Video Tour: Total Cost Involved Engineering Celebrating Forty Years

tci01Quite often, when you begin a project car and set up a budget, it doesn’t take long for that budget to get blown to smithereens because of everything you forgot to include. Sometimes these overlooked items can stop a project in its tracks, and you have to clean up and head back out to get whatever it was that you needed. It would be great if you knew everything that you would need ahead of time.

The concept behind Total Cost Involved Engineering (TCI) is just that: the total cost involved to get your project car started, with all things considered at the start – instead of coming back again and again for little items that were overlooked. This includes all of the nuts and bolts, clips and retainers, brackets and braces – everything you’ll need to put things together.

tci02

TCI does all of the legwork for you and puts together a comprehensive kit so that you won’t spend hours and hours planning out your project with all of the little pieces. How many times have you gone to your bucket o’ bolts needing four of the same bolt, only to find three of them? That’s why TCI does what they do: so you can get it done right without any delays.

We’ve grown to know each other, I know that to say we’re like a family is kind of cliche, but we are. -Ed Moss

TCI has been in business for 40 years, founded by Ed Moss in 1974. When you look at the company, you find a few employees who have been there for quite some time. Vice President Sal Solorzano has been with TCI for 30 years, Sales Manager Evan Dalley has put in 29 years, and Diego Rodarte is the Shop Manager, spending the last 26 years of his life at TCI. Moss said, “A lot of people have been here a long time. We’ve grown to know each other, I know that to say we’re like a family is kind of cliche, but we are.”

Dalley says, “We live it, we breath it. We’re a hot rod company and that’s what started us, that was our roots.” He goes on to say that being at TCI is his dream job. Solorzano prides himself on the fact that they can provide quality components that fit right and shares that their customers sometimes finish their project ahead of schedule.

tci06They don’t just manufacture parts for hot rods and musclecars, they put their parts to the test on the street and on the track, clearly a part of the work process that they enjoy quite a bit. Being able to install components, then take the car out and push it hard and melt some rubber is a job anyone wants, but the dedication to making things right is what keeps them in business.

Their first product was a Model A frame, and they took what was a flimsy frame and made it better. That was their only product when they started. They’ve now expanded into early Chevrolets and the C10 truck line, as well as the Pro-Touring market. They make every effort to buy only American made products, and they support their local communities when it comes to the products they need to build their components.

Their shop is located in Ontario, California, and covers 32,000 square feet of manufacturing space. All of their components are manufactured at their facility. Kits are put together based on customer needs and requests. If you’re a Nova fan in SoCal, you might have attended one of their Nova BBQs that they have at their shop each year. Their products can be seen on some pretty cool rides, and we caught up with some of those cars at the SEMA show last fall.

It was no surprise to see cars competing in the Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational, such as Skrapes 1966 Chevy II wagon, complete with four bucket seats and turbo LS power. Another favorite was the 1967 Magnaflow Mustang that also completed in the invitational. One of the more unique and very cool trucks in the Ford booth last year at SEMA was Snakebit, a 1956 Ford F100. It incorporated the looks of the Mustang and sat on TCI Engineering products.

TCI covers a wide variety of Ford and Chevy products, from that first Model A frame to their current line of Pro-Touring suspension components, as well as conversions to the popular Mustang II IFS systems. If you’re into autocross, Pro-Touring, or even mild to wild Pro-Street, you’ll likely find what you need at TCI Engineering.

About the author

Michael Harding

Michael is a Power Automedia contributor and automotive enthusiast who doesn’t discriminate. Although Mopar is in his blood, he loves any car that looks great and drives even faster.
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