Suicide Sally = $170,000 ???

[Greg72]

Hmmmm....sensational journalism or fact??

I don't argue that quality costs money, and there certainly is no shortage of premium parts on that rig....BUT the article said the "build cost" was $170,000.

I might agree that there's $80,000 in parts/materials/paint/etc....and a quick calc based on the article:

7 months of build time = (160 hr/mo * 7 months) = 1120 hours

...So I guess the rest might be labor @ ~$90/hr???

Clifton is a well-known "celebrity" now, so I wouldn't be surprised that he could charge premium prices for his work. He's on TV regularly and has been featured in the magazines more times than I can count...once you get to that point, people have to pay not only for the parts and labor, but for the brand name as well.

It doesn't really bother me that the total build cost of the rig was that expensive...I am interested to know if labor was added in (since mine is FREE!). I had figured an ALL OUT buildup on my '69 (best of everything, nice paint, etc) would be no more than $60,000 - $70,000 to complete.

If S.S. actually has $170,000 in PARTS....I may be rolling up my loose change for a lot longer!!!

 

[blk87K5]

I definately think that price was inflated just a little for shock factor. I believe you could call up a number of equally known shops with a more extravagent parts list than the one he used and get a car built turn key for much less. Suicide Sally is a nice rig, but come awn, I dont need any smoke blown up my @ss.

 

[willyswanter]

That is what they offer turnkey chassis for so thats material and labor.

 

[Emmettology 101]

How can that rig be $170k and rigs like JR's(on PBB) be under $100k?? JR's bronc that was in TTC was supposedly around $80k... And his new one will be a little more...

 

[blackblazer717]

all it was, was a really nicely painted buggy frame with a jeep grill and nicely painted sheetmetal for SHOW as stated in the article

kind makes me pissed, they are like dude we got a few scuffs on the belly pan, we are going to need to have it painted again.... grrrrrrr

its not worth 170,000 thats waaayyy overkill

LUKE

 

[kgblazerfive]

$170,00 thats like a decked out tow vehicle, enclosed trailer and a really nice rock crawler in my book. I think they are up in the night or have a real high profit margin.

 

[Greg72]

$170,00 thats like a decked out tow vehicle, enclosed trailer and a really nice rock crawler in my book. I think they are up in the night or have a real high profit margin.

Clifton Slay can charge a "premium" for his work these days.... that's why the price doesn't make sense.



What I'm trying to figure out is:

Looking at the build sheet, what do you think the parts cost?
It's hard to estimate custom paint work (at least for me) and there are always going to be a "Misc Parts" category that always seems to be a much higher number than people expect.

Do you see $40,000 in parts/materials? How about $60,000..... $80,000?



This is a "Built Not Bought" site.....so remove the labor (since we should all be building things ourselves anyway) and take a guess at what it would REALLY cost to build.

I'm curious to hear some estimates.

 

[Leper]

What is this Suicide Sally that you speak of???

 

[Emmettology 101]

Do you see $40,000 in parts/materials? How about $60,000..... $80,000?



This is a "Built Not Bought" site.....so remove the labor (since we should all be building things ourselves anyway) and take a guess at what it would REALLY cost to build.

I'm curious to hear some estimates.

DOH.. I'll have to stop at lunchtime and grab my mag. Then I can give you my estimate...

 

[blk87K5]

I would say $40k in parts/materials if you have connections to get stuff at a discount and $60k if you dont.

 

[6.2Blazer]

The price may be somewhat inflated but I really don't doubt that if you called up the shop and wanted an exact duplicate it would cost you $170k. From the pictures I have seen there is a LOT of custom one-off "bling" parts that were made for it. If you simply wanted the same basic rig with the same performance level but minus all of the bling I'm sure it would be substantially less. Also keep in mind that it usually takes special high dollar machines to make a lot of that custom stuff and you have to factor the hourly rate of that equipment into the price also. I know at my work we don't charge the customer just the employee's labor rate when they are also operating a $300,000 piece of equipment. Also keep in mind that while it may have taken "only" 7 months to build there was most likely more than one guy working on it at a time. Calculate the labor rate with 2 people working on it and now the rate is quite reasonable, if not down right cheap.

In any case, I would be curious to see a breakdown of the major hard parts and the associated cost. Unfortunately it's really hard to put a price on all of custom one-off pieces on this rig, though you could obviously build something without all of that.

 

[willyswanter]

You guys aren't paying attention to the parts used here.

RamJet 502 with Nitrous $12000
Custom Trans $2000
Atlast $2400
HAD Shafts $1500
Tires/Wheels $3000
Sways $4000
Bumps $1200
Heims $1600
40 Spline Pro-Rock Front $13000
40 Spline Pro-Rock Rear $8000

Thats almost $50k right there just in drivetrain and a few suspension parts. Now factor in all the tubing, wiring, ignition system, dash, gauges, seats, aluminum, skins, paint, nuts/bolts/tabs, exhaust, full hydro steering, fuel system, hoses, latches, lights, etc and you can easily get into the $100k range for parts alone. Then if I was building the thing it would be $75 an hour and if it took me 7 months at 5 days a week at 8 hours a day that would be $84,000 in labor alone.

Like I said, that IS what it costs to build a turn key buggy of that level. It's just like JR's thread where everyone got all pissy about how it couldn't cost that much to build his but the reality is that if you want to pay a good fabber to build you something from scratch to something ready to run anything it's going to cost.

 

[miniwally]

I would say $40k in parts/materials if you have connections to get stuff at a discount and $60k if you dont.

I have about $30,000 in parts in my buggy. This is at the connections pricing.
I bought a $300 D60, $800 TBI 350, basically a junkyard th350 junkyard transfer cases, and a free 14 bolt.

Some parts needed to be rebuilt (axles and transfer cases) some were liiked at and bolted in.

I can see where there is an easy $80,000 in parts in Sally. Labor at shop rates and show quality paint. $170,000 probably has some profit and overhead built in but knowing Clifton he probably gave a dollar figure that he would have to sell Sally for to feel okay about the deal.

This is kinda the same deal as the Ultimate K10 guys. They built a brand new vehicle using brand new parts and other people to do the labor. This equals expensive.
We all know that you can build the same "type" of vehicle using your resources better and save a bunch of money.

I wouldn't get to worked up over what other people spend and how they spend it.
Sally is pure quality and every detail was taken care of. Sally is a capable vehicle that is SHOW quality.

 

[pauly383]

Man these prices are outta hand , Marv Springer can build anyone a buggy for less than you can buy a K5 for , and that includes the FWD car donor

 

[willyswanter]

It's a completely different animal. It's like complaining about the cost of a $200,000 Ferrari saying you can buy a Kia Rio for $13,000. Yeah you can but it's not the same thing.

 

[Greg72]

You guys aren't paying attention to the parts used here.

RamJet 502 with Nitrous $12000
Custom Trans $2000
Atlast $2400
HAD Shafts $1500
Tires/Wheels $3000
Sways $4000
Bumps $1200
Heims $1600
40 Spline Pro-Rock Front $13000
40 Spline Pro-Rock Rear $8000

Thats almost $50k right there just in drivetrain and a few suspension parts. Now factor in all the tubing, wiring, ignition system, dash, gauges, seats, aluminum, skins, paint, nuts/bolts/tabs, exhaust, full hydro steering, fuel system, hoses, latches, lights, etc and you can easily get into the $100k range for parts alone. Then if I was building the thing it would be $75 an hour and if it took me 7 months at 5 days a week at 8 hours a day that would be $84,000 in labor alone.

Like I said, that IS what it costs to build a turn key buggy of that level. It's just like JR's thread where everyone got all pissy about how it couldn't cost that much to build his but the reality is that if you want to pay a good fabber to build you something from scratch to something ready to run anything it's going to cost.

This answer is the closest to the actual question so far...



It boggles my mind somewhat that a front axle costs can cost more than a Nitrous breathing 502, but that's another arguement for a different thread.

I'll admit, I didn't fully appreciate how expensive some of the components were (axles, air bumps, etc). Heims DO cost a lot....and with today's steel costs, I'm sure the chassis and suspension links were not trivial expenses either!!!

At this point (in my head) I'm subtracting $21,000 in materials for my own build since I won't be using the Pro-Rock F/R axles....though I'll likely have to add a couple thousand back to get my 'Mogs converted to 8-Lug, etc. I will use many of the other itemized costs from Jason's list as placeholders until I have more specific estimates of my own.

 

[1-ton]

I just happen to meet this guy Clifton Slay. He was here, in Las Vegas, for the SEMA show, and a rock crawl competition; which was held on the grounds of the Las Vegas Convention Center, in conjunction with SEMA.

I work as a circuit board and slot machine tech at a local casino he was staying at. I was leaving work one afternoon, and my truck happened to be parked out in the lot next to his truck and trailer. He was at his trailer struggling to open the door, and get his buggy out that you are talking about. He asked me if I could help him because he only had his wife with him, and she was not strong enough to help him get his trailer door opened, and get the buggy out.

I asked where he was from, and he said he was from Colorado, and I asked him if he knew people like Steve Watson, and if he was familiar with CK5…he said “yes” he knew Steve from some competitions they had both competed in, and that he was familiar with CK5.

 

[pauly383]

It's a completely different animal. It's like complaining about the cost of a $200,000 Ferrari saying you can buy a Kia Rio for $13,000. Yeah you can but it's not the same thing.

Kinda , but you can make a car that goes as fast , and corners as good for waaaaay less than a Ferrari .

The expensive stuff is just an extension for small membered men

Since these rock animals are made for rocks , then what works works .

I would take anything I have fun in over anything that sells for what I pay for a home anyday !

Its just rockcrawling , right

 

[willyswanter]

Yes, you would build your own for cheaper, and so would I, but some plastic surgeon in beverly hills that saw "rock crawling" on tv the other night would gladly pay for a turn key buggy cause he thought they were cool. Then he would use it for a year and it would end up in the garage next to all his other "looked cool on tv" projects.

 

[kgblazerfive]

This answer is the closest to the actual question so far...



It boggles my mind somewhat that a front axle costs can cost more than a Nitrous breathing 502, but that's another arguement for a different thread.

I'll admit, I didn't fully appreciate how expensive some of the components were (axles, air bumps, etc). Heims DO cost a lot....and with today's steel costs, I'm sure the chassis and suspension links were not trivial expenses either!!!

At this point (in my head) I'm subtracting $21,000 in materials for my own build since I won't be using the Pro-Rock F/R axles....though I'll likely have to add a couple thousand back to get my 'Mogs converted to 8-Lug, etc. I will use many of the other itemized costs from Jason's list as placeholders until I have more specific estimates of my own.

Add this or something similar and your still not even close less then half
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/tube-chassis-rock-crawler-rockcrawler-dana-60-4x4_W0QQitemZ4605333026QQcategoryZ6755QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem