Greater Seattle area classic Fiat mechanics/shops -- suggestions?

RJ80

True Classic
Hi guys,

With an eye to getting my Lancia Scorpion on the road sometime this decade, I've decided I should probably just bite the bullet and have a shop get my engine put together. That might motivate me to do the brakes and clutch hydraulics which are the other necessary items before it's road-worthy.

I've recently moved to Kitsap County, west of Seattle. I've talked to the owner at Ralli-Round in Kirkland and that's the only place that's been suggested to me. Are there any other shops in the larger Seattle/Tacoma area with classic Fiat/Lancia twin-cam engine experience that I'm missing? I'd even cart the engine down towards Portland, OR, if there's a good option there.

I've got a NOS Scorpion short block (sat in a garage for 40 years) that I've mostly disassembled in preparation for the fitting of new 84.4mm, 4mm dome pistons. I'll need my head rebuilt too and I have new guides, valves, springs, seals etc all ready to go. See my thread in the Scorpion section about #1733 if you'd like more info :)

I'm guessing that even with all the parts already bought (and a brand new short block as a starting point), this will still be a $3k-$4k job and I want it done right the first time. My original intent was to assemble the motor myself, but I just can't seem to get started. If I'm honest, I'm a bit worried about making a wrong move and seeing thousands of dollars in parts and tens of hours of work be destroyed in minutes or seconds.

Thanks for any suggestions,
Rory
 
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Bump for this post. Still looking for shop suggestions in Washington state if anyone has one.
 
Here is a possible lead for you of someone in Olympia. Tino Fortunato was a friend of mine and long time mechanic who worked on my X for many years before I became more knowledgeable on it. He was from Italy and had a repair shop in Olympia and worked on mainly older European autos. Unfortunately, he passed away suddenly a couple of years ago, but his son, Tino Jr., also became a mechanic and learned a lot from his dad. He is quite the Subaru expert and rallies them, but he knows a lot about quite a variety of cars. I asked him if he was comfortable working on a twin cam Lancia engine and he said yes. I will pm you his cell phone and you can give him a call to see if you think he can help you out.
 
Hi RJ, this post is a fe years old. Did you ever find a good X1/9 mechanic in the Seattle area?
Ended up using Bristow's Exclusive Auto Repair in Tacoma to get my car back on the road. They did a good job.

Another shop you could try in Seattle proper is Prova Motorsport. I'd stay away from Group 2 Motorsport, had a bad experience there with an Alfa.
 
Tino Jr., also became a mechanic and learned a lot from his dad. He is quite the Subaru expert and rallies them, but he knows a lot about quite a variety of cars. I asked him if he was comfortable working on a twin cam Lancia engine and he said yes. I will pm you his cell phone and you can give him a call to see if you think he can help you out.

Tino Jr is a swindler and has been since rejected by most the rally community.
 
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I hadn't heard that Ralli Round was back in business. Was is Ben you spoke with? If it was, I would imagine he would do ok. I used him on my 164, decent work, only slightly flakey. But who in the italian car biz isn't? Shame that Ray Mortenson retired.
 
I shared dnudelman’s comments with Lorrie Mortensen who is Ray’s wife, and she said he is not retired, just tired. He is booked over 9 months out and only does engines these days.
 
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