What would you be willing to pay for...

[qbnkiller]

I have the opportunity to possibly re-cast the stock syty manifolds with several tweaks/enhancements. In my mind, I would make them out of cast stainless steel, make the primaries a bit larger, make the crossover a full 2" in diameter, and possibly a T4 turbo mount.

It is a proven fact that the stock manifolds have gone low-10's. With these changes, I think this would be a great solution for 90% of the people out there - much less those S10's who want to turbo their trucks - at 50% the cost of custom-built headers.

I am looking for thoughts on this project, as well as what the market would support for pricing. If any of you are familiar with pouring castings, the molds are a killer! It will cost me somewhere on the order of $30,000 for the two manifold molds.

Please discuss openly here - pros and cons, and leave a dollar amount you think would be fair for these!

Thanks!

 

[TYTILIDIE]

Re: What would you be willing to pay for...

Sounds like a sweet idea but on the other hand, sounds prett damn expensive too. I would love to plain flat out throw my sets in the trash and have some brand new. Unfortunately, it just costs too much.

 

[JSM]

Re: What would you be willing to pay for...

From a profit standpoint you would be better to do it for the 350 sbc and see how that sells. Much larger market.

 

[Fighting5thSVT]

Re: What would you be willing to pay for...

That is ALOT of money for such a small market. Honestly, I do not think it would be worth the risk.... :2cents:

 

[qbnkiller]

Re: What would you be willing to pay for...

that's not the point of this thread....what would something like this be valued at?

Look...forget the startup costs..if this were available right noww for...let's say $1,000 a set, would it be worth it?

 

[Fighting5thSVT]

Re: What would you be willing to pay for...

No matter the dollar amount, I do not think that it would be worth it for you to dump 30k into, especially since the stock manifolds are good for most of the syty owners here.

 

[dalwine250]

Re: What would you be willing to pay for...

i dont think you ever sell enough to make it worth while .to some a pair would be priceless especially in the future .may
be 10 yrs befor you see your investment back ,, if then.
dave

 

[BigBadSmoosh]

Re: What would you be willing to pay for...

I'd pay $300-500 for a brand new manifold set.

problem is, the two i have are fine *keeps fingers crossed*

 

[cloneman315]

Re: What would you be willing to pay for...

well even when full headers from atr etc were around very few would pay,

 

[Norm]

Re: What would you be willing to pay for...

30k is alot of money. To get back most of your investment you'd have to sell them for a grand a set. There's a little bit of interest in used manifolds, but with sy/ty's getting wrecked/parted out and engine swaps turning out more used ones,it might take you a few years to recoop your money. I think you'd be better off toolin up for sy corners than anything else. Those cladding items seem to always sell and for a good dollar also. There's a chance you might even be able to cast them your self after a mold is made. I don't think your going to be doing any manifold pouring in your garage.

 

[dgoodhue]

Re: What would you be willing to pay for...

especially since the stock manifolds are good for most of the syty owners here.

However alot of the stock manifold are cracking, their is a point where they are going to hard to find.

 

[phoonTy]

Re: What would you be willing to pay for...

You guys are totally missing the point of this thread. Alex said to ignore the startup cost.

Think of these as being available, on the shelf at this moment, ready to order.

If I could, I'd throw up to $500 to help turbo my Jimmy, knowing they won't be prone to cracking like stockers. :tup:

 

[Norm]

Re: What would you be willing to pay for...

I don't think anybody missed the point. He asked for pro's con's and asked what people thought they would be worth.If he is dead set in making these,I'd go for a group purchase and ask for some money for a deposit up front.If there's enough interest go for it.If there isn't alot of interest then the choice would be his to decide on to make or not make them.

 

[ziembic]

Re: What would you be willing to pay for...

I think most of these guys are quoting low. When headers cost 1000 to 2000, I think a set of factory style manifolds could and will sell for 750 to 1000.

 

[WyoSyclone]

Re: What would you be willing to pay for...

I'd pay $1k if they were done right, with proper engineering to fix some of the shortcomings of the factory pieces..and the quality was topnotch.

 

[Quickstop [UK]]

Re: What would you be willing to pay for...

Seeing as the stock manifolds are so prone to cracking and are just becoming more and more difficult to find, this is an awesome opportunity.

The SS ones that people run seem to be very expensive and I have been worried about them coming apart - a cast manifold would be great.

Re the T4 flange? what if you're not running that? I have a GT35R that I think sits on the T3 (stock) flanhge - I may be wrong but would this cause other issues if I needed an adaptor?

I'd be in for $800 to get some solid manifolds where the holes lined up and weren't prone to cracking.

Alex, what is your decision point on this? Great initiative! :tup:

 

[ghettosled]

Re: What would you be willing to pay for...

I think you will sell a few if you can retail them for $500 ish. We get calls from S10 guys all the time, wanting to turbo. If they are $800-1000 they wont sell.

I would keep the T3 flange in the stock location, so they will fit a wide variety of applications from stock to modified. If you want to make a T4 flange, then cast an adaptor that locates the turbo up and out, as well as clocks the inlet away from the radiator for more clearance. A T4 housing in the stock location wont really bolt up too well.

Kinda funny i was considering something similar the other day, but i'm glad someone else is going to volunteer cause i didnt want to fund another project and have to send it overseas to make it cost effective

good luck.. i know we would buy a few sets for sure @ the right price.

 

[Poconojoe]

Re: What would you be willing to pay for...

If I could, I'd throw up to $500 to help turbo my Jimmy, knowing they won't be prone to cracking like stockers. :tup:

What makes you think they will not crack or warp? SS is no miricle metal, It will warp and crack and cast SS is its worst form. You'd be better off making them from stamped stainless, like the 98 / 99 F-body LS1 manifolds were.

 

[qbnkiller]

Re: What would you be willing to pay for...

Thanks for the comments people.

As I mentioned, please disregard the initial startup costs involved - if it were available off-the-shelf, what would you be willing to pay. Once the molds are made, I can either decide to pour SS or cast. They would be nice and thick, with larger primaries, a larger crossover, and I think Mike is correct - keep the T3 mounting flange.

Thanks for the input!

 

[DJ B]

Re: What would you be willing to pay for...

I changed them in the past, think it will be necessary soon to get them as upgrades.

Even 600$ for a full set + cross-over will sell like cake!! They are harder to come by then in the old days...

and the marginal cost can grow over time.