Glad you are going to give Vegas a go. The west side is my preference we are in the far northwest side ourselves. Very true there are a lot of less than scrupulous automotive shops in town for sure.

As for the SoCal speed shop, well firs off plenty of smart carb guys around, but not surprised they don't know that. It is a great place for tourists. Kinda like the count, great for tourists but plenty of other/better shops, collections, tattoo shops and bars in town, but again the tourists love it.

As for a real speedshop we have one of those as well, Figspeed owned by one of the most knowledgeable guys around. He also supports most every large drag race, or offroad race on the west coast with a support rig and mobile parts shop. Well worth a trip for you to Henderson to check him out.

Give me a shout sometime next week. Assume you are looking for work as a mechanic. Should be easy enough.