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KA24DESOneThree · 10-18-2023, 06:56 PM

Great points, especially the part availability/serviceability down the road.

I'm trying to take a lot of that into consideration with longer warranties and more bespoke parts stock than one might expect for a small manufacturer, and it's a large reason why the builds have to be as expensive as they are. One of the other reasons is that you have to build the mule, develop it, and beat on it. That means short production runs and the costs that go with them. You can do without building a mule and developing it if the restomods are relatively limited in scope and focus more on build quality than overall experience- but that's not the case with my current project.

My goal for any project is for the majority of the cars to be used as intended. Collision repair parts have to be available.

Restomodded vintage Japanese cars scare the hell out of me, as does my current idea. We're talking about cars that have already bottomed their depreciation curve but my ask would be 10-15x the price of a car that needs nothing.

I'd love to do TE27 Corollas, Datsun 1200s, and 510s but I don't know their owners and I don't know if there'd be a market at $200k for a build. I would need to go to more shows, get a better understanding of who likes the cars, and most importantly, drive them so I can develop a baseline of what they need. Yeah, yeah, you can take any of those and lower them over aggressive Watanabes or Minilites or SSRs and have them look good, but the purpose of a restomod is to make every single aspect look great and to take the driving experience to a higher level. I'd have to get period books and see if anyone has period pictures to create a knowledge base from which to iterate.

Hachirokus have their own issues. Emissions compliance being one, but also just trying to convince people that a six-figure Corolla GT-S build isn't insane. Also, procuring 25 straight, no-bullshit cars might actually prove problematic. Then what do you do about the engine? I don't do turbo builds, so it'd have to be an NA 4AG or 7AG as you said.

My lack of expertise getting modified engines to pass California emissions testing is something that will need to change. I know my clients will likely register the cars to their Montana LLCs, but those that don't want to do things that way will require emissions legality.

The 190E is of the same era as the race cars I'm thinking about, and some of the same issues with street usage. In order to be as low as the DTM cars, there's going to need to be some relocation of mounting points. I'd have to set something else as a dynamics and feel benchmark and get there from stock. Cosworth would have to be involved with regards to the engine IMO, and we're talking an easy six figures in development to reach adequate power goals- which makes it a more worrisome proposition.

10-18-2023, 06:56 PM	#4
KA24DESOneThree Post Whore! Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: SD County SoCal Age: 38 Posts: 2,554 Trader Rating: (2)	Great points, especially the part availability/serviceability down the road. I'm trying to take a lot of that into consideration with longer warranties and more bespoke parts stock than one might expect for a small manufacturer, and it's a large reason why the builds have to be as expensive as they are. One of the other reasons is that you have to build the mule, develop it, and beat on it. That means short production runs and the costs that go with them. You can do without building a mule and developing it if the restomods are relatively limited in scope and focus more on build quality than overall experience- but that's not the case with my current project. My goal for any project is for the majority of the cars to be used as intended. Collision repair parts have to be available. Restomodded vintage Japanese cars scare the hell out of me, as does my current idea. We're talking about cars that have already bottomed their depreciation curve but my ask would be 10-15x the price of a car that needs nothing. I'd love to do TE27 Corollas, Datsun 1200s, and 510s but I don't know their owners and I don't know if there'd be a market at $200k for a build. I would need to go to more shows, get a better understanding of who likes the cars, and most importantly, drive them so I can develop a baseline of what they need. Yeah, yeah, you can take any of those and lower them over aggressive Watanabes or Minilites or SSRs and have them look good, but the purpose of a restomod is to make every single aspect look great and to take the driving experience to a higher level. I'd have to get period books and see if anyone has period pictures to create a knowledge base from which to iterate. Hachirokus have their own issues. Emissions compliance being one, but also just trying to convince people that a six-figure Corolla GT-S build isn't insane. Also, procuring 25 straight, no-bullshit cars might actually prove problematic. Then what do you do about the engine? I don't do turbo builds, so it'd have to be an NA 4AG or 7AG as you said. My lack of expertise getting modified engines to pass California emissions testing is something that will need to change. I know my clients will likely register the cars to their Montana LLCs, but those that don't want to do things that way will require emissions legality. The 190E is of the same era as the race cars I'm thinking about, and some of the same issues with street usage. In order to be as low as the DTM cars, there's going to need to be some relocation of mounting points. I'd have to set something else as a dynamics and feel benchmark and get there from stock. Cosworth would have to be involved with regards to the engine IMO, and we're talking an easy six figures in development to reach adequate power goals- which makes it a more worrisome proposition.