If you put the motor in then why did you just hook up the oil lines and go from there. Taking to a shop sounds like a waste of time, as for the conversion, you could have done that yourself.

 

I have never messed with turbos and wanted it done "right" the first time before I messed everything up.

 

there are multiple threads out there that shows how to do the swap correctly and make it look great while doing it. You can have a nice clean sr swap in a matter of a couple of weeks with little mechanical experience. I agree with not paying a shop to do it. Take your time, go slow and enjoy the feeling that you did it yourself.

 

^agreed
with the economy the way it is, shop's everywhere are cutting corners in certain areas they shouldn't be.
learn to do it yourself, maybe have a few friends help you out. doing this yourself is a great experience

 

That's all well and good. Not everyone has time/patience/tools/know-how/space to do it. I had MA-M do my 5spd conversion because I don't have the time and wanted it done right. No shame in getting professional help.

Picking a quality shop is another matter.

As for the S15 conversion, doing it right means the core support. I don't have anything to weld it up, much less the time/experience to make everything fit like it's supposed to.

 

I have checked on the car when they had the body work done. I had posted another thread showing their progress on the body work. They have done a great job on this part, quick and clean with the core support and everything. They got it running a month ago, and it has been weeks of them saying they will fix the timing issue, but no dice on any progress from there.

 

I would bring another trusted mechanic or someone who is in the know up there to see what the status is, keep a close eye on the shop and your car, and file a report and have that ready now, so if the shop decides to flee, you can be in hot pursuit. I had a friend who got his car stolen from a shop people recommended him to. good luck, I hope you can bring her home safely.

 

At that point, go in person and either say fix it by __ or I'm towing it away and calling BBB (or something similar). Be mature but not confrontational/big bad boy tough. It's a fine line but most shops will realize you're not messing around and just want your work done.

 

Yeah, I don't think that communicating with the shop in question via "text" is good enough...then they only answer when they want to whereas if you were to call then they'd be more annoyed at answering a call or checking voicemail. Try to leave communication on YOUR end less open ended. Go to the shop, express your concerns, ask to see the car in person, ask for an estimated time of completion...Just be a pain! They're not doing you any favors by lettting your car be down for so long, so don't do them any favors.

I've had my fair share of "bad shop" scenarios. Some of these people aren't under the understanding that you may be trying to daily this car, or some plain don't care. If you're enough of a pain then they may actually work with you on a price. If you're lax on the subject they may figure its not too important when its finished. You don't need to get all crazy just get annoying...pretty soon they'll finish it just to relieve themselves of having to answer your 20 questions everyday.

Beware of shadiness though...I once bought a turbo kit from a shop in the colorado area...next thing you know, phones go straight to voicemail, the store is only open for a couple hours a day, employees don't know where the owner is, the owner won't answer his personal phone...then you receive the news that the owner got busted in texas trying to import meth to mexico or some crazy BS and the doors close on the business...you file a lawsuit, they counter with bankruptcy, you're down 5k...less the wastegate and FMU...

Sorry for the side story, but that is what happened to me, and if I could go back I would have been much more aggressive in my tactics to communicate with them. And if I listened to my gut I would have gotten my money back long before all the other crap went down.

So do yourself a favor and alter your communication tactics a touch, and listen to your gut...if your gut says "this ain't right", then it probably isn't...and remember when talking to these guys that they are salesmen. And in their nature they can sell you anything...even a story, so beware the fast talkers...good luck man!