Alamo Autosports
One of the best import tuners, anywhere!  Absolutely top-notch guys.  I highly recommend them.

With regard to making serious horsepower with today's small import engines, when the folks at Alamo Autosports tell you a piss-aunt can pull a freight-train, you best go find a friggin' harness!   In other words, they know their stuff.

Here's the story of how I met them and why I think so highly of their advice and expertise.

Hello Houston.  We have a race car!

When Alamo comes to drag race at Houston Raceway Park, I usually hook-up with them, both at and away from the dragstrip.   On more than one occasion, we've gone to the north-side of Houston (in the general vicinity of I-45 and Rankin Road) to terrorize the locals.  One a recent trip to Rankin in late February, one of Alamo's techs, Wes, thoroughly flogged everyone with his 12.2 second Eclipse.  After he put a serious hurt on one of the purportedly-fast Mustang Cobras, no one would race him again.

We frequently stay out at the street races 'till well past 2-3am.  And as a result, the Alamo gang usually ends-up crashing (figuratively-speaking) at my place.  Not only do they know how to make 360 HP from a turbocharged SOHC 1.6L Honda CRX (with stock internals!), they are a pretty cool bunch to know and hang with.  Here are a couple photos of some of the Alamo team both before and after a bit of partying and street racing.

Brice with his feet in Richard's lap.  Both appear weary following a night of terrorizing Houston in the 11-second CRX.

Larry (on the left) and Steve in the kitchen at my house enjoying some adult refreshments.

It all started, not long ago...

In January 1998, I visited Alamo Autosports at their facilities in Arlington, Texas, to discuss improving the performance of my white Celica All-Trac.  And it was then I first met Brice Yingling, the owner of Alamo Autosports.  I found him to be a straight-talking, easy to work with kind of guy.  At that first meeting (and ever since), Brice shot straight from the hip telling me what I needed to hear and not just what I wanted to hear.  He didn't give me any fast-talk. Nor did he try to treat me like I was some punk in off the street.  He answered all my questions in a clear, concise, and straight-forward manner.  And to this day (in March 2000), my opinion of Brice has only strengthened.  He has continually proven to be a person with high ethical standards, and one that is genuinely interested in meeting his customer's needs, and not simply bleeding their wallet dry.

It's about commitment, stupid!  Time and time again, I have called Brice on the phone and consumed many hours of his precious time asking questions concerning issues or parts with which I either need additional information or was unfamiliar.  Brice is honest and will readily admit when he is unsure or does not know something.  But rest assured that if there's a question to which Brice is unable to immediately answer, he will find the answer.  

It may sound corny, but Brice is as consistent as the north star - he's always available to help his customers, even when this results in not making a sale.  I feel that Brice is more interested in developing a loyal customer base rather than making a quick buck from an unsuspecting fool.  After meeting some of his other customers, I have determined that I am not alone in this opinion.  Rest assured, that you can trust Brice, and Alamo Autosports.

Sit down... Time to talk costs.  One thing I must say is, generally speaking, Alamo Autosports is not inexpensive.  They are proud of their abilities, and rightfully so.  They've proven to me that they know their stuff.  That said, I have become a faithful and loyal customer because of Alamo's consistence in providing timely advice and expertise when I have needed it.  For me, all of this "goodness" more than makes-up for the premium paid for their expertise.  They have both the knowledge and experience to get the job done.  

At my initial meeting with Brice in January 1998, me and Brice spoke a good long while about my goals for my car, as well as the work they had been doing on Project MR-2.  Overall, I was very impressed with Brice and his willingness to explain all aspects of the various modifications both used on Project MR-2, as well as those mods he suggested for my car.  I particularly recall several aspects of my initial discussion with Brice that are worth mentioning.

First off, Brice clearly explained the technical aspects of each mods to the extent that I understood the pros and cons of each mod, how one mod affected/influenced other mods.  I told Brice that while I had many years experience building-up the performance of late-60s & early-70s domestic Mopars and Fords, I was pretty ignorant of the new turbo-EFI scene.  Brice understood my concern to fully comprehend the mods he was recommending.  As a result, Brice freely explained the importance of each mod, and how each mod fit into the big picture of improving the overall performance of my car.  Needless to say, my discussion with Alamo went exceedingly well, and Brice and me soon agreed on an action path to pursue for improving the performance of my car.

The rest, as they say, is history!

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