Front crossmember brace production: Who is serious?

[nealtovsen@yahoo.com (Neal Tovsen)]

This Ron Wood crossmember brace has been taking too
long. It's been well over a year since the prototype
was made, and when I asked him about two weeks ago,
Potterman still says there has been no progress.

I've spent WAY too much time on my '77 to see the G60
engine tear through the front crossmember like butter.
And the autocross rules I'm under don't allow me to
weld plate onto the chassis. It has to be a bolt-on
part. 

I need this brace. Bad. And after hearing that Dan's
stock-engine 16v has a crack, I'm sure my '88 16v
would thank me for one too.

Is anyone else in the same position as me? If so, I
need your feedback. After some good success
fabricating my own seat brackets and a motor mount
this weekend, I'm thinking of making one (or a few)
myself. I AM NOT A PROFESSIONAL FABRICATOR. My welding
is not the most beautiful thing in the world, but it
gets the job done.

We're talking about a steel bar that ties the front
engine mount to the bumper bolts on both sides across
the front. It would be made of steel tubing with steel
brackets, MIG welded, and painted with engine paint.
It would (hopefully) require NO modification to the
car for installation, and can be installed/uninstalled
very easily.

Are you willing to pay up to $150 for one of these
bars? I have no idea what the actual cost will be at
this time. I think it will be quite a bit less, but
this would be the absolute max price that I would
promise right now.

Are you willing to commit to a 50% deposit in advance
(or some similar arrangement to be determined)? The
money would only be refundable if for some reason the
bars were never completed.

The above is necessary because I'll need to buy some
additional tools that I wouldn't use otherwise, and
because these will be hand-built just for those who
seriously want them. I am not a business and I have no
intention of starting one. I need to know I won't lose
my shirt on tools and materials.

This project, if we go forward, would start in
January, and would hopefully be done 6-8 weeks later.
I would need all deposits by January 15th.

Let me know your interest. This is a one-time,
go-or-no-go project. There will be only one
"production run". If there are people interested, I'll
start crunching some numbers and drawing on napkins.
With luck, I will have all the official details after
Christmas.

If there is anyone new to this list who doesn't know
me, I've been around since '98, and have met S.org
members from California to New York, Canada to Miami.
I'm sure there are a few people who could vouch for my
character...good or bad. :)

Neal
'88 16v
'77 G60

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