Im just glad that theres a bmw shop in Arcadia, CA! Prices are decent too (way better than the dealer). The shop owner is John Handal and he is a bmw Certified Master Technician (Used to work for New Century BMW). You can talk to him about anything BMW. He is a very good mechanic, pays close attention to details (still cant believe that he noticed that i zip tied my plastic underpanel).


EMW - European Motor Works

529 E. Live Oak Ave.
Arcadia, CA 91006

(626) 445-6600

is it an aftermarket parts/tunning shop?

Just gave the guy a call and he's at 86 W Live Oak across from Burger King, just on the edge of Arcadia & Temple City. The guys seems really nice.

He is really nice, he did the swap for me, tell him kent sent you, if you need anything done. ;) He actually moved to a bigger location down the street, but the phone numbers till works.

YEah JOhn Handal is the man.. did he show you his cars? He has alot of projects going on. I have dealth with him in the past with no worries. And still dealing with him. I would recommend him to anyone.

Did you see his new shop? Really nice.

He is really nice, he did the swap for me, tell him kent sent you, if you need anything done. ;) He actually moved to a bigger location down the street, but the phone numbers till works.

Swap? What kind of swap.....I've been looking out for a competent local place to do an engine swap in the future...M50 -S50.

He worked at New Century or New Century West...? just wondering... :)

EDIT: Might be the same thing, but I though they were two different ones.

He is really nice, he did the swap for me, tell him kent sent you, if you need anything done. ;) He actually moved to a bigger location down the street, but the phone numbers till works.

How much did he charge for the swap?

i just gave him a call asking him how much to install koni sa's and eibach pro kit. he said its going to be 525! :eek because the koni sa's in the front are inserts and he has to take apart the shock body, which i understand is not all that hard. since i have done suspension work before, though not on a bmw, i am guessing it should take no more than 2 hours, especially with a lift. that averages to about 250 bucks an hr!. WASSUP WIT DAT

Well... you can always do it yourself it you find it too expensive. One of my friends did the koni inserts and said if he had to do it all over agian, he would have a shop do it. Just givin you a heads up. Your other option is to look for another shop, but this is my recommended shop because hes got tons of BMW only expirence. Just go look at his shop and you'll know what i mean.

Swap? What kind of swap.....I've been looking out for a competent local place to do an engine swap in the future...M50 -S50.
he is a close friend of my dad and bro he used to work for us a long time ago, man that guy has a tricked out e30 bimmer man, hey john if u are on the forum , wasup its me nour lol how funny what a small world, also i have a 94 bmw 325is and i have put on a ful m3 kit m3 exhaust along with suede interior i also have new e46 17 inch rims on there, plus i am gettin a dinan intake, strut bar, and some eibachs for my car next, but i wanna know if maybe u know how to upgrade my 325 manual climate controll to a 328 digital so if u know how can u please let me know cause i have been dreamen of doin that for the past couple of months thanks man also say hi to the wife and kid, and also WHY DONT U EVER CALL ME WHEN U GO TO THE TRACK LOL seriously let me know man

LOL. This dude's shop is always action packed. Be sure to stop by and see what they are up to. :)

guys i want to organize a meet since my car is comin back from the shop. so let me know who is up for a lil meet of any cars, there can be any kinda cars there i mean import domestic, european (ifcourse) so let me know who is down for this and post a pic of ur car or even a list of mods

my car: 94 325is/alpine/suede interior
1. m3 exhaust
2. m3 cams, headers,
3. dinan intake (comin soon)
4. complete oem m3 body kit
5. e46 17 inch rims
6. custom all red tail lights except for the reverse light part
7. custom recaro seats made with suede vinal along with m3 color lines in the middle, same as the door panels
8. 1997 m3 headrest on my seats also with suede (coming soon)
9. m3 shift knob, steering wheel, ebrake
10. polished m3 pedals
11. blue dome lights
12. strut bar (coming soon)
13. ebachi springs, bilstein shocks (coming soon)
14. alarm system and sound system (alarm coming soon, sound system is gona be last mod done)
15. tinted windows (coming soon)
16. 328 climate controll upgrade (coming soon)
17. all seals changed, crank shaft seal, camshaft, oil gasket, all changed also starter changed.

well these have been the mods i have done so far and the mods i want to have done

Another vote for EMW. John is a great guy and he's been taking care of my M3 since I bought it in July. He's a racer and has plenty of experience with these M3s. Highly recommended.

Just dropped a lot of money on my 128k mile 92. he said the car was in good shape, but needed the usual wear items replaced. When I scoped out his place, he and his wife offered a helium balloon for my kid, pizza and a drink and I hadn't spent $0.01 at his shop! John and his wife make you feel at home. He gave me a discount.

He loves racing and he has a 92 3 that he just dropped a euro m3 motor into. He's going to make it into a show car.

If you think install Koni SAs are easy please try to do it yourself. Let's just say my friend's Ground Control Coil-Overs took less than 1/4 of the time to install than my Koni SAs and HR Springs.

So you're advertising for this shop AND MB Auto? I thought MB Auto was "your" shop? Anyway, how do these guys compare to them, Kent?

And how much was that swap? Tranny or engine?

guys i want to organize a meet since my car is comin back from the shop. so let me know who is up for a lil meet of any cars, there can be any kinda cars there i mean import domestic, european (ifcourse) so let me know who is down for this and post a pic of ur car or even a list of mods

my car: 94 325is/alpine/suede interior
1. m3 exhaust
2. m3 cams, headers,
3. dinan intake (comin soon)
4. complete oem m3 body kit
5. e46 17 inch rims
6. custom all red tail lights except for the reverse light part
7. custom recaro seats made with suede vinal along with m3 color lines in the middle, same as the door panels
8. 1997 m3 headrest on my seats also with suede (coming soon)
9. m3 shift knob, steering wheel, ebrake
10. polished m3 pedals
11. blue dome lights
12. strut bar (coming soon)
13. ebachi springs, bilstein shocks (coming soon)
14. alarm system and sound system (alarm coming soon, sound system is gona be last mod done)
15. tinted windows (coming soon)
16. 328 climate controll upgrade (coming soon)
17. all seals changed, crank shaft seal, camshaft, oil gasket, all changed also starter changed.

well these have been the mods i have done so far and the mods i want to have done
:rolleyes :confused :help

I think you might want to start your own bragging thread..?

:rolleyes :confused :help

I think you might want to start your own bragging thread..?
:lol

So you're advertising for this shop AND MB Auto? I thought MB Auto was "your" shop? Anyway, how do these guys compare to them, Kent?

And how much was that swap? Tranny or engine?

Hey curtis, i've had good expirences with John from EMW, hes real nice and does EXCELLENT work. He knows our cars better than anything. Hes a BMW race car driver. He even help build a bmw race car in the sig of a bf.c member.

MB auto on the other hand does Good work, but hes more into Replacement than Modifying. If your going to some crazy race suspension go to John at EMW. But if you need to replace your rear shock mounts. You can save money by going to MB auto.

I got my tranny swap done at John because he knows his stuff. And he built an e36 from the ground up.

In short EMW for tuning MB auto for repairs/maintence.