Group Buy: OEM Replacement Rod Bolts for 2.0L 924/931

[ideola]

For anyone here on with a 1976-85 early 924/931 2.0L, please take note:

To make a long story short, the stock rods for the 2.0L platform have a completely unique rod bolt that is not reusable. There are NO available aftermarket alternatives. Believe me, we have searched worldwide. I've been working with ARP and have commissioned a OEM replacement. We have 12 verbal commits so far over on 924board.org, which puts us in the best price break. I've offered this up to a couple of Porsche performance resellers, one here in the US, one in the UK and one in Australia. So far, no takers. What that means is that these bolts will only be available in the future if another group buy can be organized.

SPECIFICATIONS

• M10x1.0 Porsche Rod Bolt
• As per sample
• ARP2000 material, 220 ksi
• Lead time: 8 weeks (from approval of order)

According to the specialty products guy at ARP, a previous quote from 2006 that never came to fruition was based on ARP's most common material, called 8740. Because there are several of us working on high output builds, I discussed with him the desire to have something that would be suitable for stock as well as high output builds, perhaps at 400BHP, which seems to be near the upper limit of these blocks. After going over the specs and dimensions of the stock rod, and evaluating the stock rod I sent to him, he found one possible candidate from an early 911 variant that he thought might be directly swappable. However, he later determined that it was not suitable, so we would need to commission a new OEM replacement piece, and that we should go with the higher grade ARP2000 material.

PRICING
The price per piece for this quote is slightly higher than the quotation from 2006. I can only presume that the increase is due to higher grade material and possibly inflation (particularly relative to steel prices). Here is the pricing:

• 80 pieces or more: $209.84 per set ($26.23 per piece)
• 40 piece minimum: $324.88 per set ($40.61 per piece)

Note: This does not include shipping.

PARTICIPATION
In order to participate, we will need funding up front. I will use the PayPal account associated with my side business "Ideola New Media" to coordinate. This will include collecting the incoming payments, disbursements to ARP, drop shipment from the facctory to Michigan, and outbound shipments from Michigan to each participant. Here is what I am proposing as the process:

• Ideola will issue paypal invoices to each of the participants that verbally commit in this thread.
• The invoice will be for the full amount of the total number of pieces ordered based on the 80 pieces price break
• Participants will remit payment via PayPal or certified funds to Ideola by 07 Nov 2009 (that is two weeks out)
• Ideola will approve the order with ARP for the appropriate quantity of pieces based on payments received by 07 Nov.
• If at least 10 sets are paid for by 07 Nov, Ideola will approve the order and remit a lump sum payment to ARP.
• If less than 10 sets are paid for by 07 Nov, Ideola will discuss the options with paid participants (i.e., extend the deadline for payment, proceed at the higher price point, or cancel the group buy and refund payments).
• Ideola will front the shipment cost from the factory to Michigan.
• Upon receipt of the completed order, Ideola will issue firm shipping quotes via PayPal invoices to the participants. The shipping cost will be determined by dividing the factory shipment costs by the total number of participants, and adding each participant's shipping fees from Michigan to their locale.
• Upon receipt of shipping payments, Ideola will ship the orders to each participant using the least expensive shipping method that provides tracking, delivery confirmation, and insurance.

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS
At last count we had 12 commits. As of now, it looks like we have enough participation from 924board forum members to get the lower piece price, assuming the people who verbally committed come through with funds. Here is the list as of last count:

Originally Posted by ideola

ideola: 1
peterld: 4
924RACR: 1
huckster: 1
924guy: 1
Fifty50Plus: 1
924idiot: 3

Total confirms: 12

Unconfirmed interest:
tuurbo, Rasta Monsta, alexvex

Now is the time, folks. Post your interest. Also, if there are any questions or suggestions as to the group buy process, I am open to feedback.

[ideola]

Updated count:

• ideola: 1 paid
• peterld: 4 check's in the mail (so to speak)
• 924RACR: 1 paid
• huckster: 1 paid
• 924guy: 1 check's in the mail (so to speak)
• Fifty50Plus: 1 paid
• 924idiot: 3
• pcelenta: 1 check's in the mail (so to speak)

Total confirms: 13
Total paid: 4