Maybe Living In The Wagon

In my brainstorming mode this morning!

Most of us here know what it takes to restore or repair our cars. Lots of people don't, AND there's lots of people doing repairs to keep the navel away from the spine, in their backyards. Right?

Then we have the green movement who wants us to buy hybrids or better MPG cars.

What we DON'T have, and which could pay very well, is a RESTO-GREEN UPGRADE operation!!!

I'll use my own car as an example, but many makes and models of cars would be good candidates.

Mine came with a Ford 302. I lucked out and got a donor with a freshly built I6 and C4 trans. Monthly, I'd save, at today's fuel prices, maybe $40 in gasoline, if I drove back and forth to work. If I UPGRADE to an I4 Turbo, I get more MPG and 195 HP, rather than the 145 HP from the old 302, or 85 HP from this I6. Cheaper to drive, more power than any of the engines available at the time, in 1979, and this would meet even California's strict emission regs.

What would the owner pay, to have his classic or older family prize vehicle roadworthy? If he has to drop $30K for a new or even decent newer car, versus UPGRADING for under $10K (rebuilt powertrain, wiring mods) and then save money on it monthly, I'd think there'd be a business there. A good one!

Then! There's some side-line income. There aren't ANY books on UPGRADING an older vehicle to be greener. There aren't many organized parts vendors to assemble DIY kits for UPGRADING. Let's call it UPGREENING YOUR CAR!

Even if you aren't a licensed mechanic, but know the Resto or Detailing process, you could act like a General Contractor and pick the best local shops and charge a fee for coordinating the job, between electrical, engine, transmission, brakes and exhaust. You could charge an upfront fee for advising the client, preparing the project proposal, and getting 'bids/estimates', and following up with the different shops.

 

Now that is a good idea!! I haven't pulled the 2.3L out of the wagon yet just in case I needed to DD the car. I average 25mpg with the 30 year old carb. I bet if I rebuilt it, it might bump it up.
I know I will be taken care of. I'm concerned, but not worried. I've been in situations like this before, and God as always kept me safe. A little faith goes a long way!!

 

I can't recall the name exactly, but Joe somebody wrote a book in the 60's about Getting Rich in Mailorder. I read that book and found a unique product, a manual stamp affixer, and sold it too our Canadian Post Office. I only made $1.00 each, but I only paid $6.00 each. Did very well with it, for a startup cost of $150, including buying the first 12 units. Since then, the post office has changed to these self-adhesive stamps. I sold the business for $50K.

Don't know if that would work today, unless it was selling an UPGREENING book!

If you watch the Special Features on your DVD movies, the great actors are passionate about their craft. That's the key! You have to love what you do AND keep your feet on the ground (be practical and pragmatic and worst of all, objective with yourself when success or failure hits.)

Reading the business cycles is like fighting greysuits and ghosts. I did once and lost huge dollars in lawyer fees, even though I won. I just walk away when I see them coming. Its the only way to beat them. No fight, no lawsuits, no losses.

When times are tough, the needs are even greater, but nobody has money. That's a fact. Amway made money in the worst of times, with US and Canadian Feds calling them a Ponzi scheme, and finding that they were both wrong. Its a famous legal precedent today. Amway argued that people needed quality products at affordable prices and a means of earning an income. They proved both aspects and won.

Today, the need for transportation is even more critical, and people are watching gas prices like hawks. If they can keep $100 per month in their wallets and help reduce emissions with the same car, its a win-win-win. You, the owner and the environment, at least! The Parts vendors and local shops too!

 

I know there is a company or two around here that retrofits electric drivetrains into older lightweight vehicles Fairmonts for example...

There are also lots of people doing bio-diesel conversions on their Benzes and trucks.

 

You may or may not have seen my post on my new kitchen sink resto. The one site is showing a good DIY solution using buffing compound and maybe 600 automotive wet/dry sandpaper. Simple, economical, effective.

Still had the search list open and found this guy (among others) who package up a bunch of 'bulk' purchased products into a handy kit. A lot of money for a handy kit. Still the same basic process, elbow grease not included, but its handy.
http://stainlesssteelscratches.com/stainless-steel-repair-homeowners-kit.html

I understand the rationale. People don't have time chasing down 5 or 6 items in small packages. They need a package that'll do the job and save them time.

What needs are there that can be solved like that? And how do you gross 50%, from which come advertising/promotion costs, call back costs, etc.?

Still brainstorming mode.

What am I passionate about? What would I really love to do and make a success of?

Believe it or not, I reject more new ideas, which usually wake me up, because I can't afford to do them all!

My backyard gate is one. No patents. You want to commericalize it? Go for it!

Most backalley gates either slide along the fence or open on hinges, swinging into the alley, especially in our snowbelt. I really thought about commercializing it, but I'm Canadian, and my fellow Canadians don't buy from Canadians. Sad, but true.

My gates open on a pivot made of a tractor clevis pin ($4.00 CDN$ each), a 1" mandrel bearing for a 1" driven shaft like a tractor PTO (power take-off) ($10 CDN$ each) bolted directly to a steel 4.5" concrete embedded post to which the side fences are bolted on. The bearing brackets are 1/4" thick channel - 4.5" inside gap X 4" deep X 6" high. The wings have 3 3/8" diam holes to bolt it to the bottom of the post. 2 bolts would do better, instead of 3. The clevis pins are welded through the inside of this brackets. The mandrel bearings bolt to the gate frame. I used old bed rail angles and bolted the fence boards to the frames (one for each 6' Wide X 6'6" High gate.) Each gate installed weighs 135 pounds, but on the pivot, you're only lifting half the weight - 63 lbs. Or you can add a manually over-ridden remote controlled gate opener (V-Belt or chain on a covered 1/3 HP electric motor and some cantilevered weights (sand or lead) on cables.

Total cost to make the gate kit: bearings, pins, frames, all welding done - $150. SRP $600. The sliding gate hardware costs over $1,200, reguires 6" X 6" treated posts buried 4' in concrete every 6 feet. 10' foot long! The gates aren't powered either. Installed, they cost about $4,000. DIY needs at least 2 guys. Mine installed and painted cost me 2 days work (mostly digging a wide apron for the concrete pour, and I did it myself ($800 with stained fence boards.) $600 was for the concrete truck and reinforcement rod. I didn't have to do that, but our frost depth is unpredictable, and I figured that if a car glanced off the steel posts, he wouldn't break anything. $200 all in. With a remote and other bits, maybe $300 in hardware and motor. How many seniors could use a gate like that?

The thing about these is that I don't have to clean off any snow to open them. They lift off the ground. You can open them, clean off any snow behind the car, and whatever the plough left overnight. The other gates can't even open without clearing their 'travel path'.

My wife almost hates it when I say "I've got an idea!" The dollar signs start rolling like a Las Vegas slot machine.

EDIT!

OR... you could kit up the bearings and clevis pins and provide a DIY instruction sheet, that would save the buyer the freight for the gate frames! Still make a good dollar. I've got pics in my gallery. All you'd have to do is get some drafting student to draw up some good drawings, and write the text.

 

I heard that gun sales are WAY up on the prospect that home invasions are on the rise because of the bad economy!

I would try that if nothing else and just sell guns out of the back of your wagon, kinda like a home delivery!

Good Luck, Clark

 

ummmm....I would be the first customer of the "wagon back fire arms store."

 

Its really a sad state of affairs when we can't even keep the cops employed full time.

 

Ain't THAT the truth, Steve!

 

And when we probably will need them the most.

 

Well, if I do have to move in with relatives, it isnt that bad. She's offered to give me the house if I let her live there till she dies (my grandmother). Trust me, it's a nice house, 5 acres, and 2 garages!!
If I can find a job there, I'd save over $800 per month, just in house payments. That alone is almost worth it.

 

I would have been on the road by now! IN has been hit hard in the job market but...hey...you could work at McD's and STILL come out ahead! 5 acres, 2garages and a free home?? I say GO for it!! Get packing, drg

 

Hard to believe that women can be so pragmatic and generous at the same time. She can face and accept death, and provide a home to family, all in the same arrangement. Impressive...

Quite a woman.

 

Hey, what kind of car does your Grandmom drive? Have you checked out to see what's in those two garages?

 

Racer: If you are in law enforcement, that would be your best bet along with trucking. Ever consider state patrol? There is an opening now for a trooper in NC (just the one I know about). Of course, they all go to the academy. County sheriff's dept.? Seems like you are in a good profession right now, just need to build onto it. Good luck! As for the wife, layoffs in the health care field are very uncommon down here.