Anyone know a great mechanic in Northern California?

You guys are so friggin handy it makes me sick. I learned as a child by watching my father try to fix his boat and spending $1000's of dollars and hours of floating around broken down to pay someone to fix something you can't fix yourself. I have issues screwing in light bulbs so I need a "vintage van guy"

I just bought a rust free and I mean NO RUST 66 Chevrolet. I would like to put a 350 and automatic transmission in her. I don't want to try to do it myself nor do I want to get screwed. So, if anyone knows a great vintage van guy that will not try to pay a years worth of his mortgage from this project, please let me know. Ohya, disc brakes would be cool as well.

May be you should take your time to think that one through. Like take about a year of thinking.

I am a fully qualified and lisenced auto mechanic, truck, bus and motor coach mechanic and I have the Canadian equivelent to the US AI mechanic. I have a large shop with tools and facilities to Weld, machine, build repair, body work and paint anything. I have 19 men on staff whom I get to do the ocasional job for me. With all that, it took just one and a half years of spare time and about $8000 to change my 65 to a V8 auto with disc brakes and power steering. You have to change and build every thing, seats, dag house, accelerator linkage, shift linkage. cooling system, brake master and pedal linkage. Rad sadle, trans cross member, drive shaft, wiring, gauges, charging system just to name a few items.

If you think you are going to pay somebody else to do that much work you better get the check book tuned up because I figure I have about 200 to 250 hrs into the conversion. Multiply that by your local garage rate, I cant see the labour coming to anything less then $20K or more.

Scroll through my pictures. Its best to select "view all" most the van conversion is at the last 30 pages.

https://s119.photobucket.com/albums/o122/m1dadio/

I'm not trying to burst your bubble, I just have had the expirience and think it be usefull for you to realise these vans are not anything like bulding up a 66 chevelle or C10 pick up where everything is "bolt on". It takes alot of patience and money to not loose interest part way through.

M1D

I can promise you, I wont loose interest. Fortunatly, I have the $ to do what it takes to make it what I want it to be but don't want to be taken for a ride either. My dad used to try to fix cars, boats etc. by himself and what he got was a broke down machine with $1000's invested. If he paid a pro to do it, he would have had $100's invested in something that ran.

OK good! I think that what others are saying is you will need to do some planning. Planning because customising these vans is not so straight forward, but thats the fun of it all.

You might want to just drive it around for a bit. check out other peoples vans while building your plans and budget.

I have always found the best and most economical way to do an ebgine swap is to buy a good donner vehicle that has the engine and trans you want. Get it running right first and then just transfer it all over. Out of my donner vehicle I got engine trans. wiring, some cooling system parts, power steering stuff a big ass sterio with amp , front seats and disc brake parts, drive shaft and trans yoke. Belive me its going to be all the little odds and ends you will need that are going to cost the most, having a shed full of stuff you can use for mods will pay for itself ten times. I advertised it being parted out and sold the wheels, tires rear end, fenders hood and a pile of other bits and recovered 1/3 what I had into it. That way once it was al in the van, I knew it had been running right when removed.
M1D

I'm still in the process of my v8 conversion...It's been 3 years so far and I didn't have to mess with the doghouse and all that because mine is a 2nd gen. But it is a BIG job... and if it isn't one thing it's another. I also did the disk brake conversion that went pretty smooth. There is no way I can afford to pay someone else to do this job for me. It would have easily cost me ten times more to have a shop do it. Alot of fabrication and alot of patience....
I think if I could go back in time I would of stuck with the 6 cylinder but gone with an automatic transmission.
Good luck with whichever way you decide and NICE van by the way!!!

Thanks for the reply. I guess I will have to see.