Pure Vision Motorsports

[Boyd]

(Disclaimer: the following is a simple observation made to encourage discussion and is by no means a criticism of Steve Strope or Pure Vision Motorsports)



After reading the Hot Rod article on the Strope built (er, assembled) Poteet Charger, something became apparent to me. It seems as though the Pure Vision shop is more like a general contractor or assembler of other shops handiwork. Now don't get me wrong. I've loved every car I've seen that's come out of their shop, and I realize that most shops farm out pieces of projects also, but it seems that Pure Vision subs out almost the whole project and then assembles the said pieces into a complete car. I did some research (meaning I thumbed through some past issues of PHR and Hot Rod while making a deposit at Porcelain State Bank.) And it does indeed seem like the majority of the work on each Strope Masterpiece was farmed out and the final assembly was completed at Pure Vision. I understand that what sets some cars apart from others is in the execution, and the PVM attention to detail is incredible. With the above said, do any other shops operate this way? And if so, how profitable can it be if you're only charging for assembly time because most of the fab work is kept to a minimum? Does Strope use some type of cost-plus figuring in addition to the assembly time?

[Steve Chryssos]

I believe your assesment is a bit oversimplified. In addition to assembly, Strope handles design, minor fabrication, product procurement, wiring plus all of the fundamental business tasks including contracting. Most larger shops farm out some aspects of car construction--usually upholstery at a minimum. Other examples are engine building or paint. With each project he completes, Strope's cars get a little better. It's hard to tell just from pictures, but the Poteet Charger is light years ahead of Hammer.

All I see a small shop with a trademark look that does exceptionally well considering it's size. The American Dream.

[Boyd]

Steve,thanks for the reply. And again, I'm not at all criticising Strope or his cars. His work is awesome. And I admit I may have oversimplified it because I realize that although the majority of the fabrication is sub'd out the devil is in the details. I am just curious as to how Strope operates his shop in comparison to some of the big dogs, i.e. Troy or Alan. And yes, Strope is living the American dream. And I would trade places with him in a heartbeat. That aside, is the Poteet Charger really that far ahead of Hammer? Admitedly, I've never seen either car in person, but I would have guessed it to be the other way around. Leave it to Strope to build a deceptively simple, killer ride. Brings a whole new meaning to the phrase Killing Me Softly...

[Steve Chryssos]

I think so. Hammer had me thinking: I could do that". With the Poteet Charger it was: "Hmm...Why didn't I think of that.

[shmoov69]

Steve does some cool stuff! He told me several years ago when I met him that anyone can build a cool car, but it takes time, dedication and a butt load of hard work to make a killer car! He said (then) that a budget car can be built with nothing more than lots of attention to detail, which is what sets apart the normal car guy (me) from the "pro" builder, not saying that all normal guys are sloppy and that all "pro" guys are good either.
But back to your question, I do not know exactly how his shop is run financially, by farming stuff out that is. But I do know that every car he builds, he gets a little more involved in "building" the car. He is doing more of the farm out stuff in house either himself or by employees.
He is a detail freak I must say though! It drove him crazy watching me work on my car! LOL! He lectures me on doing things right and not comprimising any. He is right, but I am just lazy I guess! But then again, he also tells me to build a race car to beat on and just drive the 69. No can do!

[mopork]

I'm a big fan of Steve Strope he does great work and has exception attention to detail. How many guys right here on this site farm out 80-90% of there car project and say that they built a car instead of assembled a car ?

[Damn True]

Most building contractors don't do framing, tile, electrical, plumbing, roofing and finish...they bring in subs. Sounds like a similar setup. One guy sticking to his core competancy and farming out jobs to focused experts. Not a bad way to do it IMO.

...and that Charger is cool!

[Bigblue73]

Damn True - You hit the nail on the head. He does what he is good at or better yet, what he want's to do. He has a talent for "combining" parts to create a whole package. The Poteet Charger to me was simple, cool and I bet a blast to drive. Hammer or Challenger X did it for me. The cars are just plain sweet, the average person doesn't realize the small modifications that are made to get the end result. He's been on top of the Mopar game for a while.

As far as farming stuff out....Why not....you partner with people. You keep yourself busy and others as well. Win / Win in a business model as long as the quality meets your standards. My 2 cents.

[Tom Nelson]

I can tell you from working with Steve on a number of projects .That he is very talented and has an eye for things.I also can tell you that Hammer was brought to me with engine troubles and had never really been driven before we rebuilt the previous engine builders engine .We rebuilt it and installed it and drove the car from my house to work a number of days.Normally there is a ton of shakedown on a new car like that.Not much had to be messed with I was very impressed with his Abilitys.All the brackets and subtle que's on that car are Steve he is not just an assembler he is a talented builder.Nobody can really say different take a look at the end result.My to cents

[CarlC]

All I see a small shop with a trademark look that does exceptionally well considering it's size. The American Dream.

There's more than one of those around here!

[BADVELLE]

There's more than one of those around here!

Agreed.

[vanzuuk1]

Steve builds some pretty original cars, they all have a "look". Hammer was a simple car but I loved it, the red gtx with the white wheels was amazing.

If I had to pick a favorite it would be rad rides or pure vision.

[Larry Callahan]

I can also tell you first hand Steve builds not assembles some cool cars. His shop is just miles from my house and I pop by once in a while to see what's cooking. I've seen all of his last few cars start to finish and I can tell you he is not an assembler. Some day I hope to send my car his work. The attention to detail is just killer!

[Bob Johnson]

I bought Skully, the 66 Charger that Strope built several years back. Poteet had taken it in on part of his deal with Steve on the 68 Charger build. The 66 Charger had held up well for the time it had been built. It ran, drove, looked excellent after all this time. I sold it about a year ago. The guy that bought it loves it. I'm not a fan of the 66/67 Chargers, but that one looked good. Troy used to farm out a fair amount of work. He's gone to a more in house approach nowdays. Alan has never liked to farm out much. Paul does his interiors, and he has his engines done outside, but all the paint/fab/bodywork/etc are in house. If I was a builder in California where all that talent is, I'd be farming out a lot of work to people that specialize in certain aspects of a build.

[Mean 69]

If I was a builder in California where all that talent is, I'd be farming out a lot of work to people that specialize in certain aspects of a build.

And there's this small, but really good shop down by San Diego that can do some amazingly capable suspension systems....

I saw the Strope GTX-R (red with white wheels) at Barrett this year. I really, really liked the car, though there were some silly little things about it that I would have expected to be a little better, it is really unfair to be too picky on other's cars, human nature though. Can't help it. I'd like to see the Hammer in person, I'd also like to see the current project, anyone have a link or pic's? Dude has talent and vision, that's for certain.

We are doing a full size Mopar to promote our rear (and front, actually) suspension setups, it is a 68 GTX, and in the process I have learned how far behind the curve the Mopar dudes are, FAR less available components and parts so I can tell you first hand it is a lot harder to do one of these cars. If you can afford everything to be custom fabbed, or if you believe in getting free parts, it's different, building one on a budget is a lot more difficult than a Chev, et. al. If you don't have a mountain of cash, and want to do a Mopar, it's best to find one that has all of the hard to get trim pieces, etc. Sorry for the sidetrack, this project has really opened up my eyes though, and I look more forward to the completion of this car than I do any of the many others we are involved in at this point. And it's not for sale. Folks like Steve, and the project that Jeff Schwartz did (Poison Dart) due to the very fact that they far harder to get parts for should stand out in relative terms.

Mark

[BRIAN]

It is impossible to be great at everything. As the quality of these cars get higher and higher it is only natural to seek out the best of each part of the build.

It used to be you had to do everything to earn the respect of top builders. Now you have to deliver on a higher level. Just think of the tools needed for each task.

I have tried this myself and I love to know as much as possible and to be able to say I can do it all but in the end I will be using others to assist on future projects.


Then there is the problem when one of these sublet shops screws up. Thats another story.

[nvawgn]

i have been down to steve's shop when the gtx-r was in primer and talked with him, he is a really nice person to talk with and i would jump at the oppertunity to have him work on my car if i had the money.

[MrAngry]

I purchased my brake set-up through Steve - I can safely I would do business with him again in a heartbeat. First off, he answers his own phone... does Foose, Boyd or any of the others do that, plus he will ALWAYS give you a straight shot about what you are doing. I've asked him for advise on things and he is more than willing to help you out. He is TOP NOTCH in my opinion. He was more than accomidating to me and I only bought brakes - think of what he would do if you purchased an entire car - he is a good business man and take my hat off to him.

I thought I had a cool 68' Charger, but the one Steve built is simply stunning...