Jerry, on most things I usually sell right at retail price. I try to give Club Cobra members and FE forum members a little break. As for Tremec transmissions, there are no profit in them unless you're an Elite distributor....otherwise if you want to sell them, you have to stay price competitive. I don't care what anyone says, there's no one out there that sells them for Tremec's advertised price. I don't know how many times I've given out a price quote for a complete drivetrain package and then the customer comes back and says someone else was lower. Some items like Quicktime bellhousings have such a high retail price and you don't see anyone selling it at that. Again, you have stay price competitive if you want to move product.
I still don't think I know what you mean by your last statement. Outsourcing machine work isn't something unheard of. For instance, every shop does not have an align hone machine.....or an ultrasonic cleaner....or a crank balancer. I know many shops that farm separate processes out....and I know of several builders that don't have any machining equipment at all. All that means to me is that they may be losing out on some money by machining their own parts. To me, that's not a life or death thing. I make money on the parts and I make money on the labor.
I've really lost track of what all is being said. I think the original question was would the customers be happy with a less expensive, milder engine for their Cobras.
Somehow, the focus has been totally placed on how cheap I sell TKO 600's....or that I don't do my own machine work.
My intention wasn't to rub anyone the wrong way or to get anyone riled up. I just think I can sell a quality engine (and I have been) at a competitive price.
At today's economy, I don't see a lot of people dropping a lot of money on frivilous toys. However, even without advertising, I've been doing a few engines lately along with the normal influx of transmissions, rearends, etc. I'd like to shift a little bit of the work from the drivetrain side to the engine side.