Landracing Forum
Misc Forums => LSR General Chat => Topic started by: NathanStewart on January 04, 2014, 03:21:32 PM
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Crazy right? Well I had been wanting to get a 2wd chassis dyno for a while now. Mostly to do my own stuff and to work on side projects. Dynos aren't exactly cheap but used ones can be sort of affordable and I had been saving for a long time. The original thought was to buy a small dyno and set it up in the shop that I share with my brother. Most of the double small roller style dynos are portable and can be wheeled around so I was planning on wheeling it into position, bolting it to the floor and then unbolting it and wheeling back out of the way when done. I found a really good deal on a dyno in Texas but missed it by a day which in the end was probably better to not have to drive all the way out to east Texas and back. I continued to look and look and look and found an AWD chassis dyno that was for sale in Northern California and it was going for only a bit more than what I had budgeted to spend on a 2wd dyno. I drove up once by myself to check it out, struck a deal and a week later came back with a trailer to take it home.
Having an AWD dyno meant having twice as much dyno which meant taking up twice as much room. I had decided to put one half of the dyno in long term storage and was just going to setup the other half in our shop. I was most of the way through getting everything setup when I came across a killer deal on a 1300 sq ft shop in Costa Mesa that was already setup for automotive use so it had lifts, a big air compressor, air lines everywhere, 120/240 single phase power with tons of outlets and even three phase power. I went and check it out, struck a deal and have now completely setup the dyno in its full AWD capacity.
One of the requirements of the rental lease was having to get liability insurance which proved to be pretty difficult for someone with no claims history. At this point, after having spent so much money and getting so deeply involved, it just made sense to establish a business entity and basically just go into business which is what I've done. I've actually been setup for a couple of months now and have just been waiting to get insurance (which I finally did) before I officially announce that I've opened a dyno shop and start taking on projects. I do still work full time at AEM and will be running my shop as purely a side business in the foreseeable future. I was relieved of my rookie orientation duties by the new board which I think also marks the end of me being a starter and inspector as well (although I might still inspect at Speed Week but I dunno yet) which frees me up to put more time towards supporting customers. I'm looking forward to enjoying racing as a spectator/participant after having worked as volunteer for the last 15 years.
My primary speciality is the installation, setup and tuning of stand alone engine management systems including custom wiring harnesses, fuel system construction, and anything else that might be necessary for any particular application. I don't have a niche per se because I like everything and I want to put EFI on everything I can! So I'm not a Chevy guy or a Ford guy or a import guy or a vintage guy or a whatever guy… if you have something that you want to put EFI on let me know. Even motorcycles or other non-car/truck vehicles. Even watercraft. Secondary to being an EMS guy, just having the dyno means having a great tuning tool for any vehicle whether it have EFI or carbs or mechanical injection or whatever. So, if you're in Southern California and need chassis dyno time let me know. I have very competitive rates because I have very low overhead and this is just a side business. It's not like this is my only source of income and I'm fighting for every dollar I make so I can put food on the table. This is just a side business that lets me help people with their fun projects. I can also do data acquisition, full car wiring, engine swaps, EFI retrofits (wanna put EFI on your hot rod/race car/daily driver?), fabrication, etc etc.
So there you have it. Oh and the name of my business is Black Line Industries. Kind of gives homage to what's had such a large influence on shaping my life even though the black lines are gone now.
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Corngratulations, Nathan. It's a fun/big step to hang out your personal shingle, and I wish you the best. As for the name -- well, you could change it to the current hue -- make the biz "Blue Line Industries" - - but then the Canadians and a few Yankees would think you've got something to do with hockey.
Naming your business "XXBlahblah Industries" is great. It allows you to sound like a real business to your potential customers -- and doesn't limit you to only one thing like Black Line Dyno or Black Line EFI-fitting Shop. Room to grow without making it hard for people the accept a change in your direction is good stuff. I speak from experience, not only having done the same with Star Industries 20 years ago, but also from what my dad taught me when he named his business "BW Industries".
Note to those of you that might wonder if Nathan is "advertising" and should therefore be paying the site: Nah, I don't think so - at least for now. He's a long time active member of this Forum and is welcome to tell us about the new venture. Nathan, if you get to the point where you think you'd like to expand on your presence on the site/Forum -- get in touch and we can talk about what it might cost you. Good luck, have fun, and do well.
Jon a/k/a SSS
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Congratulations NATE!!!
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Best of luck with your new venture- if So Cal were just a little bit closer to S.E. Qld here in Oz, you would have a lot of DLRA guys knocking on your door, including me!
Regards, Denis
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Good luck with your new endeavors. Who knows where it might lead. I know you will do good for your customers.
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It's a huge loss to the rookie orientation program.
He dedicated himself to the rookies and did a marvelous job.
Thanks, Pal.
FREUD
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It's a huge loss to the rookie orientation program.
He dedicated himself to the rookies and did a marvelous job.
Thanks, Pal.
FREUD
That must be a problem within the scta... do a great job and the competitors like what you are doing you get fired.... :roll:
Good luck with the shop, hope to see you on the salt
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Nathen, sorry to hear about getting dumped. I sure a hell know how you feel, did they send you a email or have the balls to tell you in person.
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Nathen:
Good luck with the new business. I wish I was closer than 3,000 away. I would certainly rent some dyno time from you. You will be missed on the salt...but enjoy your new roll as spectator/participant.
BR
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Please translate for me: "...
1300 soft shop"... ?
Congratulations! Who knows... you might someday wind up self-employed.
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"1300 soft shop" I'd guess was 1300 sq ft before it was auto corrected. Or maybe it actually was a Viagra store front ?
Glad to see some listees still remember Glen's ill handled callous dismissal. How come nobody gets hired, but only fired, in an email ?.............. Answer, BALLS.
Anyhoo, Good Luck Nathan, I'm another guy wished you was locally, would be a great place to hang out.
BW
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Congrats nate! I remember you mentioning the dyno last time we chatted. I am bummed I will not get to do my rookie runs with you watching.
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In my brief stint at this sport---I have been to a good many rookie classes---several taught by others, and several by Nate---whomever follows better have riding in a tightly packed subaru.
-or the new rookies will not be as lined out as they have been in the past---for the safety of them and the safety of our sport here is hoping they strive to do as good a job.
NATE!!---thanks for your devotion to our sport!! :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:
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I hate "auto-correct" (and most other "auto-xxxxx"). Especially when I wasn't even aware of it. Any way to disable "auto-correct" (and spell-checker, et.al.)?
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Jack you were the victim of my warped sense of humor, I changed your inquiry first then-- Nate's post. Your question has been returned to its original form. :-D lol as one SR fellow to another :cheers:
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Thanks for the kind words gents. SSS, yes, I'm planning on being a paid advertiser at some point. Let me recover a bit from the initial blow to the bank account from all these start up costs and I'll certainly get in touch with you. Being an entrepreneur is an exciting new prospect and I'm looking forward to growing this little side project into something bigger... hopefully.
I have more words than I have time to spend typing regarding my departure as a volunteer. Perhaps over a frosty adult beverage out on the dirt or on the salt. I'm a dyed-in-the-wool lifer so there's a chance I'll be back at some point but for now I'm doing my own thing.
Bill, I didn't realize you were a moderator. I was about to applaud your elite forum hacking skillz but it all makes sense now. I was pretty sure I put 'sq ft'. Thanks for fixing it if it was wrong the first time.
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Nathan, I am so happy for you.
The big tool to properly dialing in an engine is a dyno - owning one takes a lot of pressure off of trying to get it done on a limited time schedule.
I'm jealous.
But more importantly, I want to thank you for your service to all of us who did Rookie O with you last year. I took the opportunity to go through it without a car in October of 2012, and then again last year at Speedweek. Your enthusiasm and conscientiousness made our first serious attempts on the salt an experience I will always recall as excellent. The newbies will be worse for your loss, but your opportunities for the future look exceedingly bright.
On behalf of all of us - THANK YOU!
Sincerely,
Chris Conrad
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Congrats on the new venture. If I was closer I would hit you up for some dyno time. First I heard about you not being out of the rookies..... Hope it is all good and mutual etc. You did a great job and I am glad I got to be a rookie on your watch
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Good luck Nathan. :cheers:
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Congratulations and best wishes on your new endeavor. You were practically the first "official" contact in LSR for Roger, Mark and I in 2011 at SW. The three of us were immediately impressed with your presentation to rookies and the way you made us feel part of the LSR community. Every time I got to the front of the line at ELMO and saw that you were one of the starters, it just felt "right". Sorry to see you go. Tim
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Nathan,
I wish you the best in your new adventure.
Tom G.
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Nate I am sure Ms Liberty will be over to visit you for some
"roller derby" time ---to dial in our Data Logging---what a wonderful opportunity your BLI presents to a racer-- who is interested dialing in
their Data logging. As soon as you get your communications channels
Set up let us know.
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Congratulations and best of luck.
How about the phone and address so we can come visit next time we are out west.
Gary
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Nathan,
To start, thanks for all of your help on the salt. Your patience with the rookies was greatly appreciated by many of us. I can't imagine having to focus that much on every detail, hour after hour on those hot days like you did. I am also concerned about who will help me with my helmet strap, visor, gloves and all the other dumb rookie things I have done on the line.
Best of luck on the new business. While I am about a zillion miles away, I do have an interest on data acquisition for my bike, so I will probably be in touch down the road.
As for your insurance, have your broker find the cheapest categories for the type of work you anticipate. My guess is that the landlord required "X" dollars of liability coverage. Unless you start doing a lot of customer dyno work, it may be cheaper to insure the business for doing efi installation and data acquisition, or anything else that doesn't sound like it could cause a lot of destruction or potential for harm. That could be less exposure for the carrier and should translate to cheaper rates for you. Tell them your plans are for $10,000 a year in revenues not $500,000, that will also let them know they have less policy exposure. In the future the insurance company will ask for your annual financials and use that to help determine your rates. So start off on a good note by keeping detailed financials. This will help at tax time too as you can now deduct your expenses and depreciate your equipment. I am in healthcare and have had to deal with liability and work comp coverage for years and the broker is key to getting your best coverage and rates.
Ed
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Nathan, a new business does not have to make money for,I believe, seven years.
Keep track of every expense including every mile you drive that is remotely related
to your business. The better records that you keep the better the business can do you.
Enter the data every day. That way you won't get way behind.
There are programs that can assist you at whatever level of detail with which you can be comfortable.
I developed my own programs for my office including a form to report my State Sales Tax.
It was approved by the State of Washington. A 5 year audit took 50 minutes but was scheduled
by the state to take 3 days.
FREUD
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Sorry for the late reply and thanks again for all the kind words. Along with a background in engineering I actually do have a bachelors in business admin. I decided to go to night school while I was riding out the end of my active duty time in the Army and got a business degree. Might as well put that Montgomery GI Bill to use right? It's actually been kind of fun to dust of that knowledge and put it to use again.
As for phone and address, just hit me up through PM for now. I'm working on a web site and dedicated email address. Will update once those are up.
I've picked up a couple new projects and am looking forward to having them run out on the dirt/salt. Feel free to contact me with any prospective projects or even just questions. Thanks again guys!
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Just a quick aside to would be Chassis Dyno users. Most of them (Dyno's and Dyno Owners) don't like to see 200 mph on the rollers, so be sure to gear accordingly before things other than your vehicle start smoking.
Oh, and take it from me, its not a great place to have your Dry Sump Tank split on a pull... my cat litter bill was higher than the Dyno fee.....
:-P :-P :-P
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My guys dyno shuts down at 200. We do all our pulls in 4th gear. :-D
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My guys dyno shuts down at 200. We do all our pulls in 4th gear. :-D
Fred....be honest....it was the reverse...... :wink: