Blackdog Speed Shop, Inc

Reviews

Reviews are sorted by relevance, with the most helpful and insightful feedback listed first for easy reference.

  Brad Stolberg
a week ago
The owner of this shop, Tony Gaples, has never worked an honest day in his life. He has absolutely zero respect for his customers and employees. Do not be fooled by the fancy shop, it s all just Tony s trust fund money. He has nothing better to do with himself than blow all his money on cars.I trusted Jeff, the foreman to make appropriate decisions with my builds, but ultimately I have come to the conclusion he has little to no idea what he is doing.Everyone else I ve dealt with at BDSS has been a total clown. Including John, Mike and Ray. Ray is essentially Tony s whipping boy. Mike was fired when I was still a customer and John appears to have been fired as well. Tony has no idea how to run a business.

  Joe Mcgowan
5 months ago
I worked with Kevin and the team at Blackdog recently on installing an intake, cam, headers and tune on my C6 Z06. Top notch customer service from start to finish! Pricing was reasonable given the high-quality work performed. Kevin updated me throughout the install process and Jeff in the shop is a master at his craft! Looking forward to working with them again on future upgrades in the Spring!

  Nick
a year ago
Had these guys do my clutch on my 2003 corvette last year, and they did a fabulous job. I had them pick it up this year and install heads,cam,and some other goodies as well as a dyno tune, and again they did a wonderful job . Highly recommend!!

  Ranis Thomas III
8 months ago
Visited during their St. Jude's Car Show. A nice and peaceful place to visit and the people were very nice.

  sebastian bobrowski
5 months ago
I contacted Blackdog Speed Shop in mid-August based on strong recommendations. Mr. Anderson, the service advisor, accommodated my request and scheduled my car for an appointment on September 25th. It took nine days to receive a quote, which outlined a cost of $1,500 for clutch replacement and $2,700 for parts, including the clutch and master cylinder. I inquired about addressing the grinding issue in 3rd gear, and I was quoted an additional $1,140 for a transmission diagnosis.Expressing my concern about the cost of the parts, I mentioned my budget limit of $1,800 for the clutch and master cylinder. In response, Mr. Anderson said, "If you're looking for something heavy-duty to handle that level of power, it usually comes at a price." He assured me he would get back to me soon. It took another week for him to return without a quote, but he strongly recommended placing a deposit to initiate the transmission examination while he continued refining the parts quote.Doing my own research, I chose the McLeod 1000 hp clutch and a Tilton 6000 slave cylinder, which fell within my budget of under $1,800. Surprisingly, Mr. Anderson indicated that these parts would cost over $2,200, representing a markup of over 30% on parts.Frustrated by the prolonged process, I decided to retrieve my car on October 16. This situation has left me disheartened, as I invested two months with Blackdog. This is particularly disappointing because I typically enjoy driving my car during the fall and spring, effectively missing an entire season.Blackdog's rationale for imposing a 30% markup on parts was attributed to shipping and warranty considerations. However, it's worth noting that many companies typically offer free shipping and warranties as standard practice. To confirm my concerns, I contacted several other establishments and found that such substantial upcharges on parts are not common.Despite Blackdog Speed Shop's commendable aesthetic qualities, with a pristine, professional appearance, I believe there is room for improvement in the service advisor's approach. While I was open to a reasonable up charge, a markup exceeding 30% struck me as excessively high.I found it rather ironic that Mr. Anderson essentially told me, You have to pay to play, while simultaneously proposing an additional 32% charge on the parts. At the price they were trying to quote me, I could practically purchase a brand new clutch and transmission for my car. It appears to be a well-regarded establishment, but it does not align with my preferences or requirements.

  Kevin Hallinan
3 years ago
I have a 2004 Pontiac GTO with the t56 manual transmission that I dropped off there to have a tune done. I usually do all my own work and I am very particular about my vehicles. Needless to say at the beginning I was worried. Blackdog Speed Shop took very good care of my car and I was fully impressed with their tuning service. They did an amazing job. In addition to seeing more horsepower and torque across the RPM range, they eliminated Chevy's notorious 2nd gear skip shift (EPA reasons), as well as they had my radiator fans turn on much earlier, my motor is running cooler and I am completely satisfied. This place is top notch. I have yet to report on their labor, I will soon be bringing in my car to have a set of long tube headers put on and I will update you guys to let you know the quality of their work, but if it's anything like the tune I know I will be extremely impressed.

  Jason Schrotenboer
4 years ago
In prep for my first track day with my '17 ATS-V, the car needed an alignment & balance. Blackdog SS was recommended to me and they were quick to get me in for both an assessment and full racing-spec alignment / balance. As previously mentioned many times, the CAMPUS is a dreamland and very professional/passionate. The results on my part were fantastic, noticeably improved and reasonably affordable for the level of professional service given.I wish I got a pic of the car in the shop! And also failed to note the canine-like similarity between the shop's name and the dog tags! So here's a fun picture to share instead. I give Blackdog Speed Shop 5 vvoofs...er...stars!Thanks Team!

  Gene Jaremek
5 months ago
Awesome facility and staff.. soo clean and organized, thought you were in an operating room not a car shop.

  Tino Alic
a month ago
Great team and service! Jeff is awesome to work with!

  Philip Gersdorf
7 months ago
Have gotten a dyno here before. John Costa was heading things up as the shop manager. Went back for more work recently and he was no longer employed here. Service isn't as good now IMO.

  Shawn Phelps
5 years ago
My wife and I just drove up to pick up our new Blackdog build from these guys and everything was as we saw online. Quick, friendly, and perfect transaction. Chris was awesome to work with in this purchase. We got a tour of the shop and as two car enthusiasts, it was like walking through a dreamland. The cars they work on and build are absolutely amazing. Their shop was spotless to say the least. The place I would trust my pride and joy with. We live 6 hours away but plan to bring the car back for services needed. I also want to mention the effort they went through to help us load when the car was lower than expected. They made sure we got Our car loaded safely. Thanks again!

  James
4 months ago
You could eat off the floor. If you're looking for the crossroads of high performance and quality, you've found the place.

  MAMBA_DRIVEN
a year ago
Scheduled a dyno session to get base line numbers on my supercharged g37. Went in car got setup on the dyno, they did a warm up pull which specified to rev the car to 7700rpm. After the first pull the dyno graph clearly shows the rpm is not being registered properly and graph starting falling before 7000rpm. So the operater tried playing around with ignition pickup wire but still didn't get it right. Did 2 more pulls both being revved to 7900rpm but the dyno results shows the rpm keeps falling off at 7000rpm even though the operater clearly knows he just revved the car to 7900rpm. Long story short none of my dyno numbers were accurate and instead realising their machine is working properly and being considerate they charged me the full $150 dyno even though their dyno equipment wasn't working properly. So I had to reschedule with another and pay to do it again. I don't consider that good customer service.

  Tina M.
5 years ago
We recently purchased a 2008 Bullitt Mustang and took it to the Black Dog Speed Shop so they could evaluate the engine upgrades completed by the previous owner. We were greeted promptly at the door by Mike and given a tour of their shop. They take pride in their work and the shop was exceptionally clean and neat. Chuck and Brian came back with their evaluation of the vehicle and said that it is a great car and just enjoy it.... No need to spend money on upgrades at this time. We talked for a while and appreciated how open and honest they are. This is a fantastic group who know how to run a business well. Great experience and plan to keep giving them our business. We highly recommend them for your high speed needs.

  Phil G
3 years ago
I had a good experience. Found them online. Was looking for a speed shop in my area. Have used other speed shops, and have been left alittle disappointed to say the least. Paul, the shop manager, was very helpful and gave me a tour of the facility . Very clean and well organized. Had my Roush Stage 3 in for a dyno run along with some minor repair work. IN and OUT the same day. I will continue to go back with other vehicles. They not only work on the muscle car classics, but all types of vehicles. Great job guys!Service: Brake service & repair

  Kavin Davis
2 years ago
I tried to get some engine work done from the place. I was working with John Costa, and he didn't seem to take my business seriously at all. A lot of times it would take days to get back to me for product information or when asking for a quote he wouldn't record what I asking for and a lot of times had to keep reminding him of what I wanted on the job. Almost to the point where he didn't want to do the project that I was asking for. Terrible customer service skills. I ended up canceling the job and going to find a different company that wants my money.

  JG
a year ago
Great company. Had an excellent buying experience with Chris Long. Traded for one of their collector cars and the process was smooth and pressure free. Highly recommend this company.

  J. L
4 years ago
Found this place online several months ago and finally got the chance to stop in today while I was driving through the area.Wow... Impeccable! Right from the start I walked in and was greeted by Mike and given a very informative, non rushed or watered down tour of their facility. From race team, to speed shop, to unique automobile dealer this place is very professional. After the tour Mike introduced me to Regis to get some information on possibly doing some future modifications to my ride. I can't give a rating on the quality of their work as I'm yet to be a customer, but based on what I saw from their race cars to how pristine they keep their shop I have very good feeling that high expectations are met here!Will update if/once I get some work done here

  Jerry&ashley14 Forever
3 years ago
My name is Jerry , my 2018 zl1 was build by hennessey racing, 55 grand I paid up front for exorcist package, didn t last 12 thousand miles , went to the strip 6 times. Now it s at black dog, everything that was wrong or is not up to par these guys are going to take care of. Full rebuild, with a new tune, I ve got 135 k in this car , I wish I would have came here first. This car is for my son that passed away , at 3 months old. From what I have seen and my experience so far is these guys take care of their customers, they take pride in their builds, and they do it for 1/3 of the big none car shops world wide. I would recommend this shop to anyone, I ll give more of a review once my camaro is finished in a couple months, keep up the good trustworthy work black dog .

  Antonio Battle
2 years ago
Best performance shop Illinois has to offer in my book!!

  Ronnie Steward
3 years ago
Go elsewhere, there's better places that will honor their word and meet the timeline/requirements you're looking for. Vehicle sat for months while I was being told it was a priority, but most of the team had quit or been removed without telling me. Had the car for well over a year, had to be returned multiple times, each time told the issue was resolved, but couldn't drive the car for more than a handful of miles, so it didn't make any sense why they would say they completed the work. Besides charging for work that didn't resolve the issue. I was repeatedly told by the shop manager they would make it right, but clearly had no intention except to continue charging for work without resolving the issue the car was brought in for. I ended up being charged more than was quoted and for items not discussed or agreed upon. Charged well over 13k to replace a radiator and intercooler and I'll now have to start over.

  Talib Ortiz
a year ago
The best in the business. It s amazing to enter a place where the people who work there have so much passion for what they do. They re great and extremely informative. They take pride in their service and in what they do.Thank you Blackdog Speed Shop for being a business I can trust. Great work

  PhilB
3 years ago
Great Speedshop experience. Very professional and detailed. Seeing all the cars (mostly show quality) in for service provided me confidence that I was at the right place. Alignment and safety check were perfect, they went above and beyond to assure my satisfaction. Highly recommended

  Tim W
a year ago
The person who previously reviewed this business and complained about their dyno graph clearly has no understanding of how an engine actually works, let alone how a chassis dyno measures it.Hp and tq are not linear. That s why people reference the curve. You are upset that your curve isn t as big as you thought it was.

  James Elliott
2 years ago
I bought a hood for my c5 from these guys when the hood showed up it was completely scratched and cracked when I contacted them they offered to give me 100 bucks back. Now I have to pay a body shop to fix what could of been prevented with packaging I never had a problem with Katech or anderson composites. Beware of buying parts from these guys.

  Brian Thellefsen
11 months ago
Great place to do business with. Bought corvette from them.Will buy my next one from them. Chris was great.

  Joseph Ostrander
5 years ago
Brought my race car (Bmw) in for a few dyno runs for our racing series and felt very welcomed. Very accommodating and helpful group. Impeccable shop and knowledgeable staff. Highly recommended.

  Joe Geraci
3 years ago
I was very pleased with their work. They made sure everything was perfect. The shop and showroom were spotless and the employees were very professional.

  LaKecia Harris
a year ago
I was stranded with a dead battery in gas station and the shop owner went and got a battery box from the shop and came back to the station to give me a jump! I could not be more thankful!

  Erick M
2 years ago
They are the best guys to work with from rebuilds , fresh builds, tunes they are my go to for good work!!