'67 Deluxe/Autometer Phantom clusters -- should I produce these?

[Edbert]

Fastlane, there's nothing wrong with you making these and using Stangnet to market them, but it was bad form to post the eGay auction in this thread. This thread, while offering parts for sale, is full of tech and deserves to be in the tech section. The offending post above is NOTHING more than an advertisement and should be in the classified section. Even in the classified section it is bad form to post your ad inside someone else's ad, or even post comments about prices being too high.

==== back to clusters ====

I drooled over the JME units back in 1999 when I first saw them. They seemed exhorbitantly priced back then so I made my own. I posted full details of how I did it here. Many folks have copied my method, many folks have improved upon it. SN-tech is all about sharing information and helping each other out.

No offense to anyone here but...why buy a cluster when you can make your own? What I mean is if you are swimming in cash and don't have the time or inclination to DIY then just go down to Sanderson and buy a finished car for $200K. Most of the folks here appreciate the DIY approach, when (if...LOL) I ever finish my project I'll have the pleasure of saying I did EVERYTHING (except blueprint the crank and ring&pinion) myself.

 

[Rusty67]

I got in on this thread late, but participated in similar ones on other forums. I asked several questions here but never got any answered. On other forums I posted similar questions and usually got good answers. My only “agenda” by returning to this thread was to provide the community one quality alternative to your high priced product. If I really wanted to “plug” my auction don’t you think I would have posted on the first day it was listed, not the last?

I don't usual say this kind of stuff but....

You are a NEWB.

You are going to sit there and post about asking several questions when you only have 10 posts ? Three or 4 of those posts are in this thread alone. How many unanswered questions could you posibly have had with 6 or 7 total posts.

I have posted stuff here and not recieved a reply. Just because you didn't get a reply doesn't mean your question wasn't answered. Its called the search button.

Also, don't talk smak about his product costing more when it is better. Powder coating isn't cheap so its going to cost more. Cheaper does NOT mean better. The quality that he puts out is top notch. If you want to compair your products don't ever compair them on quality. You loose every time.

 

[reenmachine]

No offense to anyone here but...why buy a cluster when you can make your own? What I mean is if you are swimming in cash and don't have the time or inclination to DIY then just go down to Sanderson and buy a finished car for $200K. Most of the folks here appreciate the DIY approach, when (if...LOL) I ever finish my project I'll have the pleasure of saying I did EVERYTHING (except blueprint the crank and ring&pinion) myself.

Exactly. The forums aren't really a place to sell anyways. I've sold very few clusters and very little other stuff to forum people. Forum people are the DIY types and can always find a way to get something cheaper. That's not an insult, it's meant as a compliment. That's why I don't mind posting tech info about how I do stuff on here -- I'm not losing sales because most of the people on here don't want to pay someone else to do the "fun" stuff for them!

I have other stuff for sale, including some lighting upgrade kits, that I didn't even mention here when I came out with them. I know pretty much anyone who frequents the SN forums can root around on the internet and find stuff cheaper than I can afford to sell it. My target demographic is the person who doesn't have the time, desire, or resources to do that research and is willing to pay a bit of a premium for the benefit of my time and knowledge. I think most people here understand that and that's why they typically don't bust my balls (or those of the other professionals on here) because our prices are sometimes higher. After all, all we have to sell is our knowledge. You can get parts anywhere.

 

[scouttrooper]

Good for you!

I think of ideas every day and never have the balls to act on any of them. I imagine all the reasons things won't work or wouldn't sell and talk myself right out of acting on good ideas. I love supporting the man who acts on a good idea. I just paid more for my cluster buying it directly from JME than I could have at one of their outlets because I thought the man building the things should have the $$$. Free market, competition, serving your clients,; you've got it right. I would have bought mine from you based on the turn-around time alone. I wish you the best and hope you continue with your string of successes. Right on.

 

[mustangman70]

So reen.


What do you think about the 69-70 clusters?

Will you maybe be tackling this int he future?

 

[reenmachine]

So reen.


What do you think about the 69-70 clusters?

Will you maybe be tackling this int he future?

Dunno. I've been turning away lots of 67-68 cluster business as it is. I'm just buried building cars right now. When the time comes in a couple months when I'm not building 3 cars simultaneously we'll see.

 

[mustangman70]

True....I know this much. that for 1000+ bucks, JME can eat my ass

 

[bad68coupe]

Well with all that aside, reen, where do you get those cardboard tubes with the rubber ends for the lights in the cluster? Thanks

 

[Rusty67]

I think NPD sells them no ?

 

[reenmachine]

Well with all that aside, reen, where do you get those cardboard tubes with the rubber ends for the lights in the cluster? Thanks

I haven't seen them reproduced, but I haven't looked that hard. I have a mountain of old clusters, so there were plenty of nice used ones to harvest.