvious that no VW machine shop of any worth who did T4 work was here in Nor Cal anymore. We interviewed AVP - you form your own conclusions after reading posts. I was not even fully satisfied with the LA work and took the heads back twice as they were substandard by my expectations but there are almost no places left - NONE. T4 cases come from from all the way across the USA to get align bored at RIMCO - get the hint? No one else has the tools unless someone has bought some in the last year or so. If I had the tools I could do the work myself as in the late 1970's and early 1980's I did that stuff in a shop. I can even flow heads if I have access to the right equipment. So if you find someone who knows what they are doing let me know and I will go inspect their shop for you if it sounds promising. Right now I am the only person in the central part of California who has recently rebuilt a T4 4ngine. There is one in Bakersfield (Ed) that was rebuilt - he also went to RIMCO. A few heads have been repaired with problems - they went to RIMCO or Adrian at Headflow or Raul took his to Brother's Machine in Ontario. FAT builds T4 motors in Orange but I don't know who does their machine work - they may do it themselves and they have been highly recomended by some of the T1 builders up here.

The problem is simple economics. Jake charges close to $10,000 for a motor because that is what it costs to get it right and provide the items at spec. We put about $4000 in our engine for parts, missing parts, trips and machine work not including my time which would have cost a 3rd party $4500 - $5000. Unless you make friends with someone who has the tools, I am not aware of any T4 builders left up here.

BTW - I was 30 when I worked on engines for a living. I am 60, almost 61 now. All the folks who were 40 - 60 years old who owned those shops are dead or retired now. There wasn't enough profit left in the shops to continue doing just VW stuff.

Mon Jul 25, 2011 1:11 pm

Talk to Ken he knows all the good shops that are still in operation, but may want to skip him if it's a rush job as he is swamped with work.
you talk with Peters uncle?
pjalau wrote: And theres Johns VW in San mateo. Full disclosure, I'm related by marriage.

He does flawless work on my bus, click my photos for examples.

-Peter

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=317492&highlight=tassi

Mon Jul 25, 2011 1:14 pm

VWDruid wrote: Talk to Ken he knows all the good shops that are still in operation, but may want to skip him if it's a rush job as he is swamped with work.
you talk with Peters uncle?
pjalau wrote: And theres Johns VW in San mateo. Full disclosure, I'm related by marriage.

He does flawless work on my bus, click my photos for examples.

-Peter

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=317492&highlight=tassi

So where is Bugmania these days. Did he ever get back from his cruise?

Mon Jul 25, 2011 3:33 pm

How about kombi house in sac?
http://kombihaus.com/

Or original customs in napa?
http://www.originalcustoms.com/index.php

Mon Jul 25, 2011 4:51 pm

ivwshane wrote: How about kombi house in sac?
http://kombihaus.com/

Or original customs in napa?
http://www.originalcustoms.com/index.php

Justin at KombiHaus is a great guy. They don't have a machine shop.

Anyone can disassemble and reassemble parts. A 10-year old who reads can too. The problem is there are no machine shops here in Norcal who can do the precision head and case work on a T4. I thought about buying the equipment and doing it as a side business to service the community since I know how to do it right, however the amount of money people here are willing to pay for services isn't worth the time, and we already have one specialist in high-end T4 motors so a second isn't needed. All it would do is create surplus highend T4 motors and both of us would lose out. That is a lose-lose prop from my perspective. Americans send all their work to China now. Maybe that is where we should look for help from. Just ship our buses in a container and pin an order list on it... :)

Mon Jul 25, 2011 11:04 pm

78campmobile, when you say you need exhaust maintenance and some restore work, that is a bit vague, do you need an engine builder/mechanic, a machinists, or an auto restoration shop(body and interior)? Its very rare that you find one place that will do all the aforementioned…

Just an FYI, Ken at Jansen Enterprise is a very good machinist/engine builder, and is a striate shooter that wont take any business he cant do well, but as with all reasonably priced excellent machine shops with regular customers they have been dealing with for 30+ years, regular customers may get preferential treatment if they need a rush job… He has more business than he can handle most of the time as do all places that know what they are doing regarding ACVW’s ;0)

Tue Jul 26, 2011 12:16 am

chabanais wrote: He built my engine and I love it:

http://www.jansenenterprise.com/

Been running since March 2010... took a 3,000 mile, 13 day roadtrip 5 months later never skipped a beat.

No clamps on the fuel line where the filter is in the engine bay.

Tue Jul 26, 2011 12:37 am

That photo is 18 months old. :-)