Seeing if anyone would be interested in a 2 door L-body 2 gauge a-pillar pod piece

[minigts]

Here is the thread I have going related to the product in reference. The rest of the thread is what I had tried previously, but you can read the entire thing if you like. :) Skip to post 27 to see where it is now.


http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42437


I was able to get in touch with someone locally who can make moldings from an item, so I thought I would check and see if anyone has interest in buying one. There are no prices as of yet and I can't even begin to estimate what the cost per unit would be until I speak with the guy, hopefully tomorrow.

There are a few possibilities. Obviously, he could say no and that is that. I'm hoping that won't be the case, but sometimes it's better to turn down work than get involved with something you're not familiar with. He makes stuff like what I'm trying to get done for Mustangs, so this would be obviously not up his normal alley.

The other options would be either being able to make the entire piece which is what I would REALLY like the most or just do the insert that is contoured to the shape of the a-pillar piece. I would definitely prefer to get the entire thing made so you can just pull the old one out and put the new one in. Not to mention the dual pillar gauge pods are pretty common and most just rivet them on without fitting them. Now I'll probably get shot by some, but I'm not looking to make money on these things. I mean if I can get a little change in my pocket and offer a good price per unit, I will. But my goal is to make this available to as many as want it for something affordable.

Because I don't know what it would cost, I'm just trying to get an idea of how many pieces would be purchased, assuming the cost isn't outrageous. And this can be relative, but to me a custom made piece like this will be about $65. Now the cost could be lower and if it is, trust me I will only ask what is reasonable. But I think that is a very good price for an item that will fit right in, assuming everything goes to plan. Let me restate that I have NO IDEA what the cost will be, I'm just guessing.

I guess if you are interested and would buy one assuming a reasonable price, please vote yes or no...or whatever other options I put in the poll. :)

[Force Fed Mopar]

Okay, who the hell voted "what's an L-body?" :)

I'd buy one at a reasonable price, assuming it's good quality and fit good. What's he sell the ones for Mustangs for? Shouldn't be much difference between those and what ours would be.

[johnl]

Yeah, I'm in. I don't like having to strap some piece of plastic on top of the stock A-pillar trim.

[1984rampage]

If its a full replacement Im definitely in

[minigts]

Okay, who the hell voted "what's an L-body?" :)

I'd buy one at a reasonable price, assuming it's good quality and fit good. What's he sell the ones for Mustangs for? Shouldn't be much difference between those and what ours would be.

I had to throw something out there for those who already have something made for their cars. ;) Well, he sells them for a premium, but they are some unique pieces, let me tell ya. The good thing is, his stuff actually could be applied to our cars or just about any car, but he specifically makes a full molded piece with the gauge pods attached. It's different, but he still cast a full piece. And his pricing is well, pricey in my book. But I figure if we can get enough interest, the cost per unit will be low. Again, my goal isn't to make a profit as much as it is to get these things made and affordable.

Here is his site.

http://www.speedofsoundllc.com/1994-2004MustangPod.html

You can see that if he sold JUST the pods, you could do some tweaking and mount the pods on just about any pillar. Had I seen this prior to starting my project, I would have seen if he sold just the pods. Unless his site says he does, I don't think he will. We'll see how the conversation goes whenever he calls.


Yeah, I'm in. I don't like having to strap some piece of plastic on top of the stock A-pillar trim.



If its a full replacement Im definitely in


Well my goal is to have a full piece that replaces the original one. If he calls me tomorrow, I'll see if I can get a quote for the work. I was hoping to have all this done last week, but he was out of town or something. :$

[minigts]

Oh and I bet racoon was one of the "What's an L body?" votes. :D

[1984rampage]

Update?

[minigts]

Update?

Well I got a chance to talk to the guy and he has some awesome stuff to work with. He initially said he couldn't do it and showed me why, basically because he doesn't have a vacuum mold that will fit it. He did however tell me there is a guy he sends work to who can do it and he is going to put me in touch with him. It sounds like it's something that will be fairly easy to get done, but there are a few steps that have to be taken beforehand.

First I need to get it finished, which should be this week, before Friday I hope. It will then need to have a either a mold made for it and then a cast made or have a vacuum mold made and then the mold made. Either way, I need a solid piece that can be vacuumed on. Now, this seems like a lot, but if I can get a solid mold made it will happen. Now, the big deal will be getting more than 3 people acknowledging they will want one. I will do my best to bump this up during the next couple of weeks, but if we can't even get 20 people interested in this piece then it will be a unique piece. I think there are more than enough L bodies cars out there so I'm a little surprised only a handful of people, 3, want one of these. My goal is to make these, not make money. If I can make a little, great but I'm doing this for everyone. Hopefully more people will want one and show interest. :|

[1984rampage]

Well now you have 4 people :)

[Force Fed Mopar]

End unit price will tell the tale, we all know how cheap 99% of our community is :) What material will this piece be made of BTW? Fiberglass? ABS plastic?

[minigts]

Well now you have 4 people :)

Thanks man! :thumb: BTW, we're at 5 now. yay!!!! \o/


End unit price will tell the tale, we all know how cheap 99% of our community is :) What material will this piece be made of BTW? Fiberglass? ABS plastic?

It will more than likely be ABS plastic. The guy I spoke to makes molds for other pieces you can see in the link for his site. The plastic is so cheap too, which makes me think that any cost associated to this will simply be in production time, not materials. The only concern he has is the cut of the piece that sits under the weather stripping. I don't think it will be a problem with the right mold, but we'll just have to see what this other guy says. Believe me I want this to work for so many reason, but mainly so our cars will have an option for a one-piece a-pillar gauge pod...piece. :)

[Captain Chaos]

No four door love. http://www.racemagnum.com/smilies2/mope.gif

[minigts]

No four door love. http://www.racemagnum.com/smilies2/mope.gif

Maybe I should make one of those and gauge interest? ;) If I had one and there WAS interest, I may be so inclined to do so. BTW, anyone have a picture of the 4 door a-pillar piece? I'd like to see how they are if anyone has a picture.

[tmef]

Count me in.

[Captain Chaos]

Maybe I should make one of those and gauge interest? ;) If I had one and there WAS interest, I may be so inclined to do so. BTW, anyone have a picture of the 4 door a-pillar piece? I'd like to see how they are if anyone has a picture.

Id buy it and hang on to it for the GLHS.

[minigts]

Id buy it and hang on to it for the GLHS.

If you have a spare laying around, take a picture, if you would please kind sir. If you have one for a 2 door and 4 door, a side-by-side would be good.

[3.0v6t]

i wish there were some for j bodies

[minigts]

i wish there were some for j bodies

This isn't the request line! hehe Just buy an L body and you're set! :thumb:

[Captain Chaos]

Hahahahahahahaha!!!!!

[minigts]

Bumping this up. We will need a good deal more than 7 people, 8 counting myself.

[minigts]

A whopping EIGHT!!! WOOHOO!!! :) Bump. I'm still working on this, btw.

[1984rampage]

I want one no matter what... so maybe you can produce them yourself? :D

[minigts]

I want one no matter what... so maybe you can produce them yourself? :D

Well I have not ruled out making my own via the home vacuum molding system I've seen. I THINK it can be done and we have an enormous supply of various wood pieces that I think could be used to make the base for the mold. The trick is going to be the size of the piece. I actually was dreaming about making it last night and I think I have a solution or two. :p The trick is going to be to get the plastic to wrap around the back side of the piece that goes between the spot welding and the foam weather stripping for the window. Like I said, I think I have this covered, but it will truly be trial and error to get it right. The other obstacle is creating the station, but again this should be relatively easy. The guy I spoke to originally used pancake griddles to get his heating elements. He used two, I would probably need three for this piece. The rest is just building the station which should be easy to do.

If I do this on my own, the cost will obviously be lower but I won't commit to a price until I know how this is going to be done. :$

[contraption22]

I voted, but don't have a 2door lbody.. yet.

[JohnnyIroc]

so you going to get one made for your iroc next?

[minigts]

I voted, but don't have a 2door lbody.. yet.

Good man Mike, plan ahead. :)


so you going to get one made for your iroc next?

lol Well the next one I do will be a three gauge or more and I may incorporate a different approach to how it will be done. But I would do it for other vehicles if I had spares. I think at this point I have it more down that I did when I started so getting the template made would be easy, getting it reproduced would be the trick. :) I will tell you this, if I can produce them out of plastic at my house, I will more than likely make others for other vehicles.

[minigts]

Going to push this to the top again. 8 people total, 9 including me. :(

[Force Fed Mopar]

3-gauge pod sounds good to me :) I have a couple spare A-pillar covers for 2-door L-body and G, J, and P-body cars also, if you need them to make prototypes.

[contraption22]

I have a 2 door Lbody now. I'm in for one :)

[86seeS]

ill take one count me in!

[minigts]

Thanks guys. :) Guess I need to get this finalized then. ;)

[jl93sundance]

I think I voted yes but I realized that with the cage in the car I won't be able to use pods on the pillar:o

[minigts]

I think I voted yes but I realized that with the cage in the car I won't be able to use pods on the pillar:o

I'm sure other yes votes will trickle in, but thanks for letting me know. :thumb:

[86seeS]

any news on these?

[minigts]

Well right now we only have 10 people interested, which is about half of what I'm looking to get interest in to try and get these produced. I haven't spoken to the guy in a couple of weeks mainly due to time constraints with Christmas and New Years. But with only 10 right now I'm not aggressively trying to find a producer. I'm still going to pursue it over the next month, but I'll be busy with the new job traveling and what not, so as I get further along I'll post updates. Believe me I'm still going to work on this, I haven't lost focus. :)

[minigts]

Bump. Not to sound whiny, but why is EVERY other poll showing on the home page but this one? Is that something I was supposed to select? :( I see a poll about which paint to go with?! So far 11 responses yes, no "no"s and 4 smart asses. ;)

[fleckster]

Since I finally got an L-body, I'd be interested, Jon!

[contraption22]

Well lesson learned! Never give an option of a smartass answer!

[minigts]

Since I finally got an L-body, I'd be interested, Jon!

Excellent!


Well lesson learned! Never give an option of a smartass answer!

lol Well I knew someone out there would bite. I should have turned viewing poll results on. :) I'll bet good money racoon is one of the four. :p

[Shadow]

As long as they're reasonable.....I'll take three. :thumb:

[minigts]

As long as they're reasonable.....I'll take three. :thumb:

3? Sweet. Well that puts the number over 15 so I think that is a good number to work with. :thumb:

[Shadow]

3? Sweet. Well that puts the number over 15 so I think that is a good number to work with. :thumb:

For sure 3. I know what it takes me to "mold" one into the A-pillar and I have at least 3 L-bodies to do this summer!

[CDNTurboZ]

I would be down for one as well

[86seeS]

any news on these?

[minigts]

any news on these?

Negative guys. I'm still going to pursue this, but I have a lot going on right now and I just haven't had the time to focus on this. I was out of work when I started it, now I'm up to my eye balls WITH work and traveling at that. I hit a wall when I was talking to the first guy about it, but I still will be pursuing this, just need to get some time to do it. My apologies all.

[86seeS]

no big deal just keep me posted if anything comes about

[contraption22]

Negative guys. I'm still going to pursue this, but I have a lot going on right now and I just haven't had the time to focus on this. I was out of work when I started it, now I'm up to my eye balls WITH work and traveling at that. I hit a wall when I was talking to the first guy about it, but I still will be pursuing this, just need to get some time to do it. My apologies all.

He's full of crap. He's got plenty of free time. He'd just rather go to Hooters for wings and beer with his buddies than do any real work.

:)

[minigts]

He's full of crap. He's got plenty of free time. He'd just rather go to Hooters for wings and beer with his buddies than do any real work.

:)

HEY....those women are workin' hard to provide quality wings and wear tight fitting clothes that accentuate themselves!! :D

[86seeS]

i always did like there hemi orange shorts there hahahaha

[RamsterMan]

Sounds Great,If this ever gets made, Count me in for one! :thumb:

[ShelbyLancer455]

Yea id buy one also. Like if it had 3 but i can do with 2.

[minigts]

It hasn't died, I've just had some other stuff going on. Looks like the numbers are good but I'm still looking for a manufacturer. My original "source" kinda went by the wayside quickly. I'm back home for a bit in August so I will devote more time to it. I'm almost done with the prototype.

[86seeS]

ill need 2 jon i got another L hahaha

[Shadow]

I've had to make 2 up already, but I'll still take 3............for starters. :eyebrows:

[minigts]

heh, I actually got some work done last week, but still need to final prime and final sand it. I'm going to check with Lo Tek Gauge pods and see what they can do for us.

[86seeS]

sweet ask if they could do a 3 or 4 pod even

[shmedley]

If we are making wish lists... I would LOVE a 2 5/8" and a 2-1/16 pod

[86seeS]

2 5/8 tach i take it?

[RamsterMan]

I would definately be in for a 3 or 4 pod!!!! That would be perfect.

[minigts]

I would definately be in for a 3 or 4 pod!!!! That would be perfect.

LOL Well I'm not going to undertake a 3/4 gauge pod. :)

I did make some progress on the one I've been working on for about 20 hours, roughly taking 11 months. :D

I had a minor setback when the lower section started cracking and I had to figure out how to keep it from doing so. Got it worked out and put on the final coats of primer. Still ensuring there aren't any pits, but for the most part it's pretty smooth. I just keep priming and sanding.

I'm going to keep looking around to see who will or can do it. I may contact Lotek to see if they can make the whole thing. I'm not too confident anyone will be able to do it given the response received when I checked on it before. We'll see though.

[86seeS]

awesome man!!!!!! ill still need 2

[4cefedomni]

I have a rampage that could use one, so put me down for 1 please

[onerippinturbo2]

i'd go for 2

[minigts]

Hey guys, I will email Lotek this week and see what the deal will be. The number based on post seems to be well over the 25 in the voting option, but that number always seems to change when it comes to paying for the item. :D More to come hopefully this week!

[minigts]

Well more didn't come as I've had a lot going on, but I did make some progress. I plan to have this at SDAC using it for the interim, but yes, I do plan to still pursue this. I tried a different approach with painting it to get a texture. It will probably not look great, but I used some wrinkle finish paint to get a texture and once it cures I plan to use the graphite color to match the interior. More than likely it will be darker than the rest, but I wanted to get something on it so it would have a finish of some sorts to it. Hopefully the final product will turn out nicely.

There are some "flat" spots on this, but I'm not too worried. One of the other reasons for the wrinkle is that it hides the imperfections nicely! :D There were TONS of pits in the glass that were just killing me. I was going to put some spotters putty in them and then prime and sand it, but I have too much to do before next week to worry about this and I wanted to use it since it's been sitting in my garage for months.

[86seeS]

What about painting it with bed coating its black and textured comes in spray cans

[contraption22]

That's the best looking home-made a-pillar pod I have ever seen. The second best one I ever saw was at Carlisle, on a Plymouth Valliant. And the third best one I ever saw was at a VW show in Ocean City, MD.

[minigts]

What about painting it with bed coating its black and textured comes in spray cans

There are a couple of reasons to not use that, mainly for the fact if I need to sand it down, but I also don't think I'll get the right texture or close to it like what is on the stock "design". This was as close as I could get.


That's the best looking home-made a-pillar pod I have ever seen. The second best one I ever saw was at Carlisle, on a Plymouth Valliant. And the third best one I ever saw was at a VW show in Ocean City, MD.

LOL Well you'll get to see the best looking one in person in a week. Just hope the second best one doesn't try to steal my thunder. :)

[minigts]

Just an update, I have contacted Lotek about making the pillar. Price sounds reasonable, but they need a commitment of 30-40, depending on the job. As I get more information from them, I will post up. Hoping it will come back positive. There are questions around the lower portion that goes down the door jamb, but I mentioned this piece is integral as well as the extension for the dash. More to come.

[minigts]

Ok, so if I assume that the people who posted in the thread would still be interested, I have 19 so far. I cannot give a price as of yet, but it should be pretty reasonable. Once I get to pricing with the guy I will bring further news, but 19 is the count on the thread, but I see 27 in the interest for the vote. I will be at SDAC with the mold. I know it may not look exact, but you'll get an idea of what it would look like.