Carbon fiber rip off

[LanceM]

Thanks Eric for the link, but $360??? wow that is a little rich for my blood considering what else you would have to buy to hook it up.... But now I have a picture and measurements, so off to Lance's fab shop we go

[TomoHawk]

Yeah, My 280Z definitely weighs more than 1900 lbs., even with all the sheetmetal, the seats, carpet, everything loose or not in the drivetrain- removed. I would say the same thing about a 240Z.

Plus, I had to look carefully because at first those panels looked likethey were made of canvas!?

thx

[sblake01]

As I said earler, I emailed him. This is his response for whatever it's worth:

Dear sblake01,

You asked:

"You are kidding, right?"

We specialize in race car parts and custom fabricate for companies like West Coast Customs. I'm not sure what you are refering to. The price is for 6 parts total. All carbon fiber and manufactured in a 6 step process. We do not mass produce anything and you are talking to someone who builds race cars and wins. You can't buy these parts anywhere else in the world. There are approx. 32 man hours in all these parts. We bill at $60 per hour for custom parts. We can reproduce anything for any car. Good luck and have fun bidding on ebay.

Thank you,

seaprof67

[hls30.com]

"We specialize in race car parts and custom fabricate..."

From the looks of the auction, they have an "a" where an "i" should be.

It should read: "We specialize in RICE car parts and custom fabricate..."

If it takes them 32 hours to make those parts, when do they find the time to race, much less to win, much less make parts for West Coast Customs? The cars do look serious, but they are made using mostly off the shelf stuff. All of the fabricators that I know have their best work on their own cars-oops, looks like that is the case here too-if you get my meaning. The parts are at the most prototypes, If the manufacturer/fabriator hasn't figured that out yet, they obviously have not been in manufacturing/fabrication long enough-and may not be. It is not that the parts aren't shiney, and they don't appear to have mold flaws, but those parts are not finished with the development stage yet, they are not finished from a design or manufacturing standpoint.

Once the molds are made(Assuming they are properly made molds), and there are only three one part molds needed for the parts listed(1 for the cowl panel, One for the tail light panel, and one for the "console", the rest of the parts are made on a sheet of glass since they are flat, and then trimmed. Those parts should take a properly set up shop less than 2 hours of actual hands on time(Mold layup in a vacuum bag, removal, trim, and pack). A properly made mold will eliminate the need for any finish work on the final piece-other than trimming.

As for not being able to buy those parts anywhere else in the world, two comments.

1)Those should be back yard parts-they do not require the services of 32 hours of a $60 an hour shop to fabricate-a competent shop would know this-and produce them only if paid in advance.

2) The only place in the world that those parts can be bought is from a 6 transaction BUYER on Ebay, who has not sold anything on Ebay before. Including the name of the shop making them would go a long way in establishing credibility-if it weren't for the lack of development on these custom fabricated parts.

They do have a good study on the way to what could be a great and maybe even an $1890 finished product. If I made those parts, I would charge about $300 plus shipping-but those are not parts I would waste my time making-at least not in their present stage of development.

If I were a racer, and serious about it, I would have made an 43lb one-piece CF front end, or a tuned CF intake manifold, or a tuned CF air box, or rivet on CF brake ducts, a CF drive shaft, and not wasted my time with parts that realy are not needed in a racecar anyway. I would make pieces no one else has, but that would be a real and verifiable benefit to a racer, not a ricer.

Will

[Bambikiller240]

Aw come on Will, don't be shy, tell us what you really think!

[hls30.com]

I guess you really had to read between the lines huh?

The first and the last lines that is!

Will