Porting & Aftermarket parts.

[Ryan A Harris]

Hey guys, whats up?

I first must say to all, thanks for all the interest you have shown in my work/services. I can't believe the amount of emails I am getting from all over the place! I would like to add some pionts that I fell I have not passed along to you guys. I'm still in the early parts of the R&D work, for ALL the ideas I'm working on. I'm a little affraid of doing work and selling, just as of yet. Thats not to say this will the case in the very near future. I do plan on passing along my time, efforts to anyone who is looking a edge with there SC. I do hope to delever some exellent prices, as compared to the major parts sources we have to fight with in the US.

As for the jackshaft pulley, I hope to be on the dyno in late January. Then with some regular driving, for regular testing, I will take orders and sell whatever the demad is. The best thing about the J/S pulley is I want to offer this ONLY to the members of the SCCoO, for now. I want to help all of us out, with pricing, be able to have a low production trick part(that you MUST show off), plus think of the guys at Carlise, looking at our cars, saying" where did you that?"

As for the porting of the inlet plenums, I do have a good # of people looking for this part, which is no trouble to make/alter. Jaime & Ron are next on the list for this. I do want to point out that I still have to take one of my blowers apart to make sure I can port the rear of the case, in a proper fashion, that will make it a suitable upgrade.

I would also like to people not say that I do work "cheap", I feel that my work is not cheap, but top notch. I'm a professional, I'm paid to machine parts. I do fell than I'm a young guy, with a large amount enthusiasm for this sort of work. Saying that, I'm not targeting anyone for saying that, yet. The pricing may be cheap compared to other soureces, but the work is not cheap!

I do hope that anyone will not take this as a rant. I'm just trying to get my pionts across so in the future we can get all of the SC's in the SCCoO running well, fast, and most of all a joy for the owner to drive. I'm more than willing to do the work, and take the time to do it, I like it very much.

Please fell free to add pionts/ideas to what I said above. I do always listen to what this club has to offer/say. Also don't hesitate to piont any negitive thought you may have with what I'm doing, that will help me serve you better.

Thanks for the you have taken.

[SeanMatteson]

Ryan and all,

I must confess, I think I am guilty of having posted something to the effect of Ryan's work being "cheap". The post would be found over on the TBU, under Hoddy's Garage. Honestly, I never meant for it to sound like I felt the work Ryan does is shoddy, or amateurish in any way! On the contrary, my comment was meant to be in praise of how much more value I feel there is in paying Ryan for his services, than many of the other vendors associated with making these cars faster. I have been, and continue to be completely impressed with both the quality of Ryan's workmanship, and also with how well he takes care of his 'customers'.

Ryan, if I offended you in any way, please forgive me.

Sincerely,

Sean

I've since edited my post over on the TBU.

[T1Bird]

I've seen the sexy jackshaft pulley ryan has made many times, and trust me its perfect not a damn flaw in it.. i just find it funny how people think its not that good just because it doesnt say march or ASP or something to that matter on it.. from working with the lathe for years in school and still during my apprentice, id much rather turn a piece myself then have some machine kick out a couple of these at a time like march and ASP do.

As for Ryan's porting and polishing.. you live and learn, he tried it and went through in 1 spot and hes learned from this since then i think hes done 3 or 4 Inlet's and hasnt gone through at all.. infact I've taken them and beefed them up in the key points that they are thin to begin with.. what you have to understand is even though its a casting mold not all are the exact same, some areas are thinner then others.

I think between him and myself, we can produce just about any aftermarket part for the SC's, between my tig welding and his machine shop skills, also if he doesnt know hes got guys with him that have been in this line of work for decades.

I'm not to sure how he feels but I, myself will never buy anything from magnum powers because its overpriced by far.. call around to metal suppliers and find out how much a chunk of aluminum is you would be surprised.. but hey thats my opinion and to each thier own right?

We have a 3/4 raised top and a Double Ic in the works right now and he has his pulleys thats hes fabing up... with many many more ideas on the way.

I dont doubt ryan's knowledge on any of this for a second and its not like magnum powers just up and made thier products to begin with its a learning curve constantly.. hes gotten really damn good with the die grinder and hopefully next stage will be the heads for him..

We will post pics soon of the stuff we are making dont worry.

[Tazer999]

Ryan: I am dissapointed to hear that the jackshaft pulleys will be for sccoo members only

[SeanMatteson]

Ryan B.,

I think this is temporary. Ryan H. expressed that until he knows for sure that these parts will stand up to prolonged abuse (the likes of which they'll endure from at least a season of quarter mile passes and dyno pulls), he doesn't want to have them distributed all over North America. To properly service these customers in case anything does go wrong, Ryan would also have to incur the cost of shipping the parts back and forth if replacement was necessary.

In so far as I understood Mr. Harris, he in no way means to discriminate against SC'ers from other clubs. I think he hopes that very soon the parts can be offered to members from other provinces, or down in the U.S. Were I in Ryan's shoes, I'd probably approach this in exactly the same way. Ryan B., although I can understand your disappointment, I certainly hope you're not offended.

Cheers,

Sean

[Big Cat Davo]

Take you time and get comfortable with what you are doing and selling. I and I am sure a lot of other Canadians were desparately hoping that someone likek yourself and Bruce would come along and offer us an alternative to the high buck items down in the states. Can't wait to see some more of that amazing finished product.

[Ryan A Harris]

Ryan, do not be dissappionted, I will be offering them to the SCCoA, and other clubs in a short time. Sean hit the nail on the head with his post.

Dave Thanks, that what I'm doing, I was just a little, overwlemed with the response I got. I want everyone who is interested in my work, that in time I will have many products to offer us SC'ers.

I also want to piont that this is a "side" adventure for me, as I do have a full time job that in some weeks takes 65 hours of m time.

Yeah, i do feel that it is about ime that someone from Great White North is going to be offering some speciality aftermarket parts for the SC, oh and the Cugars as well.

Thanks again guys for your info. Does anyone have ideas they would like for me look into(Bill I'm on a lower intake, it will take some time)

[MY90SC]

Ryan I think that you are already thinking about this

Head and Blowers are two other areas these cars need some help

[92strokedbird]

Blower is easy to do just have to take your time and do it right,once you do the first one you will have no problem with doing more.I finished mine in a month the first one that is,it is going on the car as soon as i get a chance to put it on.Then i am going to do the rest of my blowers just in case i need one.

[V6Sprout]

Keep up the great work Ryan, and I did not feel like your post was a rant, you worded it professionally and brought across your point very nicely, I think it was a good post!

[SickWhip]

You The Man Ryan! Hopefully we can get together some time in the summer or somethin' Keep up the good work!

[Bill McNeil]

Please fell free to add pionts/ideas to what I said above. I do always listen to what this club has to offer/say. Also don't hesitate to piont any negitive thought you may have with what I'm doing, that will help me serve you better.

Okay, since you insist!

The best thing about the J/S pulley is I want to offer this ONLY to the members of the SCCoO, for now. I want to help all of us out, with pricing

So you helped everyone in Ontario out by charging them more than you are selling them for now? Doesn't sound too helpful to me.

The conversion into USD is $170.00.

SO why are they $140 USD now?

Just curious, seeing as how you were so interested in what I was selling on the classifieds forum, that you felt the need to comment. So, I figured I would comment on what you're sellling.

[Les Borda]

Never mind I just censored my own post.....read between the lines folks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[T1Bird]

Bill, you ever done any kind of fab work with a company?, if you havent ill explain. When you do a run of a piece, no matter the material being used, wood, metal, alloy, carbon fiber, it takes time to make the nessesary tools, programs and initial setup to produce something. Many companies will charge you for the time to make such tooling, dye's (sp?) and programming. Once you get your product finished, and sent off, any money has been transfered you maybe done with it, but there is a slight chance you may get another run of this product, in the event, you already have your program written to just shoot them out, or tooling made to fab it up.. so this is alot of time and money saved. Truly why the 2nd time, maybe even 3rd time it could be cheaper and cheaper. I've apprenticed in 2 shops now and this is how it works in both of them, and im just taking a guess but I bet this is how it works everywhere.

[Ryan A Harris]

An 8 month old thread, have some time to kill Bill? But as I said in that thread, give me your feed back, positive or negitive. This will be the best for me to help serve everyone beter!

Bruce, yes you are correct, but I have a few more pionts to add to the ones you have brought up already.

My profit has not changed from the ones I made then to the ones I make now. The material charges where more money for me, becuase at that time Aluminum was few dollars more per pound, the amount of Aluminum I was buying was not a large amount(you get a better price when buying in larger #'s), and then I didn't have an account with that company at that time. Thus making the material costs higher than they are now. I now buy larger amounts of Aluminum, plus now with my account with the company, the prices are cheaper for me.

I hope that will clear up any confussion you or any other memebers have. If not, then feel free to ask, I will always answer for you guys.

And on a side note, Bill why can't I add my thoguhts on ANY item that is for sale? I have done so in the past, and never had any complaints form any other member selling anything. Also, I had a few local memebrs email that link asking what I thought about, so when my opinion is asked, I will give it!

Les, what did you have to say? I would like to know your thoughts too.

[Bill McNeil]

Bruce,

I can appreciate what you are saying, and also the manner of your response. Whether or not I have any experience doing what Ryan is doing isn't the issue here, as I wasn't challenging his ability, knowledge, or quality of work. You actually bring up a very valid point, however. If what you say is true, which I believe fully, in which parts become cheaper to manufacturer over time, then why was a promise made to "help out with pricing"? Since Ryan knew the production runs would become less expensive, and that he would have the ability to produce the goods cheaper over time, why would he make such a false promise, and mis-lead his initial buyer into thinking they are getting preferential treatment? That is all I was really getting at. I could care less what the part is, how it is made, and what was involved in making it. That is irrelevant to my concern.

Ryan,

This is simply a matter of following up on your word. It is a known fact that you have admitted you overcharged people for the first run of these jackshaft pulleys, directly after you mention that you would be helping out Ontario members with pricing. If that was actually true, which we know now it wasn't, you would have sold to the people in the US first, and had them pay the price associated with early production runs, and told everyone here to wait until the price of materials and tooling came down, so they could receive better pricing. Wouldn't this make sense?

Instead, you charged everyone here $250 Canadian, which at the time was about $170 USD. Bill Evanoff now sells them for $140 USD, which means you are still making money before his mark-up. Let's assume you let him buy them for $100 USD, because I can't imagine him going through the trouble of shipping them from Canada for anything less than $40 profit, per piece. So that now means there is a $70 USD differential in the price you offered them originally, to what you are selling them to Evanoff for now. That is approx. $100 Canadian that you have potentially over-charged your first, and supposedly best customers. Those who were told, by YOU, they would get better pricing.

If I bought a pulley from you with the assurance that I was getting a good deal, and 6 months later you were producing the EXACT same product for $100 less per piece, I would be suspicous of being overcharged beyond the level at which manufacturing costs have decreased. Would you say they are $100 less per piece to make now than they were 6 months ago? If so, which is quite disturbing, I think you should be apologizing to those people who were mislead. If you chose to be a vendor within the community, I think you need to be held more accountable for things you say and do, in my opinion.

No offense needs to be taken, really.

[tbirdsc357]

Oh boy !

This could get very nasty very quick......

[Les Borda]

My opinions is I do not feel I was burned on the pulley, it was your first time trying this and there are associated costs with doing it.

I don't want to say anything else, that is why I censored my own post, things have not been great for me and I may say things I will be sorry for at a later date so I chose not to.

I don't like seeing this on this board, I never have. I am friends with all people here, please do not put me in a position that I have to referee or baby sit or whatever the phuck you want to call it.

This is not directed at anyone, it is a general statement....period!

[SeanMatteson]

Originally posted by Les Borda
...phuck you...

No, Les, PHUCK YOU!!! :mad:

J/K. :D

Cheers,

Sean

[Les Borda]

LMAO...smart azzzzzzzz

[Ryan A Harris]

Bill, at the time of this production run, I had no idea I would turn this into a a business. So on that note, I think my prices where at that time just fine. If they where not, then why did people still buy them? They had the choice to buy, or pass on them. Also, I think are still missing the toal cost of R & D. Yes, the price of my cost has come down. On all aspects.

Again, when I things are made, if the numbers are higher, then the final cost is cheaper. No other way around it. I can't find a better way to expalin it to you.

Steve, now why do think this will get ugly?(lol)

Les, I'm looking to put into a spot where sides need to picked. I value your thoguhts, and would like to hear them, positive or negitve. I thank you for your honesty.

I don't know what else I can say.

[Bill McNeil]

Ryan,

You don't need to explain yourself any further, as you are still missing the crucial point. What I was getting at is the fact that you knew all of this in advance. The fact the pricing would come down, and that the first run of pulleys would need to absorb the R&D costs. There is nothing wrong with any of that, either as a business practice, nor as a process of manufacturing.

The problem was telling people they would get better pricing, and then they ended up paying more than everyone pays now. That is the main, and most prominent issue.
then why did people still buy them?
They bought them because they thought they were getting the best pricing from you, based on what you had directly told them. THAT is why they bought them during the first run, and not later. If anything, based on the way you presented this product initially, it sounded like the price would be going up with demand, and that future orders available to those in the states would bear a higher price than what was offered to "Ontario members"

You commented on what I was selling, I did the same for you, so I think we're about done now.

[V6Sprout]

Either way, I stillw ant a jackshaft puley Ryan, just gotta wait till Ige tthe money, but when I do I'll be callin for one :)

[Ryan A Harris]

The problem was telling people they would get better pricing, and then they ended up paying more than everyone pays now. That is the main, and most prominent issue.

Again, at that time, yes they got a better price than I had orginal thoguh I could get for these. What would have been better, saying "Hey guys, I WAS going to sell them for $300, but for, and only you, $250". Believe me, at that time I had some trouble coming up with what I though was fair price. Again, (I think) you can not bring up the price now. This is the way it is, to do many things, 1 of which is to compete with the other pulley manufactors. If at THAT piont of time, I sold them for XXX amount of $'s, then I can give you may word, at that time that was my best price.

Remeber, that was 8 months ago, things have changed for me since then. This complete process is being refined everyday. So that in the end, I can say, thats the best I can do.

[lazybird4pt6]

Originally posted by Ryan A Harris
Remeber, that was 8 months ago, things have changed for me since then.

Yes, very much. At that time this was considered a "personal venture". It is now a legally owned business. Ryan, again, congratulations! I am glad to see you are pursuing this in a mature and professional manner.

Not in defense or offense I feel that I must point out something here. As a machinist as well I have made parts in the past for myself and others. When cost is involved it is very difficult to set a price on anything. Considering cost of materials, time for machinery, tooling, R&D and a slew of other factors all come into play. Higher production runs will ALWAYS be cheaper to produce and as a result sell. Being able to purchase material by volume is a major factor as is, particularly in Ryan's case, program time. This is another "biggie". The cost of the time involved can now be eliminated from the next run. The biggest factor is still overhead. If Ryan had a lathe in his garage he could make these parts even cheaper, plain and simple.

Ryan, a little advice from what i've seen the "bigger guys" make a mess out of - use 7000 series. It's got better thermal stability due to it's alloy and as a result more strength. The material is a little more expensive initially, but warranty is a biotch!
Good luck!

[Andrew Wang]

Sorry to keep this thread alive but yes Ryan did make some
statements regarding the pricing, I looked at it as one of ours
wanted to do something positive for our group so I/we supported
him in this endeavour. While it's true these pulleys are now being
sold cheaper, Ryan has helped a lot of members in one way or
another and so how do we associate a cost with that? We help
each other out, this is whats good about the club.

I'm not taking any sides or mean to offend as I consider everbody
a friend however both you guys seem to take great joy in taking
little shots at each other through posts (kinda like tap dancing
thru a minefield if you ask me).

[Bill McNeil]

however both you guys seem to take great joy in taking
little shots at each other through posts

Andrew,

Had Ryan kept his opinion to himself regarding the items I had for sale on the classifieds forum, I would have never posted any of this. Keep that in mind.

[SeanMatteson]

Originally posted by Bill McNeil
Had Ryan kept his opinion to himself regarding the items I had for sale on the classifieds forum, I would have never posted any of this.

"Tag, you're it!"

...Aren't we getting a little old for this shiznit?!

Regards,

Sean

[fast Ed]

I think the parties involved will have to agree to disagree on this ...

Thread is now locked.



cheers
Ed N.