Originally Posted By GoodysGotaCuda
Just an observation from an Engineer with an MBA that likes to go fast as much as the next guy...


You are essentially doing what XV did to some extent, from what I can see. The history that I know was they went belly-up and were bought-out from a previous employer. They aren't necessarily today's hottest suspension manufacturer with product flying off of the shelves....again, from what I can see at this vantage. Maybe they are and I am just not aware.

With that in mind:

The number of people racing Mopars is very low.
The number of people racing Mopars at a highly-competitive level to necessitate drastic suspension changes is far lower.
The number of people getting into racing Muscle Cars is not necessarily booming either.

The target market here is minuscule, unfortunately. Basic business practices will tell you with that low of volumes, the cost will be high, margins will be low and it may not be as successful as you suspect. XV offers, to some extent, what you are talking about doing...and honestly...I can't remember the last time I have seen someone comment about owning an XV suspension system.

You may be trying to solve a problem that there is no sustainable market for. twocents

The key here is bang-for-buck, walking the supply/demand curve to increase volumes. There has to be a target cost and level of variation you can withstand, you can easily hit a pricing threshold that will scare away the majority of those even looking at major suspension changes for these cars.

An XV front system with front brakes is around $7,750 and I haven't even gotten it to my front door yet. Sure, it's probably as good as it gets today, but that is a significant amount for the small market that exists. I can buy what Hotchkis has today for the front for about $1,600, rebuild the steering box for $400 and put $1000 in front brakes [~$3,000]. I can take that box of parts, install it over a weekend and go be pretty-darn competitive. Somewhere along the line someone has to be convinced to spend 158% more to go to XV.

What can you do to convince that small market your product is worth "X" amount more?
What will you have to convince that small market you are better than Option A or B, your direct competition?




I know my post wasn't warranted, but I wanted to throw it out there...


You are 100% correct. I am building a setup for just one customer, so unfortunately, he absorbs the design and fab cost. He is fine with that. I am just trying to determine if I want to build a production jig or a simple one off jig to build his parts. If I do the production jig and had a few people that wanted one, I'd cut my customer a little slack on price and spread it out evenly. This is Mopar stuff. I know there will never be a large market, and more importantly, not much profit. I'm fine with that. Doing this kind of stuff and working on the older cars really has no bearing on my main business, so call it. "just for the fun of it". I have NO intentions of going into the suspension business, just as I have NO intentions of ever doing another LX conversion. I did it, it was cool, and I'm done. If I make just the one, I'm happy.

Last edited by CJD AUTOMOTIVE; 07/07/16 07:32 PM.

Craig Scholl
CJD Automotive, LLC
Jacksonville, FL
www.CJDAUTOMOTIVE.com
904-400-1802

"I own a Mopar. I already know it won't be in stock, won't ship tomorrow, and won't fit without modification"