New Boxster Hard Top Prototype

[jb92563]

It may be optimistic, but a retired guy with nothing better to do and needs a hobby and some extra income could make a go of it in his shop/garage I think.

How else are we going to get something like this?

Eric, yours is a custom one-off so i'll bet that was pretty pricey, but you have a mold so perhaps you could lease it if others want to make a copy?
That way you could recover some of your costs.

Shipping to Europe would probably cost quite a bit unless you can share a container with someone elses stuff.

I had to have a propeller shipped to Germany and back weighing only 30lbs and it fit in a 1'x'1x6' box and it cost $1200...so a bulky top would have to go with some other bulky freight by boat.

[Crono0001]

The problem is, although we all want one very badly, we do not big a large enough market to warrant putting any more money into this.

[Eric523]

Originally Posted by jb92563

Eric, yours is a custom one-off so i'll bet that was pretty pricey, but you have a mold so perhaps you could lease it if others want to make a copy?
That way you could recover some of your costs.

That's just the thing, I don't have a mold. Making the part from scratch took almost a year and several thousand in time and materials. Making a mold will cost several more thousand, and then each piece will be expensive to duplicate out of it. Even if I made the mold and leased it out for $1000 per person/use, it would take me at least 10 people to break even...IF the mold didn't need to be shipped, or ever got damaged.

...and that's for the race version part with no access to the rear.

[Kroggers]

Originally Posted by Eric523

That's just the thing, I don't have a mold. Making the part from scratch took almost a year and several thousand in time and materials. Making a mold will cost several more thousand, and then each piece will be expensive to duplicate out of it. Even if I made the mold and leased it out for $1000 per person/use, it would take me at least 10 people to break even...IF the mold didn't need to be shipped, or ever got damaged.

...and that's for the race version part with no access to the rear.

So, no current plans to make more then?

[Eric523]

Originally Posted by Kroggers

So, no current plans to make more then?

There are plans to make a mold. Once I have some downtime in the track schedule and some money to burn...

I just don't know if it is going to be a part that is feasible to sell as a production piece. I'm not in the composite business and using our mechanical engineering staff to build fiberglass pieces isn't exactly the most economical way of production.

[Kroggers]

Originally Posted by Eric523

There are plans to make a mold. Once I have some downtime in the track schedule and some money to burn...

I just don't know if it is going to be a part that is feasible to sell as a production piece. I'm not in the composite business and using our mechanical engineering staff to build fiberglass pieces isn't exactly the most economical way of production.

Communication sent via other media

[Eric523]

Originally Posted by Kroggers

Communication sent via other media

Thanks Bud, I'll follow up with more news soon!

Looks like I have things lined up to get the molds done and roofs into production by the end of summer. Will also likely get my front and rear fenders molded at a more reasonable price than before.

Bummer I have to shut the racing down for two months to get it done but hopefully it will be worth it!