mechanics in columbus, ohio

[hoffman912]

ok.. long story short, i have not been too impressed with the mechanic who i have taken my 912 to in the past. he is a good guy, and according to everyone else he really knows his stuff, and i dont necessarly doubt that, but some of the things he has done has me thinking he is not all that he is cracked up to be. for example, he replaced my front pan, and the new one started to get surface rust 8 mos after it was done. (he does body restos and mechanical work). the other issue was not necessarly somthing he did directly.. i did a top end job myself on my car a year ago (before i had a full rebuild done this year), and asked him if there was a local shop he recomended to do the heads. he recomended the shop he has his machine work done at.. needless to say when i got the heads back the intake guide bosses were severly cracked b/c they forced the guides in. if he has that poor of quality owrk out sourced by him, it kind of makes me wonder what else might not be kosher.. this along with the pan has left a sour taste in my mouth, and now its time for me to find another mechanic as i have several big projects i would like to have tackled over the winter and next spring.

anyways.. to get to the point, is there anyone in central ohio, who can recomend a good, solid reputable mechanic, who one can always count on blindly. while im not a rich guy, money will not be an issue at this point -ive been through too much with this car and just want it right. i just simply want the best i can find in the area, somone who can dial it in and really make it run and handle like it should.

suggestions and recomendations will be greatly appreciated.

[Paul Schooley]

I'm gonna go out on a limb here (cause I don't have a map in front of me) and suggest Stoddards. Are they not centrally located in Ohio and don't they have a really good reputation?

[hoffman912]

i could go that route, but stoddards is just under 3 hours away (in a suburb east of cleveland). if im going out of central ohio, it would be closer to go to dayton (1 hour away) or cincinatti (1 1/2 hours away), which i dont really want to do.. i would still like to find someone in central ohio if possable, but if i had to resort to going out of my way my next choice would be dayton (closer and i know there are more porsche shops there).

now if i was going to drop the car off for a long long time to have somthing like a full resto done, i wouldnt hesitate to do stoddards. at this time though, the projects i want to do are going through the brake system and replacing and upgrading everything in the brakes, and then a bit farther down the road have the suspension completely gone through, aligned and corner balanced, eventully have the window seals and headliner replaced and maybe have the dash recovered while its out. that and regular maintenence. not all of these projects at once mind you.

[hoffman912]

cornpanzer,

do you know any one in c-bus? who are you taking yours to these days?

[caproader]

Harry,
Have you thought of Dick Weiss here in Cincinnati for engine work? He does all the 356 registry engines. It might mean that you have to take the engine out and then bring it down here. He lives and works out of his house, about 2 miles from my house, so if you get to Cincinnati, let me know and we can go over there together.

On body work, you might want to think of Mark Schlachter, if you can stand the trip down I-71 to Cincinnati. Again, he does a lot of 356 stuff (currently restoring a Hubmueller cab) but he also does a lot of 911 stuff so he might be worth a conversation. He is off of the Dana Ave exit on I-71.

Give me a call on the cell if you want to talk. 513 325 8071

John Meyer aka the capitalist roader. Loyal S Registry member #322, 356 registry member #1392 and waiting for my 912 registry member card.

[hoffman912]

thanks John,

i do have Dick in mind if i cant find anyone in columbus. like i said though, the idea of driving it that far doesnt set too well. if all else fails though he would be one of my top choices. do you know if dick does all around maintenence or just engines?

Hubmueller? oh man, i bet thats a nice find!! ill definitly keep him in mind for when i decide to paint it in a few years.

ill give you a call this weekend