I cannot emphasize enough how this company has good old-fashion, personalized surface.
I was referred to them by Quality Machine Shop in Kearny Mesa. The operator of Quality is the same machinist who used to run the Napa Machine Shop in Kearny Mesa.
I am restoring a classic 1968 Doge Charger RT. I was removing one of the carburetor screws that holds the fuel rods at the top of the unit when one snapped. I attempted to drill the screw (a very small screw the size of the ones that hold your electrical outlet covers on the wall at home) and remove the broken screw portion with an E-Z out. However, in drill the screw portion with a very hard cobalt drill bit, the drill bit itself snapped.
I took the piece to the Napa Store thinking that their machine shop was still there. To my surprise, their machine shop had been replaced by a Martin-Senour auto paint store! Wow! I never would have thought that their was a better market for auto paint than a machine shop! But, hey, who am I to question Napa?
In any event, they referred me to Quality. The person a Quality told me that he did not have anything small enough to work on carburetor parts and referred me to Metal Master, Inc.
Upon driving up to the Metal Master building I was shocked. It looked more like an office building than anything else. As I walked in, I saw all the precision parts on display in the front lobby made of exotic metals and machined precisely. They do a lot of work for Raytheon and other aerospace firms. I thought to myself, there is no way they are going to bother whith my miniscule job. I was wrong! But the best is yet to come...
The receptionist, a very nice and helpful young lady, told me that she would call Victor, the shop supervisor, out to talk to me. Victor came out and I explained exactly what had happened, what I had done, and what needed to be done. He looked at the carburetor top plate carefully. He suggested that we use an acid that they have. He said that the acid would need to set overnight in order to dissolve the screw and bit material inside the threaded cavity. He further added that they could re-drill the hole oversize and put an threaded insert in it the next thread size up. I agreed.
Wow! I was blown away. They actual have an acid that will dissolve harder metals and leave softer metals (such as upper carburetor bodies) untouched! So, Victor took my number and told me that he would call me when it was ready.
I might add that no price, cost, or fee was ever discussed. I was willing to pay almost anything, since the carburetor was a correct "numbers match" unit that I had order from a classic car parts vendor in Delaware. So, to put it another way, the carburetor was almost priceless.
The following morning I received a call from Victor and he told me that my part was ready. He mentioned that they were not going to charge me for the work! However, he did mention that maybe I could buy the tech who did the work on the unit some bottled water. Bottle water? You bet I did! I stopped by the store and bought two cases of AquaFina!
I drove up there with anticipation on what the part looked like. To my amazement, he told me that they did not have to drill and insert the part. He said that the original threads were undamaged and that anything looked good to go! I thanked him and told him to please thank the tech who had done the work for me. He said thank you for the bottled water and we parted ways.
I can't say it enough. This place may look intimidating. But, it is the nice and fabulous people who work there that make this firm stand above others who don't deliver that good old personal service that sadly is fast disappearing from stores and vendors.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU USE THIS FIRM SHOULD THE NEED ARISE. They are just great and several cuts above their competitors!!! read more
