Whew! We dodged a bullet!, Raby Engine Kit Program will continue... Options

[ConeDodger]

Unless you spend a bit of time over on Jake's site, Aircooled Technology Forums, you might not know that Jake's watercooled six cylinder business is on fire. He had been considering what options he had to keep the quality of his work and still keep the engine kit program which takes a lot of manpower and frankly, you may never know how close he came to just pulling the plug. Plus, last year was a tough year for Jake and I wouldn't have blamed him for trying to make life simpler... He has been doing a lot of wild boar hunting lately and I guess all of the North Florida solitude has helped him make some decisions...

Today after quite a wait for a number of people who had been wanting to order kits Jake announced that he will continue the program with a select number of kits... I just took a look at the list and he has kept the best of the best.

Did you know the 2270 kit is up to 185 HP now??? Any idea what 185 HP feels like when you are in a light mid-engine car? Unbelievable!!!

Jake guards his secrets carefully so I hope I have not overstepped what he wants to be known off his site... My apologies if I have, and I will certainly delete the thread at your request Jake.

[rjames]

I just hope he's still in production when I get around to saving enough $ to consider buying one of his kits.

[EdwardBlume]

Good news indeed....

[craig downs]

Way to go Jake. Having purchased an engine kit a couple of years ago its good to see it will continue.

[nsr-jamie]

Me too! I hope you keep selling them Jake. I don't have the money now but someday in the future I hope to and than I want to get your kit and have that famous horsepower. Keep up the good work dude!! Cheers! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/drunk.gif)

[VaccaRabite]

Even though I just finished the 2056 last year, and love it in my car, I still want to build one of Raby's engine kits. Hopefully, I will be able to get the truck done in a year or two, and then be able to go back to the 914 for another engine upgrade. 185hp would turn my car into a rocket ship.

Zach

[JmuRiz]

I just hope he's still in production when I get around to saving enough $ to consider buying one of his kits.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)
I'm quite happy, as I've always had thoughts that I wanted a 200+hp monster 4-cyl, but finally decided that a 185hp 2270 would be the right motor for me. Just need to save up the pennies...hopefully it'll still be around when I can afford one.

I crunched some numbers and in a 914 that power should feel about like a '73 911 RS or an Acura NSX....sounds good to me (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer3.gif)

ConeDodger:
Who's car is that you pictured in the post...looks awesome!

[Jake Raby]

Rob,
Don't worry about the post, you didn't overstep any bounds :-)

The engine kit program became very support intensive and at the same time I had a few instances of folks just being stupid that lead me to heavily consider omitting the kit program.

Last year kits took too long to deliver, primarily due to our supply of parts being drastically reduced by a big economical hit on our suppliers. Last year 3 suppliers went broke, but our demand for the parts and our business didn't drop, they actually elevated. Our turn key program was busier than ever and so were kits, but we simply could not get the required level of parts.

When my Dad passed away in October it helped me to realize that I needed to simplify some of what we do here. As the M96 development exploded it further illustrated simplification.

So.. I decided to reduce the amount of different kits that we offer and only keep the most effective, most proven kits that are the simplest to support. Due to that our menu is now 65% smaller, but more manageable and less confusing for the buyer. This will allow us to keep more standardized kits further in production thus reducing wait times.

I am also shooting another engine build video later in the Spring to compliment these kits specifically. The old video was shot a decade ago and was focused on a stock engine, thats not the case with today's kit assemblies and that needs to change. The new video will be specifically aimed at the step by step longblock assembly of two of our most popular kits.

we have a wait list for kits already... anyone wanting one should join it because thats how the program will be working from this point forward. More details on my forums.

[ConeDodger]

The coolest thing in my eyes is the engine prep option. With the extensive prep, you can dumb this process down to the point where all you do is make sure you follow the instructions on sealant, torque specs etc... You also have to assemble your crank which can be done wrong... But overall, the prep options take the valve train geometry and compression ratio calculation off the table. That is pretty easy if you ask me.

[carr914]

ConeDodger:
Who's car is that you pictured in the post...looks awesome!

That's ChicagoPete's old car. It is in Switzerland....and it's a -6

[jsayre914]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/piratenanner.gif) Great news. Thank you Jake