Any interest in repo 70-71 center consoles?

[ezzzzzzz]

I wish I was. I'm suppose to be getting together with my fiancee. We are at odds right now though (hope it works out but that's another thread). My Z is sitting on stands getting springs, struts, upgraded brakes, dellortos, etc.

One day........ :disappoin

I'll have to contact the two local companies that produce plastic and fiberglass parts. When I have more information, I'll pass it on. The only real difference I've noticed is the lack of extra material around the rear three screw holes. That could be corrected.

[ezzzzzzz]

Here's the skinny...

The cost of molds for either material is $500. The big difference is the end product.

ABS will cost $125(cost could go down with greater production). The grain structure of this will be slightly grainier than stock (look at most any ABS molded product). I can use my original console or the reproduction for the mold. It is made using a CNC program to create the mold and then vacuum molding of the finished product.

Fiberglass will cost $300 due to the extra labor involved.

Bottom line, if I can get eight persons interested in the ABS piece at $125 (plus shipping) we can get this going. If the interest is in the fiberglass then we'll look into that also but the cost is going to require about ten persons interested to start. There may be other options regarding fiberglass but I'll need to investigate further.

Lastly, this does not take into account the metal brackets. I feel I can get these made at a very reasonable cost and then epoxy these into the consoles. Whatever that cost is would be added. Alternately, you could remove the pieces from your damaged console to swap over. I'm playing with ideas to keep cost under control.

There is no source otherwise. I suspect that MSA, VB or the others would charge dearly for these pieces if available. Comments???

NOTE:

I need to clarify something. It was pointed out to me that the prices seem quite high for production. These prices are based on two local companies with no competition. I want to pursue this further with other businesses outside of my area. Based on the local companies, the first run of 8 ABS consoles includes the share of having the mold created. Afterwords, that cost would come down. I have no intention of making these myself as the time involved is more than I could possibly spare. The price after mold cost are recouped would be around $80. I am willing to cover the cost of the mold if there is enough interest where I could recoup the setup fee with a minimal change over time.

ABS is cheap but the price includes material and labor of the manufacturer. Also, the material is of substantial thickness such that the tight curves and bends would still have good thickness.

The cost of the fiberglass also includes initial setup cost and then would drop to $250 if made by the manufacturer. That is their quote exactly. I feel this is too expensive overall and will look for another operation to create these at a lower cost. Again, I could produce these myself but haven't the space or time to even consider it. Heck, I have two good consoles but thought there would be a need for the early Z owners.

[Dreco]

i'll buy one if you resize those pictures hahaha.. j/k

let me know when you can get one made, I'll buy it...

[ezzzzzzz]

Testing picture resizing...

WoooHooo I finally firgured out how to attach images smaller than the Sear's Tower in Chicago!

[Preston]

I have interest in a console.

[bpilati]

I might be interested, but have a question. Won't ABS scratch really easy? I mean the console in a car takes a lot of beating compared to the other plastic interior components. You really need a hard firm plastic.

[kurtwwalters]

Count me in.