Last year I undertook the task of trying to get replacements for these grilles since they went out of production. I was over taken by a bunch of health issues and the project got put on the back burner. Initially the plan was that I would build molds and run these on my vacuum forming machine. I cannot do that now because of the effects of eye surgery on my retinas. Simply can't see well enough to do that kind of work. SO! I took the two pieces I have been loaned to a company who does such things and they had a look. After a bit of study, they came up with an R&D cost of about $2000 to build the mold. After that front end cost, the grille pieces - 1 right and 1 left - could be produced for between $30 and $50 a pair, depending on how many pieces were made in a production run. No hardware cost - ie, lights, bulbs, screws, brackets, wire, connectors, etc - are included in those figures. From my own mold making experience, the mold cost is pretty much right on, as half of that cost is the mold-making material itself - a huge block of polyurethane rubber, and a big wad of epoxy. There is roughly $500 in a special jig for CNC trimming after each piece is made, and there is approximately $500 in labor. We would need a bunch of folks that wanted these in order to get the per-unit cost down. If we have enough, we can get the lower price of $30 per pair, and we can spread the cost of the mold over how many pairs are bought. Like if 40 people bought in, that would be $50 per person for mold cost, plus $30 for the Grille pair - total $80 for the bare set. Hardware would have to be a separate issue. I don't know what these things cost initially from factory but it may be possible to get them way below that factory price, including hardware. Finding the right hardware source will take the effort of everyone. Please thrash this out, and speak your mind on this thread. It will come to a vote of yea or nay in the near future. BTW, there is nothing in this for me. I'm just doing it for funzzies!! Thanks, Regards, John Rodgers 88 GL Driver |
Please note - During the past 17 years of operation, several gigabytes of
Vanagon mail messages have been archived. Searching the entire collection
will take up to five minutes to complete. Please be patient!
Return to the archives @ gerry.vanagon.com
The vanagon mailing list archives are copyright (c) 1994-2011, and may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the list administrators. Posting messages to this mailing list grants a license to the mailing list administrators to reproduce the message in a compilation, either printed or electronic. All compilations will be not-for-profit, with any excess proceeds going to the Vanagon mailing list.
Any profits from list compilations go exclusively towards the management and operation of the Vanagon mailing list and vanagon mailing list web site.