A thousand parts would no doubt run well into the hundreds of thousands.
Looking at gear sets on Randy's Ring and Pinion it seems they range from about $200 to about $450 for the Dana 70-HD. I chose that one because its the right size for an Eaton replacement and figured the price would reflect high volumes.
I'm sure the retail price for a limited run for the Eaton rears would be at least the high side of that and possibly quite a bit more.
Just guessing but based on the pricing of limited market items like Cadillac 500 parts I would expect the price for these gear sets to be more like $600 to $1,000. Realize I say that with no real idea what it would take to make them.
What Randy's Ring and Pinion calls an installation kit for the Eaton is priced over $500. That's shims and seals and bearings and I suspect all stuff you really want once you spend a fist full of cash on that shiny new ring and pinion.
As an old truck guy you're going to be over $1,000 maybe $1,500 or more into that rear.
I'm not a purist, I've already put a GM 14-bolt in one of my 1-tons and have two Dana 70HDs stashed in case I decide to do another one. My total cash out to acquire all three was only a couple hundred.
To me its similar to the 8-lug disk conversion that is often talked about. Yeah there are a bunch of us who would like to buy that kit, but not nearly enough to be attractive to someone who has invested in the facilities required to create and market it.
If I said I could deliver that ring and pinion for $600 but needed 500 customers to make a $200 deposit before I'd commit to the production run, do you suppose I'd receive very many checks? I suspect getting money committed up front would be the key to making this happen.
