Selkirk Offroad in Sandpoint, Idaho (1 Viewer)

[ozarkmud]

I've been thinking about outsourcing some of the work on my rigs, to take care of more complex jobs and free up some time. I'm definitely not the most trusting of all mechanics, though.

Have any of you worked with Selkirk Offroad in Sandpoint? They used to be known as 'The Land Cruiser Shop'.

Just hoping to hear opinions, and if there's any other good shops in the North Idaho area.

Thank you!

 

[FJhammer]

I’ve been by there once. I thought it was gonna be really cool with a bunch of LC enthusiasts. I had some stuff I wanted done to the 80 and wanted to find a good shop to get it done. What I got were some people that kinda seemed annoyed I stopped by. Instead of friendly and wanting to talk shop, it was essentially “what do you want.”
I asked for a quote on doing just a cat back exhaust and the guy told me $3k. I said come again?

Overall my impression is that when it comes to LCs, they’re primarily interested in some high dollar, quasi Jonathan Ward type builds. The 40 series out front for $150k kinda confirmed that for me. I can’t attest to their quality of work or expertise as I don’t know anyone who’s had anything done there or ever seen anyone on mud over the years say anything about them (which I find odd). You hear a lot about all the other shops in the PNW from SNLC down in Boise to Torfab in Seattle, but not a peep for them. Hell I’d lived here for several years before I ran into another cruiser head in the Home Depot parking lot who mentioned they were over there. If it wasn’t for him, I still wouldn’t know they exist because that’s the only person I’ve heard mention them. What I can say however, is a 5ft piece of pipe shouldn’t cost $3k to put a couple bends and some welds in.

 

[scottryana]

I think that is their goal, they want high end Land Cruiser restorations but will work on anything now that they are under the Selkirk Off-road name. They have done some nice work according to their IG page. I will probably have them redo my exhaust when it is time.

 

[OCTG]

Proceed with both eyes open and have every detail documented........

 

[PIP]

I have no experience with them, but the most horrendous fab workmanship I have ever seen has been done by "High end Land Cruiser shops".

Landcruiser Specialties and Proffitts Cruisers come to mind.

 

[ozarkmud]

Thank you for the information! That is good to know. Really looking for a daily driver and not to spend $100k on a perfect restoration.

If I was going to approach a shop for baselining, even if I had to travel, who would you recommend? I probably could go down to SLC, Seattle, or Boise if I had to. Closer is nice though, of course.

 

[FJhammer]

I think that is their goal, they want high end Land Cruiser restorations but will work on anything now that they are under the Selkirk Off-road name. They have done some nice work according to their IG page. I will probably have them redo my exhaust when it is time.

There's an exhaust shop over by the Silverwood theme park called Super Sounds that I've actually heard a lot of good things about. I'm going to take it to him and see what he says.

 

[scottryana]

Thank you for the information! That is good to know. Really looking for a daily driver and not to spend $100k on a perfect restoration.

If I was going to approach a shop for baselining, even if I had to travel, who would you recommend? I probably could go down to SLC, Seattle, or Boise if I had to. Closer is nice though, of course.

I think @SNLC is down in Boise and knows 80’s inside and out.

 

[FJhammer]

Thank you for the information! That is good to know. Really looking for a daily driver and not to spend $100k on a perfect restoration.

If I was going to approach a shop for baselining, even if I had to travel, who would you recommend? I probably could go down to SLC, Seattle, or Boise if I had to. Closer is nice though, of course.

I would think it depends on how in depth you want to go. If you're doing a basic tuneup with all fluids, filters, belts, plugs, wires, and a distributor cap, it'd take day and you could just knock it out yourself and save the $1k in labor. Hell, I'd even come over and help you out. If you have a lot more going on (the oil pump seal, main seal, knuckle rebuild, etc.) and you want to get it all knocked out at once by someone competent, I don't think you could go wrong with either Torfab or @SNLC.

 

[ozarkmud]

I would think it depends on how in depth you want to go. If you're doing a basic tuneup with all fluids, filters, belts, plugs, wires, and a distributor cap, it'd take day and you could just knock it out yourself and save the $1k in labor. Hell, I'd even come over and help you out. If you have a lot more going on (the oil pump seal, main seal, knuckle rebuild, etc.) and you want to get it all knocked out at once by someone competent, I don't think you could go wrong with either Torfab or @SNLC.

I appreciate that, thank you! I think I'm a ways south of you, but I do make it up there on occasion (usually just to CDA).

It's a bit beyond the basic tuneup. 1FZ-FE rig needs valve stem seals and exhaust at a minimum (I also keep wondering about headgasket, but it *seems* fine). 3FE rig needs the power steering pump rebuilt, paint, and some other stuff (I'd also like to manual swap it). The valve stem seals scare me a bit, but seem doable. It's just mostly time being spread thin between so much going on. Dropping the rig off and getting it back baselined seems like some kind of dream come true, although I do enjoy a lot of the work. I have a bit of a homestead now, so time is split between garden, goats, family, tractor, 4 wheeler, etc.

Boise or Seattle is quite the drive, but might see if the stars align enough to pull it off. It would be nice to be in the area to talk to him first. He said he couldn't quote anything without seeing it first, which I understand, but some idea of what he has in mind would be nice.

 

[mudgudgeon]

The valve stem seals scare me a bit, but seem doable.

Once you're valve stem seals deep into a 1fz-fe, you're 9/10s of the way to having the head off . . .


Watch otramm's head removal videos on YouTube if you're thinking of tackling it

 

[use2bn83]

I have no experience with them, but the most horrendous fab workmanship I have ever seen has been done by "High end Land Cruiser shops".

Landcruiser Specialties and Proffitts Cruisers come to mind.

Gosh, throwing one of the most well regarded Cruiser restoration shops under the bus seems like it needs some justification in my opinion. Proffitts Not only does some of the most detailed work out there, but they are stand up members of the community. I don’t have any first hand experience with Landcruiser Specialties.

 

[PIP]

Gosh, throwing one of the most well regarded Cruiser restoration shops under the bus seems like it needs some justification in my opinion. Proffitts Not only does some of the most detailed work out there, but they are stand up members of the community. I don’t have any first hand experience with Landcruiser Specialties.

I've seen two 80 series 4BT swaps they did and the workmanship was not good. Hopefully they have improved or moved onto other things they are better at.

 

[Mountain Ape]

I've been thinking about outsourcing some of the work on my rigs, to take care of more complex jobs and free up some time. I'm definitely not the most trusting of all mechanics, though.

Have any of you worked with Selkirk Offroad in Sandpoint? They used to be known as 'The Land Cruiser Shop'.

Just hoping to hear opinions, and if there's any other good shops in the North Idaho area.

Thank you!

I used to work there. I was amazed at the amount of cool and rare LCs they had in the shop. I was very excited to work there. I found out shortly after I started, that a lot of the rigs had been there for years. Many of the employees had lost motivation to do their best work, it was poorly managed and in a constant state of disfunction in the office. When I started they were actually open to making changes and improvements to increase efficiency and organization, but ultimately old habits die hard and it quickly became disfunctional again. I never saw a full restoration leave when I was there. They had a high employee turnover rate, nobody that I worked with, still works there. The owner is passionate and knowledgeable about LCs but you need more than that to run a successful business. The potential is there but the steadiness and consistency you need to do full high-end resto in months and not years is not there in my opinion. They can build you a beautiful rig, but is your money and time being spent efficiently and effectively? I think they way you were treated and the 3k cat back quote says it all.

 

[ozarkmud]

I used to work there. I was amazed at the amount of cool and rare LCs they had in the shop. I was very excited to work there. I found out shortly after I started, that a lot of the rigs had been there for years. Many of the employees had lost motivation to do their best work, it was poorly managed and in a constant state of disfunction in the office. When I started they were actually open to making changes and improvements to increase efficiency and organization, but ultimately old habits die hard and it quickly became disfunctional again. I never saw a full restoration leave when I was there. They had a high employee turnover rate, nobody that I worked with, still works there. The owner is passionate and knowledgeable about LCs but you need more than that to run a successful business. The potential is there but the steadiness and consistency you need to do full high-end resto in months and not years is not there in my opinion. They can build you a beautiful rig, but is your money and time being spent efficiently and effectively? I think they way you were treated and the 3k cat back quote says it all.

I appreciate that. Makes a lot of sense and it's good to know. Thank you!

 

[K2offroad]

I’ve been by there once. I thought it was gonna be really cool with a bunch of LC enthusiasts. I had some stuff I wanted done to the 80 and wanted to find a good shop to get it done. What I got were some people that kinda seemed annoyed I stopped by. Instead of friendly and wanting to talk shop, it was essentially “what do you want.”
I asked for a quote on doing just a cat back exhaust and the guy told me $3k. I said come again?

Overall my impression is that when it comes to LCs, they’re primarily interested in some high dollar, quasi Jonathan Ward type builds. The 40 series out front for $150k kinda confirmed that for me. I can’t attest to their quality of work or expertise as I don’t know anyone who’s had anything done there or ever seen anyone on mud over the years say anything about them (which I find odd). You hear a lot about all the other shops in the PNW from SNLC down in Boise to Torfab in Seattle, but not a peep for them. Hell I’d lived here for several years before I ran into another cruiser head in the Home Depot parking lot who mentioned they were over there. If it wasn’t for him, I still wouldn’t know they exist because that’s the only person I’ve heard mention them. What I can say however, is a 5ft piece of pipe shouldn’t cost $3k to put a couple bends and some welds in.

This is ken with Selkirk off road. Sorry to hear about the service you received from our shop. I would like more information regarding your experience. If you could send me a message and fill me in that would be outstanding or Please feel free to call or even come by. We aren’t perfect by any means. But we do expect our team to provide a better service. Thanks!