Mechanical Arts

Mechanical Arts Mechanical Arts is a vintage auto repair shop in St. George Maine.

It was a great privilege to work on this beautiful 1968 Jaguar Series 1.5 E-Type. I’ve known this particular car since I...
08/13/2026

It was a great privilege to work on this beautiful 1968 Jaguar Series 1.5 E-Type. I’ve known this particular car since I was about 13 years old, through its previous owner who had it restored, so it was especially rewarding to have it come through our shop all these years later.

The current owner brought it to us with a small list of electrical gremlins and service items, and also asked us to perform a comprehensive inspection. Our inspections go well beyond a cursory glance, we thoroughly examine the vehicle top to bottom, inside and out, to develop a clear picture of its condition. The we develop a plan that best fits the owner’s goals.

Overall, this E-Type was in exceptional condition, but even the best-cared-for vintage cars have components that deteriorate with age. During its stay, we addressed the electrical issues, rebuilt the brake master cylinder and servo, replaced deteriorated brake hoses and suspension bushings, and completed a full fluid service and tune-up.

It now runs and drives every bit as good as it looks!

08/06/2026

Every antique automobile has its own story, and every project that comes through our doors deserves the time, care, and attention required to do it right.

In this video, I take you behind the scenes at Mechanical Arts, share a few of the exciting projects currently in the shop, explain how our workflow operates, how we schedule incoming vehicles, and why timelines sometimes change.

The reality is that antique automobiles rarely tell the whole story until we begin working on them. A simple repair can uncover additional issues, and a restoration can reveal decades of hidden damage. Every time that happens, we have a choice: stay on schedule, or do what’s right for the customer and their car.

We’ll choose the latter every time.

Our goal is simple: give every customer the absolute best result their budget and timeline will allow, and deliver work we’re proud to put our name on. Thank you to all of our customers for your patience and trust, we never take it for granted.

07/24/2026

While diagnosing a low-power issue on this 1965 Jaguar Mk. 2 Saloon, we discovered tappet clearances that were all over the map, some far too tight, others much too loose.

The Jaguar XK engine is a work of art, and I love working on them, however setting the tappet clearances is a bit different than on the pushrod engines most people are familiar with from this era. In this video, I walk you through the process, explain why these clearances are so important, and show how we’re getting this classic engine back to where it should be.

07/18/2026

Cadillac’s little brother doesn’t get nearly the recognition it deserves. Introduced in 1927, LaSalle combined Cadillac engineering with striking styling, and by 1940 had evolved into one of the most elegant American automobiles of the era.

This beautiful 1940 LaSalle Series 50 Convertible Coupe recently left our shop after a complete mechanical recommissioning. We rewired the entire car, rebuilt the carburetor, went through the brakes, suspension and steering, performed a full service and tune-up, and sorted countless details to make it a dependable, enjoyable driver once again.

In this video, I share a little of LaSalle’s history, walk through the work we performed, and take the car out for a drive. There’s nothing better than seeing a prewar automobile back on the road doing exactly what it was built to do.

07/16/2026

This moment has been a long time coming!

We began work on this beautiful 1962 Lancia Flaminia 3C Touring Convertible in July of 2025. While it was cosmetically stunning, it needed extensive mechanical work to achieve the owner’s goal of driving every bit as well as it looked.

Over the past year, we’ve completely rebuilt the engine, rewired the car from end to end, overhauled the brakes, suspension, and steering, sealed the fuel tank, restored the radiator and cooling shutter system, and tackled countless other details. There is very little on this car we haven’t touched. Much of the time on this project was spent researching and sourcing the correct components for this rare car, or making them.

Yesterday marked a major milestone as we fired the engine for the very first time and began dialing it in. In this video, we’re holding it at a steady 2,500 RPM to properly break in the new camshaft. It’s incredibly rewarding to see a project like this reach this stage, and we can’t wait to get this Flaminia back on the road where it belongs.

This handsome 1960 Jaguar XK150 came into the shop for a service and a comprehensive mechanical assessment. It’s a well-...
07/14/2026

This handsome 1960 Jaguar XK150 came into the shop for a service and a comprehensive mechanical assessment. It’s a well-cared-for and very solid car, but we uncovered a number of areas that needed attention, and the owner wants it returned to perfect mechanical condition.

During its stay, we’re resealing the engine to address a number of oil leaks, rebuilding the entire front suspension and steering with all new bushings and joints, performing a complete fluid service, ignition tune-up, carburetor service, and a full brake system overhaul.

We found several brake caliper pistons seized from rust, and every brake component had been spray-painted flat black. We carefully stripped and cleaned all of the brake components, sent the calipers out to have bronze sleeves installed to prevent future corrosion, and will have every brake component replated in the correct clear cadmium finish before final assembly.

It’s details like having the correct plating on brake components that separates a simple repair job from restoration quality work. We are always striving to do our best and apply this attention to detail to every car that comes through our shop.

After months of careful repairs, diagnostics, and tuning, there’s nothing more rewarding than hearing how happy an owner...
07/03/2026

After months of careful repairs, diagnostics, and tuning, there’s nothing more rewarding than hearing how happy an owner is with their car.

The owner of this Jaguar E-Type shared these thoughts after his drive home:

“The car ran beautifully. So much happier on the open road. One would never suspect the hot cam during normal driving. Quite smooth, even on idle. Superb tuning. And with all the suspension fixes, it handles and rides so much better. You have transformed the car. BIG THANK YOU!”

We wrapped up a host of mechanical work on this beautiful 1932 REO Royale today. It came to us with a blown head gasket,...
06/30/2026

We wrapped up a host of mechanical work on this beautiful 1932 REO Royale today. It came to us with a blown head gasket, along with charging system issues that also needed attention.

During its stay we resurfaced and pressure-tested the cylinder head, performed a three-angle valve job, refaced the valves on our Sioux valve grinder, carried out extensive crack repairs to the intake and exhaust manifolds, and rebuilt the generator. Now she’s running like a top and ready for many miles of touring.

In fact, she’ll be heading west next week for the REO Club of America’s Annual Meet in Kalamazoo, Michigan. We wish her owner safe travels and many trouble-free miles!

06/25/2026

Triple Weber carburetors can completely transform a Jaguar XK engine, but only when they’re properly tuned.

This 1968 Jaguar E-Type Series 1.5 came to us after three different shops were unable to get the Webers sorted. After extensive road testing and wideband tuning, it now drives as well as it looks.

In this video, I talk about the tuning process, the advantages of Weber carburetors, and why experience matters when setting them up.

And yes—we know! This Series 1.5 is fitted with a Series 1 nose with covered headlights. That conversion was done long before the car came to us, and it sure makes for a beautiful E-Type!

No matter how many months of preparation or miles of testing you put in, you’re still at the mercy of a 98 year old auto...
06/22/2026

No matter how many months of preparation or miles of testing you put in, you’re still at the mercy of a 98 year old automobile and the gods of speed.

After months of sorting, testing, and fine-tuning, we couldn’t have had more confidence in this 1928 Packard Speedster. The engine was making excellent power and running smooth, quiet, and cool throughout nearly 1000 miles of testing.

Unfortunately, at the end of the first day of rallying, the engine developed an aggressive valvetrain noise from cylinder #8. After careful diagnosis and many phone calls to the team out west guiding trusted mechanics and friends through the troubleshooting process, we’ve narrowed the issue down to a failed cam follower.

To prevent further damage and preserve the engine, the team has understandably made the difficult decision to retire the car from the event.

While it’s not the outcome anyone hoped for, that’s the reality of endurance competition with historic machinery. We’re incredibly proud of the hard work and dedication our team here at the shop put into preparing this remarkable Packard, and we’re grateful to our clients for the opportunity to be part of such an incredible car and its journey.

Address

244 Wallston Road
Tenants Harbor, ME
04860

Opening Hours

Monday 7am - 12pm
12:30pm - 5:30pm
Tuesday 7am - 12pm
12:30pm - 5:30pm
Wednesday 7am - 12pm
12:30pm - 5:30pm
Thursday 7am - 12pm
12:30pm - 5:30pm

Telephone

+12079757996

Website

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