GTD forum?

Simon · 10-12-06, 06:25 PM

I was just wondering if there's a reason that there is no GTD/KVA section in the GT40 Replica Manufacturer's Corner?
GTD must have been one of the biggest producers of GT40 replicas over the years (certainly in the UK) and it seems that the majority of roadworthy replicas are GTD's?
There must be lots of GTD specific questions asked over the years (I've got a few now!)

Simon

Paul Thompson 'Hooligan' · 10-12-06, 06:57 PM

Hi Simon

The Mfr forums were created I believe for specific mfrs to promote their cars and help those who purchase(d) to both complete and maintain their builds.

The mfr also make a payment to help with the running costs of the forum (I think that is correct) which seems fair.

As GTD in its final commercial guise ceased trading some years ago (2002??) with no more kits or cars being made after that date, there is no mfr to support and promote such a forum. (likewise with KVA?)

I'm sure that if you post questions in the normal engine, transmission etc forums, or the GTD40 Club section, you will probably get the answers/solutions you desire as there are a great many GTDs around the world that owners and drivers continue to enjoy and develop today.

Remember too that the proven GTD Chassis is still available today in the UK. Built under a continuation license by Roy Smart it is available in standard form (as from GTD) or with various upgrades / options that have been developed and proven over the years.

Roy can be reached by emailing him thus:
roy.smart(at)smart-tech-performance.co.uk but give him time to reply as he does not check his email every day...

Hope this helps and if I got the mfr bit wrong, I'm sure someone will correct me.

Ron Earp · 10-12-06, 07:11 PM

That is certainly a good question and something I thought about just the other day.

The Manufacturer's Corner was originally designed to allow current GT40 producing companies a place to support their customers. It certainly worked like that for RF in the heyday, and is doing that right now for RCR and CAV. From my side of things the manufacturers paid a small sum of money ($150) to have the forum for a year and naturally that money was used to support the forum. RCR, MDA, VIP Classics, and Superformance companies that have paid into that and have "current" forums.

GT40 Australia did pay in once but never paid in at a later date. The old RF naturally is no longer with us and the new one is not quite ready for worldwide consumption, thus they are not paying manufacturers.

But, what to do with a forum full of good info when the manufacturer doesn't pay, or, in the case of GTD, doesn't exist?

Well, you simply can't throw the stuff away, and therein lies the crux of the problem I was considering. Essentially I didn't think far enough ahead for the model of how that was to work and now it is a little late.

I think a better model is to simply have the forum run on kind member donations and advertisements, while allowing marquee specific forums for makes that people want to see. Problem is, since switching to the new forum software members donations dropped off dramatically and now hover at around one a month. On the upside, I was undulated with requests for advertising and raised those rates and had to turn some people away. But, I don't think I raised it enough to compensate for lack of member donations, thus we don't operate with a positive cash flow. Nonetheless, it isn't as if I am going to not pay for the server and not admin the joint if we don't have a positive cash flow. It is a hobby not a business.

At any rate, it is probably not a bad idea to have manufacturer specific forums for active makes, but, would it dilute some information that is best in the main technical forums? Would a "dead" make of GT40 really have all that many questions? Maybe it would, and, that is why I am asking.

We used to have a forum for Sabre GT40s, but there were only three active builders in the US, and now I think only one, Mike Starling as Lynn has finished his.

Anyhow, any feedback would be appreciated.

Ron

Doug Sainlar · 10-12-06, 07:42 PM

Not related to GTD, Ron, but definitely to the cash flow problem. How about establiblishing another level of "support", perhaps at $100/year. I know I would be willing to support the forum at that level and perhaps others would, too. I've considered contributing to an additional silver and/or bronze support to increase my level of support to the forum, as I have noted one member that has two stars by his member info on posts. IMHO, even at that $$ the level of information (not to mention encouragement) on the forum would be a bargain.

Doug

Mark Worthington · 10-13-06, 12:50 AM

I'm certainly glad the RF forum (now, appropriately called the Roaring Forties Owners Forum) exists, as there's a ton of great technical information there. That forum also makes a lot of sense as a stand-alone, manufacturer-specific forum, because the kits were pretty darn complete with a lot of identical parts and quirks across most of the chassis that RF shipped, and most people that have gone through the build process have run across similar issues.

While I certainly don't want to discourage a GTD-specific forum, I remain firmly of the opinion that, when it comes to the number of forums on a web site such as this, less is more. This site already has 30 different forums, which I believe to be about 15 too many (FWIW, I would leave the manufacturer-specific forums untouched, and I wouldn't hesitate to add one for GTDs). I think that fewer, yet more active forums are easier to manage and if you want to hone in on a specific topic you're much better off using the search function than browsing through sub forums.

Not that I'm complaining or anything - I love this site.

Ron, don't be afraid to shake the trees every now and then or maybe do some sort of subtle "membership drive" on an annual or semi-annual basis.

Brett James-McCall · 10-13-06, 03:49 AM

Hey Ron,
I'd love a GTD forum, but I am biased, as I am still building mine ;O)

Brett

Keith Hardy · 10-13-06, 04:07 AM

You've jogged my memory Ron! - I've just contributed, but hey! a "membership drive" now and then is not such a bad idea.......

Peter Olliviere · 10-13-06, 07:09 AM

Ron,
Shake the trees and let the membership know what is required to continue the forum on a posative basis. Speaking for myself, the amount spent on forum support is not even measurable when put against what is spent on this hobby. To that equation add in the amount of information we all take from the site and it becomes a no brainer.

Peter

Ron Earp · 10-13-06, 07:23 AM

Hey Fellows,

This doesn't have to be a membership drive or anything like that. But thanks for the suggestions and I will change around the suppot levels a bit if you like and see what that does. It is a hobby, so it isn't like I don't know it'll consume cash.

Now, on the forums, let's have some discussion on those. Only GTD? Others? Or don't add any more at all? Any other subforums that people would find useful, and not just car specific?

Mark, I can see a few forums that I would like to have more traffic (and some don't because they are "broken"), but which 15 forums out of 30 would you remove? That is 50% of what we have.

Mark Worthington · 10-13-06, 07:29 AM

Ron, I'd condense the 5 GT40 marketplace subforums into one forum. I'd leave the paddock, the manufacturer-specific forums, and the tech forums unchanged. I'd condense everything else into two remaining forums - All GT40, and GT40 events.

Just my $0.02.

JackW · 10-13-06, 08:47 AM

Hi Ron

For what it is worth I reckon a membership drive or upping the prices of membership wouldn't go astray. I don't know what I would do at work without my daily, er actually, several times a daily, fix. And I don't even have a car. But one day I will and when that day comes I hope this forum is still running strong as whether or not I am a builder or a turn key, the idea of being able to share ideas, suggestions and experiences with like minded people is fantastic.

I recently had the joy of riding in Andrew Eats's RF car and it was one of the highlights of my life. I met Andrew through this very forum. For the record Andrew, I haven't forgotten about sending you the video, I just 'haven't worked out how to put it onto a disk yet. Anyway, I would be happy to contribute a little more to help get you in positive cash flow. I know it is just a hobby to you, but how much more would you enjoy a hobby that wasn't costing you money.

Also, just to remain vaguely on the topic, I like the idea for a GTD forum as there seems to be lots of English chaps still building, or modifying GTD cars.

Cheers

Jack

Ron Earp · 10-13-06, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Worthington

Ron, I'd condense the 5 GT40 marketplace subforums into one forum. I'd leave the paddock, the manufacturer-specific forums, and the tech forums unchanged. I'd condense everything else into two remaining forums - All GT40, and GT40 events.

Not sure I could agree with that. With no subforums a for sale post would have a very short lifetime and threads would be hard to find. Ditto the combine "Everything Else" into two forums. Consumer Watch serves a useful purpose and while I agree the Worldwide Events, Ford GT, Racetrack, and a few others don't get a lot of traffic ,what few posts are there would simply disappear in the volume of threads if we had just All GT40 and GT40 events.

More forum comments on subforums, make forums, etc.?

R

CliffBeer · 10-13-06, 11:42 AM

Hi Ron, what is the easiest way for a member to make a donation to the forum?? Is there an online secure credit card process? Mail? Thanks.

Ron Earp · 10-13-06, 01:01 PM

Hi Cliff,

If you click "Support Forum" in the tool bar above it'll start the process which will lead you to PayPal, which can work through credit cards.

Best,
Ron

Paul Thompson 'Hooligan' · 10-13-06, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ron Earp

Problem is, since switching to the new forum software members donations dropped off dramatically and now hover at around one a month.

Ron

Hi Ron, when you say one a month, are you talking about new members who make a donation? - surely those long term members who have subscribed are renewing their subs automatically? - I have checked my PayPal account and an automatic annual subscription is still in place (next due Mar 14th 2007) and I would like to think that many others are in a similar arrangement...

Re the forums/sub-forums debate - I've just had another look at all the forums and I'm not sure I would remove any. Whenever I visit I always click on 'new posts' first - from there I then view those I find most interesting or relevant to me first. If I search - I tend to search ALL forums anyway, so as not to miss something that might be not where I might have expected it to be.

Keep up the good work - I guess you never expected it to grow in the manner it has and I am still pleasantly surprised by its excellent signal to noise ratio - long may it continue...

Doug Sainlar · 10-13-06, 03:01 PM

I'm good as-is, Ron. Obviously, there are sub-forums I visit more frequently than others, but like Jack W. I find myself jonesing for a GT40 fix more than once during the work day. Usually I check on the new posts, and while I haven't posted on all of them, there isn't a sub-forum I haven't read and from each of them I've gained valuable information.

If my $.02 is worth anything, I'd say leave the forum like it is! I like it!!

Doug

Ian Anderson · 10-28-06, 09:25 AM

Ron

Could be a bug in the change over of software

I did not get a reminder when my subscription ran out and I had not click automatic renewal. - Just renewed Today anyway - good to see addition of other currencies - just hope Paypal converts it at a reasonable rate of Exchange

Ian

Ron Earp · 10-28-06, 12:03 PM

Hi Ian,

I removed the re-occuring subscription renewal feature. I got some "nasty" emails about it in the sense that it would try to renew and then ask you to verify via PayPal. I really didn't set it up to be re-occuring in the first place, it just happened with the old software. This software has the option, but I turned it off in light of some folks complaining about it in the past. No big deal, if you want to support you can simply click on the support icon in the menu bar, you'll just need to do it every year or so. Thanks for the contrabution, it is much appreciated. I'm hoping to get some changes enacted around Thanksgiving to clean up the board and give it a new "look" that is more gearhead orienteed and classy, basically a custom "skin" from one of the many artisans out there that do that sort of thing. Cool stuff.

Best,
Ron