berth
Well-known member
I wanted to get the fluids in my drivetrain cycled out, and the dealer quote was pretty high, so I looked for a local mechanic to do the work.
My local gym is in the "lets cram all of the auto shops here" zoned area, so I called a few of them. One guy was able to give me a quote over the phone and talked me out of a service I didn't need, so, what the heck, I went there.
He had an opening yesterday, so I dragged the Jeep down to get the work done. Figured I'd just hang out while they were working.
First, on a JGC with the 8 speed transmission, when you replace the transmission fluid, you need to replace the actual (plastic) pan to the transmission. It has a filter built into it.
That pan alone is over $300. Next the transmission doesn't take stock off the shelf transmission fluid you can get at Ralphs, it gets a magic elixir that runs over $30/quart. Thankfully it only takes NINE (9!!) quarts. So, over $600 and we haven't turned a screw yet. Well, now I know why the dealer was quoting so high.
Anyway, I'm in his office while he's on the computer to make sure we're getting the right parts and such, and I noticed a poster in the back corner. And on the poster, obscured by desk, was half an autograph, which I recognized. So, I told him.
"You know, I have Kevin Schwantz's autograph too." And he lit up. Oh boy, did the rabbit hole open up.
He's a former club and endurance racer, and he's in very tight with Yoshimura. Hideo Yoshimura has been in his shop. He is the team mechanic. And by that, I mean if anyone on the team needed a mechanic, they'd go to him. This was back when Mladin, Spies, Yates, and Tommy Hayden lived in the area. Apparently most of them lived in the Chino area while campaigning.
Back in, I guess '06, my wife and I went to Willow Springs to watch the Toyota 200, essentially the Daytona 200 on the west coast. $50,000 prize money for first place. But, they had a 250 race first, and an unfortunate fatality during that which delayed to 200 3 hours, and we had to go home. But, he was racing the 200 that day.
He had a factory works '08 I think endurance race bike there next to the office. He owns Mladins '99 race bike, Tommy Haydens '08 race bike (he has 15 bikes in his living room). So, yea, he's "one of those guys". The quick change parts on the endurance bike were unreal.
He built this RD400: https://www.bikebound.com/2024/05/07/aspec/
The bike isn't at the shop, but we spent a 1/2 hour going over the photos and parts in the article. Its a very personal build for him.
He also owns a completely outrageous Tacoma Overlanding truck.
Anyway, his name is Armen Manougian of AllStar Auto Center, a shop he's owned for over 25 years. Nice guy, lot of history.
Bit of a kismet yesterday.
My local gym is in the "lets cram all of the auto shops here" zoned area, so I called a few of them. One guy was able to give me a quote over the phone and talked me out of a service I didn't need, so, what the heck, I went there.
He had an opening yesterday, so I dragged the Jeep down to get the work done. Figured I'd just hang out while they were working.
First, on a JGC with the 8 speed transmission, when you replace the transmission fluid, you need to replace the actual (plastic) pan to the transmission. It has a filter built into it.
That pan alone is over $300. Next the transmission doesn't take stock off the shelf transmission fluid you can get at Ralphs, it gets a magic elixir that runs over $30/quart. Thankfully it only takes NINE (9!!) quarts. So, over $600 and we haven't turned a screw yet. Well, now I know why the dealer was quoting so high.
Anyway, I'm in his office while he's on the computer to make sure we're getting the right parts and such, and I noticed a poster in the back corner. And on the poster, obscured by desk, was half an autograph, which I recognized. So, I told him.
"You know, I have Kevin Schwantz's autograph too." And he lit up. Oh boy, did the rabbit hole open up.
He's a former club and endurance racer, and he's in very tight with Yoshimura. Hideo Yoshimura has been in his shop. He is the team mechanic. And by that, I mean if anyone on the team needed a mechanic, they'd go to him. This was back when Mladin, Spies, Yates, and Tommy Hayden lived in the area. Apparently most of them lived in the Chino area while campaigning.
Back in, I guess '06, my wife and I went to Willow Springs to watch the Toyota 200, essentially the Daytona 200 on the west coast. $50,000 prize money for first place. But, they had a 250 race first, and an unfortunate fatality during that which delayed to 200 3 hours, and we had to go home. But, he was racing the 200 that day.
He had a factory works '08 I think endurance race bike there next to the office. He owns Mladins '99 race bike, Tommy Haydens '08 race bike (he has 15 bikes in his living room). So, yea, he's "one of those guys". The quick change parts on the endurance bike were unreal.
He built this RD400: https://www.bikebound.com/2024/05/07/aspec/
The bike isn't at the shop, but we spent a 1/2 hour going over the photos and parts in the article. Its a very personal build for him.
He also owns a completely outrageous Tacoma Overlanding truck.
Anyway, his name is Armen Manougian of AllStar Auto Center, a shop he's owned for over 25 years. Nice guy, lot of history.
Bit of a kismet yesterday.
