Hello all,
I have been on MUD for some time, but this is my first thread as a supporting vendor. So not only do I want to introduce my new business and the first of several products that are getting developed, also I want to say thank you all for the great community and for helping to inspire me to push this passion forward. I have had my own finishing company for 24 years now and it has been a great experience, but I really wanted to get back to something more focused on what I enjoy the most, and Land Cruisers are definitely my passion. My company is called Bowfin Cruisers LLC, located in Greenville MI. The name for the company is derived from the place I live and my MUD username dogfishlake, as Bowfin is the proper name for a Dogfish.
There are several things in the works and I will roll them out as time permits as this effort will still be my second career, with the hope of making it the only one in the years ahead, time will tell. I hope to keep a real and transparent communication open to all so it will be easy to check on how products are coming along as well as timing, pricing and availability.
So, to move on, the first item I am planning to offer is a roof rack for the 80 series Cruiser. It is an aluminum side rail type with T slot cross bars like others that have been shown here. I have had quite a few of my own ideas on how to make a rack like this and finally decided to go after my own design. I felt the need for a better design in a few areas and began putting them together until getting to the near final product I have here. The rack consists of aluminum side rails made of 3/16” laser cut aluminum, a front wind deflector of 1/8” aluminum, and T-slot style cross bars. The real gem of the rack is the attachment system. I worked on many different concepts until coming up with a modified latch that snaps on and stays retained with a hex drive bolt for strength and safety. The rack is very easy to put on and remove and the latch system gives it a really nice clean look.
The T-slot is black anodized and the sides, latches, and front panel are powder coated in a super durable satin black polyester powder coating. Fasteners are currently zinc coated black but a more weather resistant fastener is in the works.
Here are some photos of what I have thus far, as well as a youtube link to how the latch functions.
I will keep adding to the thread as this moves along and I am happy to answer questions you may have about it too, either on this thread or by sending me a PM. I do not have a website yet so MUD will be my means of communication for now or if you prefer, email me at dogfishlake@bowfincruisers.com