My "custom" coolant crossover cap

Hmm....I'll have to look at that....

The valve itself is actually contained in the "core" that you screw out, right?
 
Or maybe just a simple Petcock?

134-72025.jpg
 
lol.....I know just thinking up ideas.
It would look like ass on your cap.
 
I've been looking around and it seems that installing just the valve core into something isn't the easiest or most highly-supported idea out there. The cheapest "for-real" tap (not the little 4-way tool you buy at Wal-Mart) is something like $45. That's not worth it to me. Sorry guys. I'll look into it some more, but I can't justify spending that kind of money on this.

If anyone wants to buy the tools for me, though, they could get a free cap out of the deal....
 
Wouldnt it be cool, if someone could make a coolant crossover cap adapter that could accept a garden hose, so we could easily power flush out our cooling systems? be it plastic or steel... I see the wheels turning........;):cool:
 
Heck, just 1/8 or 1/4 NPT tapped hole with a brass plug would be enough to bleed air from the system. Just back the plug out a few turns. Same deal my Buick has on the thermo housing.
 
My Latest...

Doesn't show up real well, but the top of it's polished. That's the reflection of my ceiling fan in it...

polished crossover cap.jpg
 
I stopped at a local CNC machine shop last Friday and talked to them about having these manufactured on a larger scale. I'm still waiting on the quote from them, but from their preliminary "guess"timate on costs, I'm pretty sure I'll be going through with it.

I was only able to make these from Jan/Feb of last year until about September...8 or 9 months and sold about 70 of them. Most were to Cobra owners, but the first 15 or so were to Mark VIII owners (my first, and most important audience :D ).

Based on their preliminary estimate, I should be able to offer them to my Mark VIII friends for the same price as before ($40 shipped), but I might be bumping it up another $5 on the Stang forums. It all depends on the final price.

Anyone on here that didn't get one before interested in buying one? If I get enough people, I might consider a group discount...
 
I've got 2 spoken for so far, I'm thinking I'll offer a group discount if I can get to 10. :)

I'm looking at having 100 made.
 
98lincmk7lsc said:
I've got 2 spoken for so far, I'm thinking I'll offer a group discount if I can get to 10. :)

I'm looking at having 100 made.
Click to expand...

Put me in the group. Not that I ever mess with the cap any but if and when I do, it'll be easier to deal with than the factory one. I need to drain and refresh all of my water and coolant before winter anyway.
 
Its a perfect job for a single spindle CNC Swiss style turning machine with live tooling..
 
I got the official quote in an email today, and it's about 5 times the amount that the guy originally "quoted" me for each piece. I'm going to try and stop in there today on the way home and see if I can get the price down to an acceptable level. If not, I'll be looking for a different machine shop...
 
98lincmk7lsc said:
I got the official quote in an email today, and it's about 5 times the amount that the guy originally "quoted" me for each piece. I'm going to try and stop in there today on the way home and see if I can get the price down to an acceptable level. If not, I'll be looking for a different machine shop...
Click to expand...

There goes the group discount lol
 
98lincmk7lsc said:
Yeah, seriously...

I've got some other places I can check if I need to. There's no guarantee they'll be any better though... :(

I'm crossing my fingers.
Click to expand...

Just wondering, what was a roundabout figure on the group discount? I'm still in for $40 regardless but anything higher than that for a cap, I couldn't justify spending. Like I said before, it's not something I mess with, even on a yearly basis. I have taken mine off once since I bought the car from Jamie in Jan, 2010 and that was to burp the system.
 
Not surprised, look for a small shop.

I can get it quoted here but machine rate is around $75-$150 an hour.
If you can bump up the volume the price will drop.
CNC work costs more.
Maybe change the design.... start with hex stock instead of round.
Then it becomes a screw machine part.... a brown and sharp could do it.
You might find a shop rate closer to $45/$50 a hour.
If you switch to mild steel and get it plated the price will also drop, easier to produce.

Just a few ideas from a old Machinist.
 
NoLimit95 said:
Just wondering, what was a roundabout figure on the group discount? I'm still in for $40 regardless but anything higher than that for a cap, I couldn't justify spending. Like I said before, it's not something I mess with, even on a yearly basis. I have taken mine off once since I bought the car from Jamie in Jan, 2010 and that was to burp the system.
Click to expand...

I stopped into the shop today and talked to them a little bit about some things that might lower the production times of each piece slightly, which should also lower the price. They're going to get back to me with a modified quote to see if they can drop it down a bit.

I had been hoping to be able to offer the Mark VIII forums a $30 shipped price. Unless they can get a good chunk taken out of the price, I'd actually be losing quite a bit of money...

When I originally set the price at $40 shipped, I had to take into consideration what most people would be willing to spend on such an item, while also trying to make sure I wasn't short-changing myself on the amount of labor I was putting into them. In all truthfulness, I probably should have been charging at least $60 for them with the amount of manual work for each one. I think I reached a happy medium.
 
ford nut said:
Not surprised, look for a small shop.

I can get it quoted here but machine rate is around $75-$150 an hour.
If you can bump up the volume the price will drop.
CNC work costs more.
Maybe change the design.... start with hex stock instead of round.
Then it becomes a screw machine part.... a brown and sharp could do it.
You might find a shop rate closer to $45/$50 a hour.
If you switch to mild steel and get it plated the price will also drop, easier to produce.

Just a few ideas from a old Machinist.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input!

That was a relatively small shop. I don't think they've got any more than about 10 people working there. I do believe their rate is about $75/hr though...

There's a couple other local places that I found today. I'm hoping at least one of them will be able to do it for a reasonably cheap price. I'll try stopping in to one of them tomorrow on the way home.

Changing the design is really not much of an option for me. The design is really one of the highest selling points. There was guy on the mustang forums making them out of hex stock. While functional, they looked pretty hideous. I wanted the functionality of it, but at the same time, I wanted something that I'd be proud to display smack-dab in the middle of my engine bay.

The other big selling point is the fact that it's stainless. People hear "stainless" (most notably, Cobra owners) and they just HAVE to have it. Plus, switching to steel wouldn't yield very much of a price break, and then you'd have to factor in the price of the plating...

I really do appreciate the input though man. Thanks! :)
 
if you can get the price down to the 30 or 40 you had wanted, i would probably buy one. they look really cool. machining work like that really interests me.
 
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