Seattle Swap Shop

[SwiftE30]

How many E30s have you built/worked on again?

Only 3. But the generic swap is a pretty simple process after doing it a few times.

[ForcedFirebird]

How many E30s have you built/worked on again?

Only 3. But the generic swap is a pretty simple process after doing it a few times.

How many were early models, how many were OBD2, how many had ZF's, how many had g260, g240, how many clutch variations have you done, what kind of warranty is offered, if the Vanos is bad you have timing tools, you have welders to connect exhaust etc etc?

I get it all the time. People go to shade tree mechanics because the prices were too high (though we are less than most local shops), and they always end up brining the car in anyways and spending more than the original quote.

Not trying to rain on your parade, or discourage you. You seen ambitious about it, but to say "I'm going to quit my job and do e30 24v swaps for a living" is quite a bold statement. There's 5.1 million people in our tri-county and even with a good rapport we have only done/finished/cleaned up about a dozen swaps and 4-5 turbo kits in the last 1.5yrs.

[Farbin Kaiber]

OP, lets step away from the wrench turning for a moment, how many shops have you run, or been in control of the frontend?

[SeatownE30]

There is SO much truth on this thread.

[lylefk]

The reduced overhead is a huge perk, but doing it for a year+ on the side to build up clients and word of mouth is very, very good advice. Also would help you see if its something you want to do ft.

Also, being a business owner comes with lots of expenses you might not have thought of...like health insurance.

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[SeatownE30]

Dont forget, after you're lucky enough to pay all of your bills, you still have pay yourself a salary. :) Gotta live ya know....

[Earendil]

I have the potential to have a full service shop where you could bring your car and have a full 24v swap done in your car within two-four days, depending what engine and trans you wanted.

This thread is meant to see how many people would be interested.

I hate working construction and thought if I had an available space I could help some people out.

Not trying to rain on your parade, or discourage you. You seen ambitious about it, but to say "I'm going to quit my job and do e30 24v swaps for a living" is quite a bold statement.

There is lots of good advice in this thread, and perhaps there is some background that I'm missing here. But I didn't read his original post the way you "quoted" it.

[ForcedFirebird]

There is lots of good advice in this thread, and perhaps there is some background that I'm missing here. But I didn't read his original post the way you "quoted" it.

I apologize if putting words in OP's mouth, but he said he hates construction and has a space to do swaps.

As already said, not trying to rain on a parade, but it's not that easy, and e30's are a small market. Free space is good, at least that going for them. First shop I rented was only 980sf and was $1200/mo in lease/utilities. Yeah, that's a ~$10/hr nut just to be there - as much as some people's salary - and that was to have that space while working a day job.

[SwiftE30]

I apologize if putting words in OP's mouth, but he said he hates construction and has a space to do swaps.

As already said, not trying to rain on a parade, but it's not that easy, and e30's are a small market. Free space is good, at least that going for them. First shop I rented was only 980sf and was $1200/mo in lease/utilities. Yeah, that's a ~$10/hr nut just to be there - as much as some people's salary - and that was to have that space while working a day job.

Thanks for all the input guys. I probably should
Have prefaced this thread with the fact that this would only be a temporary thing over summer since I am going back to school in September. I've found in selling e30 parts on Craigslist, newbies to the e30 world are excited about swaps and really want to do their own but can't die to lack of space and knowledge. I had about 2-3 people ask if I could help them with their swap and again, I couldn't because my garage was occupied with my swap.

So by having the space offered to me, and people asking if I could help them, and my hatred for construction, And the few months I will be here, you can see my thought process after A few beers.

[Farbin Kaiber]

There is no reason to start a swap shop for three months. You won't even get the initial foundation done in that time frame.

[ForcedFirebird]

Thanks for all the input guys. I probably should
Have prefaced this thread with the fact that this would only be a temporary thing over summer since I am going back to school in September. I've found in selling e30 parts on Craigslist, newbies to the e30 world are excited about swaps and really want to do their own but can't die to lack of space and knowledge. I had about 2-3 people ask if I could help them with their swap and again, I couldn't because my garage was occupied with my swap.

So by having the space offered to me, and people asking if I could help them, and my hatred for construction, And the few months I will be here, you can see my thought process after A few beers.

There is no reason to start a swap shop for three months. You won't even get the initial foundation done in that time frame.

I did construction for 20yrs (and worked on cars as a hobby/side income) and now own an indy shop. As Farbin said, take the side work as it comes. If you are good at it and can build a solid reputation, things will fall in place. I never thought I'd be working on cars for a living in a million years - just happens when you are good at what you do.

Also on the other hand, have to watch out for the opposite. You may hate cars as much as you do construction once it becomes your daily job. Once the passion has left the building, it's never the same.

And for the record, I still love construction and because of my background, I was able to run all the shop hard air lines, install the lift, repair the lift, install all the lighting, welding electric, surface grinder electric, lift electric, build my flow bench, build my sand blat cabinet, shelving etc for a fraction of what a "mechanic" would pay for a construction company to come in and do that for them.

Why you hate construction? You are a big part of advancement of living communities and now want to keep cars on the road...