Fortunately it's not all doom and gloom. One of my best friends from Jr. High runs a machine shop from home.

He's same age as me (42), and continues to invest and upgrade machinery.

Always busy, but he always takes care of me.

There is still a very strong market for race car stuff, it's just not at local parts store prices anymore.

Unfortunately the decline of race tracks are part of it also. Don't know how many of you live near Raceway Park in NJ but they no longer "race" there. Sad to see! Now there is only two left in the state. Feel like they are becoming like drive in's. Today young people don't have cars to build like it was back in the day, And if so it's ricers. There was a shop i used to go to and he had every machine you could think of. It closed and they tore it down now it's an empty lot. Got to wonder where all the machines went. Same goes for speed shops because they are a lot of the time hand in hand.

https://dragillustrated.com/nhra-co...way-park-ceasing-drag-racing-operations/

My semi local shop was just handed over to the owners son who worked under his father for over ten years, they do work on anything industrial to a boat motor. He loves his job and is way backed up.

Maybe some should look past a standard automotive type machine shop setting as there are still some places still very much in the business of machine work.

I will definitely be a return customer to Dave H. as you recommended to me a couple years ago, when in need.
Helped me out right on the spot, no waiting, no extra trip back there. Just seems like a good dude.

I'd contacted a Moparts advertiser for the same work and was ignored, although they happily took on a much larger job
a couple weeks prior. Guess helping me make a damper hub fit the crankshaft was too small a job to take 2 seconds to tell
me "no".

.

I ran 11.50 index at Raceway Park on Sundays the last few years before they closed and the closing still sucks! I pass the Englishtown Rd exit on Rte 18 on occasion and I get a pit in my stomach thinking about it...same thing when I hear the ads for their swap meet on the radio especially now since its next weekend. Had a lot of fun there including a track championship in 2014.

What kind of surfacer do you have for decking your blocks?

Winona Van Norman SM2000. That was my most recent purchase. But I have done them in the past on a bridgeport.