Los Angeles 4x4 shop? (1 Viewer)

[wesone]

Anyone in the Los Angeles area know of an alternative to TLC? They're great and all, but damn expensive... $2600.00 for OME lift?

 

[yellowchaosfj80]

2600.00 wo..wo.. what is it gold plated... Mine was 1145.00 Canadian... for the works

 

[wesone]

See what I'm saying? I might as well head north to Canada.

 

[yellowchaosfj80]

Ya its funny some times .. For us we live by the border and shop in Wa.. all the time ,,, but some times its cheeper here,, and by a lot..

 

[Shahram]

There's...

Man-A-Fre in Simi Valley
Specter Offroad in Chatsworth
Dirty Parts in Culver City
Conejo Offroad in Thousand Oaks
4 Wheel Parts in Van Nuys and Torrance
Expedition Exchange in Torrance

I'm sure there's more, I'm just not familiar with any others.
Expedition Exchange is run by nice guys, but is Land Rover oriented.
Dirty Parts in Culver City is a small shop, and runs a bit expensive, but the guy that runs the shop is a good guy, a Cruiserhead and has been very helpful to me (and buddies) in the past. His prices reflect the costs of running a "Mom and Pop", low-volume operation.
I've never been impressed with 4 Wheel Parts. I've tried to deal with them in the past, but it seems like if you ain't runnin' a Chevy 350 monster truck, they don't really need your business. Again, that's been my experience, you may have a different one.
I've never dealt with Conejo Offroad, but my brother has had some good experiences with them in the past with his '94 Hi-Lux.

Both Specter and Man-A-Fre are Cruiser-centric shops. I've dealt mostly with Man-A-Fre for my parts (in the short time I've owned a Cruiser), and they've been good to me. I have yet to do business with Specter, but when I've called with questions, they've generally been very helpful.

I'm sure I'm forgetting some shop, or there's some shop I'm not familiar with, so do some more research and post your findings.

As far as your comment about unreasonably high prices for Cruiser parts, no offense to TLC fans present, but everything they sell seems outrageously high. I could be mistaken, but that's been my overall impression.

Prices for Cruiser parts DO seem high across the board, but hey, that's the market. The competition and demand for aftermarket parts in the Jeep community is so high, that prices are driven way down. Cruiser owners don't have that luxury. What I have found is it is more beneficial to shop around a lot, don't have 4WD "specialty" shops do work on your truck unless they really, really are the only ones who can do it (doubtful). Chances are, once you have the parts in hand, a suspension shop can install a lift for a lot cheaper than a 4WD shop can.

If you're on a budget, like I am, then you have no choice but to shop around, find the best deals, do the groundwork yourself. Get some basic tools and do as much of your own wrenching as you can. You can't afford not to....literally.

 

[yellowchaosfj80]

I with Shahram... I'm on a budget to and I am pretty cheep.. or thifty.. sounds better.. look around.. and watch for the deals..

 

[Dirty Toad]

Man-a-fre has better prices than Specter, generally. We've dealt almost entirely with Specter, however, since they carry basically EVERYTHING in stock-- nice feature! The guys are always very knowledgable AND helpful, in person and over the phone (that's sometimes hard to find.)

Just my 2 cents...
Good luck!

 

[wesone]

Thanks for all the info guys! Very helpful. I was debating on buying the OME kit and having a suspension shop install it, but I was wondering if they'd get confused on the castor corrections and steering stabilizer etc. I'd probably save half the money it would cost at TLC... but I also want it to be done right. I think they call this a catch 22?

Life on a budget sucks!

 

[NorCalDoug]

Here's your chance to meet some local guys

Put out "help me install my OME and I'll supply the brews" party message and I'm sure you'll have a few guys offer to help.

What's the OME lift prices these days at Slee Offroad? Something like $800?
You'd likely need to get the castor correction bushings pressed in by a shop, but you're looking at at least $1600 in savings -- not including the $40 you'll drop on the pizza and beer for the help

 

[PKP80]

MAF, talk to "STEVE-O" on this site.

-SAm-

 

[LX_TREME]

Anyone in the Los Angeles area know of an alternative to TLC? They're great and all, but damn expensive... $2600.00 for OME lift?

They're great? Are you sure about that? and $2600.00 Damn thats almost same price with my JDM sport kit here except i got extra beef up Front and Rear sway bar
MAF (Steve)- 805-578-8712 x-105

 

[MTNRAT]

Call Ben at Slee offroad, http://www.sleeoffroad.com/ . They give a good price and great service. I like Dougs installation party idea. You will learn something and being installed by others who have done it before saves huge time. $2600, either there is miscommunication or the retailer is #$%$#&.
Cheers,
Sean

 

[hatman406080]

4xflyin (818)718-0200 talk to george de giorgio.

 

[MH_Stevens]

Turn you back on the smog and come where the air is clean and where you will get a ticket just thinking about a red light. Temecular and the Inland Empire's fineist Toyota truck specialist, whose name escapes me now but everyon here knows them.

 

[Steve-O]

We are in Simi Valley if you know where that is. We sell and install the OME kits here. (And yes we know how to do the caster bushings.) Depending on what kit you were looking at, I could beat the TLC price by quite a bit. But then again its always cool to tackle the kit yourself with some friends. I will have to reccomend taking the truck to a shop to get the caster bushings done though.

Steve

 

[tiorio]

We are in Simi Valley if you know where that is. We sell and install the OME kits here. (And yes we know how to do the caster bushings.) Depending on what kit you were looking at, I could beat the TLC price by quite a bit. But then again its always cool to tackle the kit yourself with some friends. I will have to reccomend taking the truck to a shop to get the caster bushings done though.

Steve

So Steve, I do the install with the exception of the caster bushings, how much to just do bushings (assuming I make an appt. and drive the rig in so arms will have to be R&Rd by you guys).

It's cool if it's cool with you. Most shops hate the D.I.Y.-until-I-run-out-of-tools guys like me...

Oh, and the OME party sounds good to me too, we could do a 2-for-1! Get all the tools at one place and do your rig and mine...anyone else looking to upgrade?

 

[Radd Cruisers]

We are in Simi Valley if you know where that is. We sell and install the OME kits here. (And yes we know how to do the caster bushings.) Depending on what kit you were looking at, I could beat the TLC price by quite a bit. But then again its always cool to tackle the kit yourself with some friends. I will have to reccomend taking the truck to a shop to get the caster bushings done though.

Steve

Steve is a good guy to deal with, I will be purchasing some parts this week or last if you got my info.

And its gotta be time for you to buy a banner from Woody (grin grin), support the cause brotha.

 

[Biff]

Holy castor correction batman $2600 for an OME install. Install it yourself, I'll lend a hand if you have enough I've done two and they are a breeze to install. The money you save your can get an ARB bumper or some sliders.

 

[Steve-O]

So Steve, I do the install with the exception of the caster bushings, how much to just do bushings (assuming I make an appt. and drive the rig in so arms will have to be R&Rd by you guys).

We can do that no problem, bring the whole car though, not just the arms. The labor on it will be $170.00 (about 2 hours). Just call me anytime to set up the appointment or purchase the kit.
We also just got our drop brackets in for the 80, you can lift it 3-4 inches and use your stock caster bushings! I should have pictures later this day or tomorrow.

-Rob, thanks for the compliment. I was actually going to do a banner pretty soon, I got the silver star if that makes Woody feel any better! Did you make your banner or does Woody? I made a new logo and heading for our site, but I have never made a banner. MAF


Steve