Boy the Chrysler boys don't really know how good they have it in the aftermarket scene.........Yet another option for them. Hoping this means ours is CLOSE!!!!!!!!???????? :ball: :af: Draw your own conclusion uzzled: http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=2163430&an=0&page=0#2163430
It's all about supply and demand. The more you make of something the cheaper it gets. Bulldog will sell WAY more Mopar blocks then they will Buick, so they can offset the price. I'd be willing to bet that Bulldog will not make much of a profit (if any) on the Buick blocks, but fortunatly for us, that loss can be absorbed into the profits that Dick makes on all the other heads and blocks he sells.
I think everyone will be suprized at how many blocks will sell once they are out there in the market. I know I want one eventually. The more full race parts are readily available the more people will want to build Buicks.
....Ditto I have the $$$ and the desire, just not the immediate need to be on the bleeding edge. Mine woudn't be a Max effort, 1/4 mile only deal either
If I had given Dick Bradshaw a $2000 deposit for a Buick Block and then saw this thread I would be going and getting my $$$$$ back from him. Then I would tell him..... When you complete the Buick Block you will get my money back!!!! Simple math here..... $2000 x20 deposits... = $40000. Now I know there are several blocks totally paid for. So right now Dick is sitting on about $50000 to $60000 of the Buick communities hard earned $$$$. Because NO ONE is demanding that he finish this project he has put off the completion of the Buick block and did other projects like.... Buick cylinder head, Olds cylinder head, Cadilac cylinder head and Intake, Chrysler cylinder head and NOW A CHRYSLER BLOCK??? And from what I hear he cant deliver any of these products to his distributers. The only way for you guys to get him to finish this block is to DEMAND your deposits back. When the project is completed he will get the $$$$$ back. When I talked to the people at Kaufman Racing about the Pontiac MR-1 block, I asked thenm how long did it take from inception to completion. They said about 1 year. Remember... if Dick goes bankrupt.... ALL $$$$ is gone! Very interesting
I agree 100% with Johns comments. Very well said. I haven't put a deposit down for exactly those reasons, but have been planning to purchase one if and when they ever hit the public market. Just my $0.02. (Not $2000) The saga continues...
Castings We had raw castings. How long ago was it now??? BUT If Mopar guys get there blocks shipped before ours,,,,,,,,,,Ohh ITS ON! ! ! ! ! :af: I'll be damned if I let my money pay to build somebody elses blocks!
just curious I thought Dick had been working on the Mopar block from back when he did work for Indy Cylinder Heads....... I'm betting you all are jumping the gun here on this fine holiday weekend! :beer Even so we know there have been several castings made for our blocks, this stuff takes time... I realize thats easy to say when I'm not one of the people with a deposit sitting in someone else's bank account. It's been about 4 months ago but I thought I saw a mock up of a mopar block in Dicks shop when I stopped in there back in August. Cross bolt mains if I remember right... maybe just my imagination. Maybe one of you level headed types that has some money on a new block should just give him a call next week and give the board an update.... happy turkey day! :grin:
i dont have money down on a block , but i have to say that the time it is taking to get this done is crazy ...mike
I don't understand what the big deal is. I'm pretty sure Buick blocks or heads were not the 1st product Bulldog did. I think the Caddy or Olds heads were. Also, there has been a picture of the raw casting Mopar block on Bulldog's main page since last Spring, so this shouldn't be a big suprise to anyone.
I'm not one of the people getting a block, so my opinion probably doesn't matter, but the deposits are to ensure the blocks are sold and the guy isn't sitting on inventory that never moves. They are security deposits. I doubt the deposits are enough to actually get the ball rolling from a materials and manpower point of view. Now, this isn't neccessarily what is happening, but, using money from one project to finance another is how a lot of business works. Otherwise, full payment would be required up-front before anything happened. Chances are that money from other projects is funding the Buick block project until it starts bringing in it's own money. If it does, the project will continue, and will be priced according to demand. I can't really offer an opinion on time frames, though.
Truzi, I agree somewhat with your statement.... But.... these guys were promised delivery over and over again and they havn't seen anything. If it was originally stated that it would take 3 years to complete this project then a 3 year wait could be expected. As for the cost.... This is ONLY hear say... But ....the guys at KRE have told me that it cost them well under 100K to do the Pontiac block. I dont know how much of the project was done in house versus how much they had to pay others to do. These variables could vary the cost greatly. I was one of the guys who was really happy to see the Buick block project begin. I had heard enough about Dick Bradshaw to believe he could do this project and do it well. I still believe he will get the project done... someday. But if these guys dont push him a bit to get it done then he will take his goooooood oooollllllld time. The only way to push him is financially. But when pushing him financially then you take a risk if him saying.. screwit... and going belly up. Later
Ok, before this thing gets way out of hand, let me say this. I just talked with Dick Bradshaw at 6 pm my time saturday evening. Is he doing a mopar block? Yes. Will it hit the market before the Buick? No! Has there been some prototype castings poured of the Mopar block? yes. Is the first run of Buick blocks going to even come close to paying the expenses to do it? Not even close. It is estimated it will take about 70 to 80 blocks to reach the break even point. Do I think that will happen? I think eventually, but it will probably take 3 to 4 runs. The Buick block will start being shipped in dec, should be early. After the Buick blocks are done, mopar blocks will start nearing production status, but they are not at that point as of yet. After the 1st run of buick blocks are done, There will most likely not be a second run till after the mopar production is finished. As of right now, there are committments that I know of for 85 mopar blocks. Do I like the delays we are seeing? Hell no! I have also had long converstions with Bradshaw that if a mopar block hits the tracks before the Buick block, there will be a full blown mutany on his hands. Every person that has money on a block has a right to be upset, people that have no money invested havew no right to be upset here , period. If the block never happens, what have you lost?? I have to be concerned about every block that has been ordered through me, if this program goes belly up, it could be devastating to me . I have to listen to people wondering about blocks and heads that have been on order for a ,( I agree a very) unreasonable period of time. Nobody wants to see this #%&!!% block out more than me. We've waited this long here people, let's not get get so upset that a hasty decision gets made and causes this deal to fall apart. Bradshaw is not getting ready to go belly up. Believe me, if we don't get shipments pretty quick here, I will be leading the pack to assemble a lynch mob. That being said, let's just take this thing down a notch. At this point, what difference is a couple more weeks after this long? I do feel maybe Bradshaw has taken on too much work for the amount of manpower, but unfortunately, that is just the way things are, I wish they were'nt , but they are. I do talk to him usually several times a week.I am on your side here. I really wish I had a little more control on things, but I don't. Jim Burek
heh. a thought for later: if bradshaw DOES decide to $4!tcan the buick blocks ... what's the possibility of buying the CAD/CAM files and/or casting molds from him? after all, the design work is done (supposedly). if he never sells any blocks he won't ever see ANY return for his sunk time/cost at all. we'd still have the same problem of trying to arrange for casting and machining but we've got that now. just something to think about before you deposit guys go all medieval on his @$$. if you just go after him with hammer and tongs at first it might piss him off and you'll never get anything out of him. it's an option to think about.
Bulldog heads? Am wondering, then, where/when do the Bulldog heads fit into the picture--after the Mopar blocks are done? I have just about given up on the Bulldog heads, and cannot decide to order a set from T/A, or wait for the possibility of an Edelbrock version--which apparently is indeed listed in their 2006 catalog. Cheers, Craig Stangohr Aiken, SC
I don't have a block ordered, yet. But the Chrysler block info is the same info the we had after the first couple of blocks got poured and machined, so actually, it appears that the Chrysler block is many months behind the Buick block. As for the Edelbrock heads, it sounds like a good deal for the MILD big block. I have an Olds buddy that has a set of Edelbrock heads and they didn't flow much better than his iron heads. He spent about $1000 on a PRO port job and got flow #'s of 298 (I can't remember if it's at .600 or .700) Tha't s awfully weak considering what's available from TA and what will be available from BD. I for one was disappointed with the Edelbrock head flow. Excellent price, but for a mild BB.
Edelbrock's I think you got it right, great for a mild engine. If I remember correctly the Bulldog olds heads dont flow as well as the Buick bulldogs. So maybe the EB's will be better out of the box. Seems like a great alternative for iron heads, especially with the chevy rockers. Can't wait to see them out!
