what makes the LT1 bracket different from something like this?
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MRG-5179/

 

The $199 kit includes a 6061-T6 billet aluminum bracket.

 

wllis, thats drivers side, im lookin for passenger side. injuneer, i couldnt really tell in some of the pics and just figured it was steel. even tho its billet aluminum, how much do you really think they have in the whole kit? cant be anywhere need 200 bucks?

 

I'm not justifying the price for the $199 kit. If you don't want aluminum, Madman Racing makes a steel bracket kit - still more than you are apparently willing to pay. I'm just pointing out that you are not going to make all the parts and include the belt for $15, and its not going to be quite the same as the more expensive kit.

People are also entitled to recover their development cost, a cost you appear to be avoiding, by simply copying their work.

 

So a guy couldn't flip it around and mount it using the holes on the pass side of the block? Just askin, I never bothered to look.

 

hmmm i guess i really didnt think about it that way. i wonder if it would work?...... and development cost. what real cost would there be to develop this? not trying to be a smart *** just saying... it must have taken maybe a day to make the first one and get it working perfectly... maybe a day... most likely not even...

 

Did the thought ever cross your mind that they need to make a profit? They aren't in the business for anything else.

 

No offense or anything, but honestly I would copy 'your' design if I were doing this. There's nothing wrong with building your own stuff; I've always encouraged it.
Your markup is too high. What do you expect in a free market where your design isn't patented. Hell if someone wanted to mass produce and sell these, If they cost too much and it's easily reproduced, anyone could just buy yours and have it copied directly by a laser cutter and undercut you on ebay and still make reasonable profit; that's just the way it is.

With the pivot bolt in the block locating the alternator, it would be very easy to copy too. With a piece of cardboard and paper to make a template, and a torch and grinder and I could make one in under an hour. Give the finished product to a laser cutter and they could probably cut you a few for $100 or so, including digitizing fee and material. Or you could just make an undersized tracer template and cut as many as you want with a plasma cutter.
I would tie the back of the alternator into the block though to eliminate any posibility of flex under load. By doing this you could also use a thinner (1/4" thick) bracket thats cheaper and easier to make.

Those 3 bolt holes do not line up with the ones on the LT1 block.

The only difference between the right and left side of the LT1 block, is that the top hole on the passenger side is ~7/8" further back.

 

Well, if you take the bull by the horns, design/manufacture your own and market it for what you think it's really worth, you'll surely make a lot of LT1 owners happy. Only in America.

 

profit? yes they need a profit. they do not need to rape people for a simple piece of aluminum.

exactly.

the first one would take an hour or so. the rest could be mass produced for next to nothing, which im sure is what these guys do. no need for the price tag is just my point

 

The ebay one looks like it's steel..?
The seller has the right to ask whatever they want, but if it's too high it's only going to encourage competition.

 

How many people are even going to need these? You don't "mass produce" an item with limited demand.

Your view is grossly over simplified.

 

mass produce to me is maybe 100 of these, after the 1st one it wouldnt take long for his machine to cut out 100. if they dont sell its not a big deal, they cost next to nothing to make.

 

You continue to ignore the fact that they are not selling just a bracket. They are selling a complete setup with fasteners, spacers and the belt..... simple, but not as simple as you seem to see it.

 

the ebay one for 115 does not include the belt. but the fasteners, 3 bolts, at $1 a peice from the hardware store. nothing special, really no stress on the bolts. spacers im not to sure on what they would cost. can be more than $15 tho... maybe im wrong idk