Wishbone suspension bolt on kit

[volkdent]

Costs:
Design-$1000+
Parts- $700+
Fab- $? still in progress

Having the world's only bolt-on race-designed double-wishbone Type I-

Priceless!

I havn't really been keeping an eye on costs, as it really doesn't matter to me, I just have to get it done! When it's done I'll tally up the actual costs of the final product. Up to this time, I've purchased $100s more of parts, but they've not ended up being used.

Jason

[DORIGTT]

OH MAN!

The goodies are comin', the goodies are comin'

Nice work! The pictures look great!

Can't wait for the test results and to use my 90% off any purchase coupon that Ferdinand Porsche gave me to buy this set-up.

[tom'72]

Maybe everyone that's interested in purchasing this setup should post here so volkdent has an idea of how much he could sell and calculate a price.
I definetely am very interested in the beauty

[danielzink]

Count me in as interested also.

Dan

[volkdent]

I have the part in the picture now. I'm going to try it in to make sure everything is as it should be. Just to keep you update on how much you piggybank might be emptied, the ? in the post above is currently running $1600, and I'm about half way done with the fabrication! No arms yet, and they'll take alot of time. I expect it will run at least $2500 for fabrication, probably more.

I think the version that I will end up selling you guys will be a lot simpler and less time consuming to make, so should be a lot less expensive. There are a lot of things that went into the design that are nice, but just so time consuming(read costly) to fabricate that it is ridiculous. For example, I had captive nuts machined to fit into the back of the rear plate, where regular nuts could be used, and the adjusters for camber are very machining intensive, where they could be a simpler design. I'll expect the final product to be somewhere around $3000 for sale, but there will still be some parts that will need to be sourced by the purchaser, for example the universal joints for the steering.

I'll take some pics of the try in.

Jason

[tom'72]

Maybe this was mentioned previously but shouldn't you get a patent on that design to protect all your work and the investment?

[zen]

VERY nice work. looking forward to seeing and hearing more about it. especially as it gets some road time. love seeing people push the boudaries.

[volkdent]

Originally Posted by tom'72

Maybe this was mentioned previously but shouldn't you get a patent on that design to protect all your work and the investment?

Some things just aren't worth patenting. I'm currently working on some non-VW things that will get patented, but the minimum amount is $1000 to patent something. This isn't a new idea, well maybe the bolt on part is, but the general idea is not, and if ANYONE wants to go ahead and build one themselves, they can be my guest. It is complicated enough that not just anyone can build this. Even the other setup that was mention from Eyeball Engineering I believe would require splitting the pan and body. Mine is bolt on with removal of minimum metal, not easily duplicated.

This is a very intensive process and I'm not even sure if I'll like the results yet. I know that it will look cool, but I didn't build it just to look cool, it has to perform amazingly as well. This thing might suck for all its cool looks. I doubt it, but it could! That's why I want to give this thing some serious road time before and a redesign for simplicity before sales come into the picture. The nice thing about ACVW's is that there not new and they never seem to go out of style, so some patience will pay off for those who care to wait.

When the final design is complete, I won't be so showy with it, no 3D models and all that. You could buy one and copy it, but I think someone with some computer smarts could get the plates cut from the 3D model I've offered for current viewing. The trouble is, its still a very costly road to go down. A smart person would just wait till its perfected then shell out the dough.

Jason