Richards Complete Machine Shop

Reviews

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

  Katie Smith
2 weeks ago
You can not find anyone in the entire metro area to be more honest and on point with services, then Richard's. I've worked with JR and his wife since 2012. Nicest people. They deserve all the business! Efficient, knowledgeable, and very dependable. No other Machine Shop in Indianapolis for me!

  Jake Timmerman
a month ago
Even though it took a little longer than I had originally planned, Richards did an awesome job on my cast iron cylinder head. I am very happy that they got my tractor back in the field! A replacement head was not an option for me since they are discontinued, but Richards is an old school machine shop that can still weld cast iron heads. If you have a complicated fix, be a little patient because they can get busy and they put in long hours. There aren't too many machine shops willing to do the tough stuff like them. Thanks so much Richards!

  J Turner
2 months ago
Fast turn around for a pressure test and resurfacing. A great group of machinists with friendly, customer oriented service. Highly recommended.

  Jeff Bromley
8 months ago
Super great guys! Really pleased on the work they did on my Honda head. Co-worker recommended them to me. I have LS heads they are going to do next. They will treat you right. Thanks guys

  Kyle Morse
5 months ago
I took a 4 cyl. head with a crack in it here and he assured me he s done plenty of them and it it won t be a problem to weld and resurface it. I waited twice the amount of time he told be when it would be done to call and kept getting the run around for several weeks. It was always an odd excuse to why it wasn t ready. Finally after several calls they told me I could come get it. I should have looked at the surface before I paid but did not until I got home. It was completely unacceptable. I called the next morning first thing to let him know my concerns of the chewed up spots and and the 2 holes in the valve seats. I was told he would call me back hoping he would make it right with me. This took 3 times before I was told that he said it will be fine just run it it was pressure tested. So here I am with a lot of money wasted with the leak worse than what it was before and will not help me out or even call me back. Will never be back or will never refer to anyone else in future.

  Chris Hunt
6 months ago
Great shop. Honest. High quality. Very busy but they turn around most work very quickly. they re not afraid of complex jobs. And again, honest. Richards will be straight up with you. Highly recommend.

  Austin Barker
6 months ago
Got exactly what I asked for on a set of 862 heads built for cam+boost. Quick turn around and great customer service. This shop has a good ol boy feel to it. Getting harder and harder to find. Respect gets respect. Treat them right and you'll get treated right.

  Todd Smith
a year ago
I have used them twice. First time I bought a cylinder head off of them that they had already went through and redid. Worked out great with no problems once installed. Second I took a cylinder head in and had them redo it for me. Again no issues. I like helping out family owned businesses. And they definitely treat you better when they are. Keep up the good work. I will use them again and recommend everyone to give them a shot.

  Jarrett Embry
2 years ago
They re a little disorganized, but not any worse than most auto shops. Brought a head off an AMC 258 (4.2L) to be inspected, repaired, cleaned, and perimeter and they did it in four days. When picking it up, they were short-handed and it wasn t quite ready yet. They did a good job on the head, and gave some great tips for the reassembly process. I take the business as a side-effect of them doing good work and having repeat customers. We ll definitely be back next time we need a machine shop.

  Manuel Rojo
a year ago
Really disappointed,i took my heads from a 318 magnum and no issues they got them done right away and a fair price ,so i decided to take my 318 block to get the bores crosshatch,freeze plugs installed and cam bearings,also some cleaning and check ,bout a month now and they keep telling me they will have it done by this day ,but then i call and is not done ,they they said some other they i call again and is not done ,i do understand they are busy and maybe short on some guys but why are you telling me /giving me a date to pick it up and is not done by this day,that's not the way to do business no next time I will find someone else.(edited**i had some issues with my block also,they did offered to bring back and fix it right,i will update my review if done and maybe give it more stars ,not trying to be an @$$ just wish they can do some better communication.)

  Trent Hornberger
4 years ago
Best machine shop around Indianapolis. Had them do deck and hot tank the block and also installed cam bearings.

  Rhonda Blakey
a year ago
Never will take anything there again. Terrible service. Spent thousands and didn t do it right. Kept pushing timeline back for when it would be done. After thousands of $$$$ the car is non drivable. Saying they were making things right was sent to a back alley mechanic who owed him a favor and the car was left out in the weather were parts got rusted and unusable. He told us to come get it as was. Just a really bad experience and out ALOT of money. We have a right to be mad

  Sarah Brown
a year ago
Used this company for some cylinder head work. They were honest, reliable and price was fair. No issues! I would use them again for sure.

  Michael Palmer
4 years ago
I couldn't be happier with their customer service! I took in a custom specialty intake to have drilled and tapped and long story short they went above and beyond to ensure my satisfaction. They completely exceeded my expectations in terms of making sure my concerns were addressed and resolved in a timely and mutually agreeable manner. The price was right and I'll tell anyone that asks that they did right by me!

  Bob Zink
a year ago
Called 4 days in a roll, and was promised return phone calls. FInally, when I called 5 times I was told they can't help me and they are too busy. Rude way to treat our folks on the racing circuit. I'm not thrilled with their service, the attitude of their employees.

  Clinton Mahoney
5 years ago
Richards Cylinder Head has provided excellent service with a hometown trusted atmosphere every time I have come. So far I've used their services to resurface and clean three cylinder heads and each time they have done an outstanding job causing me to pass up multiple other machine shops and make the 60 mile drive to Richards.I'm thrilled with their service, attitude, location, and employees.

  Andrew Snyder
7 years ago
I was referred to Richards by someone and boy do I regret it. I took my cylinder head to get re-machined and cleaned, a crank to just get cleaned, and a block to be cleaned and looked over. When I dropped it off, I was told that I would get a call by the end of the week to know what was going on, I dropped it off on Monday night. Didn't get a call. I waited until Tuesday because I figured maybe they just got busy and wanted to start the weekend. Whatever. I called on Tuesday and get told that I will get a call later that afternoon, the owner was out at an appointment. No call. I wait several more days and still nothing. I am in week 3 now of when I first dropped all my parts off and still don't even know how much it will cost me. I call and get the run around again, "oh he is on the phone with another customer, I'll have him call you by 5pm". No call. I finally get an answer only because I called at 4:30pm and said that I want to know what is going on since it had almost been a month and still had no answers. I get my estimate, need to have sleeves put in a couple cylinders on the block, ok thank you about time. It takes another 3 and a half weeks of me constantly calling and asking when it will be done, before I get my pieces back. Well, I had to go back because the sleeves weren't finished. They weren't ground down enough and my connecting rod is hitting where they are. I figured it would be a quick fix, and since I have already paid $1000+ that it would just take a day to do. I dropped it off on Tuesday noon; I called Thursday noon to see what was up and get told that I will get a call later that afternoon. Never did. I will never be coming back to Richards. Not for the common man who is rebuilding anything. Only the big name people.

  Michael Cook
3 years ago
It took them 20 days(they are open 6 days a week), 17 business days to rebuild a simple honda head and then when I went to pay they charged an extra $15 just to pay with card. It was quoted at 2 business days. If you're going to take 3 weeks, you owe the customer a discount.Went to put the head on the block to find they also lost one of the dowel pins as well along with the one that was returned to me was dented from them pulling it off with pliers/channel locks.The owner is justifying any negative reviews so thats a thing I'm sure ill see on this one.

  p myint
a year ago
Customer service A+, Quality of work A+, Price very reasonable.Very knowledgeable and helpful people to deal with. I will Definitely will go back again.Services: Engine repair, Motor buildingServices: Engine repair, Motor building

  Advance Automotive
2 years ago
Best machine shop around. Owner is honest, does incredible work, and really knows what he is doing. They treat their customers right and their services are worth the wait. We would not go anywhere else.

  PKendall317
4 years ago
UPDATE: So my vehicle is back at Richard's and has been there for roughly two weeks to fix a cracked thermostat housing. Was told it would be done Friday and never received a phone call. I attempted to call again today and got a message saying their voicemail was full.So far I'm not a huge fan. Had them swap the heads on my 06 GC, was told it would be about a week. About a month later and after endless phone calls and getting the run around I had my vehicle back.All's well right? Well not exactly. Shortly after getting the vehicle back I noticed that it was low on coolant, so I added some. Next time I popped the hood it was gone. Did all the normal things checking for a coolant leak, before finally concluding via the milk shake on my oil dipstick and in my oil fill neck, that coolant is leaking into the oil.Called Richards to tell them the problem and was told that someone would swing by my place to pick up the vehicle and take a look at it. That never happened. The only reason they aren't getting a one star review is because I'm going to give them a chance to fix their mistake. Either correct it or refund it, one way or another this is getting fixed.

  Shane Richards
a year ago
Have done several engines for me and Friends and Heads only place will ever use currently have a 6.2ls complete build there doing for me come here you won't be disappointed...Service: Motor buildingService: Motor building

  Bill Linton
4 years ago
Broke down near Indy with our 21 year old motorhome. Was towed to a dealership who found the problem to be a blown sparkplug. This was something new to me. I was told they would have to swap out the engine at a cost of around $10000! A friend suggested calling a machine shop. I called Richards. Within 2 hours of dropping it off there, they had it fixed! They were friendly, confident and did a great job. Cost - around $ 421! These guys know what they are doing. Thanks a million guys.

  James Champer Jr
10 years ago
These are good folks. Had my 172cid tractor cylinder head done in just a couple of days. Tanked, magnafluxed, pressure tested and resurfaced all for well under a 100 bucks! They don't do injectors but did point me in a few directions for that. That's customer service :-)I will be recommending them to others and, if I ever need to, will do business with them again.

  Pat
4 years ago
I have used them professionally for over 10 Years. JR and his crew do excellent work. If there is ever a problem they will stand behind their work. Integrity and quality!

  Skye Barnes
6 years ago
I just wanted to take time out of my day to email and let you guys know you provide the worst service ever.My name is SkyeI brought the heads off my 1999 honda passport 3.2 liter v6 duel overhead cams into you in and your mechanics About about a week after Easter of this year. We were told that you guys were 2-3 business days behind. Fine. we were told it would take about two weeks to get to job complete. Fine. we waited two weeks and called to see if they were done. Your response was "No, it'll be a couple more days." Fine. A couple days later we call again and still got the same response. After a month they were finally done. We came and picked them up. Mind you it's 1.5 hr drive just to get there and 1.5 hrs on the way back. Now due to my husband's work schedule it took some time to get them put back on and to get my vehicle back together. Before we put the timing belt on my husband did an over check and had a very mechanically inclined friend with him when they both noticed BOTH THE EXHAUST CAMS WERE IN WRONG. The next day after I get off work I called and asked to speak to the owner and was put on the phone with a mechanic instead. My passenger cam was off 1tooth. just one. My driver side was a while 180� rotation off. yes a while one hundred and eighty degrees off. so what do I do? I PAY SOMEONE ELSE TO FIX YOUR SCREW UP! I paid you $450 to fix my heads and they were still wrong. I had to pay another mechanic $100 to fix something your mechanic should have already done. After all is said and done we get it out back together (My husband and myself doing all the work) run it for 3 days and my passenger head starts thumping. so yet again I call your company and ask to speak to owner and YET AGAIN I'm put on the phone with a mechanic that assures me he is the one who fixed them. he then proceeds to tell me that my oil pressure in the head is off (without checking himself) and that's why it's thumping and then proceeds to tell me that he done the job right. when I asked him why my exhaust cams were wrong he then said " they aren't set because you needed to set them yourselves. only because you have to take them out to put the head bolts in and the only way to access two of the bolts is by pulling out the exhaust cams." he argued with me and insisted that he was 100% right and maybe it's because I'm a woman he did so. I know better and he was very much so WRONG. My heads have 8 bolts a piece and if your mechanic insists otherwise he needs to go get more schooling done. Mind you I drive a 3.2liter not a 3.1! i yet again had to pay someone else MORE MONEY to come look at my passenger head to help my husband decide and figure out what is wrong. What's the problem now? Your mechanic shimmed my solid lifters WRONG. this is now TWO problems I've had with your company. Not just one, but TWO! You offer quality work but do not provide it. I'm wondering what else your mechanic failed to fix while he failed to do his job. I'm also wondering what you're willing to do to resolve this issue? refund my money? or should I lawyer up and take you to small claims? I also have videos to prove my exhaust cams were wrong (they we're sent to one of your mechanics) and I have a video of the way my vehicle sounded after the heads started thumping. My heads were brought in under my husband's name Tron Lauy.Sincerely,A very unpleased and angry Customer.Skye

  Justin Kidd
5 years ago
I don't know of any other cylinder head places around otherwise I would definitely go to them. You pretty much have to lie to get your stuff done in an timely fashion. They do good work but don't expect it to be done when I say will be. This is been my experience or probably the last 10 years

  Arman Khamiszadeh
6 years ago
Richard is definitely not the quickest, I experienced it many times myself. But I take my stuff to him every time, because the last thing I need is to let some hack-job machine my parts. Of course I had to learn that the hard way.He is experienced, he'll work on pretty much anything you could get your hands on.If you want a cheap fast hack-job, this is not the place for you.Disclaimer: I have no affiliation whatsoever with Richard, just a happy costumer.

  Beach Automotive
5 years ago
We use Richards a lot. Have never had any issues. As far as timing goes you may have to wait. That is very normal in today's market. I would rather wait an extra few days then have my machine work done fast and wrong.And trust me when getting it done right makes the difference you will wait.

  Chris Purcell
3 years ago
Richards INCOMPLETE Machine Ship.I brought a set of heads in to be resurfaced and a crank to be turned.The heads were returned with a very rough surface finish nearly 3X the maximum roughness called out for a OEM MTS head gasket. I am now forced to use aftermarket coated gaskets to help make up for the rough finish and even at that it will be without question be above even their higher roughness specification.I also learned that my crankshaft turning was outsourced to a larger shop in NE Greenwood. You can guess. Richards COMPLETE Machine Shop does not own a crank grinder.It is clear to me neither of these shops that touched my parts are qualified to use a set of calipers let alone gauge a crank post grinding.I was never once called for updates on my parts over 2.5 weeks and was greeted a couple times when arriving to the shop with a sleeping employee in one chair and the other smoking a cigarette in the lobby filled with junk. If you take pride in your work, you take pride in your workplace. Richards does not take pride in anything.Good, Fast, Cheap. If you want to be competitive today you have to be all 3. Richards is none of these.Written by a Mechanical Engineer and experienced Automotive Engineer with years of experience with many professional and recreational level automate machine shops like this.