Edmunds CarPool

Since I've owned my Mustang, I've used Dick Wagoner Dyno Service in Lawndale. How did I find it? Well, I did some research and poked around before I wound up here. On the initial drive by I noticed their bays were filled with vintage iron -- a huge bonus. I should note that the cars in their shop weren't beat down old cars (like mine) but instead showed some care and pride of ownership -- another bonus. When I decided to walk up and have a look around I found a shop that was cleaner than my bathroom. The shop wasn't big, but it was well organized and well cared for. The fact that Reid, the proprietor, was friendly and open sealed the deal.

After having yet another fuel leak repaired, I mentioned my plans for the car and asked if Reid would like any part of some suspension work. Reid declined but mentioned a shop that he had used for decades -- I like that -- and handed me the business card for Porter's Alignment and Brake Service.

I called Porter's and scheduled a time to drop in later that afternoon. I drove up only to have Pat (he's the Porter in Porter's Alignment) come out and introduce himself. Before I knew it, he had my car up a lift and was giving it a good going over. Without prompting, he gave my Mustang a better and more thorough going over than another shop that I had paid to do before I bought the car.

Although he was impressed by the condition of the chassis, one significant item caught his eye. It seemed that although the shock towers (a notorious but common failure in these Mustangs) had been reinforced, they'd been reinforced with ballistic-strength steel plating. His conclusion was that without replacement of those reinforcements, he would not be able to align the car properly. I asked him if he could handle that replacement. His answer was no. But he did know a guy...

"I know a guy." Those were not the words I wanted to hear, but at this point they were words I had become a little too familiar with for my sanity. Pat explained the level of work involved in replacing a Mustang's shock towers and it because apparent to me that rather than trying to cash in on the many hours of labor he could charge me for, he was instead pointing me towards a specialist.

Foreign Auto Body is located in Gardena, which is only a few miles from my house. After another cold call to setup an appointment, I rolled in and met with Jeff Mohrfeld, one of the owners. Jeff had a look around the car and braced me for one of the many worst case scenarios. Numbers went in one ear and out the other as Jeff ran through the possibilities.

I tried not to focus too much on the costs, as these were just off-the-cuff estimates based on his previous experiences. Instead, I focused on him and his shop. He spoke matter-of-factly about expensive and seemingly complex repairs, but he kept insisting that there was really only one way to do it, and that was the right way. He wasn't into doing mediocre work, and after a tour of his sprawling shop I knew that this was the place.

As sure as I was, I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into. This was going to cost some money. If the stars didn't align, it would cost a lot of money on top of the parts I'd already bought. I decided there was no harm in having Jeff and his guys look at my Mustang more closely, so early one Saturday morning, I drove the Mustang up Artesia Blvd. and dropped it off at Foreign Auto Body.

I'll have a report on what happened in my next post. Stay tuned!

Kurt Niebuhr, Photo Editor