New machinest, what would you like to see made?

T@Sound-Xtreme

Registered User
Hey Guys,

My good friend owns his own machine shop, im looking to bring some bussiness his way. I would like to know what you guys would like to see be made, even if it is already being made we may be able to put a spin on it, who knows. He is currently working for Sauders Wood working and trying to get some more bussiness so that he can just work at his shop all day.

Here is the machines he has, small lathe usually used for round shaped things,it isn't very big and isn't really made for high production numbers. He has the CNC mills which are for higher production parts. He can do about anything on them, usually uses these more. He has a saw to cut parts and just got a bigger welder.

So please shoot me some ideas on what you would like to see.


Tyler
 
Idler pullies that are cheaper than 40 bucks? I remember a guy in my area made some on his own time, but I'm not about ready to shell out 40 bucks for them.......each.
 
Ditto on the idler pullies. Most of the nice looking ones I've seen ain't cheap. And the cheap ones don't look so great. :(
 
Hmmmm......!

Machinist ehh!, how about a really custom shift ball for us stick shift owner, like Hurst did a while back with the one that sort of wide at one end and narrow at the other so it fit yer hand? Maybe with SC carved into it. or one of those Mark Martin ones with the holes bored through it for light weight. Hell if he does wood make it out of Mahogany or sommit with a great lookin' grain to it. Frank H.
 
White Lightning Machinist ehh!, how about a really custom shift ball for us stick shift owner, like Hurst did a while back with the one that sort of wide at one end and narrow at the other so it fit yer hand? Maybe with SC carved into it. or one of those Mark Martin ones with the holes bored through it for light weight. Hell if he does wood make it out of Mahogany or sommit with a great lookin' grain to it. Frank H.

Do you happen to have any pics frank?

MagpoweredSC Lightweight power steering pulley for a reasonable price and an A/C delete bracket with lightweight idler pulley

Great, any pics?

Ideas are great Keep them coming, ill be forwarding these last 2 things to him.

Tyler
 
I would also like to see aftermarket shifters, but i like the stock feel, but I would like one with the stock shape but maybe made in black with the SC emblem engraved Polished in the middle (cut out of the metal) if that makes any sense? And then you could also do it the opposite polished ball with the SC emblem in black.

Also those hood dress up skirts for a bit cheaper would be nice.
 
Heartland machine makes a pulley for the PS already..Aluminum with a steel insert.....A bolt on inlet adapter would be nice to see....Maybe a bolt on inlet for 89-93 blowers?
 
One thing I ran into today... again and would love to see made. Replacement hub centers for the t-bird wheels. The later models came with plastic centers with some tin plasti-welded to them. These plastic caps are very fragile.

My 89 had some pressed tin centers that were much more resiliant and I think they would last a long time. I'm not sure how such things could be made, as they need to be flexible to fit tight, yet be able to be removed... But if someone could make some for a reasonable cost, I bet they would sell.
 
Affordable power steering pulley would realy be nice. Everything for these cars cost a left n#t!
 
Are they CNC controlled machines? What kind are they? if someone wants to provide me with measurements, I could make some CAD drawings if that would help. I think a full set of billet aluminum pullies would be high end. Think custom amount of underdrive on each accessory...
I was also looking at some stainless center caps that were on ebay awhile back. They were spun, as are the stock aluminum ones I have. I think, were they cut from a billet, they'd dent easily, and be really expensive to produce. Are the ones that came on Fox birds the same size as the ones from MN-12s? I have 87 XR-7's
 
The stock t-bird and xr7 centers that were all metal are steel, likely stainless. I'm pretty sure they are not aluminum. Very thin and flexible. They are retained by 3 grooved areas in the wheel center that a bent lip on the caps fits into. They are different than the fox bodies. And there is some variation in the early SC wheels vs the later SC wheels.

Tbird Sport cars also have a center cap that is slightly different in size.

I'm not sure how they could be made, i'm sure the stock ones were formed and then stamped. But it would be nice to have an aftermarket replacement.
 
I wasn't going to say anything about the Heartland power steering pulley or the tensioner pulleys but since Damon brought up I will give my opinion on buying parts from our vendors.

If you feel the parts are too expensive then contact the vendor and see what they will do if you can get 3, 5, 7 or 10 people to buy. If you would like a part and are not willing to pay what the vendor wants, then start a Group Buy within the Group Purchases / Specials forum and see who else would like that part. Just remember, the vendors want to sell parts so contact them to see what kind of discounting they will offer when multiple people purchase from them at the same time.
 
Back
Top