Originally Posted by JG Luder

When you decide to modify your Prelude beyond simple stuff, you’re making a choice that 95% of the time you CAN’T back out of. If you tear down a motor, bore it and sleeve it you have just dedicated yourself to a lifetime of aftermarket stuff. If you port your head, or mill your head, you can’t just say “well, maybe that wasn’t a good idea” and glue that metal back on. Make sure that when you take off on your adventure you are damn well sure of what you’re doing and prepared to take the bad with the good. Your rollercoaster has just begun, and the good times will be great, and the bad times will make you want to put a bullet through your car, then your head.

That out of the way I think it’s time to get to the meat and potatoes of what I’m going to say. Trial and error is a part of this game. Get used to it, and plan for it.

An important step in building your car is choosing the right shop. Whether or not you realize this depends on your studying habits, but ALL SHOPS will have someone who has a complaint against it. EVERY SINGLE ONE. You WILL NOT find a true performance shop with a 100% satisfied customer list. You have to face this fact if you decide to have someone build your motor. You also have to face that when taking steps like you’re about to take you WILL at some point in time have a shop to **** you off. You WILL be “Screwed” at some point in time. You may be overcharged, or have a part messed up that you have to pay for… but rest assured something, sometime, somewhere will happen to you. Every time you hand the keys or drop off something you own to someone else you are rolling the dice. The very same shop that built your friends motor PERFECT may set your ring end gap wrong. That same shop that your brother used for HIS turbo install may have done a flawless job for him, but you may throw engine codes for 6 months.

Each screw up or broken part will have a different scenario to it. Sometimes you may be dealing with a shady shop, other times it may be an innocent simple oversight that cost you $1,000, or $10,000. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, goes as planned 100% of the time. This is something you have to make allowances for.

My tips for dealing with shops:
#1. GET IT IN WRITING.
-For the love of God, I don’t care if it’s your own damn neighbor, make him write it down. Warranties, estimates, parts and labor… get it all in writing and KEEP IT. If, God forbid, you end up in a situation that goes to court, this will save YOUR ***. If they tell you one thing over the phone, double check it when you get to the shop.

#2. Overconfident owners = BAD NEWS.
-People who say “I can do that with my eyes closed” or “done it 200 times with no complaints” or “I can build it in a day and have it outrun nearly everything” are not to be trusted. They may not be TRYING to lie to you, but dumb luck runs out and it may run out on YOU.

#3. Promises = BAD NEWS
- No performance shop owner will make a promise to you. No one who is out to help YOU will “promise 11’s.” If a shop promises 20,000 miles, make them back it up with a written warranty. Promises are only as good as the person who gives them.

#4. If things go sour, TAKE NOTES and TAKE PICTURES
- When you go to a shop after something goes amiss, bring a witness. Take pictures of what has gone wrong if you can. If you talk to them on the phone, write down what they tell you. Keep a log of everything. Dates and times you’ve talked with someone, who it was, what they said. If you talk in person, leave a pen and paper in the car and write it down when you leave. Like I said above, a paper trail will save your butt. When it comes down to someone’s word against your word, “he with the most evidence wins.” If you suspect that you’re being “had” halfway through the transaction, then start then. If it turns out ok then you can toss what you’ve written. No harm, no foul.

#5. Your best friend who owns the shop isn’t your best friend when something goes wrong.
- Been there, done that. I mean my absolute BEST friend gave me the shaft with no lubrication. I made a bad decision not to sue because I thought he was an OK guy. I was wrong. Just because he’s cool and you think he’ll never do you wrong doesn’t mean when he won’t stiff you when $10,000 is on the line. $10,000 is a lot of change to simple eat, and I don’t care WHO you are.

#6. My ultimate advice is look at my Screen name. TRUST NO ONE
- That may sound harsh, but you’re the only person you can trust. If you can do it, then I suggest you do it. If you can’t, then cover your butt with the suggestions above. Even YOU are gonna screw up. The best mechanics in the world make mistakes. It happens, that’s why they’re called mistakes… if not, they’d be called “on purposes.”