Russ Thompson turn signal

[Rian_Colorado]

Anyone know if TJ is still doing these? I've reached out a number of ways and a number of times, and never heard back....

Anyone have one that they aren't going to use?

Anyone know what part Russ was using to create them? I'm pretty sure it was a VW part, just not sure what?

Any help greatly appreciated

Thanks!
Rian

[TXeverydayDad]

I never got a response from TJ for more than 6 months, even with several follow-ups. I went with Frank’s (i.e.427) turn signal instead.

[danmas]

I have one from Frank as well. You can pop over to take a look at it if you like.

[Blitzboy54]

TJ has gone the way of finish line. Really too bad, Russ was a beloved member of this community. TJ is the opposite with his unprofessional behavior. Maybe he bit off more than he could chew but to just ignore everyone is a terrible business strategy. I hope he sells off that part of the business to someone else. My guess is he won’t.

Fortunately Frank stepped up, I have one of his units in route.

[i.e.427]

I have one of his units in route.

You do Jesse. Last I checked you should see it on Thursday.

Thank you all for the shout out!

Frank

[StangRacer]

Another vote for Frank's turn signal. I just sent my steering hub to him for machining...

[Mountain-Metalworks]

TJ has gone the way of finish line. Really too bad, Russ was a beloved member of this community. TJ is the opposite with his unprofessional behavior. Maybe he bit off more than he could chew but to just ignore everyone is a terrible business strategy. I hope he sells off that part of the business to someone else. My guess is he won’t.

Hey group,
I don't get out here often enough, but it seems I'm usually apologizing for such horrible communication about the parts we are making. And here I am again....

Unlike some others like Finish Line, our FFR parts are 100% a passion project, a side effort while running a fabrication business instead of this being THE business. I didn't bite off more than I could chew from a technical or manufacturing perspective, but I did wholly underestimate the ability to make it financially tenable at Russ' prices. He was doing it in retirement for fun, we wanted to take it on as fill-in work while still making a little bit of money. The tedious nature and extremely high-standards we have makes it a losing proposition at $365 unfortunately. We've made many dozens(just short of 100) of the turn signals and I'm confident that the recipients are extremely pleased with the quality that is (respectfully) even better than what Russ was able to produce based on higher quality tooling.

But to BlitzBoy's point, Yes our communication continues to be horrible. An unfortunate part of building parts at a loss simply because we love these cars. As for "selling off" that part of the business, there really isn't anything tangible to sell so I'm not sure how to respond. As mentioned, Frank has stepped in to offer a solution that he can build/sell with his other work at a price that makes sense for him. I have even sent some people to Frank that needed a signal ASAP and were OK with the differences in how that system looks/functions/attaches compared to the RT version. There are other systems from Dakota, etc... as well, again simply different on how they function and attach to the cars.

We will continue to make these signals at the high quality they are being delivered. As always, we NEVER request or accept money from anyone until a unit is actually shipping(literally the next day). We will continue trying to communicate better with potential customers(we've set a awfully low bar....), and we are working on ways to improve our ability to make them faster(i.e: actually profitable).

If there was a market for these units at a higher price point, say ~$450, it would be a different situation. We would be able to allocate more resources, more communication, and more time to the effort and make this an "actual" side business instead of a passion project. So for Blitz and others, what is the price point to get immediate feedback, great communication, and the same high quality(which we won't downgrade for a cheaper cost)? I'm being 100% honest here. Starting here in Dec/early Jan, I could dedicate more resources to achieve a different outcome, but it comes with a cost.
What is the cost that this community feels is acceptable?

Apologizing as always for our poor communication,
-TJ


Pic from our current batch which is 95% complete as of this past Friday.
IMG_6057.jpg

[cv2065]

Another one for Frank.

[Papa]

If there was a market for these units at a higher price point, say ~$450, it would be a different situation. We would be able to allocate more resources, more communication, and more time to the effort and make this an "actual" side business instead of a passion project. So for Blitz and others, what is the price point to get immediate feedback, great communication, and the same high quality(which we won't downgrade for a cheaper cost)? I'm being 100% honest here. Starting here in Dec/early Jan, I could dedicate more resources to achieve a different outcome, but it comes with a cost.
What is the cost that this community feels is acceptable?

I wasn't going to jump into this discussion until I saw this response. This isn't how you win over your target market. These are a very niche products sold to a very small market. If it were my business, I'd be pricing the product at a point that I wasn't loosing money and still making a bit of profit (~3-5%). If the price is too high, you'll know soon enough. Providing inferior service because there isn't enough profit in it tells me that you probably should just stop and cut your losses as reputation is very important to this community.

[JimStone]

Trying to figure out this turn signal thing has been the most stressful of any part on the car. So would I pay a higher amount simply to get this done and over? Yes.

But would I pay a premium for the simple courtesy of having my email returned?

Uh, no

[PNWTim]

What's interesting about all of this is I never knew the original price so he could've sold it to me for virtually any number I deemed reasonable and I wouldn't have batted an eye. Handmade and engineered products are expensive but if the price point is simply too high, demand will go down and that will be that. I would have much preferred he came out of the gate and said "our new price is X and our delivery window is 3 weeks" rather than the full ghosting. I didn't receive a single response to any of my inquiries. Curious which customers are receiving the dozen he pictured, certainly not me.

I am sure Frank's offering is a quality unit, I just can't get past the stalk and the bulkiness of it. Maybe someone can do a side by side comparison of the units but I have always felt the RT unit was more elegant.

[StangRacer]

You can change the stalk on Frank's turn signal...

https://www.bing.com/videos/rivervie...FC95&FORM=VIRE

[Blitzboy54]

What's interesting about all of this is I never knew the original price so he could've sold it to me for virtually any number I deemed reasonable and I wouldn't have batted an eye. Handmade and engineered products are expensive but if the price point is simply too high, demand will go down and that will be that. I would have much preferred he came out of the gate and said "our new price is X and our delivery window is 3 weeks" rather than the full ghosting. I didn't receive a single response to any of my inquiries. Curious which customers are receiving the dozen he pictured, certainly not me.

I am sure Frank's offering is a quality unit, I just can't get past the stalk and the bulkiness of it. Maybe someone can do a side by side comparison of the units but I have always felt the RT unit was more elegant.

Depends on what your looking for. The stalk is changeable but for me Franks setup is preferable because the style of my build.

[PNWTim]

Good to know, thanks guys. I will dig a little deeper.

[i.e.427]

I am sure Frank's offering is a quality unit, I just can't get past the stalk and the bulkiness of it. Maybe someone can do a side by side comparison of the units but I have always felt the RT unit was more elegant.

There is little that I am going to do to change preconceived impressions of our product. However, you do realize that our machined hub is smaller in diameter and almost a full 1/2" less in thickness? If the handle on the end bothers you, it can easily be changed out with a $12 Mustang handle from ebay. I guess it's a love it or hate it thing, and that's OK.

Frank

[PNWTim]

There is little that I am going to do to change preconceived impressions of our product. However, you do realize that our machined hub is smaller in diameter and almost a full 1/2" less in thickness? If the handle on the end bothers you, it can easily be changed out with a $12 Mustang handle from ebay. I guess it's a love it or hate it thing, and that's OK.

Frank

Frank - really appreciate you ringing in. I don't really have any preconceived impressions just those from pictures. I did not realize it's smaller in both dimensions which is really valuable information. I will confess, I do not care for the stalk but if it's that easy to change that's a game changer for me. Thanks again.

[danmas]

You can change the stalk on Frank's turn signal...

https://www.bing.com/videos/rivervie...FC95&FORM=VIRE

How cool is it that the manufacturer of a product takes time to teach you how to modify it? That’s the way you win your target market.

[PNWTim]

I just watched all of Frank's videos and frankly (ok some pun intended) I am very impressed. I think I initially got hung up on a couple of meaningless details which have since been dispelled. I can't imagine any reason for any of us to subject ourselves to a vendor who won't respond, doesn't apparently care and wishes they were doing something else.