Tired of paying more than I should on CNC parts.

[g8keapor]

So first off while this is somewhat of a personal business plug it is also a backdrop and a rant. So I will refrain from dropping my own business name unless there is interest.

I own a 993. I used to be a mechanic at Porsche Pitstop and later worked again under Minh when he owned Autothority/Pitstop. (RIP Minh) After working on and driving these expensive cars I got up the nerve to save my hard earned dollars and buy a 1995 C2 in cash. I'm not a millionaire but I had grown to love the 993 and decided I would give a kidney if need be to get one. Further I wanted a RWD non OBD2 one so that I could eventually convert it to be 911 GT/ GT 2 like while being able to get around emissions. Then I discovered the prices involved on the parts I needed were out of reach (all of them CNC replica's) and the car has largely become a garage queen that has sadly not had much work on it. As I got married that goal seemed further out of reach but then my wife agreed with me to purchase a CNC mill. When I say mill I mean a new 70+k 3-axis (upgrade-able) Brother Speedio s500x1 and not some mill from the ancient days of CNC or a knee mill. Not that there is anything wrong with those but I want to set a capability standard here. This is meant for a business thing but while my initial goal was to be a job shop I recently have come to the understanding after spending close to a year learning the machine that I need a product. For me failure in anything I do has never been an option. I guess I have my one time drill instructor father to thank for that. So I thought well I have this 993 sitting doing nothing that could serve as both a test bed and an inspiration for CNC parts. I plan on working mostly in aluminum but here is the thing. Once I got to making parts I noticed that it costs the same amount of money (US based or German based manufacturing cost) to make a control arm for a Honda Civic as it does a Porsche 993 ( I know here is where I piss off everyone that is making parts for these cars.) Yet we pay a premium for the car for something that could have the same quality as that part on a Civic. This got me thinking that there is a serious wrong thing here. Since I have an expensive machine I know how the figure manufacturing costs. We will call that the amount per hour charged to CNC mill a product charged to the customer. (This is the hourly rate before you figure in material costs.) I also know that outside material these companies are literally paying anywhere from pennies to a few dollars per part to have it cut out since they order more than one at a time. (The more you have produced the cheaper per unit it is normally.) So I plan to make some parts at an affordable cost. Lets be real the rich people have already bought a 991 and anything previous is ending up in the hands of those of us that can't afford to drop a mortgage price on buying a car before they gain in value once they hit near antique status. So I have to ask what sort of parts would you be interested in? Keep in mind I can't do anything that requires 5-axis so if you ask for a turbo impeller I will have to decline but I have thought about starting with control arms and working from there but this isn't set in stone. Initial runs would be just plain old aluminum but I would like to get into anodizing once I have the money for a setup. I can however currently do brushed aluminum and might roll those out later on doable parts. Not all part geometries are conducive to a nice brushed finish. So what do you think any ideas? My goal here is to overtime increase the product line so I may not make every suggestion out the box. I likely will do one at a time but I can guarantee you that every suggestion will be taken down and I don't discourage repeat suggestions since that is a great way for me to gauge what you guys want. Anyway the goal here is to make affordable 100% US manufactured parts that people can trust. I have no idea if this will get kicked since I don't see the rules sticky'd maybe I was just looking in the wrong place.... but I would like your input.

[willus]

I would like to have metal "rings" for the standard front-door speakers. The plastic setup I have now is cheap looking (although it may be aftermarket -- I haven't closely compared to other 993's).

[g8keapor]

Originally Posted by willus

I would like to have metal "rings" for the standard front-door speakers. The plastic setup I have now is cheap looking (although it may be aftermarket -- I haven't closely compared to other 993's).

noted! and thanks for the response.

***EDIT My 993 has the Harmon Kardon sound system so in the event i decide to make some I would need some dimensional info from you to cad and subsequently cam out the design for milling. ***

[willus]

No problem. If you want to try it out, I will (1) try to verify that mine are in fact stock (2) send you the existing plastic ring. My car will be off the road for a while as I try to complete some DIY engine work anyways.

[Dmitry at Pelican Parts]

If you're going to be making your own parts, send us an email and we'll take a look at them at possibly listing them in our catalog. Shoot me a PM if you're interested.


-Dmitry

[aigel]

You should try breaking up your post in a paragraph or two.

There undoubtedly is a "Porsche Tax" but that said, Honda parts are higher volume, so there is one reason they will be cheaper. If I order 10000 identical parts from a CNC house, it will be less per part than if I order 400. It also may not be worth setting up shop overseas for 400 parts vs. 10000.

Good luck with your endeavor. It is always good to have more choices on suppliers.

Thanks,

Georg

[knorrena]

If you could edit your post and create a few paragraphs out of it that would be helpful. Otherwise its tough to read.

I am no cnc guy, so I dont know if you can do this or not, but a few products that come to mind include:
- a brake reservoir cap that more easily allows folks to pressure bleed brakes and clutch. Currently what I am using is a hacked up old lid from an old reservoir
-A nice lip or collar that I could use to add oil. I cant seem to find a funnel that fits nicely.
-Some appropriately sized jack pucks.
-have a look through the parts Katalog

[DCinVA]

You might want to think about making wheel spaces. I looked at them a while back and was pretty surprised to see the cost of a simple spacer. I would think they would be simple to make, and could be marketed for all cars, not just a Porsche.
Good luck!

[cheekybird]

I know this may not apply to very many aluminum parts but any interior parts are very expensive. It's crazy how much an ashtray, a door pocket or dash knee pad costs.

[Bill turner]

I have a 91 964. I want to replace my suspension bushings, but $600 for 2 spring plate bushings is crazy. Is this something you can produce? Help!