jimhsu

Just want to confirm that most /all of you have had good experience with John Walker's Porsche shop on Phinney Ridge in Seattle for your aircooled P-car service:

http://www.johnwalkersworkshop.com/

From what I have heard it is a good place to go. I live @ 15 minutes away (Magnolia) so it would be convenient too.

Any place (John's, others) you think would be good for suspension upgrades and alignments too? Anywhere else in Seattle worth checking out?

For that "some day soon I shall upgrade" occasion, I know there's Kevin's UMW on the east side. But I just want to get the car sorted out first, drive it a bit, then consider the upgrades.

Thanks!

geldgrube

I can't comment on John's expertise on 993's but when I had my '70 911T, I spent a lot of time on the Pelican forum and I found John to be VERY knowledgable and helpful. You might want to try a post on that forum.

NP993

John is a regular contributor to the Pelican tech BBS and has a solid gold reputation. I can't think of an independent Porsche shop in the U.S. with a better reputation and a more enthusiastic group of customers.

Scooter

John is the man! He works on my 993 and has worked on my other cars I have had in the past. He is an honest, no-nonsense kind of guy.

He does not do alignment. He will install suspension and send your car out for alignment to True-line or others.

Cannot recommend him enough.

Bill 993

You should also consider Gerber Motorsports located in Ballard (near Fisherman's terminal) - http://www.gerbermotorsport.com I take my 993 to Gerber and have been happy with the service.

Also very close to Gerber is Group2 Motorsports (http://www.group2inc.com/). I had Group2 install my Bilstein/M030 suspension. I think they are first rate. They are best I have found in Seattle for both Tirerack installs and suspension work. Joe is the owner and Chris the alignment person - both very good to deal with.

jimhsu

all very good suggestions and thanks for the vote of confidence on John Walker's.

Rick Lee

I've never met John, but he's the guy I call when I'm in a bind and all the shops here are closed. He always picks up his phone and holds my hand through some ridiculous bind I've gotten myself into. My sister lives near him and I had her drop off a case of beer for him. He's a great guy. If I lived out there and didn't DIY everything, he'd be my guy.

TomF

John is a great guy. He took care of my rear hub issue on my 993 for a couple of six packs. He bailed me out on a Saturday 18 years ago when I my rear bearings blew out just as I headed back to college. I can go on and on.

One caveat- I don't know what his level of skill is related to 993TTs. Since they are highly technical cars, I would make sure that he is up to speed on all the TSBs, ect...

His knowledge of the earlier turbos is second to none.

Analog Theory

Speaking from first hand experience, I highly recoomend John and also Greg Fordahl (Bellevue). http://www.fordahlmotorsports.com/

Mark Wilson

Jim,
When I was in PNW, John did all my work and did an excellent job. The guy is honest to a fault and knows pretty much everything about 911's.

993RUF

I also recommend Group2 for suspension and alignment work. Chris is a great guy and does wonderful work.

groovzilla

best choices in seattle are:

AKER'S porsche for any work needed on 356, 911,993,996,997 or race cars.

TRU-LINE FRAME for suspension and alignment

denny aker(google dennis aker)has more knowledge about these cars than anyone i can think of in the puget sound area or the west coast for that matter....he has raced and worked on these cars for more than 45 years...

he and his son mark are the most honest mechanics known to mankind...

BTW anyone with a ferrai should try and look up ray segali who moved to idaho years ago...another expert in the field who still costs less money and much better workmanship even after shipping your car to idaho for the work to be done..

H.H.Chinn

Denny Aker and his son Mark used to service my 82SC until I recently sold it . They're both great guys, knowledgeable and honest. Denny hosts one of the larger gatherings of 356 guys in the Pacific Northwest at an annual "Bull Session" out at his workshop/museum just outside Seattle.

John Walker has also serviced my SC, and is equally knowledgeable and honest. He has a great collection of Buick woody wagons and hosts a great local swap meet in the summer.

I highly recommend either of these shops but tend to go to Akers because I can walk home or downtown to the office from their shop.

Stealth 993

I have not used Gerber for service, but I have talked to them, & they seam like great guys.

G2 is the PLACE to go for any suspension work, they can corner balance & give you any settings you like. If you need any tires mounted, they are a very trusted shop for expensive wheels. This is the shop Gerber uses for alignments & wheel mounting / balancing.

H.H.Chinn

+1 for G2. Easy tire changes as you have the TireRack ship your tires direct to G2, drop off your car when they arrive and they take care of the rest. Tire balancing as well as corner balancing of the car, spot on. I've even taken the Ginetta out for a spin while my car was being serviced.