[swordtart]

Shiruken Re-life Programme.

So you bought a Shiruken and regretted it the same day. You have looked at the options, but that weak chassis and suspension have been holding you back.

Maybe your local salvage yard has the solution for you? In this article we explore the most economical options to turn that clunker with baked in obsolescence into something a little more scale-able.

Unfortunately it costs more to upgrade your chassis and suspension than it would cost to manufacture better ones from scratch so this isn't a service any garage will provide. The plant in the Shiruken was fine (and with aftermarket superconductors can support the heaviest chassis), the MG whilst basic is still a reliable choice. So what would it cost to move all of that stuff to a more credible body?

Of the $6040 cost of the Shiruken a fraction over 10% went on the the immutable components (Body cost $640). We would normally expect a 1/3 saving when fitting a component ourselves so we can reasonably expect a garage to charge that 1/3 to install one you bring to them. As Salvage and Install are mirror processes we can expect the same cost to apply to removing the component.

Can we just remove the body "component" and replace it? If we could that would only cost 1/3 of $640! Unfortunately every other component is bolted to the body (rather than to each other) so to remove the body is equivalent to removing every component.

Removing every component costs 1/3 of the $5400 component cost (or $1800). We can sell the body for half it's value or $320. We can then buy a better chassis (lets plump for a X-Hvy chassis and Hvy suspension as the best candidate for later expansion - though the plant will need upgrading if we are to take full advantage of the extra capacity it offers), let's say $2800 (at least there is no installation cost). Re-installing every component carries a 10% surcharge for retrofit, plus the 1/3 cost (so $1980).

Total project cost 1800 - 320 + 2800 + 1980 = $6,260. Remember this is in addition to the original £6040. This means we have paid $12,300 for a vehicle that is only worth $8200, representing a loss of $4100 (a 50% mark-up). For comparison if you just sold the Shiruken at it's base salvage value and bought the final configuration you would only have lost $3020 (a 37% mark-up)

Of course this assumes you are paying a garage to do the work for you. This becomes a more credible plan if you do the work yourself. You still need to pay the 10% of all components, but this equates to $540. With the sale of the old body this is only a loss of $860, a fraction over 10%.

The question is, how much of this can realistically be done yourself. Most amateurs can probably handle everything but the plant with basic tools and enough time. But for a businessman time is also money. Fortunately as there are so few components in a Shiruken* even with basic mechanics skills and a portable shop you could reasonably get it all done in a weekend without impacting your business too much.

Your best bet therefore might be to get your upgraded body with the plant already factory fitted delivered to your door ($4800)**. You can then swap over the remaining components yourself ($340). Finally you can sell the old body with its plant still fitted for salvage (recouping $1320). The project cost here is $3820 making the overall cost $9860 (around 20% mark-up). This is probably better than the terms you would have got on a loan way back when you couldn't do any better and were forced to buy the Shiruken in the first place. Some suppliers may agree to take the salvage value off the cost of the replacement body and plant in advance to reduce your up-front costs. Others may insist that tires need to be fitted to delivered bodies to facilitate delivery. As always, shop around for the best deal.

If you don't have the necessary skill, try to cut a deal with one of the apprentice mechanics at your local arena. They earn less than $300 per week so a few hundred bucks will probably be enough. Alternatively some Boy Scout Commando units help out local businessmen (a similar sized donation would be appreciated). Many Commandos are highly skilled and may even be able to fit a plant. Of course Scouts also hold sales of salvage, so you might get a better deal here than your garage if you are not choosy. If you support your local scout unit already they may consider upgrading your Shiruken as a group project.

Of course none of these options make the end result a combat worthy car, we have only upgraded the handling. But at least now you have a basis for upgrading the car further.

* The Tires are 2 trivial tasks each (so even your kids can get on with this while you handle the other parts). By the book this should take 8 hours, but this seems excessive. That leaves just the FE, the gun and the armour. These are easy tasks and assuming Mechanic 0 and a portable shop take on average 12 hours to salvage and re-install all of them. I think the mechanic rules need changing (as posted elsewhere) but even with those rules rebuilding a Shiruken is still a weekend job.

**If you are willing to toss the armour (and possibly the tires) you don't even have to go for the same body type, but then you are really just in the salvage game so we won't explore this further.