Guys in the Chattanooga Tn area..

[xchief1320]

Any of you into fast or performance domestic cars/trucks,ect? Reason I ask is i'm curious if there is any good automotive performance shops in that area? And also how is the car scene up there? If no shops up there is there a market for one?

Thanks
Steve

 

[Twobrothersbusa]

I like performance cars as much as the next gearhead, but tend to do all of my own work. With that said, I don't know any offhand. As far as potential, I am a firm believer in that if you do good reputable work the business will follow. Companies like Livernois and Stillen still seem to be thriving in a terrible economy.

 

[xchief1320]

Thanks, I've been in the performance automotive industry since 94.
I've worked for several successful shops in the past as the lead tech.
I just recently left Reinhart Automotive which is known all over the country for working on Mercury Marauders, Lincoln Mark 8's and other Ford big cars. But I did tons of mustangs and trucks as well. My last project I did before leaving was we designed and installed a Vortech S/C kit for the Sport trac Adrenaline, Which Vortech doesn't make a kit for. So we did it all in house.

I've personally owned 23 mustangs in the past as well as tons of others, So they come second nature to me.
I also can tune cars using various software. SCT,HP Tuners,EEC Tuner,ect.

I have a buddy that lives in Cleveland Tn. and works at Larry Hill Ford named Charles Gann he has been trying to get me to come up there and open a shop. He says there is tons of work. But packing up and leaving Florida is a huge step. I just want to make sure it's the right one.
Jacksonville is already overflowing with perf shops, Three in a 2 mile radius on one side of town. Otherwise I would open up a small shop here. I have many loyal customers that keep trying to get me to open up something here as well, I just do not see it as a smart thing to do.

Just getting as much info as I can before figuring out what my next move is..

 

[Twobrothersbusa]

Bought my first 05 Mustang GT from them in Nov of 04. Don't know how long your buddy has been working there, but if he was around during that time he would remember them working on my car. Bought the car new in November and this pic is from the same month...guess what this is?

I was not a happy customer. It was a tough time for sure, but Ford eventually made it right and bought back my Mustang. Larry Hill ordered another just like it and I drove it for 5 years until my son bought it from me. My sig shows my next investment. Love them Stangs. Come on up, you can work on mine.

 

[Twobrothersbusa]

One more of the 05 in better form...

We put this magnacharger kit on in roughly a day. I can't imagine trying to fab one up from scratch!

 

[xchief1320]

Yeah Charles wasn't there in 04 I don't think. I'll ask him to be sure though.
What were your issues?

I have installed many Vortech/Paxton S/C's as well as a few Saleen S/C's and even a KB Mammoth on a bone stock 05 gt that made a little over 500 rwhp with 7-8# boost. We advised against such a big blower on a stock engine but the guy wanted it. He went with a Foxlake built engine 6 speed and fuel system to support over 1K rwhp. I quit before it was finished so no clue if it made that # or not..

The Magnacharger isn't real big here for Fords. I've installed a bunch of them on LS engine based GM's though from regular 1500's to SSR's.. Nothing wrong with them at all and they install nice and look factory, The guy that owned the shop just pushed Vortech and KB since he's a dealer for them..

 

[xchief1320]

Here is a finished engine pic of the sport trac. It made close to 400 SAE rwhp on 8# which isn't bad through the auto tranny.

 

[Twobrothersbusa]

How long do you think that is good for on that engine? I mean, what kind of milage would you expect to get out of that setup? 400hp out of a six sounds pretty hot. Small world, I traded a Sport Trac Adenalin model for th 05 Mustang.

Only pics I could find:

 

[xchief1320]

The one I did is a 4.6 3v version.

 

[Twobrothersbusa]

Oh, ok. My first Mustang (the one Ford bought back) ended up having an issue with the valve seats. No compression and she ran like she was running on two cyl. They dropped a new engine in my 8 or 900 mile NEW car and I took issue with that. Patiently worked through the Ford process and finally got my desired result. Another new 05 GT. Five years later I am another repeat customer. They did the right thing.

Away from all that stuff, come on North if it works out. And to let you know, Cleveland, TN is about 1.5 hours away from some of the best roads in North America for riding motorcycles.

 

[xchief1320]

Yeah I love the roads and the lifestyle up there. I've been to North Ga (Suches) 2 times in the last 3 months riding.
Went to Gatlinburg pretty much every year growing up with my grandparents, and never got tired of it..

 

[fishhook]

There is a huge need for a good performance shop here in the Chattanooga area. I have lots of friends with performance car NEEDS. Everyone I know has to go to Atlanta to get anything done. Even something as simple as a tune after they have put on their cold air kit and exhaust. Not saying that a tune is simple but if you do anything to your car or want anything done to it you have to go to Hotlanta or Birmingham. We have tons of ricers that have been going to Dynoformance in Calhoun but it is not a very reputable place.

Cleveland Performance builds race engines for Domestics and that is about it. All of our hot cars come from Atlanta and there is a very good car scene here in the Chattanooga Area. You should come check it out before you make up your mind and it would take some time to build your reputation but if your the only game in town and the work is good that shouldn't take long.

 

[Flicka]

Chattanooga has a dirt track, 1/8 mile drag strip, and a strong street car culture. The guys around here must be big into DIY or taking their business out of town, because I don't know where you'd get any serious performance work done locally.

I've been looking at a cam kit, headers and tuning for my LQ4 truck, but don't know anywhere to have the work done. Just saying...

 

[xchief1320]

Chattanooga is looking like a very promising area to me by what you guys are saying. I need to come up there and check it out. I need to get in contact with a commercial Realtor and see if I can find a building that fits my needs. Also have to find a place to live. Which shouldn't be too hard.

If we do this we are looking at coming that way around the first of the year. Was going to come earlier but would rather get the Holidays over first then make the move.

Thanks for the great info guys..

 

[fishhook]

We would be proud to have you in the area! I will spread the word to the peeps and see what kind of response I get. I am sure it will be good.

 

[dk55belair]

We rode 180 and 348 this weekend over Helen Ga, that 348 was a blast, and not too far from Chat.

 

[xchief1320]

Need some info/opinions from the guys that live in the area if you got a second..

We've been looking for housing and it seems Ringgold area has a lot of nice houses to rent for better deals then Chattanooga. We want to rent for a year before buying so we can figure out the area and find exactly where we want to buy. Also like that Ga allows open carry

I know Ringgold isn't far from Chattanooga but how is the area itself? I like the laid back country style living. I've seen statistics online but it's always good to hear it from someone that lives in the area.

Would Ringgold be a good area for a shop or would Chattanooga or Cleveland be better?

Also does anyone by chance know any good realtors that handle residential and commercial in that area? If not no big deal we have found a few, just seeing if anyone has had personal experience with any that are good.

 

[Flicka]

TN allows open carry.

Ringgold is a nice area, just minutes away from Chattanooga. There's nothing at all wrong with living there. One thing to take into consideration is that GA has a state income tax, but TN does not. GA also has a lower sales tax than TN, but if you lived somewhere like East Ridge or East Brainerd (both in TN), you could still do your shopping in GA and avoid their income tax. East Ridge is a small city on the TN/GA state line that is bordered by Chattanooga and GA on all sides. East Brainerd is a suburb to the East of Chattanooga, but some of it is not in the city limits. I live in East Brainerd, but outside of the Chattanooga city limits, and the property tax breaks are significant.

As far a shop location, that's hard to say. There is a dirt track in Cleveland. There also are a dirt track and drag strip that are basically in East Ridge, but just across the line in GA. Somewhere on the east side of Chattanooga would put you between those locations, and you'd still be surrounded by the general car scene.

As far as a realtor, we had a very good experience with John Hughes of Robinson Real Estate in Chattanooga.

I hope that helps some. Feel free to PM me if you need anything else.

 

[xchief1320]

Thanks, Yes it helps a ton. We'll look into those areas as well.
Being able to open carry in Tn was also a big factor when we first started looking in that area. Just like to have that option..

We are planning on coming up there after Thanksgiving to look at houses and the areas. So it's good to know ahead of time so we don't waste time looking in the wrong areas.

We just want something quiet, Just tired of the ghetto booming cars driving by at 3 a.m. like is common here in Jax. We live in a nice neighborhood with a HOA but that doesn't stop the trash from getting in. We don't want to live in a big neighborhood anymore if we can help it. I grew up on 160 acres and when I was young I hated it due to not having alot of other kids around but now that i'm older I wish I would of never left..

Thanks for the info and help.
Steve

 

[CWCobra]

For what it's worth, a buddy of mine takes his Termi all the way to Florida to get it worked on - to Panhandle Performance. I suspect he would love to be able to avoid all those miles if there was a performance shop around here that he could use.

CW