Westy1994
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| posted on 4/4/13 at 04:48 PM |
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Classic car and Kitcar electronics.( retro-fit)
As some of you will know following some recent threads and PM's, I am thinking of setting up in-conjunction with a mate of mine. I have been out
of work for some time, and if you have tried to get a job recently , you will know how hard it is - so instead of sitting at home moaning about it
here is my plan....
A life long friend has been building electronics for cars for years ( 30+) and when I was racing I used many of them to help him with the R & D,
with much success. They are all to military aircraft standard ( since that's his job) and are perfectly suited for retro fitting to all
Classic cars and of course 'our' cars. Due to his work commitments he is unable to give this venture 100% of his time, which is where I
come in. He had a website some years ago and did not have the time to forefill the demand and enquiries that it generated, this would be re-started
and run my me.
Being from an electronics background myself, I can build the stuff and help support folks who may want it.
The current range is small but stuff can be built on a one-off basis ( as he has done with me) .
Stuff available as at the present time :-
Programmable 3D ECU - Mainly for use on classic cars / replaces the cars Dizzy.
Programmable Fan / Water pump controller - can be used with just a fan or water pump or both together - No more
overheating on classics
Programmable Shift lights
Points assisted electronic Ignition
Prices are be competitive, with I am sure a discount for LCB members, I would have course have to apply for Trader status, but before I do all this I
need some feedback to see if this is in fact a viable business, I am not going to sink what little cash I have on a project that is destined to fail,
naturally.
So what do think folks.....?
Feedback required please.
Regards.
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loggyboy
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| posted on 4/4/13 at 04:51 PM |
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Indicator control module?
(for push button hazard/indicator, lane change, self cancel etc)
Mistral Motorsport
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Westy1994
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| posted on 4/4/13 at 05:02 PM |
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Yes, oddly he is working on one for me at the moment, are you a mind reader...
But yes anything ( within reason) can be designed, the issue is he is pretty busy so one-off stuff may take a while, the devices above all currently
exist and I am using most of them already.
As you have posted a possible saleable unit already, is there anything that folks want made that either does not exist or perhaps needs building to a
spec?
It's just the concept I want to check on, if folks think they may want such stuff, then I am prepared to go for it, if no one posts , I wont
bother with it as I cant afford the outlay to see it fail.
[Edited on 4/4/13 by Westy1994]
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macc man
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| posted on 4/4/13 at 08:52 PM |
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Apart from designing specialist parts, there would appear to be a demand for help with installing looms and wiring problems. I would imagine many kit
builders would be willing to pay for such a service. Many find vehicle electrics difficult to fathom out.
If you become too specialist you may limit your potential market.
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Not Anumber
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| posted on 19/4/13 at 08:31 AM |
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You will have cracked it if you can produce a 3D mapable electronic ignition system that can be a viable alternative to the usual megajolt and Ford
Edis module combination. Something that can be scaled for 4 ,6 and 8 cylinder cars with switchable 3D maps, works out slightly cheaper but is just as
reliable and even easier to use.
If you can build this get it straight out there with a couple of members of the racing fraternity, if its that good they will sing your praises and
you could
soon be selling units faster than you can make them.
Though it's exciting to have a whole range of kit and indeed a testament to your abilities there is a risk that any business built on product
development can run out of steam due to lack of cashflow and being stretched too thin and ending up disheartenned with a multitude of almost finished
products and few orders.
I wouldnt want to disaude you from any part of what you are good at though in my experience as a project manager I'd advise concentrating a
clear 60% of your time now on getting one killer product launched and fully supported. Yes, always plan for add ons and ways of linking in other
products that you already have part developed- but these must only take a proportion of your time becauseyou can park these and pick them up for full
development later when the time is available.
Having to focus on less sexy aspects of a product such as perfecting a set of installation and user instructions, tweaking the user interface so
it's simple to use, writing up support FAQs, comparing with rival products- none of it isvery interesting when there are more interesting things
such as new designs to be worked on but ultimately thats what tends to make a business work.
[Edited on 19/4/2013 by Not Anumber]
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Westy1994
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| posted on 19/4/13 at 04:42 PM |
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Yes I'm well aware of the demands and is the reason my mate was unable to cope single handed before, since then things have changed and as such
I can offer the business far more time than he could ever have wished to give it. We are working on the website at the moment, just getting stuff
sorted out really.
I have been largely disappointed at the response to this thread, perhaps I should have known it would be harder than I had imagined. As well as those
folks who were condemning people who were unfortunate enough to have to live off benefits alone, lack of support.
This is not a 'pie in the sky' operation, these products work, and have done for nigh on 20 years, the issue has been the time needed to
spend dealing with orders and customers, something which I intend to sort out.
As soon as websites are set up and running , I will post the info here.
As well as this project I have set up a forum , for those that are interested about stopping unwanted phone calls - that is one of my pet hates - link
below.
[Edited on 19/4/13 by Westy1994]
http://stopjunkcalls.org.uk/forum
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Not Anumber
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| posted on 31/5/13 at 03:26 PM |
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Its all gone quiet. How are you getting on with developing those products ?
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theduck
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| posted on 31/5/13 at 04:04 PM |
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Would be interested in more details. Certainly sounds interesting.
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