Southern California repower shop recommendation?

[Pixelhead]

I have a 1963 Flxible Starliner that is being re-powered with a Cummins ISC 8.3L 350HP engine and Allison MD 3060 transmission. The engine, tranny and a appropriate rear end have been installed, but I need the setup plumbed for cooling and to have the wiring completed.

The gear mentioned above came out of a 2000 model year motorhome that had been in an accident. I have the wiring harness, shift pad, etc. from that vehicle.

The person who was working on the job no longer has the time to finish the project, so I'm looking for someone to take over the project.

I have a call into Pedco/Ironman in Santa Fe Springs, but haven't heard back yet.

Any suggestions?

[Lin]

You might see if Don Fairchild in Bakersfield is interested.  His website is at http://www.cctskit.com/

[gus]

Bob, at HB Industries in El Cajon specializes in Flxibles and has done a number of power conversions. He has a website with all the info. He converted the Flxs for Santa Catalina Resorts.

Is he the one that was too busy to do yours, wouldn't be surprised.

[desi arnaz]

gem equipment in ventura did mine for only $19,915.03  171 w Stanley ave  643*6185

[RJ]

Ben/Karen -

I agree on Don Fairchild - really great guy and an absolute whiz on Detroits.  Not afraid of the other brands, either!  Used to work for Delaney & Ahlf, one of the biggest repair facilities in Bakersfield, with a stellar reputation.

You've got my card with my phone number - give me a call when you get to CA, I'll figure out a way to catch up with you two!

FWIW & HTH. . .

[happycamperbrat]

Hey if there is going to be a party in Cally, let me know too so I can have a chance to catch up with everyone 

[gus]

I agree about Don Fairchild too, great guy and sure knows his DD stuff.

The main reason I mentioned HB is he has done a bunch of Flxs. He usually takes a Cummins and Allison combination from a schoolie and installs them into a Flx as I remember.

[rv_safetyman]

Ben, just checked your blog and see that there is no update on finding a new shop. 

Have you had any luck?

Jim

[RJ]

Ben, just checked your blog and see that there is no update on finding a new shop. 
Have you had any luck?

Jim -

I think Ben's been sidetracked a little - he was on deadline for a publishing project.

IIRC, they're headed WB next week, we should hear something soon.

FWIW & HTH. . .

[Pixelhead]

Hey,

Sorry for no update... I was busy writing the handbook for a new seminar.

Here's a quick update:

I've contacted the following companies:
Gem Equipment: Talked to Dave and he said that the guys who used to work on this kind of stuff have either retired, had a stroke, or only come in a few days a month and therefore, he wasn't interested in the job. He was really nice and gave me the names of a few shops he thought might be right for the job.

Complete Coach Works in Ventura: They were not at all interested... they mainly work on large fleets of vehicles and for different municipalities. They said they'd call if they could think of anyone that might be interested.

Pedco/Ironman: Pedco has been purchased by Ironman and it sounds like Virgil has retired. They said they'd be interested and could pick up the bus soon. I'm considering them since they re-powered a friend of mine's bus and they had only good things to say and they quoted me a very reasonable shop rate that was lower than others... but I'm waiting on Dan Fairchild to hear what he's learned.

Dan Fairchild: I talked to Dan and he's interested in the project. He said he might be able to go and look at the bus over the weekend and report back. I haven't heard anything and plan to call him tomorrow morning. I was very happy with how Dan sounded and liked that others on this forum were happy with him. I hope he's had a chance to see the bus.

Someone mentioned J&R Diesel, but I looked them up on google maps satellite view and was not impressed with how their shop looked like a bone-yard of old coaches. I like clean shops since that's how I want my engine room to appear when it's done. Doesn't mean I wouldn't consider them, but they're not in my first round of considerations.

HB Industries: I like that he's worked on a lot of Flxibles, but found that some of the results are not as refined as I'd like. He could definitely get the job done, but I'm looking for the most elegant solution that is fiscally responsible. Having said that, he's very conveniently located and has the experience, so he's not off the list by any means.

I have not yet contacted Delany and Ahlf in Bakersfield, Nik's truck & tracker or a few other shops yet.

In general, I'm waiting to hear back from Dan before deciding if I want to go with him or Ironman with HB and a few others as backups if the primary options don't work out.

Hope that serves as an OK update.

Thanks for all the advice.

-Ben

[RJ]

Ben -

Thanks for the update!

If Don (with an "o") Fairchild can get over to take a look at your coach, he'll give you the straight scoop on what it's going to take to do what you want done.

Don used to work for Delaney & Ahlf years ago, but I don't think they do re-powers, especially on vintage vehicles.  Nowadays they're more of a production line shop doing warranty work.

- RJ

[Pixelhead]

Sorry for another delay... have been traveling (via air and coach) and hit seven states between East and West coasts over the last two weeks.

I was heavily leaning toward Don Fairchild (sorry for the "Dan" in previous post... I know his first name, just some typing voodoo got into my head when creating that last post). Having not seen the bus and only going by my largely uninformed description (since the mechanic who's been working on it has been either impossible to get a hold of or not all the detail-oriented in his descriptions), Don thought it would take him 1.5-2 weeks to get the bus running. He eventually had a chance to visit the bus and that's when he changed his estimate to 1.5-2 months. He found that the brake system wasn't hooked up and other stuff that would make it a larger project. With other projects he's been working on and shop availability mixed in, he thought he shouldn't take on the job because he didn't want to have me hanging in the air if he suddenly didn't have access to the same shop for the full length of the project. I'm disappointed that Don can't do the project since I think he could do a good job, but very much appreciate that he didn't take it on and then leave me hanging if he couldn't work on it all the time.

Moving on... I've found that most shops are either not interested, are very slow to respond (weeks, not days), or feel less than ideal.

Two days ago, I visited George Fields near Ft. Worth, TX. He owns a Visicoach that has been re-powered with more or less the same engine/tranny combo out of same type of donor vehicle/RV. He's very good at metal fabrication (made is own fluted stainless accent panels) and is overly passionate about vintage equipment and simply loves making stuff. One of his passions is creating vehicles to break land-speed records out on the Bonneville salt flats... he's gone over 300MPH on land (not that it helps when re-powering a bus, but it just goes to show his fabrication skills and passion for all things mechanical). I had planned to get the bus running while in California and then drive it to George's place to have other work done (power steering, electronic wiper conversion, etc, etc, etc.), but after seeing his shop, his bus and talking for a while, I've decided that I would be ideal to have him do all of the remaining chassis updates and other associated work. Now the challenge is finding an economical way to get the bus from Victorville, CA to Ft. Worth, TX. As to not highjack my own post, I'll ask for shipping suggestions in a fresh post.


Here's a pic of George with his Visicoach.

I'm currently parked near DFW airport and plan to hang out within a few hours of DFW for the next few weeks until the bus can be shipped here and then I can spend a bit of time with George going over what needs to be done on the bus. Having said that, George and I need to work out a few very small details before we are 100% locked in, so there is a very small chance that plans will change once again, but I hope that won't be the case.

[Busted Knuckle]

Ben,
Thanks for the update. And I, as well as you and others here can certainly appreciate Don not wanting to "commit" to doing it if he's not sure he can get'r done in a timely manner.

As far as shipping it goes you should be able to get any trucking company that runs "drop deck" trailers to bring it back to DFW for a reasonable price for you.
Might try Uship.com ! I used it an found a guy to bring me one of my Setra's from Idaho to TN for $3000.

Good luck!
 BK  

[luvrbus]

Call Sonnie Gray and get Bill's number he has a 45 drop trailer and comes into CA and AZ then back to Georgia empty sometime he may cut you a deal  1-903-815-2141 is Sonnies # and FWIW Sonnie can do you a top notch job on finishing your bus he is in North Texas at Lake Texhoma and the best around IMO


good luck

[Pixelhead]

FYI: Ellen at Gold Star Transport quoted me $2600 and should be able to pick it up in less than a week.