I recently relocated to the suburban Philadelphia area (King of Prussia/Main Line). Anyone have any recommendations for 914 mechanics for those tasks that may be too big to tackle? Thanks.

Isn't the crusty one up there?

you hittin the grass again D ? Crusty is in Califunkya

Cool! Soon Mid Atlantic region will rule the 914 world.

Same question. I am in the Doylestown Pa area...is there anyone in the area or are we on our own? perhaps we could have a eastern pa gathering.

You are correct, I was thinking about Pat.

Grew up in Philly, but can't help you with a 914 mechanic. That aside,

I am on the wrong side of the state or I could help ya. Tranzlog is in York and is a well known shop. Tony is the owner/mechanic.

I've never had any work done here... But, I've heard good things about Chris Radbill (radbillauto.com) in West Chester PA.

Not sure if they are still there but Ed DeStafano of Compact Cars in West Grove, PA knows these cars really well.

I recently got hold of Ed to ask about doing some work on my 914. Good news is that he is still there. Bad news is that he no longer works on older cars, will only do newer stuff. Essentially, too many rusty bolts and unknows on the old cars where they would wind up tying up the shop for extended periods of time or else throwing estimates way off leading to unhappy custs.

Like may old marques, the specialists are fewer and fewer so turning one's own wrenches becomes that much more critical.

Try Tony Miller at Translog in York. I have been to his shop and he knows his stuff. He will be doing some stuff on my teener this winter. It is a bit of a ride, but you just cannot give these cars to people that are not familiar with them.

Woodlawn Garage in Philly. They have a long history with Porsche's and have taken care of my car quite a bit since I've moved here. John and Jack are very knowledgeable and race quite a bit themselves. Can't recommend them enough.

I recall someone mentioning a place in DE just south of the PA border. Anyone know what shop that might be?

Don't forget dANNY

Tony is worth the drive

I have only heard good things about him as well. There was a bunch of work done to my 914 by Translog prior to me owning it.

If you are a PCA member check out the Boxster/Karmann Ghia that he built in this months Panorama.

Hi I live in Delaware. There's a great shop called Fairwinds automotive. They specialize in German cars. Owner is Will Pyle. He is great with vintage 911s & 914s. He's just south of PA. Prices are reasonable and he's super honest. Probably not to far from you. Tell him Dr. Tom told you about him he'll take great care of you. 302-322-5296
Tom

Reviving an old thread to keep the info in one place. I am looking for recommendations for a shop/person/world member relatively close to the western suburbs of Philadelphia to go over a few things on my car now that I’ve had enough time behind the wheel to really get familiar with it. I have a place I use for routine maintenance/state inspections, but they don’t seem to know 914s as well as I thought they did and am tired of being told everything is normal that might not be. I was hoping to get some current suggestions.

Chris Radbill - West Chester
http://www.radbillautomotive.com/?redirect=false
Jay Winsor - Bryn Mawr
http://www.jandjmotors.com
Mike Tillson - Overbrook
http://www.tillsonmotorcars.com/about.asp

All of these Delaware Valley Lurkers.

In my experience, DIY or make a friend. If I had to use someone, I'd take the drive to York.

Thanks! I think I am going to try Radbill. Someone I met with an older 911 was telling me about him too. Good to hear that he does 914s and not far from me.

I’ve heard good things, but a 1.5 hour drive each way is a lot unless something major needs to be done. I DIY as much as I can, but I don’t know what I don’t know.

I am in doylestown and have a lift. Makes diy a lot less painful. You are welcome to use it if and when I get my motor back in my car

I appreciate the offer! I was very close to pulling the trigger on a 4-post recently but limitations in my garage have slowed the progress.

Chris is a really good guy

Here is my thread from when I had work done by Chris Radbill's shop.

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=288144


Mixed bag IMHO. They did good work and car was running well afterward. It did sit at their shop for quite a while before they worked on it despite scheduled time / date. Definitely had some sticker shock. Skilled mechanics deserve a premium but some labor seemed excessive (2 hours to tighten exhaust nuts, 45 minutes to adjust thermostat cable, .2 hours to reset master cylinder safety switch when the underside panels were already off to do the tie rods). I did need to redo shift linkage adjust two days later as set screw came loose. It also died on way home which, I can see why they missed, turned out to be loose connection to CHT.

Thank you for the feedback. This is very helpful. The key with most specialty shops is to get the best guy to work on your car, often the owner. Unfortunately, many of these pcar shops put their best guys on the high dollar 911s and 356s, and they leave our 914s and the rest of the Porsche models to the oil change guys.

I have a 1975 with the 1.8 fuel injection. It will not run right at cruising speeds and we are not able to solve it. I am being encouraged to put twin carb set up. Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks for your help. This is my first post.

You may want to start a new thread. You will get more responses with a new topic.

Installing carbs really isn't the answer unless you install an appropriate camshaft.

Check and replace all the vacuum lines if needed ... 1.8L hate vacuum leaks.

Visit Paul Bander's 914 tech web site ... lots of valuable FI trouble-shooting tips there ... https://members.rennlist.com/pbanders/DJetParts.htm