New 97 price increase -Opinions?

Now that the New 97's have been out for a while, now comes the talked-about price increase. Let's hear some opinions on the New carbs, the New parts and the New cost. New vs Old. Also, what effect will this have on the price of rebuilds and cores? Where's it gonna end? Ideas, suggestions, good thoughts, not-so-good thoughts, pros or cons?

 

They are going UP in price? I was hoping that after they had been out a while that they would go down in price. I was going to buy 8 of the damn things. I was going to wait until I was ready for them but maybe I need to get them now.

I think if the price was a little lower that you could sell a lot more. If they were closer to the 300 dollar mark I would have purchased them already. I know they have a pretty good retail mark up on them.

 

The price gong up is probably irrelevant to whether they are selling a lot or not or whether they have recooped their "R&D and tooling costs" yet or not.

"Supply and Demand" used to mean pricing a product so that it sells at the same rate it can be produced.
If demand was higher than the supply, you could raise the price and the product would still move.
Now it seems if a product is moving or not the price goes up anyway, in fact some prices go up even faster on a product that's not moving with the false conception of making some beancounter's desired annual profit amount regardless of the demand.

See what's happened to the pricing in the American car and truck industry and the prices of fresh vegetables that sit and rot on store shelves as an example.

Why can't I buy a Watermelon with seeds (and flavor) any more, for any price?

 

How much did Clive increase 'em to?

http://www.stromberg-97.com/index.htm

~Jason

 

The price increase was official as of November 1st, all prepackaged parts and the New carbs themselves took a hike. This info came from the source. I'm just curious how you and everyone else thinks it might have an effect on other aspects of the hobby.

 

Price increace?

Im sorry, i have a very hard time paying 400$ for a 2bbl carburator, that is 1930's technology, just new. Maybe if they came polished with a Oval mouth S&P Top on them, id do it.

Maybe im in the minority, but if they were in the mid 200$ range id bet youd sell a hellova lot more of them...

 

Oh my god $449.00! and to think I was considering buying a pair just this morning. I don't know? Thats a tuff pill to swallow. Maybe I'll stick with my old 94's afterall.

 

So what's wrong with the old ones????? With that price tag on the new ones you can keep them! I'll rebuild some Real ones So what does that make my Real ones worth

 

For me, the price increase just put them out of my range. I enjoy this hobby as much as anyone, but 449 per carb is insane and there is no way I could justify 1350 bones to outfit my flathead with these. I guess I'll just be playing with rebuilds.

Nik

 

Ridiculous! Any justification for the increase?

 

Just one more piece of unobtanium on the list.

 

I'd have to agree. Rebuilds were the rage prior to the new ones being out on the market. They were OK then, right? Should be OK know.

I'm all for someone redoing, updating, retooling, etc. some of the old stuff. I'm not knocking Clive or anyone who bought or will buy the new ones.

Just out of my range and not my bag. Maybe I'm too **** about things, but I'd rather have the real, leaky deal on this one. Battle scars, Southwind holes and all.

Run what you'd brung! Besides, what are guys going to do to "fake" the gas stains on the manifolds that old ones so nicely leave in their wake?

Maybe Eastwood will market the following: "Old Stromberg gas stain paint in a rattle can to make your new Strombergs look old."

I'll keep mine and rebuild the best of the bunch. Good enough for me.

Just my two cents....

 

Yeah, $449 seems a bit steep. But most of the repop stuff is expensive. Egge had a repop SCoT blower from H&H at SEMA, price was $8500.

 

I still find affordable, free moving 97s at swap meets. The $400 difference between them and the new ones leaves a lot of room for rebuilding.

 

I prefer the original. ...I know a guy who can make them look new... (wink wink)

 

I was real tempeted to plunk down the $$$$ when they were under $400, but with their increase in price I'll just keep running 94's thank you...

 

They're the best thing to happen to the Ramrods...they're so easy to tune...and they still leak a little, no drips,...more like seeping. I'da payed more for 'em.

 

i'm glad they are doing it

i'm tight, like most of us here, and putting my bias aside, i thought the opening price was steep.....

i really think 200-250 would be a fair price.....i would consider dropping that on them.....

i've never paid more than $40 for a stromberg so that kind of skews my perspective....

buying one for a stocker wouldn't hurt too badly......but for us hot rodders, we always need more than one.......maybe a discount for more than one purchase.....the more you buy the more you save

i really think that the manf. in england should check into a hamb discount and join the alliance.....seriously........20k people that a high % would/could use their product

how are they selling for you? i inquired about being a dealer about a year and half ago.....but i really didn't think i could sell them for that price

 

. . . THANKS, Chucklehead!

 

juat wondering, what would most of you guys pay for free moving 97's at swapmeets?

 

If I hunt around, I can still come up with them in the $50-$75 range. That's for one that's complete (with the possible exception of the choke plate), and with free moving throttle plates.

 

I see 97's for around a 100 bucks or so at shows.. You also see Junk ones at the same price. Most of the good one get snapped up quickly by hoarders.........

 

Email 'ol Clive and see what he'll do for you. The "Support" link on the site http://www.stromberg-97.com goes to his email.

~Jason

 

Thanks guys, i was looking at 2 97s and bakersfield swapmeet last weekend he wanted 150each so i walked away, thats like what...170 ish canadian

 

I'm sure the guys probably could've made them and knocked them out for the $200-250 price bracket mentioned. They could've cut corners and made a few savings here and there, but these carbs are QUALITY, and that doesn't come cheap.

I run this one on my banger and I tell ya...when the box came I felt like a kid at Christmas. The carb sat on the shelf in the lounge for a few weeks 'cos I didn't want to get it dirty. It's pure art.

 

At $449 each, I'd have to take out a small loan to pay for the six I need. I think I'll be goin' for some old ones. That's just too damn high. I think that $250 would be fair enough, and they would probably double their sales.

 

Personally, I think it blows! I was hoping for the price drop mentioned earlier as well.

Has demand gone up that much that the price was increased? This is a big part of the reason I went with Holley's instead. It's getting hard to even find a single 97, let alone 6 good ones and the prices of the new ones are impossible for me to justify at this point. I'll keep workin' on that cool million and then I'll start looking at the new 97's again. Rediculous! Neat, but still rediculous!