Some things are just not passed on...often because of the type of racing varies and may not be able to help you get in the ballpark. Other times it's because of sponsorship deals and clearly it would not be a fair opinion given.

Chassis, you can't really go wrong with results. McColl, Hanley, LeftHander, Howe chassis are all quality pieces. As are some others, Port City, Hamke (which has been on a real winning streak lately in the south), along with Levitt, Hess, and so many others including CSC.

Chassis / Setup guys are well established in Ontario, Larry Ellis, John Fletcher, the Hanley's. There are others that can and do offer services, it's all a matter of networking with other races in some cases, it all depends on where you live and what class you're running. Some guys are picky in who they help out, let alone if they have time. Others simply time out and have no desire to get into the 'support' business, even though they are really good at what they do. They are simply not available for hire.

If your stuck on some particular aspect, be it in engines, transmissions, axles, shocks, etc., I've always called up manufacturers asking if they know some local guys that support their gear. You might want to call Grisdale's, they know lots of people that use their stuff and repair it. Bicknell's has a pretty good group of guys too.

For stuff like Carburetors - that's a tough deal. There are some guys that do know what they're doing and have all the right tools (flow benches, etc.) - but they aren't cheap. The U.S. specialty companies really do have a corner in that market, like VDL, Demon / Barry Grant, C&S and others.

For stock transmissions such as Powerglides, TH350 / 400's, C4's Torque Flight 727's / Saginaw's / Top Loaders / Muncie, that's  a mixed bag. Depending on what type of racing you're doing and money, everyone has their own views and preferences on who they use to be sure. The basics of Automatics can be fully tricked out and torque converters can often be full of FUD. Depending on your class, 'stock' rebuilt automatics with a high quality torque converter will do just fine without the 'race' expense, that you could literately go get one at your local parts store and simply bolt it in.... crazy as that may sound.

Powerglides are so common in U.S. racing venues that new versions are actually pretty "cheap". They even make Ford and Chrysler versions. (TCI to name one). Race versions do cost; manual or automatic. The need for speed is secret, and I doubt many will share what they do have inside the case. It's not hard to spend 3 grand on a go fast manual transmission - but is it really worth it for your class of racing? And that's at the cheap end of the scale...

Manual's are now so cheap in "stock" versions out of the U.S. it's all of question of what you want. The faster you wanna go, it's all a matter of money the lighter it will be.

Same thing (IMO) with the pumpkin. A stock rebuilt 10 / 12 bolt or 8.8" / 9" Ford will do fine for some classes. Your local speed shop probably has sufficient experience to put one together without much hassle. Where the secrets are kept secret is how teams keep em together with the lightest rotating mass. There are those out there that claim they are faster with a trick setup. You can make up your own mind on that one. To be sure there are some obvious advantages to gun drilled axles and aluminum spools with some guys machining the ring gear to lighten it.

It's all a matter of money, cuz they wear out and can't take a beating. Setting them up isn't much of a secret, but which components actually survive is. A popular thing to do in SLM racing in the States is to heat treat the gear sets and main ring & pinion in quick change rear ends by chemically treating them, similar to heat treating (nitride) a crankshaft. This in turn allows teams to run with less oil in the axle gear box assembly, thereby reducing the amount of horsepower lost with all the oil bathing that occurs. This heat treating process is not cheap. Is it worth it ? Depends on your point of view....the treatment costs vary, but start at $600.00.

I'm not going to dive into engines, that's simply way to personal in choice and there are a lot of options available to you. One reason you may not be hearing about any preferences is because if something does go wrong the person who made the recommendation may think you'll retaliate, let alone the engine shop now getting a bad wrap. Engine failures are the most expensive part of a race car. Nobody wants to make a recommendation to you, then something goes wrong and then what. Your racing friend will already feel bad and there's nothing he did wrong, and while you may say it's no big deal - many know from experience it's not that easy.

There are excellent engine shops out there. Some of the best in the racing business are here in Canada, in particular Ontario. It's all about relationships, that in my opinion are built directly by the racer by going out and doing his or her research on their own. Especially engines. It's also hard to compare shops. It all depends on what type of engine (mini-stock - Japanese / German / etc) not all shops are experts in all classes either.

2 years ago, I had this conversation here and on another board, for classic 9:1 compression ratio engines (V-8), you could build your own, with a decent set of heads with appropriate valve train and have an affordable engine. There were those that argued it could and couldn't be done. So many variables are in play. Without an axle ratio rule, there's simply no way such an engine would survive a race season. There are guys out there spending OVER 25 grand on engines for Thunder / SS, the same or more in LLM / LM and the sky's the limit in SLM. I always hear rumors of the mini-stock guys upping the ante with Factory Japanese Race engines worth 15 grand, NOT including the ECM / PCM... and I don't think you're gonna find guys posting that here 😀

As a small seq-way....I remember having a conversation with a Canadian Tire Driver at Peterborough Speedway during Autumn Colours (who I shall not name) and I asked him about the new Spec engine available to the teams. To him, it was a no brainer - they were spending over $250,000 / season on engines, the spec engine was cutting their engine bill by over half. They didn't win a single race in 2010, even though the driver can drive the wheels off any race car you put under him. Once built engines are eliminated, the theory is, it'll even up the competition. We shall see. I'm not a believer or fan of crate - sealed engine racing. I do believe in rule enforcement.

There are some great books and websites available. That's probably the best investment most of us make. Some racing manufacturers have great tech support that can help you more than your fellow racer can. AFCO has a great tech support center with respects to springs and shocks, one of the more complex subjects in circle track racing.

Stock racing secret: just about any high quality part / component can be raced and be repaired at a high quality repair shops. As soon as you go beyond stock, the amount of people who know what they're doing drops dramatically. As soon as you want to be as fast as those running in the top three, then you're right, it gets real quiet in a hurry and stays that way; thus Bribes for "tips" (lots of beer) or real help to be competitive, the price of admittance cost accordingly - like buying the championship car as soon as it comes off the race track, which almost happened several times this year.

You don't need y ogo to MR racing to get a good stick for your car at over $600 for a Sag. Some of the stuff out there is hyped to death. Some guys take advantage of the sport and really get rolling with the smoke and mirrors.

does anyone have any contact information for dave @ bds?  thanks

Drive out there, best way. You would think he lives there..... He's behind Baker Collsion on Catherine.

for starters and alternators al at baymore electrical is about  the best ive found or heard of hes on colonel talbot rd  north of lambeth shares laneway with tricar no sign just go to the barn at the back not only a wealth of knowledge but only uses the best available north american parts and the best price around