Hey guys I just wanted to throw this out there and see what kind of feedback I get. I have the opportunity to reproduce a body. I know most of the more desirable stuff is already being done like model A's and 32's. I can't seem to find anyone re popping steel ford T body's. I'm thinking about doing a 27 T roadster. Is there a market for a 27 roadster? Iv even given thought of doing a steel bantam body. Throw me your ideas or thoughts on this. Maybe we can come up with something cool. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
The way 26-27 T's are taking off at the moment I think there will be a good demand for them and also single items like doors and deck lids. Price will play a large part. JW
Go for it! Did you find a pot of gold? The turtle decks alone would be worth reproducing. Bodies are still pretty cheap in these parts.
Personally, I think the cost will be the biggest factor. If its too high, many will still opt for finding a relatively common original or go glass on the Ts. As for Bantams, they have a good following, but I doubt you would sell enough to recoupe stamping costs.
Depending on cost... As said-- all doors, deck lids & turtle decks would sell well. Good originals are like gold already. And with the coupe doors fitting 28/29 A trucks..... There is a market.
It would only be worthwhile if the parts were dead on replacements for the originals. That said, I really think the startup cost would be huge, and it would take years to recover your investment. Bob
To add to what's above, As far as I can tell, nobody repops the subrails for T's. If they're rotten like mine are, you gotta try to find them in a yard (which I haven't been able to do) or design and fabricate something that will work (which I'm going to do). Another damage point I've observed on touring/roadster cowls is the dash rail on the cowl, particularly on the sides near the windshield and doors. Again, nobody makes a repair panel for this. I would totally buy one. The lower cowl supports would be a good candidate as well. I haven't found any, mine are eaten up, and it's another thing I'm going to redesign and change. I'm channeling so I need to anyway, but the resto and highboy builds would benefit. These would all be smaller parts which might work out to more manageable startup costs.
Hey guys great feedback. I know tooling will be high. It's gonna take 1/2 million dollars just for tooling. I know it's a big investment. I was thinking of selling them at 5-7k now I don't know if that's possible. I will be doing more R&D work. I have the opportunity to do it. I would to produce a old/new body Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
For whole bodies, you've got stiff competition from good or restorable, original steel bodies, which are still relatively cheap, and fiberglass bodies going for $1000-$3000. Then there's the Shadow Rods XL27 to contend with for new steel bodies. It's not a reproduction though. I think if you start smaller and focus on repair panels that nobody is making, you'll have a greater chance to grow a business out of it. You might be able to make dies out of MDF on a CNC machine and press out a small test run. In addition to the dash rail I mentioned, it occurred to me that the whole cowl top might just as well be stamped along with it. I see lots of dents on them and a panel with the vent filled would be a nice time saver for guys using dinged up cowls.
There is an oldtimer here in sweden that repreduces model T bodies. I don't think its a big buissnes but his craftsmanship is what I understand really god. I beleve he delivered a bunch of bodies to ford when they had their 100 year university. I think i makes mostly up to 1925 models tho. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
I doubt you'd sell many repop bodies at 7K, I've seen complete original older restorations sell for that, and then you get a whole car with a title and all the other parts. But I do think replacement panels would sell, especially complete turtle decks. I ended up buying a 22-25 deck for my '26 and cutting it up to fit better, since I couldn't locate a 26-27 unit. Howells already makes the trunk lids, but I hear they're slow, and I don't think anyone makes the quarter panels, which are the hardest part to find in good shape. Personally, if I had some financial backing and the opportunity to repop something in sheetmetal, I'd make 49-50 Mercury grille shells. They're pricey, super hard to find in good shape, most of the guys with '51 models want one, and it's not just Mercury guys who want them, they're used in a lot of other custom cars. It's a fairly complex piece, but it's only one single panel and I bet you could sell thousands of them for $400 each.
Like others have said. Start off making 26-7 roadster deck lids, then subrails, then rear quarter panels, then tulip panels, then doors, then the tub sides. If all that sells and yo ustill have some money left, you can move onto the cowl and all the other stuff required to make it a complete body.
interesting subject...a lot of folk like em...not many will pay what you would need in my experience. A lot will opt for a 32 if the price is comparable.More room in them,better resale ,etc. I been down this road somewhat...see my avatar. pics on my profile
Not meaning to be an ass, so dont view it as such, but $5k-$7k, I personally dont think you will sell many, if any. If I was looking at stamping, I think things like deck lids, doors for 26/27 T coupes, doors for 32-34 trucks, would sell really well.
I am currently building out a steel 1938 Bantam roadster body and replacing the original wood - you did know there is wood in the bodies, right? - in the door jams and doors with steel. I know that wood kits are made by a member of the Bantam club, but I would rather build it out in steel. I'm a little uncomfortable with door hinges being held to the jam with 4 wood screws in the event of an accident. While people have expressed some mild interest in the body over the years, but no one was ever beating down my door for it like it was a '32 roadster. I would be concerned that there may not be a large market at the price point you would likely be at for new stamping. Bantam
Shadow Rods in Michigan is/was making 27 roadster bodys to fit 32 frames. I think the doors were longer and maybe some other differences, but they were steel.
Honestly, they would sell at half the price ($2500), which is about twice the price of buying an original. I agree with the suggestion to start with the the parts that are most-needed, then add more body parts to your production line as income increases. Finally, you might consider selling the body in kit form to save yourself time and production costs.
I guess I don't understand this business. 1/2 million for tooling sounds like a pretty decent setup for high production levels. MDF and a few floor jacks sounds crude, but cost would be - what? - a couple of thousand. There seems to be a lot of room in between for a production scheme that is faster/better than MDF and floor jacks, and a half million dollar setup. If you could set up tooling for, say, a hundred grand you could sell at a price low enough to still turn a decent margin. But, I don't know this business.
If selling them for 5k is out of the question then making a whole body is a waste of my time due to the cost to make them. I would loose money. But body parts may be an option. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
I only brought this topic up because my business partner is giving me the opportunity to make a complete body. I will keep working at this and will keep you guys posted Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
^^^^ Yep! Interesting thread. I don't know what a "half million dollars" will buy these days, but not a lot. And it would take several stampings to make a body. Turtle decks are almost nonexistent & coupe doors & deck lids are 600 for good ones---so $2500 is CHEAP. The original tall T bodys are fairly cheap too. Its the doors,etc that get pricey. Guessin the 27 roadster would be the complete body to go for.-- They are rare around here. A HUGE Fukin press or 4......a building and start expenses....thinkin waaay over a half mil...... But one Purdy hefty press & a pole barn......MDF dies then cnc cut steel dies......what? 6 stampings just for the turtle deck................lots of pieces...... But I'd buy if ---the price is right
I think it's a great idea but nice original roadster bodies are out there for a third of that. I picked up my roadster tub for less than a grand...just needs a little tlc in the 'bun' panels;
Are you planning on steel dies? Might look into kirksite at the volumes you'll be running. Kirksite with steel inserts is another option. Get your form dies and a 5 axis laser and you can eliminate trim dies and do all your trim on the laser. Do you have a background in the stamping industry, I'd be happy to discuss.
You owe it to yourself and your business partner to perform a proper business case analysis. As awesome as all of us are on this forum, that is not the way to make a business decision. Properly evaluate the market, competition (alternatives), capital and operating costs, financing, R&D, etc. etc. Anything else is a shot in the dark.
If I could get a body for 5k that I could basically paint right away I would be all over it. But as others have said panels are where you will have the most success. Tooling up to reproduce all the panels like what Brookville, SAR, United Pacific do people will be able to repair their original bodies and you could still offer bodies at 4-5k which could be viable. Start with turtle deck & bun panels.
I would say yes, that would be a good fit. The rear bussel is very hard to find you could make a bunch on them alone. When we did our 27 race car we had to buy several pieces and make some to get the complete unit. So I would say go for it.--TV
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