[GarageAlpha] Introduction & Manifesto...
09-19-18, 11:56 AM
#1
[GarageAlpha] Introduction & Manifesto...
Hi there!
I know we're hitting the ground running - so I wanted to pump the brakes and take a moment to introduce ourselves.
Garage Alpha is a new concept dedicated to introducing NEW products along with reviving products that since left production.
Basically, the concept came from seeing all these really great Group Buys and one-off projects disappear into the ether after their initial run (or never see the light of day).
Think about the TurboJeff Battery Trays and P-FC holders... or CWC Intercoolers and Brake Ducts. These are all REALLY nice products that just :poof: vanished - and your only chance at scoring them is getting lucky in the used parts market.
There are also projects that float around the New Product Development area that never see the light of day. Not because people don't want them - but because they can't be pushed over the finish line for whatever reason.
So the goal of Garage Alpha is to revive these long lost projects, and/or kickstart new projects into gear. We also want to develop new parts and bring our own products to life, so keep an eye out for that as well.
The only way this works is with the support of the community - and from my experience, in a number of vehicles - the RX-7 Community is truly one of the best. It takes a lot of very specific knowledge to get these cars reliable and performing to our expectations - and that only happens with the vast amount of research and documentation that exists from the many enthusiasts that have come before us.
Our goal is to pay it forward, offer some cool parts and help bring ideas to the light of day.
I hope you all join us on that journey.
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09-21-18, 09:42 AM
#2
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garage alpha (10-01-18)
09-21-18, 12:35 PM
#3
Let's put it this way, we have a number of projects in the pipeline - BUT - we're here to make what people want.
Our production capabilities are not without their limits, but we want to hear from the community about what they'd like to see.
So, feel free to treat this thread as a "wish list".
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garage alpha (10-01-18)
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garage alpha (10-01-18)
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garage alpha (10-01-18)
10-01-18, 08:51 AM
#10
Wish list
Yellow Zinc Plated nut and bolt set similar to these.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/NUT-BOLT-KI...31?_mwBanner=1
I know it's not glamorous, but I'd pay for a brand new set of nuts, bolts and screws for my car in the OEM yellow. All it would take is someone going through the whole FSM and cataloging everything in there. :p
Yellow Zinc Plated nut and bolt set similar to these.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/NUT-BOLT-KI...31?_mwBanner=1
I know it's not glamorous, but I'd pay for a brand new set of nuts, bolts and screws for my car in the OEM yellow. All it would take is someone going through the whole FSM and cataloging everything in there. :p
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garage alpha (10-01-18)
10-01-18, 11:46 AM
#11
Wish list
Yellow Zinc Plated nut and bolt set similar to these.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/NUT-BOLT-KI...31?_mwBanner=1
I know it's not glamorous, but I'd pay for a brand new set of nuts, bolts and screws for my car in the OEM yellow. All it would take is someone going through the whole FSM and cataloging everything in there. :p
Yellow Zinc Plated nut and bolt set similar to these.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/NUT-BOLT-KI...31?_mwBanner=1
I know it's not glamorous, but I'd pay for a brand new set of nuts, bolts and screws for my car in the OEM yellow. All it would take is someone going through the whole FSM and cataloging everything in there. :p
I just got these back from a local company that does cadium, zinc, epoxy, oxide and more. Doing nuts n bolts would be easy...I would just have to spec them all out. The nuts n bolts would just be sold as a "kit" I supposed. But would people be interested in buying restored parts outright? Or doing some sort of core exchange?
I feel like we're at that junction where the "collectors" are starting to creep in and buy low mileage stuff... which to me says the "restorers" are next. "Yes it has 100K - but EVERYTHING has been cleaned/replaced/restored... So gimmie $50K." You see this trend with E30 M3s that have been gone over with a fine tooth comb and pulling good money.
The Rockbunnies will always be around (people are still LS swapping E30 M3s after all) but those cars don't really care about clean OEM parts.
I mean, if your car isn't a 9000 mile time capsule... and you're not into tucking and shaving all the things. Then this might be a good option. You see it now with old Hakosukas, RX3s & 240Zs - so why not the FD3S?
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garage alpha (10-01-18)
10-01-18, 01:24 PM
#13
Interesting you bring this up...
I just got these back from a local company that does cadium, zinc, epoxy, oxide and more. Doing nuts n bolts would be easy...I would just have to spec them all out. The nuts n bolts would just be sold as a "kit" I supposed. But would people be interested in buying restored parts outright? Or doing some sort of core exchange?
I just got these back from a local company that does cadium, zinc, epoxy, oxide and more. Doing nuts n bolts would be easy...I would just have to spec them all out. The nuts n bolts would just be sold as a "kit" I supposed. But would people be interested in buying restored parts outright? Or doing some sort of core exchange?
You could also do kits in terms of areas of the car, engine bay kit, main cabin kit, underbody, etc. As a perfectionist, I would relish having a complete OEM spec kit would help me sleep at night and given that my car is in the shop getting a full strip down prior to paint, having this kit ready for when I do reassembly would be absolutely fantastic (Bout 2-3 months away probably :p). Hell, I'd even take all my old parts, throw em in a box and send em back to you for "recycling." The issue with that though is timing. I don't know how many guys would be interested in sending you all their nuts and bolts to be plated and having their car sitting there without any nuts and bolts for what would realistically be over a month. You could do it like a gift card/store credit program, where instead of a core change discount, you could offer like a $50-100 store credit towards future orders from you, and you're able to take their kits, clean em and pack em for the next order. Just kinda talking aloud though. Might not be worth the labor of having to sit there counting and sizing bolts people send you.
Hell, once you have the complete bolt spec data base ready to go, you could even offer "upgrade" kits, like titanium, stainless steel with no plating, etc. Mostly it's just getting the list together, then you can vastly expand options for people. Then there are also those that want the bolts color-matched to their cars for body panels, which opens more windows. Lots of places you can take it for something so mundane. Just think of that Japanese dude that went full retard going Purple. Him having a complete purple zinc coated kit would have saved him tons of time. Of course, how many people are looking to go that far is probably quite small. However, dealing with plating companies, as long as you provide the federal standard color code, it shouldn't be too difficult or costly to have it done in the grand scheme of things. You could even partner with a place like Hillco to do the bolt sorting and such. I think they already have kits for some American cars, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch for you to submit a list to them and have them pre-package kits for you.
Again, just thinking aloud. I just don't have time to go through the FSM and find everything. =P
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garage alpha (10-01-18)
10-01-18, 01:52 PM
#14
Personally, I do want a complete replacement kit, rather than a core change. In terms of marketability, having the core change option would probably be good, but the only point I would note is that after 25 years, many people have taken them to shops, shops lose parts and just throw whatever fits, etc. Having a complete OEM kit would alleviate a lot of problems, for people interesting in bringing thing completely into spec.
You could also do kits in terms of areas of the car, engine bay kit, main cabin kit, underbody, etc. As a perfectionist, I would relish having a complete OEM spec kit would help me sleep at night and given that my car is in the shop getting a full strip down prior to paint, having this kit ready for when I do reassembly would be absolutely fantastic (Bout 2-3 months away probably :p). Hell, I'd even take all my old parts, throw em in a box and send em back to you for "recycling." The issue with that though is timing. I don't know how many guys would be interested in sending you all their nuts and bolts to be plated and having their car sitting there without any nuts and bolts for what would realistically be over a month. You could do it like a gift card/store credit program, where instead of a core change discount, you could offer like a $50-100 store credit towards future orders from you, and you're able to take their kits, clean em and pack em for the next order. Just kinda talking aloud though. Might not be worth the labor of having to sit there counting and sizing bolts people send you.
Hell, once you have the complete bolt spec data base ready to go, you could even offer "upgrade" kits, like titanium, stainless steel with no plating, etc. Mostly it's just getting the list together, then you can vastly expand options for people. Then there are also those that want the bolts color-matched to their cars for body panels, which opens more windows. Lots of places you can take it for something so mundane. Just think of that Japanese dude that went full retard going Purple. Him having a complete purple zinc coated kit would have saved him tons of time. Of course, how many people are looking to go that far is probably quite small. However, dealing with plating companies, as long as you provide the federal standard color code, it shouldn't be too difficult or costly to have it done in the grand scheme of things. You could even partner with a place like Hillco to do the bolt sorting and such. I think they already have kits for some American cars, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch for you to submit a list to them and have them pre-package kits for you.
Again, just thinking aloud. I just don't have time to go through the FSM and find everything. =P
You could also do kits in terms of areas of the car, engine bay kit, main cabin kit, underbody, etc. As a perfectionist, I would relish having a complete OEM spec kit would help me sleep at night and given that my car is in the shop getting a full strip down prior to paint, having this kit ready for when I do reassembly would be absolutely fantastic (Bout 2-3 months away probably :p). Hell, I'd even take all my old parts, throw em in a box and send em back to you for "recycling." The issue with that though is timing. I don't know how many guys would be interested in sending you all their nuts and bolts to be plated and having their car sitting there without any nuts and bolts for what would realistically be over a month. You could do it like a gift card/store credit program, where instead of a core change discount, you could offer like a $50-100 store credit towards future orders from you, and you're able to take their kits, clean em and pack em for the next order. Just kinda talking aloud though. Might not be worth the labor of having to sit there counting and sizing bolts people send you.
Hell, once you have the complete bolt spec data base ready to go, you could even offer "upgrade" kits, like titanium, stainless steel with no plating, etc. Mostly it's just getting the list together, then you can vastly expand options for people. Then there are also those that want the bolts color-matched to their cars for body panels, which opens more windows. Lots of places you can take it for something so mundane. Just think of that Japanese dude that went full retard going Purple. Him having a complete purple zinc coated kit would have saved him tons of time. Of course, how many people are looking to go that far is probably quite small. However, dealing with plating companies, as long as you provide the federal standard color code, it shouldn't be too difficult or costly to have it done in the grand scheme of things. You could even partner with a place like Hillco to do the bolt sorting and such. I think they already have kits for some American cars, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch for you to submit a list to them and have them pre-package kits for you.
Again, just thinking aloud. I just don't have time to go through the FSM and find everything. =P
But for other brackets - I'm not sure. My big challenge is sourcing the stuff and trying to keep it on the shelf. The trade off is taking cores and having enough to send in for plating that it's worth anyone's while. Onsie twosie is tough.
As far as nuts n bolts go - I'm already reaching out to a few places. I'm sure I can put together a kit comparable to the eBay link you referenced in a week or two.
I also am already working with a supplier for the UIM acorns and R1 Strut Bar Hardware... that project pre-dates this by a few weeks.
10-01-18, 02:23 PM
#15
You get the list done, I'd either pay you for the list and source it myself, or buy the kit from you in it's entirety. I actually work at a machine shop doing sales, so I actually have a number of different plating companies/vendors/etc I work with in the Orange County / Los Angeles area (if you needed additional sources =P) I'd be more than happy to take an unfinished set and do the plating on my own. Not to mention, like I mentioned, I'm doing a complete and utter strip down of my car for paint, I'm more than happy to take your list and sanity to test it to the car on reassembly.
I actually have a couple other projects for the FD community I'm working on which is taking up the bulk of my time, but that's not getting a reveal for a long time. Needless to say, it's along the same vein of restoration type work and is definitely spendy and time consuming to do.
I actually have a couple other projects for the FD community I'm working on which is taking up the bulk of my time, but that's not getting a reveal for a long time. Needless to say, it's along the same vein of restoration type work and is definitely spendy and time consuming to do.
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10-24-18, 04:01 PM
#20
https://www.rhdjapan.com/re-amemiya-...ount-fd3s.html
12-28-18, 08:36 AM
#22
You guys should make a side mount alternator bracket, as the only alterative in the US market sucks. Ive literally got 3 b2a nader brackets that dont fit, all for different reasons. One I had to hack-fab to make work, and the other two were repurposed as a tig torch hanger and garage coat hanger.
Skeese
Skeese
01-09-19, 04:02 AM
#23
Feedback moved to more appropriate location
All,
This is an introductory thread, so let's leave it focused on that.
Comments were NOT deleted...they were moved to a more appropriate location and are located in this thread:
https://www.rx7club.com/shops-part-s...alpha-1132868/
This is an introductory thread, so let's leave it focused on that.
Comments were NOT deleted...they were moved to a more appropriate location and are located in this thread:
https://www.rx7club.com/shops-part-s...alpha-1132868/
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BLUE TII (01-09-19)
01-10-19, 09:33 AM
#24
All,
This is an introductory thread, so let's leave it focused on that.
Comments were NOT deleted...they were moved to a more appropriate location and are located in this thread:
https://www.rx7club.com/shops-part-s...alpha-1132868/
This is an introductory thread, so let's leave it focused on that.
Comments were NOT deleted...they were moved to a more appropriate location and are located in this thread:
https://www.rx7club.com/shops-part-s...alpha-1132868/
Skeese
