possibility of the Hotchkis STB being reproduced for us...
#1
possibility of the Hotchkis STB being reproduced for us...
I've been on the hunt for the Hotchkis strut tower brace (part number 2001) for a little while now with no luck so I decided to call Hotchkis headquarters to see if just maybe they had a scratch and dent one collecting dust in their warehouse. I didn't have any luck with that but I did strike up a conversation with a gentleman by the name of Rob who did say that if there was a big enough demand for the third gen style brace that Hotchkis may look into putting it back into production. Rob said that it would most likely take 25 interested people who would be willing to give a credit card over the phone to get the production started again.
So, just throwing this out there to the TGO community, how many of you would be interested in the Hotchkis STB for our cars?
I do not know the cost of it and I dont remember the cost of it back when it was being produced BUT Im willing to bet that it will be slightly more expensive than some of the simple single bar type constructed braces on the market today.
This is what it looks like on a TPI car for those that are not familiar with it. It originally came in black or red.
So, just throwing this out there to the TGO community, how many of you would be interested in the Hotchkis STB for our cars?
I do not know the cost of it and I dont remember the cost of it back when it was being produced BUT Im willing to bet that it will be slightly more expensive than some of the simple single bar type constructed braces on the market today.
This is what it looks like on a TPI car for those that are not familiar with it. It originally came in black or red.
Last edited by BOTTLEDZ28; 02-02-2016 at 03:10 PM.
#2
Supreme Member
iTrader: (15)
Re: possibility of the Hotchkis STB being reproduced for us...
Why the interest in the Hotchkis piece? It's not a three point and there are several choices of 2 points on the market. Is it just because the center has a dimple died sheet metal? You can cut out the "mounts" from a piece of 1/8' or 3/16" metal plate with a jig saw at home and have a small fab/welding shop make the center section for probably the same amount. There is probably $5 in material in the center, maybe $10 at most all together. The rest will be in labor and even for 2 hours I'd be surprised if they charged more than Hotchkis would for one. You could have something totally custom, Think about it.
#4
Supreme Member
iTrader: (15)
Re: possibility of the Hotchkis STB being reproduced for us...
I would be interested in the story about that. I thought that the design was bought by QA1 since all of the sudden one year Edelbrock stopped selling them and QA1 started selling them and they were the exact same pieces. My QA1 three point brace is a spittin image of the old Edelbrock piece. Recently QA1 has changed the design but I believe that they took a step backwards in using smaller tubing for triangulating it to the cowl. However, I'm not all that swayed (pardon the pun) that in our car with it's flimsy firewall (with it's flimsiest area being the point of attachment) a three point STB helps out more than a two point STB. If you don't believe me, the next time you are around an F-body without its engine hop in the engine bay and pull up and down on the area a three point would attach. I'm making a half assed attempt at strengthening the firewall and cowl by using an 18 gauge sheet to plate off/smooth the firewall and a 16 gauge sheet for the middle 1/2 of the cowl.
#5
Re: possibility of the Hotchkis STB being reproduced for us...
Why the interest in the Hotchkis piece? It's not a three point and there are several choices of 2 points on the market. Is it just because the center has a dimple died sheet metal? You can cut out the "mounts" from a piece of 1/8' or 3/16" metal plate with a jig saw at home and have a small fab/welding shop make the center section for probably the same amount. There is probably $5 in material in the center, maybe $10 at most all together. The rest will be in labor and even for 2 hours I'd be surprised if they charged more than Hotchkis would for one. You could have something totally custom, Think about it.
And decent powder coating shop will easily charge $100 to do something that size.
#7
Re: possibility of the Hotchkis STB being reproduced for us...
It's not cost effective to have one piece done at a time. So, to make a profit on those one off jobs, they price the job out to make a buck. If the customer decided to still go forward then the company makes money. These companies can't be bothered with these one off jobs either so they hope that by giving a high estimate, the customer will decide against it. These places want big dollar jobs. Not nickel and dime jobs.
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#8
Supreme Member
iTrader: (15)
Re: possibility of the Hotchkis STB being reproduced for us...
It's not cost effective to have one piece done at a time. So, to make a profit on those one off jobs, they price the job out to make a buck. If the customer decided to still go forward then the company makes money. These companies can't be bothered with these one off jobs either so they hope that by giving a high estimate, the customer will decide against it. These places want big dollar jobs. Not nickel and dime jobs.
Just like before I could weld I would leave a piece at a welding shop for a week and let them do it in their spare time with left over pieces from some other big job.
#9
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Join Date: Jul 2007
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Car: 86 Camaro
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Re: possibility of the Hotchkis STB being reproduced for us...
a couple of cans of the good Rustoleum spray paint will be under $10, the race car inspired krinkle coat stuff about a dollar more..
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