As far as pedigree goes I have a bachelors degree in Physics, not machinery design. I also have 18 years experience as a design engineer in multiple fields. I am now a manager, the head of the Engineering department, including fatigue, stress, structures, dynamics, hydraulics, wiring/electrical, Electromagnetic Environmental Effects (
E3), Avionics and Vehicle Managment Systems. As far as
suspension design goes, yes, I am self taught. However, I don't feel compelled to "put your mind at ease"... you do what you do and I'll do what I do: design stuff.
My fabrication skills are limited, and generally I pay for the expertise to have my parts fabricated by reputable qualified shops that specialize in whatever widget I'm working on (e.g. the
control arms were made by a company that makes
control arms for race cars, etc.).
A few years ago when Global West and TCP were just about the only choices around, I took a look at their stuff and decided for the price, I would rather design it myself. The only other R&P available was Randall's. He's a really nice guy, but again, I didn't like the way he designed parts of it, so I continued with my own. The TCP stuff also weighs a ton, providing absolutely no benefit. I've derived immense satisfaction by designing everything myself, and my goal has always been to eventually enter the market with a much more reasonable price than the competition by utilizing off the shelf parts and simpler designs. For the moment though I will be content to run with the big dogs on the track (in a similarly prepared street car). I'm not planning to quit my day job anytime soon.