I guess it worked.....good for me and great for you guys once I start posting my build!!!!!

quote Originally posted by kwagner: Second question, someone with more fabrication experience than I can answer: why is it so expensive? The molds are already made, and fiberglass isn't that pricey. Or is it still recouping cost from the initial "R&D"? Where does the cost come from? Don't get me wrong, I love the widebody concept. These two things just puzzle me.

Let me answer those questions.

quote The molds are already made

Yes they are, however, someone had to spend 100's of hours of his own time making the "buck" that the molds were made off of & then taking the nolds off of the "Buck". Then they had to make at least one body out of the molds & build a car to "Prove out" those molds. Then usually, they have to go back & modify the molds to correct any problems that that come up when they "Prove out" the molds.

Or in the case of the IRM molds & in the case of the Fino & Finale molds that we have, you have to spends 10's of thousands of $$$$$ to buy the molds.

Now the money that was spend to build or buy the molds could have been put in the bank and make some interest or Return On Investment (ROI). So wouldn't you think that the guy who went thru all the costs of building or buying the molds should be able to make some kind of ROI on his investment?

quote fiberglass isn't that pricey.

This is very likely your biggect error in your statement. To make a Fiberglass part, you need Fiberglass resin, Fiberglass resin activator, Fiberglass Mat & Gel Coat. You also need Acetone, plastic gloves, mixing cups, breathing masks, rollers, wedges & a bunch of other stuff to support the fiberglass making process. You have to clean the molds, polish the molds, wax the molds between each part. You also have to repair the molds as needed. So you said "fiberglass isn't that pricey". So only taking into account, Making the fiberglass it'self, let me just give you a clue as to the costs. A 55 Gal. barrel of the good Fiberglass resin costs just a little over $1250.00 plus delivery. A roll of chopped strand mat is $2.08/lb or $220.00, The Rec'ts. I have available here don't have the Gelcoat or activator on them so I'll have to look up those numbers later. At least once a month I get a notice from the Fiberglass supplier that prices of these items have gone up another 2 or 3%.

quote Where does the cost come from?

The rest of the cost comes from labor. Pure & simple, it takes a lot of time to layup fiberglass, take the fiberglass out of the molds, Trim the parts that came out of the molds & prep the molds for the next cycle of parts. That's all labor & it takes time & expertise. Sure it would be some fun making a little fiberglass in your garage at home in your spare time. But if you had to do it 8 hours a day with no end in sight, you'd feel differently.

I hope that answers your questions.

If you still would like to know more, take a week off & come over & I'll give you some 1st hand experience making fiberglass.

Thanks

Archie

BTW, I think Gas prices are too high. I mean the oil wells are already in place, the oil pipelines are already there, the gas stations are there, why is it so expensive? I think new cars are too expensive, I mean the factories are already there, the production lines are there too, God know that all the dealers are still in place, how can it be so expensive?

I'll answer that, ROI, Labor, Materials & R&D for new products.

A

[This message has been edited by Archie (edited 03-11-2007).]