orgnal
Member
- 285
- 4
- 18
- Location
- Denver, CO
-
Steel Soldiers now has a few new forums, read more about it at: New Munitions Forums!
Opening up my own shop, gauging intrest
- Thread starter HETvet
- Start date
That's what I heard also
jackson76550
New member
- 116
- 1
- 0
- Location
- sealy tx
If you only specialize in former military trucks i dont think it will work. General repair/ 4x4/truck accessories and military vehicles would be how i would do it. Ive been in the business for a long time and opened my own shop about a year ago. Custom work is cool... its fun.... but you can make so much more money simply hanging parts. Diagnosis and repair is where i make the money that pays the bills. Accessories and custom work doesn't generate near as much... but its often times more enjoyable.
As far as turbo kits go, id say it depends entirely on price. I did a turbo on one of my trucks and kept the th400....3l80... whatever you feel like calling it. And i think money would be much better spent on a 4l80 swap. I feel i wasted the money doing the turbo on my truck...it has more power for sure.... but not worth the money to me.
As far as turbo kits go, id say it depends entirely on price. I did a turbo on one of my trucks and kept the th400....3l80... whatever you feel like calling it. And i think money would be much better spent on a 4l80 swap. I feel i wasted the money doing the turbo on my truck...it has more power for sure.... but not worth the money to me.
HETvet
Member
- 395
- 7
- 18
- Location
- Bedford, texas
The idea is to buy trucks pre auction, get them to turn key runners, then sell/auction them off. We can and will do all your modifications as well if that’s your thing. We will also do general services as well. We’re not opposed to civi trucks (light duty to heavy duty) and other 4x4s. The problem with trying to use the civilian vehicles/general 4x4 work as the main stay of the shop is this area is absolutly over saturated with shops that do all that. This has driven margins down; average labor rate is $75-$100/hour, techs work as 1099. This has also had the effect of driving Workmanship, customer service, and quality of parts down as well. You want a good experience as a customer and quality work performed on your vehicle; your looking at paying $130-$145/hour shop rate. And those shops are struggling to stay busy and get new customers. Poor quality work, cheep parts, and bad customer service are 3 things I cannot sacrifice on a personal level. And not taking care of my guys/employees is something I refuse to do. I’ve been on both sides of this coin. And through experience I will not treat other the way I have been and see other go through.
With military vehicles, it’s a niche market and there is a preconceived notion of there being a premium due to that fact. I’ve aligned my self with contacts to keep parts as cheep as possible, other business to rebuild and refurbish parts that can be rebuilt/refurbished at very reasonable prices, and vendors that can offer great prices to me. We don’t mark up parts much over our cost. And charge an hourly rate that, again doesn’t have huge profit margins.
This isn’t for me and my business partner to get rich. It’s something to put veterans to work, especially those who have disabilities (like my self) and former/veteran first responders to work as well. My self, I served 9 years in the military. My business partner is the president of the police association and an active police officer.
A aftercooled turbo system would be a cost effective way to get more power out of the truck. If you want fuel economy and a higher cruse speed, you would be better served by a 4L80E with a lock up converter, an Allison 1000 (6speed) or 68RFE. Best of both worlds would be a 24 valve, P-pumped cummins or LBZ duramax backed by the Allison 1000, HD242AMG T-case.
With military vehicles, it’s a niche market and there is a preconceived notion of there being a premium due to that fact. I’ve aligned my self with contacts to keep parts as cheep as possible, other business to rebuild and refurbish parts that can be rebuilt/refurbished at very reasonable prices, and vendors that can offer great prices to me. We don’t mark up parts much over our cost. And charge an hourly rate that, again doesn’t have huge profit margins.
This isn’t for me and my business partner to get rich. It’s something to put veterans to work, especially those who have disabilities (like my self) and former/veteran first responders to work as well. My self, I served 9 years in the military. My business partner is the president of the police association and an active police officer.
A aftercooled turbo system would be a cost effective way to get more power out of the truck. If you want fuel economy and a higher cruse speed, you would be better served by a 4L80E with a lock up converter, an Allison 1000 (6speed) or 68RFE. Best of both worlds would be a 24 valve, P-pumped cummins or LBZ duramax backed by the Allison 1000, HD242AMG T-case.
HETvet
Member
- 395
- 7
- 18
- Location
- Bedford, texas
There are a lot of variables with considering the 4L80E from the civilian market. This starts at what year transmission you select will determine if your stock trans cooler lines and be used or not and if your trans pan will clear the cross member. Then there is the drive shafts, what module/control system you use will also determine what sensors you can use and where you can mount them; VSS and TPS are the 2 that must be integrated/added, and what method you chose to use will determine where/how they are installed.
Due to all these variables it wouldn’t be feasible to give a cheepest way possible and have the thing operate as it should.
You could get an early 4L80E with the correct out put spline count out of a 4x4 civilian vehicle; preferably one that had a 6.5 engine. Then put in a manual valve body and proper pan for the HMMWV. Buy the A1 trans crossmember/mount, and install it all. Wire up a manual torque converter lock up switch, and have you some custom drive shafts made and call it a day. Off the top of my head, this is the cheapest way.
Direct bolt in would be to get a donor truck that has everything needed and swap it all in.
jackson76550
New member
- 116
- 1
- 0
- Location
- sealy tx
follow your dreams, thats for sure but i just dont see the customer base or workload in just military vehicles. Word of mouth advertising is what keeps me beyond busy. If you treat folks right, they will spread the word and you will be slammed and stressed out like me!!! Haha. If you can get trucks pre auction and set them up with road titles i can see money in that. But its while supplies last.
Come to market with an aluminum hard top that isnt garbage, and some doors that dont use rv windows and there seems to be demand there. Id say more demand for that than turbo kits. Get a design together, have someone cut it and roll or break it to your specs.... before i do! Haha
Plenty of shops around me, but i knew i was better than them, i proved it and now i get a lot of their work. So dont be afraid of the easy money.... civi trucks, cars, tractors etc.
best of luck.
HETvet
Member
- 395
- 7
- 18
- Location
- Bedford, texas
There are companies that sell full aluminum bodies that seem to be really nice, better be for the cost! I would like to be a solution to common issues/wants. Again, I’m not opposed to routine maintenance and modification to standard civilian vehicles; I’ve done LS swaps in to Asian vehicles, hemi swaps, one tons, transfer case swaps, exc on Jeeps, built and modified Diesel engines, built 4x4s, the list goes on and on. I know how to build custom turbo, twin turbo, compound turbo systems, twin charged systems, custom hydraulic systems, repaired class 8 trucks and trailers, maintained and repaired construction equipment. We do have a resource that can buy vehicles pre auction, and we can get them documents to be road legal.
Let me say I, by no means am a business man. I’m closer to an engineer. I understand how marketing works and how important word of mouth is. We just don’t want to end up becoming a “just another shop.” We have things lining up for us. I just figured using this great forum and others as a gauge for interest and advice would be a great resource. In the end, we would like to compete with Predator INC, Rubber duck 4x4, and other big players in this space.
Action
Well-known member
- 3,576
- 1,557
- 113
- Location
- East Tennessee
Or just buy the correct military or civy H1 parts and bolt in.
HETvet
Member
- 395
- 7
- 18
- Location
- Bedford, texas
That is what I said, reference my last sentence in the post you quoted.