Buick friendly mechanic/ shop in MD

[QWIK4ASIX]

Hey guys, just lookin for a TR friendly mechanic/tuner/shop in southern MD. Any suggestions would help a ton!
Thanks,
Derek

[JayC]

Anderson Performance is in Baltimore.

[raymon823]

fenton street citgo in silver sping

[nordy racer]

Originally Posted by JayC

Anderson Performance is in Baltimore.

i second Billy's shop.. it will be well worth your drive from southern maryland . he's a master tuner and engine builder..

Anderson Performance
8209D Rosebank Avenue
Baltimore, Maryland 21222

Phone: (410) 282-9335

Fax: (410) 282-3931

Email: anderson_performance@verizon.net

[gn86randy]

Mid-Atlantic Grand National Association - MAGNA - A car club for Buick Grand National & GNX, T-Type & Turbo T, and Pontiac Turbo Trans AM owners in the states of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania

Derek they will help you out, tell them Randy and Linda said Aloha from honolulu, I'll be back that way one of these days......GN85 on this board as well as turbobuicks.com as well good luck, Andy in Waldorf can help as well Don't remember his last name though.....again good luck Billy use to Run up at Capitol every now and again as well good luck

[ijames]

The monthly pizza bench race session of MABPC, the MD G S C A chapter, is tonight, May 1, at the North Laurel Pizza Hut on Rt 1 a couple of miles south of Rt 32 (first Tues. of each month at 7pm). Come up and hang out. I don't know any shops towards the south but I'll try to remember to ask.

As others mentioned, there is Fenton Citgo in Silver Spring (don't know what all they do), Billy Anderson in Edgemere (east of Baltimore just off 695, everything from in-house dyno tuning to engine building), and Vernon's Automotive in Laurel (general mechanical stuff but no engine building or race tuning). Andy in Waldorf built transmissions (including mine) but for the last year or so has gotten out of the "biz".

[QWIK4ASIX]

Hey Carl. We've met before. I used to have a WE4, and I believe you met my wife and I at Capitol one night. I couldn't remember what night the guys met at the Pizza Hut, got introduced to that group through a guy several years ago (wish I could remember his name). He worked at Pep Boys in Laurel, and had an 86 GN, but totalled it. I think his name was Marshall? Anyhow...the reason I'm lookin for a fairly local shop is that I have a pretty nasty valve tap and I don't want to drive the car real far. The car has a freshly rebuilt motor(1500 to 2000 miles), and I think a rocker may have come loose because nothing has been re-torqued since the rebuild. Basically, I need someone to take a look at the tap, torque to rockers, and possibly re-adjust the valve. If you guys think it will be ok to drive it about an hour to Laurel, I'll do that and see what the boys think. Are Richard and Don still working out of Vernon's? Thanks for the info, guys!!
-Derek

[ijames]

Hey Derek, you're the Outback guy, right? Richard still runs Vernon's but Don moved on to another job. Yes, you are thinking of Marshall. I wouldn't run it with the tap. Either get someone to help you pull the valve covers where it sits, or tow it to a shop. Maybe give Bobby Mason a call in Richmond; maybe he can come up and take a look at it for you? [The Gold AAA membership runs about $80/year and gets you up to four 100 mile tows, hint, hint :-).]

[QWIK4ASIX]

Gotcha. Thanks, Carl. Lemme ask you this- I have a mechanic I trust 2 blocks from my house. Is there anything that is TR specific or may give him trouble if I bring the car to him for the valve tap? Like I said, I trust the guys work, but I don't believe he's ever worked on a TR before. I know that these cars are VERY finnicky and some things should only be done by a good TR guy. Is this something that my guy can do without TR experience, or should I play it safe and just tow it up to Vernon's or Billy Anderson's place? Lookin for some solid advice, just got the car less than a week ago and I really wanna keep this one tight and not half-ass anything, ya know?
Thanks again,
Derek
PS- yes, I'm the Outback guy! Finally got my own Outback in La Plata now! Being the owner of an Outback is AWESOME, but severely limits my play-time with the car! I'm only 10 minutes from MIR, and I'll be lucky to see the track 6 or 8 times this season.

[ijames]

That's great, owning your own Outback!!! I assumed you just moved from Bowie to La Plata as a manager. There is nothing "TR specific tricky" about pulling the valve covers. The passenger side has to be angled and turned just so to clear the ac shield and heater pipes. Just needs a little patience, especially going back together with the gasket. The top nuts on the studs that hold the egr control, wastegate solenoid, and harness are 10 mm, while the studs and bolt are 3/8". Definitely have your guy pull the valve covers and check all the valve train. Look for bent pushrods, broken/missing plastic buttons that keep the rockers from sliding off to the side, broken rocker shaft, broken/loose shaft bolt, etc. If everything up top looks okay, roll the motor over with the starter while watching the rockers to eyeball the lift and make sure it is the same on all cylinders. If not, you have a wiped cam lobe and it's time to take it back to the builder or to someone like Billy. I know you say he's only a couple of blocks away, but if it were mine I would really, really hate to crank it up and drive it there. I just hate potentially making something worse :-).

No one at the meeting knew of any TR shops down your way. Good luck.

[QWIK4ASIX]

Thanks, Carl. I got the valve cover off, then realized that I don't know what I'm looking for. I don't think I could identify a messed up valve train if it bit me in the face!(aside from blatantly broken parts). I did some research, and I don't believe its the cam, as I have a roller cam. What I need to look at is the cam sensor in addition to the valves and rockers. I think I'm just gonna drag it up the block with my truck, and have the local guy check the valves and rockers for me. If he can't figure it out, I'll rent a dolly and roll it up to Billy in B-more. The car is ready for some tuning now, anyway, so I'll kill 2 birds with 1 stone that way as well. Thanks a ton for the info and the suggestions, GREATLY appreciated!!

Lookin forward to seeing you and the guys soon at Pizza Hut,
Derek

[QWIK4ASIX]

Started it today to turn it around for the tow truck and I think it dropped a valve . I'll haul it up to Billy this week and we'll see how bad it is.
-Derek

[PNYKLR]

wow silver spring my sister and bro in law live there

how good is this citgo place?

[ijames]

Had to go out of town for a few days so I'm just catching up. I hope it's not that serious, Derek. Let us know what Billy finds, if he has time to look at it before the Nats.

[QWIK4ASIX]

Got the car to Billy's. Broken rocker shaft. No biggie. Also having the car tuned while I'm up there . All is well and I'd HIGHLY reccommend Billy's shop, just from a customer svc standpoint and everyone I've spoken with has been super nice and easy to deal with (Jeff, Bill, and Billy)!!