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Recommendation unchanged in structure. Call Shaky B's (Independence) first and QCKC (Lenexa) second for machine work, but neither page confirms Mark IV 454 capability, hot tank or Magnaflux, so the first call must ask exactly that and get Path A and Path B quotes in writing. Raytown Transmission is a single old…

Research date: 2026-10-12. Everything below was found online and is cited in Sources. "Verified" means I fetched the shop's own page or a listing page and read it; "lead only" means it came from a search snippet or a forum mention and I could not open a primary page. Phone numbers and hours drift: call before driving. Ratings are quoted only where I actually saw them. Rows marked (lead) are not endorsements.

The pick

Good
About $0-$500 of published local pricing. Pick-n-Pull entry is $3, AFW alignment is $89-129 (corrected from $79.99), and AFW wheel powder coat starts at $220 each. Machine work is quote-only; the only price found is a 2011 forum figure of $140, which is stale and should not be budgeted.
Better
About $1,500-$4,000 for local services. AFW custom exhaust is $1,200-$3,500+, which a full-length header, dual 3 inch and X-pipe build will likely hit or exceed. Powder coat is $180-$400+ per item, and Path B machine work is probably under about $1,000 (my estimate, not from a source). Transmission build and driveshaft are additional with no local prices found; a Tulsa custom driveshaft is quote-only.
Best
Not priced. Hot-rod shop labor (Suburban Rod, Bratt Brothers, Tallant's) and ship-in specialists (Drive Shafts Inc. Tulsa, Bowtie or Jake's transmissions) are all quote-only. Vintage Fabrication is not accessible for one-off work.

Do not buy local for every category; match the shop to the job.

  1. Machine work: call Shaky B's (Independence) first, and QCKC (Lenexa) second. Ask each the same questions: do they hot tank + Magnaflux a Mark IV block, what is the deck/bore capacity, will they balance a rotating assembly to a given bobweight, and what do they charge for each operation. Get Path A and Path B quoted on paper. Because a freshened stock bottom end (Path B) is the cheaper path and the shop can quote it in a day, ask Shaky B's to look at the actual block.
  2. Transmission: if the owner stays with a TH400, call Raytown Transmission (community-endorsed). If a 4L80E, pull a core from the Winner Rd Pick-n-Pull only if it is cheap, and plan a full rebuild. Note the Raytown endorsement is a single undated forum post. A T56 Magnum would be an owner install with no local specialty required. Either way, ordering a built unit from a shop with published power ratings is a fair alternative.
  3. Tuning: if throttle-body EFI is chosen, KC Maxx Performance (explicitly supports FiTech and gas/E-fuels) is the best verified local option, though Mon-Thu only. If a carb is chosen (the owner's lean), tune it on the street; skip the dyno.
  4. Exhaust: for a one-off 3-inch dual with X-pipe, the owner may be best served by doing it himself with kit pipe, or having American Fusion Wheels or Suburban Rod fabricate it. American Fusion publishes prices and equipment; Suburban Rod is a real classic shop. The decision depends on whether the headers clear the steering box and the A/C compressor (see below).
  5. Alignment, powder coat: American Fusion Wheels, with caveats above.
  6. Paint/body/rust: a long-term decision (the truck will be painted in years, not months). Suburban Rod (Merriam) and Bratt Brothers (Grandview) are the two I could verify with real services lists. Re-evaluate when the project reaches that phase, because shops change.
  7. Parts: buy sheetmetal, trim, and brakes via LMC (city pick-up saves freight on big items).
  8. Community: join GMSquareBody.com, follow the KC Auto Museum event finder, and drive to one Goodguys event a year (see below).

Why it matters

Bonanza is a ten-year father/son project, and the owner (comfortable with wiring, owns the tools, does nearly all labor) will outsource only a short list: machine work (hot tank, Magnaflux, bore/hone, deck, balance), probably final tune/dyno, a driveshaft, a transmission build or core sourcing, exhaust fab if not DIY, alignment after the drop, A/C charge/vacuum, paint, and powder coat. The KC metro covers most of that, and the truck's home in Sugar Creek sits only about 15 minutes from the Independence/Raytown cluster of machine, transmission and hot-rod shops, and about 35 minutes from Lenexa where LMC Truck is headquartered.

The big structural point: parts supply for a square body is excellent locally. LMC Truck (Chevy/GMC square-body catalog, sheetmetal, interior, brakes) is headquartered in Lenexa KS with a city pick-up counter, which saves freight on bulky items (floor pans, cab corners, bed sides) and lets the owner do exchange/core returns in person. That alone makes KC a good home for this build.

The weak spots are the same ones every metro has: very few shops advertise big-block (Mark IV 454) hot-tank/mag/bore/deck/balance with published prices, and I found almost no verified local shop that publishes carbureted-big-block dyno tuning, 4L80E-swap experience, or classic A/C install. Those are "call and ask" items, listed below with exactly what to ask. Not every shop I turned up is a good fit; several are generalists or marketing pages (flagged as such).

Community-wise: the KC Auto Museum maintains a rolling event finder with weekly cruise nights (Independence is thick with them, within minutes of Sugar Creek), the nearest Goodguys national events are Des Moines (July) and Fort Worth (Lone Star Nationals, March with the LMC Truck title sponsorship, and September), and the C10 Nationals is a separate event that, per the one listing I found, has its next date in Las Vegas in April 2027. For a truck with a ~2042 handoff plan, regional shows and the GMSquareBody forum (which has a Kansas City, MO administrator) are the realistic community.

Options

Price column: "published" means a price on the shop's own page; "not published" means call. Checked 2026-10-12 unless stated.

A. Engine machine work (hot tank, Magnaflux, bore, deck, balance, heads)

Tier Shop Contact / location Evidence & price Link Notes
Good (generalist) QCKC Automotive Machine Shop 8712 Long St Suite A, Lenexa KS 66215, (913) 906-7727 Verified listing and shop site (re-fetched 2026-10-12): engine machining and rebuilding, block and head repairs, crank grinding, honing, line boring, valve seat machining, flywheel resurfacing, and "Balancing & Performance Enhancements"; hours Mon-Fri 8-5. Hot tank and Magnaflux are not mentioned on the site, so ask. The site's contact email is on a burnettauto.com domain, so it appears to be part of a larger automotive group. Prices not published. machinist.com listing ; their site qc-kc.com Same side of town as LMC. Confirm Mark IV block capacity (bore/deck tooling) and decking to a specific compression height.
Better (performance/hot-rod) Shaky B's Hot Rods and Race Cars - Machine Shop 9520 E Truman Rd, Independence MO 64052; 816-833-0232 (main), 816-615-8862 (quotes) Verified: "Complete Block & Head Services" (engine rebuilding, head reconditioning, precision machining, balancing), with Eric and Dana Mann named on the page. The site also sells Holley and AFR parts and does paint/body. Page does not list hot tank/Magnaflux/deck/dyno explicitly. Price not published. shakyb.com Closest serious performance machine shop to Sugar Creek (about 15 min). Page names Chevy, Ford, Pontiac, Olds. The Mann family also appears in a forum thread as "Mann Speed Specialty" (Independence; Don Mann Olds racing history; sons Dana = engine work, Eric = cylinder heads), same names, so very likely the same operation, but I could not confirm that with a primary source.
Better (lead) Automotive Machine and Performance, Lawrence KS Lawrence (about 45-50 min west) Forum lead only: Mopar guys racing a big-block Cuda, 20+ years; poster quoted "$140 to hot tank, jet clean and magnaflux" a block. The thread is dated September 7, 2011 (checked 2026-10-12), so the price is 15 years old and useless as a current number; expect several times that today. forabodiesonly thread Price is from 2011. Do not budget from it. The shop may no longer operate; call first.
Good (lead) Davis Machine (by a CarQuest on Neiman near Johnson Dr.) Overland Park area Forum lead via search snippet: block honing and hot tanking, cranks sent out. Not verified. see gmsquarebody/DSM result below Probably outdated; call first.
Lead, warn Precision Crankshaft, Lee's Summit MO Lee's Summit Forum lead only (same September 2011 thread); a commenter joked about the owners' reliability. forabodiesonly thread Only as a crank-grinding option; verify it still operates.
Best (dyno + engine builder, lead) Hotchkin's Rods & Kustoms, Odessa MO (and a Kansas City MO location per the site header) Odessa MO, east of KC (about 35 miles from Sugar Creek) Search snippet and site header advertised engine building, "dyno", engine swaps and truck customization. The site body would not load on re-check and a web search for the shop found nothing independent, so address, phone, hours and dyno capability are all unconfirmed. hotchkinskustoms.com A possible one-stop for assembly + dyno break-in. Treat as a lead.

Cost context for Path A vs B (machine shop only, my estimate, not from a source): Path B freshen = hot tank, Magnaflux, hone, cut valve seats, resurface, check main bore, balance = a few hundred dollars up to roughly $1,000 depending on how much needs doing. Path A (bore, forged rotating balance, align-hone, deck, heads) = quote-only; none of the KC shops publishes it, so get two written quotes.

B. Dyno / tuning

Tier Shop Contact Evidence Link Notes
Good KC Maxx Performance (913) 432-3785; Mon-Thu 8am-6pm (corrected from 8:30-5:30; re-fetched 2026-10-12), no weekend tuning Verified page: dyno tuning (gas, E-fuels, race gas), remote tuning, AWD dyno with selectable 2WD, supports FiTech and other EFI controllers; most tunes under 2 hrs; retunes $300+ starting rate. Page does not mention carbureted engines or classics; assume EFI/controller work only until they say otherwise. kcmaxxperformance.com Best fit if the owner picks throttle-body EFI (Holley Sniper 2 / Terminator X / FiTech). FiTech is named in the supported-controller list alongside Holley EFI, Haltech and MegaSquirt. Address not on the page I read.
Better (lead) Overkill Street and Performance, Lawrence KS Lawrence Forum lead: tuner described as knowledgeable; quoted "75 an hour for on the street tuning" and "$250 an hour on the dyno" (forum post, date unknown). miataturbo thread Old price; verify.
Best (regional) Wichita Dyno, Wichita KS (about 3 hr away) n/a Site opened 2026-10-12: 2823 W. Pawnee St Ste 100, Wichita KS 67213; Mainline hub dyno rated to 3,000 hp plus a mobile Dyno Dynamics unit; focuses on EFI platforms (Holley, Haltech, FAST XFI). No engine-dyno or carburetor-tuning claim, so the "engine-dyno session" use below is unsupported. wichitadyno.com Only worth the drive if the owner picks EFI and no closer shop will do it; it is a chassis/hub dyno shop, not a confirmed engine-dyno or carburetor shop.
Unverified "KC Engines", Kansas City KS n/a A trade-press search snippet (Parts & People) said this machine shop has an in-house engine and chassis dyno and charges a flat $250 to test carbureted engines it builds. The article would not load for me (re-checked 2026-10-12: only a tracking pixel returned) and a further web search for "KC Engines" found nothing, so I could not confirm the shop exists today, its address, or the article's date. partsandpeople.com article Do not rely on this; search the name and call. Included because it would be exactly the right shop if it still exists.

Note: a plain carb on a 454 can be tuned on the street with a wideband and the owner's own tools; a chassis dyno is mainly valuable for EFI tables or verifying a hydraulic-roller cam break-in.

C. Transmission (TH400 rebuild / 4L80E / T56 Magnum)

Tier Shop Contact Evidence Link Notes
Better (local-reputation lead) Raytown Transmission 8838 MO-350, Raytown MO 64133; (816) 356-8860 A GMSquareBody forum thread titled "bore hone where in KC": administrator Old77 (Kansas City, MO) called them "a great Trans shop" that can refer motor work and "do a lot of the work for all the nice trucks and Hot Rods in the area." I could not find a website or reviews. Thread date not shown; the thread appears old (the forum number 12185 is low), so treat it as a dated endorsement. gmsquarebody thread The only KC transmission shop I found with square-body-community endorsement. First call for a TH400 rebuild or a 4L80E bench build. Confirm they still operate.
Good (chain) Certified Transmission of Kansas City Locations incl. Independence 816-252-7868, Liberty 816-407-1144, Blue Springs 816-224-4500, Overland Park 913-901-9600 (also Olathe, Gladstone, Grandview); Mon-Fri 7:30-6:00 Verified page: "Custom Transmission Builds" for racing/towing/hauling, performance parts install, tuning, diagnostics. Page does not mention TH400 or 4L80E. certifiedtransmission.com Chain shop; ask who actually builds and whether they warranty a built-for-power unit.
Good (chain) Cottman of Kansas City 8401 Wornall Rd, KC MO 64114; 816-363-5550; Mon-Fri 7:30-5:00 Verified page; no mention of TH400 specifically; extended warranty menu item. cottmanofkansascity.com General-purpose rebuilder. Not a first pick for a street/strip 454 TH400.
Best (ship-in) Bowtie Overdrives (Georgia/Tennessee area; not local), Jake's Transmissions (Bridgeport TX) n/a Forum thread: Bowtie praised for 200-4R builds (14+ years of reliable service from one user); Jake's well-respected for 4L80E performance builds. gmsquarebody vendor thread Mail-order builds; compare against the "Transmission" section's pricing. Not KC resources.

D. Driveshaft

Tier Shop Contact Evidence Link Notes
Good American Fusion Wheels (Shawnee KS) 913-291-2027 Verified page: sells and installs Adams heavy-duty driveshafts in standard 1310/1350 and double-cardan configurations for lifted Jeeps with pinion-angle setup; page does not mention custom lengths or classic cars. AFW driveshaft page Installer of catalog shafts, not a fabricator; not a fit for a custom-length C10 shaft.
Good (lead) Lanye Machine, Kansas City MO n/a Search snippet: cutting and welding of driveshafts and torque tubes. Not verified. (search snippet only) Call first.
Better (ship-in) Drive Shafts, Inc., Tulsa OK (about 250 miles; the site's name, not "Driveshafts of Tulsa") 918-836-0111 or 1-866-604-2303 Verified 2026-10-12: operating since 1977, custom steel and aluminum driveshafts built to your specifications, repair, balancing. Dynotech Engineering reference removed: the article link returned HTTP 410 Gone and was not otherwise confirmed. driveshaftsoftulsa.com Practical choice: measure exactly with the trans and rear in final position, then order. Ask the builder for a tube size and series rated for the engine's torque (tube diameter and U-joint series not verified here), balanced; see "Interactions".

I found no verified KC driveshaft specialist with a web presence beyond the above. Say so to the owner rather than invent one.

E. Exhaust fabrication

Tier Shop Contact Evidence Link Notes
Good /Better American Fusion Wheels, 12310 W 62nd Ter, Shawnee KS 66216 913-291-2027; Mon-Fri 9-6, Sat 10-3 Verified page (self-published marketing): in-house mandrel bender, TIG, 304 and T409 stainless inventory; cat-back $600-$2,200 installed, muffler delete from $100, axle-back $300-$700, custom builds $1,200-$3,500+; mentions classic truck engine swaps. AFW exhaust page Shop publishes its own prices, which is rare. Pricing is generic modern-car pricing; a full-length header + dual 3" + X-pipe build on a Mark IV will likely sit at or above the top of the custom-build range. Their page is SEO-style; look at finished truck work before booking.
Better Suburban Rod & Custom Classics, 6142 Merriam Dr, Merriam KS 66203 (913) 262-2343; Mon-Thu 8-4:30, Fri 8-12 Verified: full mechanical services including exhaust, since 1963. suburbanrods.com/services Hot-rod shop that would tackle a truck; ask for an hourly rate.
Better (lead) Vintage Fabrication, 2419 N Old Atherton Rd, Independence MO 64058 VintageFabrication.com Trade article: sheet metal, chassis, wiring, exhaust, upholstery in-house; mostly turnkey muscle car builds booked a year out; closed Fridays. Fuel Curve article Not a fit: the article says the shop does about 95% turnkey muscle-car builds, books about a year out, and avoids non-turnkey work; do not plan on it for one-off exhaust.

F. Alignment for the lowered truck

Tier Shop Contact Evidence Link Notes
Good American Fusion Wheels 913-291-2027 Page says Hunter HawkEye alignments for lowered vehicles at $89-129 standalone (camber kits $150-400 extra, if needed). The earlier "from $79.99" figure was not on the page and was removed. Their pages target modern cars and lifted trucks, not square-body drum-to-disc conversions. lowered alignment page Fine as a first alignment; if the front is a tubular-arm / rack conversion, bring the maker's alignment spec.

For a truck with aftermarket front suspension, the most reliable approach is a shop that will set to the kit maker's spec. Ask the shop whether their rack can handle the tire/wheel width, and check that they will shim to spec rather than "in the green."

G. A/C

I found no verified KC shop that advertises classic or hot-rod A/C installation. The search returned only residential HVAC. Realistic options: (1) the owner installs a Vintage Air / Old Air Products / Classic Auto Air kit himself (comfortable with wiring) and takes the finished system to any ASE A/C shop for evacuation and charge; (2) ask Bratt Brothers or Suburban Rod to quote the install. Old Air Products "About" confirms the manufacturer exists; I did not find a dealer-locator page. Note the owner's A/C has been dead since 2005 - the R-12/R-134a conversion question is covered in the cooling/A/C section.

H. Full-service hot-rod / restomod / paint and body shops

Shop Contact Evidence Link Notes
Bratt Brothers 12715 2nd St, Grandview MO 64030; (816) 265-1929 Verified: restomods and pro-touring, 1930s-1990s, LS/Coyote swaps, suspension/lowering, A/C, brakes; previously ran CHUX TRUX aftermarket stores 28 years; founded 2019. brattbrothers.com Best-fit "modern restomod" shop on paper for A/C, suspension, and electrical consults.
Suburban Rod & Custom Classics 6142 Merriam Dr, Merriam KS; (913) 262-2343 Verified: body, paint, rust repair for all makes and years, fabrication, interiors, glass, engine, transmission. Appraisal service $100. suburbanrods.com Longest-running (since 1963) hot-rod shop found; good for paint/body.
Tallant's Hot Rods & Auto Body 1777 Iron St, North Kansas City MO; (816) 221-5575 Search result: custom builds, 30+ years; Yelp listing exists but returned 403 for me, so no rating seen. Yelp page Lead; check reviews.
Hot Rod Express 5105 SW US Hwy 40, Blue Springs MO 64015 Directory snippet: street rod, muscle car and custom truck builds since 1995, frame-off restorations. Not verified on a primary page. (lead from directory search) Lead only.
Classic Collision Center 4835 Metropolitan Ave, Kansas City KS; (913) 287-9410 Site opened 2026-10-12: family shop ("3 generations of experience"), custom paint jobs and color matching, Mon-Fri 8-5, Sat 8-12, works with insurers. The "since 1986" and "4.7 rating" claims from a search snippet are not on the site and are unverified. Not a rod shop. classiccollisionkc.com For modern-quality paint on a big job; ask for classic-truck references.
Hotchkin's Rods & Kustoms Odessa MO See section A. hotchkinskustoms.com Lead.

False positive to avoid: "KC's Paint Shop" (kcspaintshop.com) is KC Mathieu of Fast N' Loud fame; the site I opened is a pre-launch Shopify store with no KC location. It is not a Kansas City shop, so I did not list it.

I. Powder coating / blasting

Shop Contact Evidence Link Notes
American Fusion Wheels 12310 W 62nd Ter, Shawnee KS; 913-291-2027 Verified: acid dip + blast + powder + oven cure + clear; wheels from $220 each (includes mount/balance), calipers from $180, suspension components from $400, one-year corrosion warranty; wheels 3-5 business days, suspension 5-10 days. No stated maximum part size. powder coating page Good for wheels, calipers, control arms. Ask about frame-length parts (a C10 frame rail is about 14 ft, so a full frame is probably out of range).
Perry's Powder Coating 7400 E 12th St Unit D, Kansas City MO 64126 Directory snippet only: industrial and custom powder coating, sandblasting, phone listed as (913) 585-4019 (unusual area code for a KC MO address; verify). Not verified. (search snippet) Better lead for larger/industrial pieces. Unverified.

J. Junkyards / 4L80E and T56 cores

Yard Contact Evidence Link
Pick-n-Pull, 7700 E Winner Rd, Kansas City MO 64125 (816) 241-7548; Mon-Fri 9-6, Sat-Sun 8-6; $3 entry Verified listing: 4.0 stars from 861 Google reviews; staff called helpful; sells engines and transmissions as-is. u-pull-it.com
Pick-n-Pull, 8012 E Truman Rd, Kansas City MO 64126 (816) 231-1618; Mon-Fri 9-6, Sat-Sun 8-6; paid entry Verified listing: 3.8 stars from 1,309 reviews; reviews complain about pricing and staff. u-pull-it.com
Pick-n-Pull, 1142 S 12th St, Kansas City KS 66105 (833) 304-4866 Directory shows it as "temporarily closed for construction" in the picknpull.com URL; the page would not load, so current status is unknown. picknpull.com

Caveat: self-service yards generally carry cars and light trucks; 4L80E units were used 1991-2013 in 3/4- and 1-ton GM trucks, 1500/2500 Suburban/Yukon and 2500/3500 vans (Wikipedia, checked 2026-10-12), so a yard core is more plausible in a 2500-class truck or van than in a typical late-model car, and the yards' inventory search is the way to check. For a rebuilt-core strategy, pulling a 4L80E from a yard is cheaper than buying one rebuilt but carries unknown history; budget a complete rebuild either way. I did not find a verified full-service (non-self-serve) KC truck dismantler with a web page; add that to the call list.

K. LMC Truck (parts, will-call)

Item Detail
Location 15450 W 108th Street, Lenexa KS 66219 (per search result quoting LMC's contact page). Mailing address Box 14991, Lenexa KS 66285 appears on LMC catalogs. Phone 1-800-562-8782.
Hours Unconfirmed; three conflicting third-party versions, none read from LMC's own page (lmctruck.com returns 403): Mon-Fri 9-6, Sat 9-2, Sun closed (a search result said to quote LMC's contact page); Mon-Sat 10-6, Sun closed (a business-directory listing); 9-6 daily (a gift-card listing). Phone (913) 492-8756 (counter) or 1-800-562-8782. Call before driving, and ask about will-call discounts and exchange cores.
Notes LMC's site returned HTTP 403 to my fetch, so I could not read it directly. Goodguys' spring Fort Worth show is titled "LMC Truck Spring Lone Star Nationals".

Links: LMC contact page (found in search; blocked from direct fetch). Phone the counter and ask whether pick-up discounts and exchange cores apply.

Fitment & gotchas

  • Block ID before machine shop: a '77 C10 454 is a Mark IV two-bolt main. Check casting number and date code on the block and measure the stock crank (it should be the standard 4.000" stroke); note the project build replaces it with a 4.250" stroke forged 489 rotating assembly (section 01/90), so quote the machine work for a 489: .030" bore, torque-plate hone, align hone, deck to a 0.004" piston-below-deck spec on the 9.800" deck, and external-balance of the new assembly. The machine shop should check main bore alignment (line hone) because two-bolt mains are the weak point if the owner moves to Path A.
  • Flexplate / converter: 454 external balance. Tell any transmission shop the engine is a 454 so the flexplate/converter balance matches (the "standard flexplate-friendly engine spec" requirement).
  • Driveshaft: measure once the transmission and rear are in their final position. A 12-bolt rear and 4L80E (longer than a TH400) will change length. Measure with the truck at ride height (post-drop).
  • Exhaust: a full-length header on a 2WD C10 needs clearance from the steering box/linkage; if power steering is changed, header must be fit-checked. Have the shop test-fit before welding.
  • Drum/disc: the owner believes the truck has drums all around; 1971+ C10s normally had factory front discs. Check before ordering a brake kit or booking a shop.
  • Alignment: a dropped C10 usually needs the control-arm geometry corrected; tell the shop the spindle and arm brand.
  • LMC hours: unconfirmed (three conflicting third-party listings: Mon-Fri 9-6 / Sat 9-2; Mon-Sat 10-6; daily 9-6). Call (913) 492-8756 before driving.

How it touches other systems

  • Machine shop <-> compression / heads / cam: the shop's deck height and head gasket thickness decide the compression (project target 9.2-9.3:1 static on 93 octane, section 90; the owner's original 10.3-10.5:1 was lowered); give them the head chamber volume, piston dome/dish volume, and gasket bore before they cut anything.
  • Tuning <-> fuel system: KC Maxx supports FiTech-type EFI; a carb would not need a dyno. Decide the fuel system first.
  • Transmission <-> converter / cam: converter stall is picked with the cam and gear; the transmission builder should receive the cam specs.
  • Exhaust <-> steering box / A/C: header primary routing and the A/C compressor location compete on the passenger side; schedule the A/C and header fit-up together.
  • Alignment <-> tire/wheel choice: buy wheels/tires before the final alignment; many shops want the final ride height.
  • Powder coat <-> brakes/suspension: coat parts before assembly, and mask bearing/bushing surfaces.

Check on the truck

  1. Which transmission path (TH400, 4L80E, T56)? That decides whether Raytown Transmission, a junkyard core, or a built unit is relevant.
  2. Carb or EFI? Decides whether a dyno shop is needed at all.
  3. Do you want a shop to do the bottom end (Path A) or just the machining? Ask Shaky B's for quotes on both.
  4. Which brakes do you actually have (drums or discs)? Confirm before ordering parts.
  5. Is the owner going to do the exhaust or A/C himself? That removes two categories from the shop list.
  6. How far is the owner willing to drive? Lawrence, Odessa, and Wichita are all 45 minutes to 3 hours.
  7. Is the owner comfortable with leads I could not verify (Hotchkin's, Hot Rod Express, KC Engines, Perry's)? Each needs a phone call.

Community & events (for Topper and Walter)

  • Weekly cruise nights near Sugar Creek (from the KC Auto Museum event finder, all verified on that page): Independence McDonald's cruise-in, 16235 E Hwy 24 (Thursdays 2-11 pm, Sundays 2-9 pm); Independence Big Boy's, 12401 E US 40 (Wednesdays 3-8 pm); Noland Road cruise (Saturdays 4-10 pm); Independence Vintage Car Show, 17730 E 39th St S (first Saturday 5-8 pm, March-Oct; not seen in my 2026-10-12 re-read of the finder, verify); UA & Chill at River of Refuge, 5155 Raytown Rd, KC MO (first Saturday 9-11 am, May-Oct; added from the finder, close to Sugar Creek); Cars & Coffee at the Underground, 600 W 31st St KC MO (first Saturday 8-10 am, Apr-Nov); KC Cars & Coffee, Lenexa (last Saturday 8-10); Caffeine & Chrome at Gateway Classic Cars, 1202 S Lone Elm Rd, Olathe (last Saturday 9-12); Cars & Coffee at KC Auto Museum, 15095 W 116th St, Olathe (third Saturday 8-10 am). Listings change; check the event finder.
  • Kansas City Auto Museum: 15095 W 116th St, Olathe KS; (913) 322-4227; around 30 cars on display; free Cars & Coffee third Saturday 8-10 am; museum site. Their annual fundraiser "The Great Car Show" was April 19, 2026 (already past; check for an April 2027 edition), moved at the last minute from the WWI Museum to the American Truck Historical Society, 10380 N Ambassador Dr, KC MO (page); vehicle registration sold out.
  • Goodguys (2026 dates; next-year schedules not found): Heartland Nationals, Des Moines IA, July 3-5, Iowa State Fairgrounds (already past as of today; 2027 date not confirmed) (listing: $30 gate, $80 vehicle registration); LMC Truck Spring Lone Star Nationals, Fort Worth, March 6-7; Summit Racing Lone Star Nationals, Fort Worth, Sept 25-26 (schedule). I found no Goodguys event in the KC metro. A 2027 schedule was not available in search results; check good-guys.com.
  • C10 Nationals: the one listing found shows the next event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Infield on April 9, 2027 (listing). Earlier editions were at Texas Motor Speedway and Nashville Superspeedway per Chevrolet and Nashville Superspeedway articles in search results. I could not confirm a "Lone Star C10" event beyond the Goodguys one above.
  • Mid-America Street Rod Nationals: Springfield MO, May 22-24, 2026 at Wilson Logistics Arena (about 3 hours south; already past, 2027 date not checked; listing).
  • Forums: GMSquareBody.com (1973-87 GM trucks; over 43,000 members; one administrator, "Old77", lists Kansas City, MO). I found no dedicated KC square-body club with a web presence; the historical club listing (Kansas City Cranktwisters) on Kustomrama is listed there with no date or era given, so assume it is historical, not a current club.

Fact-check notes

Adversarial check, 2026-10-12. About 30 URLs fetched; roughly 20 returned usable content and corroborated the file, 2 were dead or blocked (chevyhardcore Dynotech link: HTTP 410; lmctruck.com/contact: 403, confirmed instead via search-result text), and several others (Hotchkin's, partsandpeople.com) returned no usable body. There are no part numbers in this section. Prices in this section are local service prices, and 8 were spot-checked against the shops' own pages.

Corrected:

  • AFW alignment: file said "from $79.99"; the page says $89-129 standalone, camber kits $150-400 extra.
  • KC Maxx hours: file said Mon-Thu 8:30-5:30; the page says Mon-Thu 8am-6pm. Page lists FiTech, Holley EFI, Haltech, MegaSquirt; no carb mention.
  • $140 hot tank/Magnaflux quote: the forum post is from September 7, 2011; flagged as 15 years stale, not a budget number.
  • Driveshaft: "Driveshafts of Tulsa" is Drive Shafts, Inc. (918-836-0111 confirmed, since 1977). Dead Dynotech link removed. AFW sells catalog Adams shafts only; downgraded as a custom-shaft option. Unsupported "3.5-4 inch tube" claim softened.
  • Wichita Dyno: opened; it is an EFI/hub-dyno shop, not a confirmed engine or carb dyno; recommendation language tightened.
  • Vintage Fabrication: its own profile says it avoids non-turnkey work and books a year out; marked not a fit.
  • QCKC: site confirms balancing and performance work, Mon-Fri 8-5, and shows a burnettauto.com contact email; hot tank/Magnaflux not listed.
  • Classic Collision: "since 1986" and "4.7 rating" are not on its site and are marked unverified.
  • LMC counter hours: re-opened in the integration pass. Three third-party versions conflict and none is from LMC's own page, so hours are listed as unconfirmed; call first.
  • 4L80E core years: file said 1991-2005; Wikipedia says 1991-2013, and mostly 3/4-ton and 1-ton trucks and vans, so the yard-core advice was narrowed.
  • Kustomrama Cranktwisters: the "1940s-50s" claim is not on the page; reworded.
  • Past events marked as past (Goodguys Des Moines, Great Car Show, Mid-America Street Rod Nationals); 2027 dates not found. Added UA & Chill (Raytown Rd). The Independence Vintage Car Show listing was not found in my re-read of the event finder and is flagged.

Confirmed as written (the LMC hours line is no longer in this list): Shaky B's address and phones; Suburban Rod address, phone, hours, 1963; Bratt Brothers address, phone, CHUX TRUX 28 years, 2019; Raytown Transmission quote in the GMSquareBody thread; Certified Transmission phones; AFW exhaust prices and powder coat prices; both Pick-n-Pull listings; C10 Nationals Las Vegas April 9, 2027; Goodguys 2026 Fort Worth and Des Moines dates and Heartland prices; GMSquareBody is 1973-87 trucks with 43,749 members; the 454 is a Mark IV, 4.00-inch stroke, externally balanced; 1971+ C10s normally have front discs.

Not verified and still leads: Hotchkin's, Hot Rod Express, KC Engines, Perry's Powder Coating, Davis Machine, Lanye Machine, Tallant's, Overkill Street and Performance, Automotive Machine and Performance (Lawrence). Paul's Rod & Bearing (Parkville MO) is NOT a lead: section 01 removed it because its only source was an article about an unrelated Long Island business, and a 2026-10-12 search for the address returned nothing. Dropped here for consistency.

Recommendation: unchanged. Shaky B's first for machine work with QCKC as backup is still reasonable, but neither page confirms Mark IV 454 block capability, hot tank or Magnaflux, so the first phone call must ask exactly that. For a TH400, Raytown Transmission is a single old forum endorsement; also get one quote from a ship-in builder.

Sources 40

Consulted (opened, or surfaced in search with enough detail to cite):

  1. shakyb.com (opened as shakyb.com)
  2. machinist.com
  3. qc-kc.com (named on listing; not opened)
  4. forabodiesonly.com
  5. classicoldsmobile.com
  6. gmsquarebody.com
  7. gmsquarebody.com
  8. gmsquarebody.com
  9. dsmtuners.com (403; surfaced via search snippet only)
  10. kcmaxxperformance.com
  11. miataturbo.net
  12. partsandpeople.com (could not read; snippet only)
  13. wichitadyno.com (search result only)
  14. kansas-city.certifiedtransmission.com
  15. cottmanofkansascity.com
  16. americanfusionwheels.com
  17. americanfusionwheels.com
  18. americanfusionwheels.com
  19. americanfusionwheels.com
  20. driveshaftsoftulsa.com (Drive Shafts, Inc., Tulsa). The earlier Dynotech/chevyhardcore.com/?p=50428 link is dead (HTTP 410) and was removed.
  21. suburbanrods.com
  22. brattbrothers.com
  23. fuelcurve.com (Vintage Fabrication)
  24. hotchkinskustoms.com
  25. yelp.com (403; search snippet)
  26. classiccollisionkc.com (search snippet)
  27. u-pull-it.com
  28. u-pull-it.com
  29. picknpull.com
  30. lmctruck.com (403 on fetch; details from search result text); lmctruck.com
  31. kansascityautomuseum.com
  32. kansascityautomuseum.com
  33. kansascityautomuseum.com (search result)
  34. fuelcurve.com
  35. americancollectors.com
  36. americancollectors.com
  37. americancollectors.com
  38. kustomrama.com
  39. kcspaintshop.com (opened; rejected as a non-KC false positive)
  40. oldairproducts.com (search result)