wanted to gauge interest to see how many of you guys would like to see another shop back in the northern california area.

right now i'm not making any promises but i am looking at locations from santa cruz down to monterey and want to see how much interest there still is with the RX7's. RX8s are taking over but i want to see how many owners are still around.

i'm also kicking around the idea of splitting the shop into a prius specialty service center also, since we couldn't go 10 minutes without seeing at least one when i was in santa cruz last weekend... repairing battery assemblies, checking/optimizing economy and doing general maintenance.

the current location i have focused on is a spot in watsonville which has a 4500sq/ft warehouse space, which is pretty damn big.

and not to be confused with rotary planet, which i believe chris greene might still be lurking somewhere in the SC mountains.

 

I'm in San Mateo, so that would be ride to get to Santa Cruz or Monterrey.

If I needed a engine rebuilt I'd make the time to get the car to you though.

 

Same, also possibly interested in an engine rebuild. That location seems fine.

 

thanks for the feedback so far, the location to be determined will be to give the cheapest alternative for the bay area 7/8/rotary powered vehicle owners due to rising costs in the market mainly due to location.

 

working on prius' is a damned good idea. hybrid shops are popping up everywhere. most of the problems are covered by toyota, but hey, if you are certified to work on them, you will definitely get the business.
norcal needs you back man, you are a damned good builder and mechanic

 

I commute from the Central Coast and the East Bay Area. I've been trying to finish my rotary projects but been having less and less due to work and school. I'd love to have a trusted rotary shop work on my cars!

 

Come back! I moved to AZ, but there is a lot of missed opportunity up there

 

I still consider myself new to the Bay area and from the few meets I have attended there is always talk or how much people wished there was a shop nearby to take there car or engine to get worked on. I think you would do well back in Norcal, hell I know three guys that live within 15 minutes from me that have done business or is currently doing business with you

 

You know you have my thumbs up on this. Best of luck on whatever you decide to do Ben.

 

come home ben i was talking about you today had a customer with a toast rx8 .

 

please do. im in the fairfield area and would rather drive 40 mins than 8-10 hours to vegas lol

 

I've called, emailed, and messaged you numerous times trying to get a rebuild haha, but finding a way to get my car to Vegas always made me back out at the last minute(sorry!). It would be awesome if you moved back to the bay area. I've beeing trying to build up funds for almost 2 years(college student). The facebook group I am in, definitely always talk about how they wish you didn't move to Vegas. The rotary scene is still huge here as well! Please come back!

 

I would go there often even though I'm about 4 hours out

 

Whatever you decide man, I'm all for it.

 

Would you be able to offer dyno tuning services? That's what I'm looking for right now, also maybe you can look over my entire setup and give me some advice on my build. I really wish there was a reputable shop in this area that I could take my car to.

 

We in the bay area need rotary shops while we do have a pretty good population of enthusiast. Santa Cruz area is a bit far from most who do live in Bay Area. Once i get a bit more income coming in, i do want to open a rotary shop as well in the Bay Area but that's within my 5 to 10 year plan.

 

yeah bring it to the bay. i'm in sac, but won't mind coming down to the bay. used to live out there. prefer somewhere near sf or the east bay. santa cruz/monterey is a bit far though

 

space in the bay is at least double the cost so the prices would have to reflect that cost, it's also a bit more risk with the added cost not to mention smaller space. i will be looking at all areas though, it's not out of the question but avoiding taking out a loan to do it is #1 priority, close to or in the bay will cost half of the safety margin. fairfield is probably the next likely prospective area since it is the closest to all outlying areas, 45 minutes from the central bay, north bay, SJ and sac.

 

Dont forget about subarus they break all the time and they are everywhere..retirement time..haha

you could do ls1 swaps and do well too..the are ruling the streets/track up here..

welcome back if ya do....vegas is no place to live..ha

 

i think my main concern is modifying cars in general, which i can't imagine they have let up on in the past 4 years so that is something that i have to consider as well. being in outlying areas causes less grief.

 

+1 for Fairfield; not that it is down the street and I'll be unemployed in two months

From what I hear, they've let up on air boxes in the engine bay but not much else unfortunately.

 

i like the idea of having it in fairfield. there are a lot of rotary fans out at travis afb since they're from different parts of the country. if not fairfield, maybe vacaville or davis

 

I've seen quite a number of 8's here in SC and a few 7s. In the location you're looking at people get away with pretty much anything in their bay,
there's no dyno smog required in the county plus we have some really nice weather most of the time.

You are right about there being a lot of prius/hybrid cars in the area though,
you can't go two blocks without seeing a prius (or a tesla now adays) since a lot of people commute to Silicon Valley.

Wherever you decide to go though, people in the bay will follow.

 

it would be nice to have you back in norcal (better if you were between the bay and sacramento) but if would for sure take my business to you since im in need of a t2 motor and to get it rebuilt (because im not gonna leave it stock or half dead)

 

Ben if you could do FairField that would be great, I would be sending business your way too. =)