I would like recommendations on a machine shop in the Austin/San Antonio, Texas area that knows and has a track record of doing quality work of rebuilding Mopar small block engines.
Thanks,
Eric
Thanks,
Eric
340 engine rebuilder in Texas
- Thread starter eschroeder1
- Start date
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I’d be far less concerned with finding a mopar specialist than I would be finding a shop that has updated equipment.
Like a home with diamond abrasives or if they are using vitrified abrasives they need a profilometer.
They need to have a nice, rigid seat and guide machine to use a forming tool to cut a valve job.
An equally rigid surfacer that can achieve a 21st surface finish and not a rotary broach style machine or similar.
They should have a line hone in the shop so they can accurately set your bearing clearance and they don’t have to send it out to do that.
Same with a rod hone.
That should be the minimum the shop has. It would be nice if they have a dyno of some kind to verify their work.
The shop needs to be able to make round things round and flat things flat. Thats not mopar specific. If you aren’t trying to make 2 hp/cid NA or more, a shop with the above equipment is a far better choice than a mopar “specialist” shop with a bunch of garbage tooling.
I want to say gain how critical it is in 2026 (we are almost there) that the shop you chose has a profilometer and knows how to use it.
Ring seal is critical. An incorrectly honed engine will be down on power. Every time. It shouldn’t take 40 pulls on the dyno (or more) or 500 hard street miles to get the rings seated.
The rings should be fully seated in no more than one or two dyno pulls. If not, you’ll never have correct ring seal.
It’s not 1975 anymore.
One more thing. How many times have you pulled an oil pan on an engine after say anywhere from several dyno pulls to say 5k miles and found all that nasty gray **** in the bottom of the pan? I still see it today.
Do you know what that is? It’s not cam lube. That is the swarf (a fancy word for machine grinding particles) and that is your rings and cylinder walls laying in the bottom of the pan. That is totally unacceptable in today’s world.
Like a home with diamond abrasives or if they are using vitrified abrasives they need a profilometer.
They need to have a nice, rigid seat and guide machine to use a forming tool to cut a valve job.
An equally rigid surfacer that can achieve a 21st surface finish and not a rotary broach style machine or similar.
They should have a line hone in the shop so they can accurately set your bearing clearance and they don’t have to send it out to do that.
Same with a rod hone.
That should be the minimum the shop has. It would be nice if they have a dyno of some kind to verify their work.
The shop needs to be able to make round things round and flat things flat. Thats not mopar specific. If you aren’t trying to make 2 hp/cid NA or more, a shop with the above equipment is a far better choice than a mopar “specialist” shop with a bunch of garbage tooling.
I want to say gain how critical it is in 2026 (we are almost there) that the shop you chose has a profilometer and knows how to use it.
Ring seal is critical. An incorrectly honed engine will be down on power. Every time. It shouldn’t take 40 pulls on the dyno (or more) or 500 hard street miles to get the rings seated.
The rings should be fully seated in no more than one or two dyno pulls. If not, you’ll never have correct ring seal.
It’s not 1975 anymore.
One more thing. How many times have you pulled an oil pan on an engine after say anywhere from several dyno pulls to say 5k miles and found all that nasty gray **** in the bottom of the pan? I still see it today.
Do you know what that is? It’s not cam lube. That is the swarf (a fancy word for machine grinding particles) and that is your rings and cylinder walls laying in the bottom of the pan. That is totally unacceptable in today’s world.
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