So, I'm starting my own business

[lbhsbz]

I never knew calipers where this sought after.
Cool niche business.

Every car needs brakes.

 

[lbhsbz]

I’ve pissed off my first customer…lol.

Been stringing him along for a while…started with a bad core, then another bad core, then I found the cad plating guy so I tore them all down again and had them redone in cad, because it’s better. The first cad batch took 3 days…this next cad batch (with his front calipers in it) is 2 weeks in right now…I called yesterday and they said maybe by the end of the month. I drove down this morning to talk to the boss, explained that when his first batch takes 3 days, that sets a precident…and 4-5 weeks on the 2nd batch is absurd without any prior warning. He’s getting a handful of pieces done for me today, so I can take care of some customers…the rest are for stock so I can wait on those. I guess DoD contracts have priority ove my milk crates full of old calipers. Lol.

 

[Done-it-again]

Every car needs brakes.

True, I don't work on cars as a hobby and never thought of rebuilding them.

 

[lbhsbz]

True, I don't work on cars as a hobby and never thought of rebuilding them.

There are probably more rebuilt calipers sold than rebuilt starter or alternators…especially in the rust belt.

We (centric) were one of the smaller rebuilders as far as the big players go, and we were doing 5-6000 units a day.

Brakes are one of those systems that gradually decay over time and mileage…half the vehicles I get into have horrible brakes even though the owners don’t think anything is wrong. They only realize how bad it was once it’s fixed right. There is a lot more to a good brake job than pads and rotors.

 

[lbhsbz]

BAM!

Got this message this morning:

“ Hello,
We have over 300 early Porsche 356C 911 912 914 924 930 944 core calipers in stock.
Would you be interested in rebuilding for me?”

I guess I’m doing something right…

 

[HNL2LHC]

BAM!

Got this message this morning:

“ Hello,
We have over 300 early Porsche 356C 911 912 914 924 930 944 core calipers in stock.
Would you be interested in rebuilding for me?”

I guess I’m doing something right…

Awesome. Hope it works out for you!!!

 

[lbhsbz]

Awesome. Hope it works out for you!!!

All I can think about is how much it’s gonna suck blasting that many calipers…so much for fucking around in the garage and drinking beer all day..lol. if I get this deal, I’ll probably buy a tumble blaster

 

[HNL2LHC]

All I can think about is how much it’s gonna suck blasting that many calipers…if I get this deal, I’ll probably buy a tumble blaster

Just keep plugging away. Put a little into the shop Equiptment on each project. Exciting to see someone making the move To be independent. Our son just did it this year. Found a niche market for his knowledge base tied to the same industry that our family business is in and he is killing it the first year. Already had the need to hire. Keep you eyes open and look for opportunities they are out there for those that want to work.

I look forward to seeing more of your work.

 

[lbhsbz]

Set of 944s I finished up this morning…this is the 3rd time I’ve done these after buying one set of cores 2 months ago. Only zee Germans can make something so simple so complicated. They look cool though..

Back up on eBay for $400. I have to buy OE kits on these, so with parts and plating, cost is about $70 for all 4


Set of 65-67 T-birds I picked up for $40 on Craigslist a few weeks ago…I found some kits that included pistons and crossover pipes for a deal, but the crossover pipes don’t fit for shit, so I’ll have to make my own.

 

[t&y]

That's awesome. So you are blasting, plating, and rebuilding them all in house?

 

[lbhsbz]

Customer sent some pictures after install on a badass 914

 

[lbhsbz]

That's awesome. So you are blasting, plating, and rebuilding them all in house?

Cad plating is sub'd out to a local shop that does a ton of aerospace stuff...they're not cheap at $1.40 or so per lb (zinc is anywhere from $0.35-$0.75/lb) and they're slow but the quality is the best I've seen. With my margins on these, they could double their price and I wouldn't care.

I try and hand blast the more delicate or rare units...on a lot of it, I go down to my buddy's shop and use his tumble shot blaster...takes 15 minutes to do what I'd need most of the day to accomplish. All pistons get chucked in the lathe and cleaned/polished with 2 stages of scotchbrite, then masked off with electrical tape (abrasive bounces off of it), hand blasted, and painted with 2 coats of POR15. All bolts get hand blasted and black oxided (in house). I'm always worried about overstaying my welcome using my buddy's equipment, but the amount of components that I stock (and they don't) that I've bailed them out with kinda eases those worries....we help each other out.

My goal is to produce the best rebuilt caliper I can, regardless of cost....and as I've been treated like a child for suggesting to my previous employer, people WILL actually pay for nice shit that works right. Interesting concept....

 

[lbhsbz]

Old nasty piston vs after I’m done with it

Gotta be more careful polishing pistons…lathe chuck got me a couple weeks ago..

 

[HNL2LHC]

Customer sent some pictures after install on a badass 914
View attachment 1040770 View attachment 1040771

That is great looking car. If that is the level of cars that your products are going on be sure to request images. This is one of the most helpful tools that I use even to this day in my 30 years of my carrier. Allows you instant credibility even for the new guy. Same thing I tell my son often. You become the solution to customers problems and you will have more business than you know what to do with. Then you can pick and choose and do the more profitable jobs.

 

[lbhsbz]

That is great looking car. If that is the level of cars that your products are going on be sure to request images. This is one of the most helpful tools that I use even to this day in my 30 years of my carrier. Allows you instant credibility even for the new guy. Same thing I tell my son often. You become the solution to customers problems and you will have more business than you know what to do with. Then you can pick and choose and do the more profitable jobs.

This last week was pretty good.

I went down to San Diego on Tuesday morning to meet a couple guys who sold me all those Porsche cores a month or so ago. The shop has bought back about 6 sets of finished units, and then my cores were gone again so I had to go get them. Also delivered a set to the guy I originally talked to...he's kind of a somebody in the porsche world...has at least 10 cars on the property in various buildings and had just gotten back from bringing 2 of them to monterey. Grabbed 10 more cores from the shop and on the way home had 2 hits from ebay that turned into 4 wheels were caliper sales each...I had everything in stock.

An old centric customer called and wondered if I could rebuild a 4 wheel set of 914s because they've looked everywhere and couldn't find any...they about shit when I told them I could drop off a set in 15 minutes. Then another guy found me and showed up at the house for more 914 stuff, and a 3rd guy hit me up and bought another full set of 914 calipers. Shipped out another 7-8 sets that I've had for a while waiting on various things. Outta the 30 sets I got back from plating last wed....there are about 8 left (some were already spoken for)...lol and now I'm about out of everything again. Profit on every unit is between $80-100.

I saw a facebook post on one of the Porsche pages and ended up buying $4000 worth or cores from some dude back in NC or somewhere...should be here next week...I showed him my work, he owns a parts store and wants to stock about 10 sets. I'm hoping I can get ahead of things a bit if build 20 sets of each of about the 5 hot applications. All my profits are going to buying cores right now. I'm buying everything I can find, regardless of price. Nobody but me has anything in stock and all the other guys are 3-4 weeks lead time to rebuild customer cores....that doesn't work if you're a shop with a customer car on the rack...they need 'em now...which reminds me, a guy with a shop in VA hit me up on ebay and called me...he wants to stock 5 sets too.

Although I got a call and sold 250 sets of the stupid Ford Transit bolt kits last week to huge nationwide distributor because my Chinese competitor was backordered....the whole reason I even started this business, that product line is a pain in the ass because it isn't unique and the customer base are more commodity shoppers...who I'm tired of dealing with. Once these are gone I'm not gonna get any more I don't think. Restoring calipers is much more enjoyable than putting bolts in bags all day.

At this rate, I may pass on the website because I can't handle more work. The next thing I do, after I get ahead with parts, is to find an accountant/book keeper because I've been slacking and really need help in that area...if anyone has any suggestions or referals, I'd be very grateful for that. One of these days there might be enough money left to pay myself too...

 

[HNL2LHC]

This last week was pretty good.

I went down to San Diego on Tuesday morning to meet a couple guys who sold me all those Porsche cores a month or so ago. The shop has bought back about 6 sets of finished units, and then my cores were gone again so I had to go get them. Also delivered a set to the guy I originally talked to...he's kind of a somebody in the porsche world...has at least 10 cars on the property in various buildings and had just gotten back from bringing 2 of them to monterey. Grabbed 10 more cores from the shop and on the way home had 2 hits from ebay that turned into 4 wheels were caliper sales each...I had everything in stock.

An old centric customer called and wondered if I could rebuild a 4 wheel set of 914s because they've looked everywhere and couldn't find any...they about shit when I told them I could drop off a set in 15 minutes. Then another guy found me and showed up at the house for more 914 stuff, and a 3rd guy hit me up and bought another full set of 914 calipers. Shipped out another 7-8 sets that I've had for a while waiting on various things. Outta the 30 sets I got back from plating last wed....there are about 8 left (some were already spoken for)...lol and now I'm about out of everything again. Profit on every unit is between $80-100.

I saw a facebook post on one of the Porsche pages and ended up buying $4000 worth or cores from some dude back in NC or somewhere...should be here next week...I showed him my work, he owns a parts store and wants to stock about 10 sets. I'm hoping I can get ahead of things a bit if build 20 sets of each of about the 5 hot applications. All my profits are going to buying cores right now. I'm buying everything I can find, regardless of price. Nobody but me has anything in stock and all the other guys are 3-4 weeks lead time to rebuild customer cores....that doesn't work if you're a shop with a customer car on the rack...they need 'em now...which reminds me, a guy with a shop in VA hit me up on ebay and called me...he wants to stock 5 sets too.

Although I got a call and sold 250 sets of the stupid Ford Transit bolt kits last week to huge nationwide distributor because my Chinese competitor was backordered....the whole reason I even started this business, that product line is a pain in the ass because it isn't unique and the customer base are more commodity shoppers...who I'm tired of dealing with. Once these are gone I'm not gonna get any more I don't think. Restoring calipers is much more enjoyable than putting bolts in bags all day.

At this rate, I may pass on the website because I can't handle more work. The next thing I do, after I get ahead with parts, is to find an accountant/book keeper because I've been slacking and really need help in that area...if anyone has any suggestions or referals, I'd be very grateful for that. One of these days there might be enough money left to pay myself too...

Our son teamed up with a classmate from school with economics/business background to help him with books that the mindset that down the road he will join in a sales capacity. Maybe you can find someone like that. I hope that you get that under control. I went into a business 5 years ago and got all up and running only to have my partner not do the books/invoicing for most of the fist year. What a nightmare and that did not end well to say the least.

 

[boatpi]

I think that you are on the correct path.

When we opened 4K Aluminum in Vegas it was out first brick and mortar. The hours we put in are beyond belief, but my goal was to build a brand, so we have not taken one cent out yet, just purchased more inventory. I recall the phone not running for four days straight, sitting in a cold warehouse in December, it was depressing.

You have yo have faith in what you have, quality and customer service in #1. Now 27 months later sales are beyond belief, distributors in 3 states and more for 2022.

Be careful in not growing too fast, as you noted. Do not over extend yourself where you cannot complete orders on time. People will gladly pay for quality, if they object then they are welcome to use a lesser brand, or re builder, plenty of business for all. Consumers are spending like crazy on many items now, outdoor products are re building cars are just two of them. Expect your business to increase in the winter months, a lot of cars guys in the mid west freezing their azzes off working in the garage.

Good luck.

 

[lbhsbz]

The planets might have just aligned....I called an talked to my buddy, mentioned the 300 piece possible order, and he seems disinterested in letting me use or as suggested...buy a 1/2 share in his blast equipment, share in repair costs, electricity, etc....but instead proposed I just sub everything to him. No, I'm going to do things my way.

Called on a sub-optimal piece of equipment, mentioned what I was really looking for, and the guy said he had one of those too....1800 hours on it...she's almost a virgin. $5K. I can fit in the back garage if I take the shit off the top to get through the door.

 

[t&y]

This is awesome. I'm assuming you have found a few different Porche websites or forums. It sounds to me like your name/brand is getting out there somehow. I've been amazed at what you can get in niche markets. The old bronco forums are a great example. Vehicle specific will all kinds of aftermarket or upgraded factory options instead of ordering from a 4 wheel parts warehouse. I'd say you are definitely on the right track here.

 

[lbhsbz]

This is awesome. I'm assuming you have found a few different Porche websites or forums. It sounds to me like your name/brand is getting out there somehow. I've been amazed at what you can get in niche markets. The old bronco forums are a great example. Vehicle specific will all kinds of aftermarket or upgraded factory options instead of ordering from a 4 wheel parts warehouse. I'd say you are definitely on the right track here.

There is another outfit called PM B performance that has somehow established itself as god’s gift to the porsche caliper rebuilding industry.

I watched one of his “how to” videos….he uses a grease as assembly lube that’s incompatible with EPDM rubber that is used for brake hydraulic seals…lol, and he charges to much. Every single customer that I’ve spoke with is glad that they finally found an alternative to this guy.

Unfortunately, he (I believe) is the owner of 914world dot com and associated pages….which might be fun, because I just bought 914caliperworld.com and 914brakeworld.com…for $1/month for 2 years. Lol.

I can’t really post on his sites, and don’t need to. All my business this far has come from eBay and responding to ads to buy cores… I’ve not made a single post on any porsche website…my business has zero digital signature.

If I’m not on his radar now, I will be soon. I’m buying out everything on hand from everyone that’s ever sold him cores….and he has no stock right now. At the very least, the core value will go up because I’ll have bought them all. I’m also buying out every OEM rebuilt kit I can get my hands on, at retail prices even…because I don’t want component availability to be my bottleneck. I have capital and will use it.

I had nothing against the guy until I ordered a proportioning valve rebuild kit from him for $59 + $22 in shipping that took him 2 weeks to ship…that also fits an envelope that will get anywhere in the country in a week with 2 stamps on it… and when I received it, he didn’t even have the decency to peel the sticker with the website address of the Volvo place he bought it that has them for $19.99 + $5.99 shipping. That pissed me off, and now he can get fucked.

 

[lbhsbz]

Update:

Business is picking up. Did about $6K in caliper and caliper rebuild kit sales in the last 6 days....and now I'm out. Cores haven't come back yet, I have about 30 or so calipers at the platers, which should be done monday, but I don't forsee that lasting very long. Ebay is strange....yesterday I sold 4 items...all of them in Wisconsin. Today I sold 3, all of them in florida. I've heard rumors that eBay shows certain listings to certain groups/areas at certain times, and it appears to be what's happening but I don't understand it.

The week before was pretty dead, then I sold almost everything I had over the course of a few days. crazy.

That tumble blaster I posted the picture of didn't work out....I contacted the manufacturer in italy and got some specs...it needs some work. Those holes in the belt should be about 5/16"....they're closer to 3/4", which indicates the belt is about done. Belts are 3+ months out and cost as much as I was gonna pay for the machine.

I found a little different style machine, still similar concept, but with an expanded metal drum rather than a rubber belt. The one I found is pretty small....16x18" drum, and the blast wheel is down below. Much more simple machine, much cheaper (new), much easier to repair and fabricate parts for, etc...might not work as good, but I'm not about productivity here...I'm a small operation with plenty of time. These machines eat themselves as they're used....I'd rather one with as few proprietary parts as possible, and that's what I found. I can make anything I need for this. A new one is $12K and 3 months lead time. I found a used one for $2300 near Chicago so I bought it and picked it up at the terminal today. We'll make some room for it and get it outta the truck tomorrow.

Still need to hook up with an accountant...and soon.

Talked to the guy about the 300 piece deal today, and it sounds promising...we're gonna talk next week and get a pallet headed this way. Will be a lot easier if this machine works out, so I'll be able to clean castings extremely efficiently at relatively high volumes....which is my #1 issue right now.

 

[Dan Lorenze]

No Tommy Boy references? Man, you guys are losing it.. Best of luck with your new business venture.. I'm also changing things up in the next couple of weeks. Getting all my ducks in a row. Can't wait...

 

[lbhsbz]

I got a new toy....bought it from an outboard shop just south of Chicago and had it shipped out....picked it up at my buddy's warehouse on Friday. Got it unloaded Saturday, spent saturday afternoon and half of sunday trying to make it run.

Start cap on the blast wheel motor was bad...so I changed that and it still wouldn't start. Took, the motor apart and found burned contacts on the speed switch so they wouldn't engage the start cap. Cleaned those up and its up and running. Ran a batch of caliper cores for over an hour and they still looked like shit. Had to make a few changes...now it works very nicely.

More later.

 

[spectra3279]

I got a new toy....bought it from an outboard shop just south of Chicago and had it shipped out....picked it up at my buddy's warehouse on Friday. Got it unloaded Saturday, spent saturday afternoon and half of sunday trying to make it run.

View attachment 1051398 View attachment 1051399

Start cap on the blast wheel motor was bad...so I changed that and it still wouldn't start. Took, the motor apart and found burned contacts on the speed switch so they wouldn't engage the start cap. Cleaned those up and it'll up and running. Ran a batch of caliper cores for over an hour and they still looked like shit. Had to make a few changes...now it works very nicely.

More later.

What is it?

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

 

[lbhsbz]

What is it?

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

Tumble shot blaster

grab a bunch of crusty stuff like this…

take them apart and throw the castings in the machine…turn it on and have a beer…and walla

this was a 8 minute cycle after I made some some changes…it needs a solid 12-15 minutes.

There is a gravity fed 10” paddle wheel in the bottom that spins at 3400rpms and slings steel shot at the basket. The basket rotates at about 5rpms and gently tumbles the parts. Works great on cast iron and steel.

i could put a 1750rpm blast wheel motor on it and switch finer stainless steel shot and aluminum will come out looking polished/burnished.

the blast wheel is at about 5:00, and so is the blast stream. The basket was turning clockwise and dragging the parts away From the blast stream. The parts also weren’t tumbling…just sliding around at the bottom of the basket. I put a bunch of bolts through the basket for grip and reversed the basket drive motor so now the parts get drawn into the blast stream and tumble. Works properly now

 

[ElAzul]

Wanna rebuild my moho caliper's ?

 

[lbhsbz]

Wanna rebuild my moho caliper's ?

sure...send me a PM. As long as they're hydraulic (I'm not ready for air disc calipers yet...no source on parts)

 

[ka0tyk]

How loud is it? I can imagine putting bricks in my dryer and turning it on…

 

[lbhsbz]

How loud is it? I can imagine putting bricks in my dryer and turning it on…

You've been to my house...it's in the back garage, and with the garage door open, I can barely tell it's running sitting on my patio. The drum spins very slow. The dust collector fan drowns out most of the other noise...lol.

You have to raise your voice a bit to have a conversation standing next to it.

It'll hold 200lbs. The more parts I put it it, the shorter distance each one falls and the quieter it gets. Optimal is about 1/2 full on the basket. I just grabbed some junk calipers I had laying around and threw them in there for test purposes...I don't have anything else torn down right now.

 

[QC22]

I love this thread. I'm also jealous. I so should be doing something like this. I love niches that others have ignored.

 

[ka0tyk]

You've been to my house...it's in the back garage, and with the garage door open, I can barely tell it's running sitting on my patio. The drum spins very slow. The dust collector fan drowns out most of the other noise...lol.

You have to raise your voice a bit to have a conversation standing next to it.

It'll hold 200lbs. The more parts I put it it, the shorter distance each one falls and the quieter it gets. Optimal is about 1/2 full on the basket. I just grabbed some junk calipers I had laying around and threw them in there for test purposes...I don't have anything else torn down right now.

Is there a limit to part size and does it mess with any tolerances? Pretty neat. Congrats on the new toy. You gonna toss everything into the cleaner from now on? Does it remove powder coat or other coatings or mainly just grime?

 

[lbhsbz]

Is there a limit to part size and does it mess with any tolerances? Pretty neat. Congrats on the new toy. You gonna toss everything into the cleaner from now on? Does it remove powder coat or other coatings or mainly just grime?

Leave something in there long enough and the whole part will disappear. It’ll take off powdercoat and rust and scale and whatever.

I bought this strictly for caliper castings…because blasting them by hand consumes way to much time and my compressor doesn’t get a break. All 3 motors on this machine draw 1/2 what my compressor does and I can drink beer while it works.
Win win.

It will work on anything that will fit in the basket and tumble.

 

[spectra3279]

Tumble shot blaster

grab a bunch of crusty stuff like this…

View attachment 1051643

take them apart and throw the castings in the machine…turn it on and have a beer…and walla

View attachment 1051644

this was a 8 minute cycle after I made some some changes…it needs a solid 12-15 minutes.

There is a gravity fed 10” paddle wheel in the bottom that spins at 3400rpms and slings steel shot at the basket. The basket rotates at about 5rpms and gently tumbles the parts. Works great on cast iron and steel.

i could put a 1750rpm blast wheel motor on it and switch finer stainless steel shot and aluminum will come out looking polished/burnished.

the blast wheel is at about 5:00, and so is the blast stream. The basket was turning clockwise and dragging the parts away From the blast stream. The parts also weren’t tumbling…just sliding around at the bottom of the basket. I put a bunch of bolts through the basket for grip and reversed the basket drive motor so now the parts get drawn into the blast stream and tumble. Works properly now

Nice

 

[C-2]

I love this thread. I'm also jealous. I so should be doing something like this. I love niches that others have ignored.

X2

 

[lbhsbz]

Had a call from the bank yesterday (B-of-A) and the nice woman introduced herself as my local branch small business consultant. SWEET!! She asked me to come by for a mask to mask meeting today, which I did (she has great tits) As it turns out, I qualify for platinum status! No more fees for anything, and I have a special phone number to call to get a person, rather than an hour of recordings. She seems cool and has a friend who owns an accounting office, so I'll call him tomorrow maybe. She also needs brakes, so I imagine that job will earn me some favors. we shall see.

I bought a automatic parts washer last week. Up until now, I've been using a little 10qt ultrasonic deal which will do a pair at a time. On tuesday, I have a pallet showing up with 90 calipers on it. Sooner I finish up, sooner I get paid.... no time for any "one at a time" bs. There is plenty of room in the profits for job for this shot blaster and parts washer...and they'll work for more than just this, so it was a no brainer.

 

[HNL2LHC]

Waiting on the pics……

Had a call from the bank yesterday (B-of-A) and the nice woman introduced herself as my local branch small business consultant. SWEET!! She asked me to come by for a mask to mask meeting today, which I did (she has great tits) As it turns out, I qualify for platinum status! No more fees for anything, and I have a special phone number to call to get a person, rather than an hour of recordings. She seems cool and has a friend who owns an accounting office, so I'll call him tomorrow maybe. She also needs brakes, so I imagine that job will earn me some favors. we shall see.

I bought a automatic parts washer last week. Up until now, I've been using a little 10qt ultrasonic deal which will do a pair at a time. On tuesday, I have a pallet showing up with 90 calipers on it. Sooner I finish up, sooner I get paid.... no time for any "one at a time" bs. There is plenty of room in the profits for job for this shot blaster and parts washer...and they'll work for more than just this, so it was a no brainer.

 

[ka0tyk]

Speaking of brakes you still have those ones you showed me?

 

[lbhsbz]

Speaking of brakes you still have those ones you showed me?

Yes.

 

[lbhsbz]

It's been a slow month what with my toe getting chopped off and all....out of stock on about everything and couldn't really spend much time on my feet until a couple days before the surgery, which then put me down for another week. Anyway...been back after it since middle of last week in a limited capacity....tore down 600lbs of cores (1/2 mine, 1/2 part of the big 300 piece order from a very understanding customer) and got them cleaned, blasted, and off to the plater this morning. Then tore down another 40 or so calipers before I called it beer time about 11:00 today (I started at 3:30). Spoke with an eBay customer yesterday who mentioned he's buddies with the owner of a very big porsche parts supplier, gave me the contact info and told me to call and name drop....so I did. Turns out, I've talked to the guy a bunch when I was at Centric. Also turns out he sent a pallet of early porsche calipers to get rebuilt over a year ago and they lost them. He had a call a few months ago that they found them but didn't have the parts to rebuild them (I received a call about that time because I have the parts, but as soon as the higher ups realized who they'd be buying from...they put a stop to it..lol). So...he's having them transfer that pallet to the warehouse 20 minutes away from me which I'm to pick up next week, and he's putting another pallet together with 100 or so cores and shipping them to me to rebuild. Since I am the only one that has ALL the parts to rebuild a certain popular porsche caliper, he also ordered 30 rebuild kits for resale from me. The whole deal should be good for $15-20K.

Lots more components showing up daily...and I'm having about 10 components developed that don't exist in the aftermarket. If anyone need Dexter trailer caliper rebuild parts....lemme know in a few months....I'll have reasonably priced kits available.

I spend time on the phone with as many customers as I can...and it's doing exactly what I hoped it would. The guy mentioned bought a set on ebay from me, but didn't read the description and didn't pay the core deposit, and failed to respond to my messages so I cancelled his order. Every message includes my phone number with a request to call with any concerns or questions, and he did, about a week later...after I'd sold his calipers (my last finished set) to another customer.

I spoke with the customer "B" this afternoon and he was in no hurry so gave me the green light to send the last set to customer "A" who is in a hurry. Everyone is happy, and I'm happy too. This is about the 4th time I've made calls to adjust shipping priorities and every customer has been onboard and more than helpful. It's amazing what happens when you don't talk to customers using rules out of a fucking employee handbook. Another guy called me up that I sold some british stuff to and took a set of my calipers down to a big british shop he knows in Seattle and showed them the "jewelry" as he put it....and told me I should be expecting a call from them and at least a pallet in the near future.

Over 300 sets of calipers sold so far, not a single defective return....all happy customers. This is the way it should be.

 

[HNL2LHC]

It's been a slow month what with my toe getting chopped off and all....out of stock on about everything and couldn't really spend much time on my feet until a couple days before the surgery, which then put me down for another week. Anyway...been back after it since middle of last week in a limited capacity....tore down 600lbs of cores (1/2 mine, 1/2 part of the big 300 piece order from a very understanding customer) and got them cleaned, blasted, and off to the plater this morning. Then tore down another 40 or so calipers before I called it beer time about 11:00 today (I started at 3:30). Spoke with an eBay customer yesterday who mentioned he's buddies with the owner of a very big porsche parts supplier, gave me the contact info and told me to call and name drop....so I did. Turns out, I've talked to the guy a bunch when I was at Centric. Also turns out he sent a pallet of early porsche calipers to get rebuilt over a year ago and they lost them. He had a call a few months ago that they found them but didn't have the parts to rebuild them (I received a call about that time because I have the parts, but as soon as the higher ups realized who they'd be buying from...they put a stop to it..lol). So...he's having them transfer that pallet to the warehouse 20 minutes away from me which I'm to pick up next week, and he's putting another pallet together with 100 or so cores and shipping them to me to rebuild. Since I am the only one that has ALL the parts to rebuild a certain popular porsche caliper, he also ordered 30 rebuild kits for resale from me. The whole deal should be good for $15-20K.

Lots more components showing up daily...and I'm having about 10 components developed that don't exist in the aftermarket. If anyone need Dexter trailer caliper rebuild parts....lemme know in a few months....I'll have reasonably priced kits available.

I spend time on the phone with as many customers as I can...and it's doing exactly what I hoped it would. The guy mentioned bought a set on ebay from me, but didn't read the description and didn't pay the core deposit, and failed to respond to my messages so I cancelled his order. Every message includes my phone number with a request to call with any concerns or questions, and he did, about a week later...after I'd sold his calipers (my last finished set) to another customer.

I spoke with the customer "B" this afternoon and he was in no hurry so gave me the green light to send the last set to customer "A" who is in a hurry. Everyone is happy, and I'm happy too. This is about the 4th time I've made calls to adjust shipping priorities and every customer has been onboard and more than helpful. It's amazing what happens when you don't talk to customers using rules out of a fucking employee handbook. Another guy called me up that I sold some british stuff to and took a set of my calipers down to a big british shop he knows in Seattle and showed them the "jewelry" as he put it....and told me I should be expecting a call from them and at least a pallet in the near future.

Over 300 sets of calipers sold so far, not a single defective return....all happy customers. This is the way it should be.

Great to hear the success stories.

 

[Willie B]

It's been a slow month what with my toe getting chopped off and all....out of stock on about everything and couldn't really spend much time on my feet until a couple days before the surgery, which then put me down for another week. Anyway...been back after it since middle of last week in a limited capacity....tore down 600lbs of cores (1/2 mine, 1/2 part of the big 300 piece order from a very understanding customer) and got them cleaned, blasted, and off to the plater this morning. Then tore down another 40 or so calipers before I called it beer time about 11:00 today (I started at 3:30). Spoke with an eBay customer yesterday who mentioned he's buddies with the owner of a very big porsche parts supplier, gave me the contact info and told me to call and name drop....so I did. Turns out, I've talked to the guy a bunch when I was at Centric. Also turns out he sent a pallet of early porsche calipers to get rebuilt over a year ago and they lost them. He had a call a few months ago that they found them but didn't have the parts to rebuild them (I received a call about that time because I have the parts, but as soon as the higher ups realized who they'd be buying from...they put a stop to it..lol). So...he's having them transfer that pallet to the warehouse 20 minutes away from me which I'm to pick up next week, and he's putting another pallet together with 100 or so cores and shipping them to me to rebuild. Since I am the only one that has ALL the parts to rebuild a certain popular porsche caliper, he also ordered 30 rebuild kits for resale from me. The whole deal should be good for $15-20K.

Lots more components showing up daily...and I'm having about 10 components developed that don't exist in the aftermarket. If anyone need Dexter trailer caliper rebuild parts....lemme know in a few months....I'll have reasonably priced kits available.

I spend time on the phone with as many customers as I can...and it's doing exactly what I hoped it would. The guy mentioned bought a set on ebay from me, but didn't read the description and didn't pay the core deposit, and failed to respond to my messages so I cancelled his order. Every message includes my phone number with a request to call with any concerns or questions, and he did, about a week later...after I'd sold his calipers (my last finished set) to another customer.

I spoke with the customer "B" this afternoon and he was in no hurry so gave me the green light to send the last set to customer "A" who is in a hurry. Everyone is happy, and I'm happy too. This is about the 4th time I've made calls to adjust shipping priorities and every customer has been onboard and more than helpful. It's amazing what happens when you don't talk to customers using rules out of a fucking employee handbook. Another guy called me up that I sold some british stuff to and took a set of my calipers down to a big british shop he knows in Seattle and showed them the "jewelry" as he put it....and told me I should be expecting a call from them and at least a pallet in the near future.

Over 300 sets of calipers sold so far, not a single defective return....all happy customers. This is the way it should be.

… …

 

[lbhsbz]

Year end update:

Without actually looking at the books, I think I did about 50K in total sales this year....which ain't bad for running things out of my garage and selling on ebay I don't think. Not much money to show for it, as a lot of it went towards core/component inventory (that should last me a while) and equipment/tooling...but I'm in the black, barely.

Next year is looking good.

The last 3 months have not been good....with my toe thing and then my plater taking forever, not much of anything got done....picked up the plating last week finally and it's been assholes and elbows since then. I'm about out of stuff to build now, and have another 1000lbs waiting until after the new year to get dropped of...hopefully they can get this shit done a bit quicker.

I just finished up the 1st pallet of rebuilds for the customer who found me on ebay....should ship next week.
I started getting a few calls from customers of my old boss who asked if the bolt kits would be available through my old boss's company, since it would make their life easier. I made a phone call and he asked for 1000 sets (considerably lower pricing than normal, but I'm still doing OK)...delivered 1/4 of it Monday morning, then they changed the part number and bar code so I had to throw away 760 bags/labels and start over....I'm billing for my time on that.

Pallet that my old company lost just showed up at the local warehouse so I'm picking that up monday and getting started....that should go quick if I can get my plater back on track.

Plating has been a bitch. My primary outfit took 5 weeks to knock out the last 600lb batch....which is absurd. I tried a few more guys, one of which charged me double what the primary guys do and only did a shitty job with zinc rather than cadmium with a flash of zinc on top of it, and invoiced it as Cad...so after ripping him a new asshole he tore up the bill. Found another small shop that does mostly piecework that nailed it on a samples I brought them, but for larger runs, they want almost $5/lb, which is more than triple what I'm paying now...so that won't work...or it might, I haven't decided yet. I could simply raise my prices $50/set and have absolutely badass plating that is as close to or better than the actual OEM Porsche color and finish, but I'm not sure if customers would bite. I may try it anyway....it's that good.

Lots of work lined up for next month. Adding more product daily. Just bought a 55 gallon drum full of 1960s and 1970s BMW cores, so I'll get those done up and start marketing to some BMW shops.

Haven't pissed off any customers this week, so there's that. lol.

 

[HNL2LHC]

Year end update:

Without actually looking at the books, I think I did about 50K in total sales this year....which ain't bad for running things out of my garage and selling on ebay I don't think. Not much money to show for it, as a lot of it went towards core/component inventory (that should last me a while) and equipment/tooling...but I'm in the black, barely.

Next year is looking good.

I just finished up the 1st pallet of rebuilds for the customer who found me on ebay....should ship next week.
I started getting a few calls from customers of my old boss who asked if the bolt kits would be available through my old boss's company, since it would make their life easier. I made a phone call and he asked for 1000 sets (considerably lower pricing than normal, but I'm still doing OK)...delivered 1/4 of it Monday morning, then they changed the part number and bar code so I had to throw away 760 bags/labels and start over....I'm billing for my time on that.

Pallet that my old company lost just showed up at the local warehouse so I'm picking that up monday and getting started....that should go quick if I can get my plater back on track.

Plating has been a bitch. My primary outfit took 5 weeks to knock out the last 600lb batch....which is absurd. I tried a few more guys, one of which charged me double what the primary guys do and only did a shitty job with zinc rather than cadmium with a flash of zinc on top of it, and invoiced it as Cad...so after ripping him a new asshole he tore up the bill. Found another small shop that does mostly piecework that nailed it on a samples I brought them, but for larger runs, they want almost $5/lb, which is more than triple what I'm paying now...so that won't work...or it might, I haven't decided yet. I could simply raise my prices $50/set and have absolutely badass plating that is as close to or better than the actual OEM Porsche color and finish, but I'm not sure if customers would bite. I may try it anyway....it's that good.

Lots of work lined up for next month. Adding more product daily. Just bought a 55 gallon drum full of 1960s and 1970s BMW cores, so I'll get those done up and start marketing to some BMW shops.

Haven't pissed off any customers this week, so there's that. lol.

Good to see you finished up the strong and looking into 2022. What about small batch laying yourself? Might not be possible but at least you are not dipping 24th aluminum stock lengths so the tanks could small. LOL

 

[lbhsbz]

Good to see you finished up the strong and looking into 2022. What about small batch laying yourself? Might not be possible but at least you are not dipping 24th aluminum stock lengths so the tanks could small. LOL

I could run Zinc I think...under the radar, but I don't have the room and it would be a pain in the ass. No way am I doing Cad...that's a shitstorm waiting to happen if the wrong agencies found out about it.

With the volume I'm doing now, it would take forever running one or 2 pieces at a time...I'm typically dropping off 100+ pieces. I might set up a caswell mini plating "kit" to do hardware, but I need to research the hydrogen embrittlement thing and see if their process requires baking to alleviate that.

Keep in mind, I have 600sq/feet of shop/garage space, that was mostly full of parts/machines/tools before I started down this road....then I added all this shit on top of that in the same amount of space. It's tight.

 

[lbhsbz]

Finishing strong...just sold 3 sets of calipers to a rally team in Sweden...$1800.

 

[coolchange]

Cool read. Your story reminds me of a friend of mine started a business decades ago. He wanted be in the car, hot rod business. So he decided to make gaskets. Found a niche in vintage dragracing, early hemi, and the like. Went to tractors and other fringe product lines. Customer service, He had a guy call him and swear that is copper hemi head gasket would not fit. He jumped a plane from Los Angeles to San Diego, met with the guy and showed him how to turn it over to make it work. Stories like that got out.
You may have heard of it, SCE?

 

[t&y]

Always awesome to see someone succeeding in their own business venture. I'm always curious how successful business start.

 

[lbhsbz]

Always awesome to see someone succeeding in their own business venture. I'm always curious how successful business start.

I wouldn't quite call mine successful, yet. This week has really cut into my beer drinking...I've been busy as shit. It's fun.

 

[lbhsbz]

Well...today turned out well.

Started with a dude showing up with $700 for a 4 wheel set of calipers, pads, and hoses for an early Porsche 914...

Then got a call from the guy that I was originally gonna bring calipers in for from China, but ran out of patience with China...I found a new stateside supplier and their pricing was such where I can make about $20/caliper with zero effort x 400...he approved the samples so that $28K order got placed today. Also bringing in a couple pallets of master cylinders for him at the same profit rate.

The guy who's calipers I got from my old company last week emailed me today that he's sending a 1400lb (170 calipers) for the full treatment. His freight guy is a tool so using @shippingguy saved about $250.

Had a tech call last night from a customer in OC that didn't know I was gone from Centric and we got to chatting...he mentioned a buddy of his who owned a big porsche place local, then texted me when we hung up with the guys contact info...we spoke this morning and I've got at least 50 calipers he wants done now, and of course future business.

First pallet to big order guy number one will be ready to ship as soon as the rain stops and the crate dries out for a few days. All the parts are done.

This is really gonna cut into my beer drinking time.

 

[Roosky01]

I really look forward to your updates! I feel like there has been opportunity for me to do a couple things like this (NOT BRAKES!) in the past and I never had the balls to just jump off the cliff and do it...

You are an inspiration, Sir!