Swanner Machine Shop: Parkville, MD

[thedeadking]

I HIGHLY recommend Swanner's Machine Shop and its owner Scottie. Although it is a small business, the quality of work and the turn around time are both excellent. The prices are also EXTREMELY fair/cheap compared to many of the other machine shops in the Maryland and Northern Virginia area.

For example, Justice Racing here in Virginia wanted $1,800 for the same amount of work that Swanner's did for $400. I originally planned to have Auto Expectations here in VA assemble my short block, but due to a minor assembly error, I had to take the block and all it's parts back to Scottie and had him assemble it. The guys at Auto Expectations, who have their machine work done by Justice Racing, said that everything that Swanner's did looked like "high quality work."

Here is the break-down of what I had done on my 300zx motor for $400:

- Cylinder Honed = $60
- Resurfaced Cylinder Head = $100
- Pistons Cleaned = $30
- Broken Bolt(s) Extraction = $20
- Polished Crankshaft = $45
- Polished Wrist Pins = $30
- Clean Parts = $100
- Freeze Plugs Installed = $15
- Block Painting = $0

To assemble the short block he usually charges $250, but since he let me help him reassemble it so I could learn how to do it, he cut me a really great deal.

Here is their information if you're interested. They have a lot of experience with both old and new, domestic and import, standard and aftermarket.

For the record, the issue Auto Expectations was having was very minor. They couldn't get the crank to turn when they put it in with the bearings due to the left over grease used to gauge the clearance. After Swanner's wiped off the few places on the crank that still had the grease, it was able to turn freely by hand.