Anybody have experience with Auto Atlanta's 914 engine rebuilds?

You won't find much love for AA around here. Do a search for AA (or Auto Atlanta) and draw your own conclusions...

Oh boy here we go !

ILBT

Run Forrest Run!

Do the search....

Go Seahawks!!!

They are the East Coast version of Motor Meister. You have been warned.

I had AA rebuild a '75 2.0 about 14 years ago - big mistake. it was almost a year before I finally got it back in the car. When under load it made a horrible clunking sound. Pulled the engine and I could actually rock the crank up and down in the case by grabbing the flywheel and front fan! Apparently nobody bothered to measure the case/bearings. I paid extra for "blueprinting" and balancing! When it arrived it was strpped to a cheap palet - no other protection and one of the valve covers was gone (some moron had used the valve cover bales to secure the strapping!) I know some have no issues with AA but I'd swear unless you know George personally or have something he wants you may as well be dealing with a Nigerian prince who has money to " transfer" out of your wallet. Please do yourself a favor - and stay away! There are plenty of reputable rebuilders on this site that will not you.

Talk to Brad Mayeur at 914 Ltd. He's only one state over from you, in East Peoria IL. He's been working on these cars since they were new, and he has always been a stand-up guy.

--DD

Call John Forbes at Black Forest Racing in Denver, NC (near Charlotte). I think you will find his reputation for air-cooled engines to be excellent.

+1 on Brad Mayeur: http://914ltd.com/

Another thumbs up for Brad! He and Mike do all the work themselves and couldn't be nicer and more honest folks!

+2 for Brad. A real stand up guy.

Totally agree with Dave and Mike. He is on of the few people who knows these cars and runs a business of integrity. Always love to do business with Brad. I guess this is Plus 3 Plus.

Once upon a time George wanted us to set valve train geometry on a 914 build... It wasn't the first time I had to explain to a well known individual how to carry out this process....

Anyway, he sent the engine up (longblock) strapped onto the back of a Motorcycle... Yes, a motorcycle!

That was the last interaction I had with George.

+4 on Brad!

Paul

Well, I guess that's about enough for a verdict. Poor George. It must suck to have a reputation like this. I wouldn't work with AA on a rebuild but I would assay that they are a good source to buy a lot of differnt products from. I've also had only good experience with Brad and Mike over at 914ltd. I've made several purchases from them.

M.i.M.

" it must suck to have a reputation like this " he has no one to blame but himself. He has earned that reputation over many , many years. I have first hand experience with this ripoff artist.........buyer beware !

My question has always been.....how does he stay in business with such a crappy reputation.......

Super High Prices for crappy parts

And the bashing continues...

There are a lot of people that are not on the forums so they dont know. He gets it right at least some part of the time. Does he treat 911 guys differently?

A friend in the northeast got a motor and tranny rebuilt by AA and he autocrossed it and did lots of track time, never had an issue for over ten years. he won a lot of FTD,s in a stock 2.0 liter.
He eventually moved to Texas and is racing down there, finally rebuilt the motor after about 15 years in service.
He beat that car hard, motor was fine.

Huh, thinking about that, does relating your experience constitute "bashing"? It's kind of just a statement of fact.

I've bought stuff from AA over the years and have never had a problem. They shipped the wrong thing once, but it was fixed quickly with no fuss. I guess they have had their problems over the years, but AA does have a lot of parts that you just can't find elsewhere, and their website is a whole lot better than some others!

Got me there...

I cannot attest to AA builds, but I am currently working with Greg Aronson at FAT Performance in Orange CA, and he has been great to work with.

I made the mistake of finding someone local, who dropped my engine, tore it down completely and then QUIT.

FAT Performance was the only shop will to take on the job of sorting through all 5 tubs of parts, and doing the build. He and his team have been diligent about keeping me in the loop on the process and working with me and my budget. I would be happy to discuss my experiences in detail if you want. They have been in business for 43 years working on Type 1 and Type 4 motors, and I am sure a whole host of other things.

FAT Performance has really been a pleasure to work with and should have been hte place I went to first.

Best of luck to you.
Doug

I had some work done by Vee Village in KC (line bore, clean and mic crank). No issues. I wouldn't hesitate to have them put an engine together.