Tornado_Mr A.S.!!

[RJL]

Andy Sheldon, you state in another 'post' that the order time for one of your cars (in kit form ?) is 40 weeks, and that you must be 'doing something right' !! I can tell you that it is NOT right to have to wait that long for a kit. No sir, you are not doing it right. 4 weeks should be about right.
I am 'new' to GT40's (replicas) but not new to buying what is, just a car.

[Mike Dozier]

Could be worse....I hear the wait for an ERA GT40 is at least a year...probably closer to 2!
Guess it's matter of how bad you want something.

I suspect Andy's 40 week backlog is a combination of GTD going bust and the renewed interest in GT40s. I'm sure
he doesn't want customers always waiting 40 weeks.
That would cost him sales...too many other GT40
replicas now available, and soon to come on line.

MikeD

[norman falkiner]

Dear RJL There are a few GT40 kits that are available in 4 weeks or under but they are plastic and come in cardboard boxes. Regards

[DC]

Dear stranger,

As you said you are new to this interest, with such a specialist car 4 weeks is rather overdemanding - he said in his typically understated way - you have to wait longer for VW sometimes and if you were interested in a Morgan it could be several years (still there's no accounting for some tastes).

I dare say Andy cannot have chassis and bodies on the shelf. If he can make one this quick I would be concerned, for example the fibreglass body has to be stored for some time to avoid creep.

I nearly bought a Tornado about 6 years and visited the Kidderminster works. I think the wait was about 12 - 16 weeks at the time (but its quite a while ago now), it certianly wasn't off the shelf.

I won't lose interest if CAV, et al, start producing production quantities of GT40 replicas but it will take the edge off ownership.

David Champ

[JP]

[ QUOTE ]
Andy Sheldon, you state in another 'post' that the order time for one of your cars (in kit form ?) is 40 weeks, and that you must be 'doing something right' !! I can tell you that it is NOT right to have to wait that long for a kit. No sir, you are not doing it right. 4 weeks should be about right.
I am 'new' to GT40's (replicas) but not new to buying what is, just a car.

[/ QUOTE ]

You must dreaming if you think any GT40 co. will get a kit ready in 4 weeks. They are all small cottage industry type companies.

Like the Grolshe ad on T.V states "You can't rush these things!".

Regards,

J.P

[Ian K]

A coworker finally took delivery of his new Mini S.

I believe he waited nearly 20 weeks for it. So, 40
weeks for a small company like Tornado is not "too
long".

And, if I ever hear you refer to a GT40, replica
or not, as "just a car" ever again, may you be forever
cursed to drive a 1986 Dodge Caravan for the rest of
your days [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

Ian [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[Ron Earp]

Hi RJL, you might want to use the serach feature or read awhile on the board. You'll get a lot of information and won't be prone to getting folks fired up.

Ron

[Andy Sheldon]

RJL

I am afraid that the waiting list is now 44 weeks. You should have placed an order when it was only 40 weeks.

Andy

[Chris Meredith]

I have the answer to RJL's problem. Buy a completed GT40 that is already on the road and legal. Drive it home and then take it apart. This will take about 4 weeks. You will then have your kit.

Chris Meredith.

[RJL]

Some interesting replies. (A 'search' would not stimulate this).
The questions I raise results from my 30 years in the Motor Manufactor industry.
So here's one more: What is the longest 'lead time' part? Either the moulded body or the fabricated chassis I would guess.
That should be close to the delivery time "For a cottage indusrty".
No, I should not (have not) order a vehicle to have to wait that long. Notice...have not. Were it an 8 week wait, then I would have to reconsider. So, in this customers case, you are not "doing it right".
I would be very interested to know what the road blocks are.
Example; do you wait for 38 weeks then build a chassis, or does it take 38 weeks to build?
It would seen people (customers) are prepaired to wait though, so why bother trying to improve?
I hope you regard these comments as constructive critisism as no malice is intended.
(Did have £28k ready, but time is eating it away!)
Thank you, RJL

[JP]

RJL,

If you are after a kit, and NOT a "turn key", you might want to have a look here: www.gt40uk.com

In my opinion, and I have compared them all, the best GT40 available in the World.

Regards,

J.P

[Andy Sheldon]

RJL

The reason for the wait is very simple. We produce a body/chassis unit every 2 weeks. If you are 20th on the list you would have to wait 40 weeks.
As they say first come first served.

Andy

[Ron Earp]

RJL, I agree with Andy and others. I think the companies are "doing it right", as you say. Bodies are hand laid, chassis is welded by hand on jigs. Typically each company only has one man for each job and to do it right is going to take some time. Larger outfits like CAV are undoubtedly faster than that, but you still have to wait. Speciality cars - I mean, probably only 60-100 GT40s total from all makes hit the market per year. And that is a recent development, two years ago there were far fewer players and lead times were much longer. Want a mass-produced car in short order? Well, there are plenty of them available, they just aren't GT40s.

Ron

[GT40 MKII]

40 week wait? ha lets see im on a 4 year wait as we speak. I did my research, made my choice, allocated the money, got ready to place the order, then the market crashed. When you get paid in stock, that hurts, I lost the wifes car, my car and other stuff, so now, I am still waiting. ERA will still get my money, once i get it back. Oh yea, the wait was a little over 2 years back then. I can wait a lot, because I want what they offer, and I want it done right, once.

[scottbarber]

Wow! I've waited longer than this to have a car painted let alone built. Good for Andy if he has a bit of a waiting list. It isn't realistic to think a small manufacturer can or should ramp up his production just because he happens to have a backlog right now.

Scott

[Malcolm]

A mate chose not to wait for three years for his name to get through Bentley's waiting list for the new Continental GT. Am trying to persuade him otherwise as I want to have a go in it. But I think Bentley do it right even better than Morgan. Is this comparing AS to WO? [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

I think I waited about 16 weeks for my GTD in 1990.

Malcolm

[Ron Earp]

In retrospect ther eis so much else to do it doesn't matter how long you wait (within reason, a year is a lot). Four months is no time at all if you start your cooridnation of stuff now.

R

[Howard Jones]

Cash will of course shorten ANY WAIT. Offer Tornado a deal based on a delievry of 4 weeks and be prepaired to write a BIG check. I'm sure they will do it for ENOUGH MONEY. I bet you can buy a GT 40 off this forum today if you put up enough money. You write your check and you take your chances.

[Paul]

I had to wait 6 months for a body from Andrew but that was not a problem as it was well worth waiting for. Andrews factroy is not large so I am not supprised about the waiting list. You are dreaming if you think a chassis and body can be laid up in 4 weeks. When you build a GT40 Replica you learn one thing which is paitence as it just takes time if you want a decent car in the end.
Paul R

[barry]

I would just like to add that Andy Sheldon has been a great help to me and i am prepared to wait. HJ,Andy is to much of a gentleman to accept a big cheque and let the rest of his customers down