Vendor Market

I finally got some initial Final Parts! Just 5 for now, but more next week.
I think they came out really nice!

There's STORAGE large enough for a power cord, gloves, sunglasses, small flashlight, cell phone, wallet, spare fuel pump etc.
There's a POWER JACK so you can plug in your cell phone, gps, tablet, etc. Dust Cover Plug included for Jack.
There's a CUP HOLDER for your favorite beverage, or for your CELL PHONE if you like to use yours as your GPS.

Made of heavy, black, textured ABS. Includes a fastening point if one wishes to screw it to their tunnel--which will leave no marks if ever removed.

Intro price of $65 plus $5 shipping. (Add $5 to include a Red or Green or Blue British Logo neoprene beverage insulator as in the photo).

Thank you all for your support. These projects wouldn't be doable without it!

Cheers,

Robert

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65 MGB Roadster 60 MGA Roadster
66 Etype Roadster
94 Miata Roadster 99 Miata Roadster
07 Tacoma Pickup
85 Ferrari GTS

http://www.clarkandclarkinc.com --Cool Accessories for British Sports Cars!
Holland, MI (southwest Michigan)

Nice part Robert.

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Hap Waldrop
Acme Speed Shop
864-370-3000
Website: www.acmespeedshop.com
hapwaldrop@acmespeedshop.com

Thanks Hap!

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65 MGB Roadster 60 MGA Roadster
66 Etype Roadster
94 Miata Roadster 99 Miata Roadster
07 Tacoma Pickup
85 Ferrari GTS

http://www.clarkandclarkinc.com --Cool Accessories for British Sports Cars!
Holland, MI (southwest Michigan)

Sorry, but that's WAY too expensive for me! I can get a generic one at Autozone that fits between the seats for ten bucks... same plastic.

Let me elaborate: On the plus side, it's a specialty item very well designed, and looks to be of excellent quality. Being made specifically for one type of car that's getting rarer with time, you should expect to get more for it, because you'll never be able to sell a ton of them. As a manufacturer myself (motor controls), I realize you have a lot of expenses involved in designing and making the mold, and you need to recover that over time, but I think you'll need to amortize that over a longer period to hit the optimum price point. I would easily be a buyer at $30, maybe could still justify it at $40 due to the specialty aspect, but $70 puts me on the sidelines.

I still love your mesh grille, BTW, and I thought it was reasonably priced. Best of luck with this, but the market will ultimately determine the price. I'm still glad you made it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-11-27 03:36 PM by Checkmate.

Robert

Nice part, but I have no interest in the power source. Will you be offering it as a blank without holes at some point? With a lower price point and no cut outs, I'd be a buyer.

Thanks for your comments, guys.
It's always hard to Not compare these things to mass marketed products, but this is a Tiny market--that I am perhaps crazy to be in!
A mass marketed product can be made cheaply in high volume (and usually in China), and the tool cost can be spread out over tens of thousands of parts.

In contrast THIS product is made Only for MGA's, and neither the tooling or the production costs (both done Here in Michigan) are inexpensive.
So it's either this price or something very close...or nothing.
I don't expect everyone will drop $65 without a second thought...but I think many will find it a bargain!

After all, if one earns, say $30/hour, is this worth about 2 hours of your time? And even with 20 hours of your own time, could one produce anything like this in your shop?
I respect all those that say yes as well as no to buying one, but please be aware that these projects cost a Lot of money ($20k neighborhood), and are very hard to justify.
In 1960 dollars, this $65 price tag would translate to $8.25!

I love my MGA, and have thought this product would be very useful to me and other drivers--so I hope I can count on your support.

Cheers,

Robert

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65 MGB Roadster 60 MGA Roadster
66 Etype Roadster
94 Miata Roadster 99 Miata Roadster
07 Tacoma Pickup
85 Ferrari GTS

http://www.clarkandclarkinc.com --Cool Accessories for British Sports Cars!
Holland, MI (southwest Michigan)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2015-12-03 03:02 PM by obertRo.

Is this part vacuum formed or injection molded or? I guess the passenger (wife) gets to hold her coffee...

Adrian

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Home built Eaton M62 Supercharger with 8psi boost, 8:1 compression, custom "supercharger" cam from Schneider Cams, Mikuni HSR48 Carburetor, custom ground high ratio "stock" rocker arms, Maxspeeding rods with Teflon wrist pin buttons, custom aluminum cold air intake, CB Performance computerized ignition, Fidanza 9 pound flywheel, 1.44 exhaust valves in 48cc chamber head, matched manifolds, 2 1/4" exhaust system.





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-12-08 06:12 PM by pinkyponk.

They are thermoformed on cast aluminum tooling.
I would have liked to put two cup holders in the design, Adrian, but the real estate just isn't there. At least the passenger doesn't need her hands to steer and shift!

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65 MGB Roadster 60 MGA Roadster
66 Etype Roadster
94 Miata Roadster 99 Miata Roadster
07 Tacoma Pickup
85 Ferrari GTS

http://www.clarkandclarkinc.com --Cool Accessories for British Sports Cars!
Holland, MI (southwest Michigan)

On the other hand, a six pack design would be self centering with the added bonus of a warming the beverage ala the English preference.


Some of us understand both the expense and passion involved in bringing something new to the market for LBCs. KUDOS to you for your years of dedication!

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Regards,
Robert Kirk

kirkbrit@yahoo.com
E-mail PLEASE for quote/questions/orders

Business phone 563 323 1017

http://kirks-auto.com/
Moss distributor/UK importer
Beat or match most retail/delivered quote

Hahaha! Indeed Bob Thanks for the smile!

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65 MGB Roadster 60 MGA Roadster
66 Etype Roadster
94 Miata Roadster 99 Miata Roadster
07 Tacoma Pickup
85 Ferrari GTS

http://www.clarkandclarkinc.com --Cool Accessories for British Sports Cars!
Holland, MI (southwest Michigan)

PM sent.

Nicely done Robert!

I used to work in thermoforming in an earlier life and understand the complexities and challenges of the process. We however, used molds made from pattern pine filleted with leather and then finished with multiple coates of shellac.

Thanks Gary!

I've never heard of using pine (mahogany and polyester board are the standard here), or of using leather?! I'd like to see that.

Here's a photo of the $$ tooling for this. Our pattern was cut from Polyboard, and then used to cast this mold from aluminum.

---

65 MGB Roadster 60 MGA Roadster
66 Etype Roadster
94 Miata Roadster 99 Miata Roadster
07 Tacoma Pickup
85 Ferrari GTS

http://www.clarkandclarkinc.com --Cool Accessories for British Sports Cars!
Holland, MI (southwest Michigan)

I'd also be interested to see where the leather is used.

I use pine, hardboard and anything else I can use to good effect to make patterns. I make the patterns about 3% bigger than needed to allow for shrinkage of the formed part. Then I pull a part in vivak to make a female mold I can pour dental stone into. Dental stone is a tooling plaster used to make positives for making dental appliances on. It is very hard and has virtually zero shrinkage as it cures. I spray a coat of laquer based automotive primer on the cured dental stone to make it "slippery". A coat of butchers wax makes the parts come of easily. I have pulled hundreds of parts off a single mold made of dental stone without any evidence of wear.

My homemade Vac machine uses a shop vac to evacuate most of the air and then swaps to a vacuum pump to finish the job. The top mounted oven uses a salvaged dryer element to heat the plastic.

I recently made some large(for my shop) molds out of high density urethane foam. They seem to be holding up quite well also. Still painted with the same automotive primer.

Adrian

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Home built Eaton M62 Supercharger with 8psi boost, 8:1 compression, custom "supercharger" cam from Schneider Cams, Mikuni HSR48 Carburetor, custom ground high ratio "stock" rocker arms, Maxspeeding rods with Teflon wrist pin buttons, custom aluminum cold air intake, CB Performance computerized ignition, Fidanza 9 pound flywheel, 1.44 exhaust valves in 48cc chamber head, matched manifolds, 2 1/4" exhaust system.

Found one link below.
https://www.freemansupply.com/products/foundry-tools-supplies/leather-fillets-accessories
I'll dig up more later and revise this post.

Well, it appears that the firm that I recall being our main source of supply for pattern making no longer exists. I'm not suprised I guess. The Freeman company appears to do much of what I recall and more given all the new adhesive and materials technology that hs come along during the intervening years.

More detail for leather fillets:
https://www.freemansupply.com/products/foundry-tools-supplies/leather-fillets-accessories/freeman-leather-fillets

some references to the craft:
http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?kn=wood%20pattern%20making%20foundry&sts=t&n=200000237

revised: added additional links.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-03-02 07:24 AM by garyd.