We have only been going since 2012 in our little workshop in greenwich , i started small and like it that way as get to meet the customers face to face plus i like building good reliable engines , i started back street kustoms as i found old skool engine builders where getting harder and harder to find ,as from my exp of buying a so called good engine to find out a month later its *******ing oild all over the back of the van and wife says why buy an old van !! so enough was enough so i found an ex aircooled mechanic who had been building vw engine for over 20+ years and worked as Ollys mecanic at volkspares back in the day ,if he would join my idea of making good reliable engines inc some kustom paint jobs engine to match owners rides ? as my dad did back in the 70 when he helped run the beach buggy scene , over the next 2 years we have built quiet a few amazing turn key engines and power units for splits bugs trikes and buggy engines alot of Bay engines , most where perfect only some where returned with small problems mainly due to the garages not fitting the engines properly or them not knowing how to set a vw engine up ? but we just sorted it out even when it wasnt even our fault but it worked out in the end andwe got it sorted for them . when we build turnkey engines now we make sure we run them for a few hours before we send them ! and get the oil pressure set up on power units plus I offer a years warentee on all my engines as thats what i would expect from any engine builders building my engines its been hard keeping up with the engines as alot of bug & bus owners don't have exchange engines so its hard to keep building more without old units ? we have kept going though hard times and the good times , its always good when owners send pics of there vans on holiday and they have had no worries with there engine which is what i would expect from a good built engine if its done right 1st time it keeps alive , my idea was to help and advise as i learned the hard way and it cost me so many times i like to try and save customers money as best i can & keep the customer happy as they become friends instead of customers after a while and i like helping with advice as your always learning stuff about vw and hopefully sometimes they come back for other stuff to be done which is a cool , vw is a small scene and everyone gets to knows everyone so we have just kept our heads down for the long term and tried not to upset anyone as were not for the fast buck where here for the long run hopefully ? as a good engine builder is like a good plumber once you find one you keep them close, there are lots of engine builders out there which is cool as im not here to compete ! its a lifestyle and you meet some wonderful owners which makes it worth all the effort , I think to make the effort & make a good engine which is reliable & im proud of is worth more than the money , as you meet some amazing and nice people building engines for and its nice to see them at shows knowing you got them there with your engine, i think thats why i keep going i think its the people you meet along the way , the engine is the heart of the bus or bug so it has to keep that vw alive for just that bit longer so that owner can enjoy it with peace of mind , even if i only do it as a hobbie or even part time & make enough funds to pay the bills im more than happy . Regards to all Bay owners out there Johnnie Kustom (backstreetkustoms.com)
