I agree - 4k will keep the lights on for a month...Well, I'll say it again, but any time you venture out into a new business you don't make money for the first 5 years...but maybe this is why the OP works for a guy who owns a shop and doesnt own his own shop...

 

Really you just have to do it. Do the mold off an HR hood so you don't have the lines. Start with glass to get the right fit from your mold, once you get a perfect fit , add vents to the mold and finally dobthem in carbon.

If you build it, it will sell. Just don't expect to sell a ton, especially at your price point. Dropping to a $1kprice point would probably triple sales

 

I'll make the hood and then go from there. Thanks to those that showed even an inkling of interest. It isn't a pipe dream. The reason I'm not starting my own business at the current moment is because I am an Active Duty EOD Technician, don't have the time to start one at the current moment, and I'm still learning a lot about this kind of work.

 

I would start with a dry carbon front fender insert. Build an insert, provide a pattern to cut the factory fender, rivet insert into place. Simple, easy and but would sell to many people.

Something like this

 

I'll be your biggest fan and your harshest critic ... thanks for your service btw

 

OP, take it from me, you need to come up with a solid plan if you expect ANY deposit from ANY market, not just the 350z.

I've had vendor status, full prototype images, pictures of tooling in the process, and STILL had a hard time getting deposits.