New Roaring Forties Opinion

Antony · 06-30-08, 04:18 AM

Hi all,I just want to make sure you guys O/S have a clear distinction between Logan's operation, and the new owners who are based in Thomastown. They have been nothing but helpful to me, despite me not even buying the car from them. Mike Logans name is mud here in melb, but the new guys need a shot at getting their business past that. As a Mech Engineer, I can also say that their parts and engineering are up to scratch, unlike some parts and systems that have been previously associated with the RF brand.

Cheers

john · 06-30-08, 10:46 PM

IF that is true regarding logan why did a little bird tell me that a old US distributor/friend for RF is being considered to go back to work for the new RF. LOGAN name must be dirty but not mudd IMHO. Not trying to cause a fuss just passing on info that was emailed to me from my contact in oZ.

The New Roaring Forties · 07-01-08, 12:17 AM

Antony, thanks for the kind words.

John, sorry what is the link you are trying to make between the possibility that an old distributor might be coming back on board, and RL's reputation ?

We deal with MANY suppliers from RF1, all Customers, why wouldn't we have anything to do with distributors ?

regards Paul

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dogface

IF that is true regarding logan why did a little bird tell me that a old US distributor/friend for RF is being considered to go back to work for the new RF. LOGAN name must be dirty but not mudd IMHO. Not trying to cause a fuss just passing on info that was emailed to me from my contact in oZ.

Bobski · 07-01-08, 08:53 AM

I second Anthonys post. The new RF and Paul in particular have been nothing but the most helpfull guys and a pleasure to do business with.

Bob.

David Briggs · 07-01-08, 10:42 AM

I doubt that the previous US rep for RF had anything to do with the problems caused by Mr. Logan.
Why wouldn't they want to work with a proven entity?
IMHO
Dave

roaldin · 07-01-08, 11:24 AM

If we're talking Hershal then I think there are many here that would be glad to see him back on this forum.

Tim.

Ian K · 07-01-08, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roaldin

If we're talking Hershal then I think there are many here that would be glad to see him back on this forum.

Tim.

I echo this. Hersh was not responsible for what Robert was doing.

Now, I'd still like to see some updates on the new RF - update the website,
maybe clue us in to changes to the kit, etc.

Ian

Chuck · 07-01-08, 07:50 PM

I echo also. Leave Hersh along. It would be nice to see him back on the forum.

Troy · 07-01-08, 10:22 PM

Having purchased a car from the new Roaring Forties myself that was essentially baggage from the old RF days, Paul, Jonathan, Owen and the all the guys there have been nothing but helpful in the progression of my build.

The brand looks to be in good hands, and I trust the renewed US distributor arrangements will see a healthy revival in the flow of GT40s from Australia to the US.

The New Roaring Forties · 07-01-08, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iank2112

I echo this. Hersh was not responsible for what Robert was doing.

Now, I'd still like to see some updates on the new RF - update the website,
maybe clue us in to changes to the kit, etc.

Ian

Fair enough Ian, we are working on the website now (not me, the IT guys) as it's something we inherited but is in a format which is very difficult to change content easily, we updated the address and contact details but layout and pics are apparently difficult. So it is being rebuilt in a way that we can make changes ourselves, updates etc etc. We have also only just started marketing locally including several mag articles and ads with good results - we were getting phone calls from existing RF clients who didn't know we were back - not surprising, thats what you get for hiding away rebuilding and devloping.

As to what we've been up to in the shop and engineering - firstly, as I posted awhile ago now getting the local 302 cars through compliance before the emissions rules changed here end '07, then it was into the 5.4 project of which we had I believe the first registered GT40 rep 5.4 anywhere back in Feb, 5 more underway and another 2 since then on the road. It might sound like a quick easy job but it was quite a project.

I should also point out that we considered the product to be excellent to begin with (obviously we would not have been involved otherwise) But there are always areas that you can develop further, optimise and evolve.

During first quarter '08 we also relocated to a larger newer facility which some members here have visited and the feedback has been great, it's professional and has dedicated work areas for the various activities we undertake. Anyone here who has physically moved a business would appreciate the time effort and organisation that goes into doing this efficiently.

One thing we pride ourselves on is that every single nut bolt and washer come in the kits - the wiring harnesses come terminated ready to plug in with instructions, laser cut parts are prebent, tigged and powdercoated or plated, all ready to bolt on. Everything is designed in 3D CAD and then in many cases rapid prototyped before actual ally or steel parts are fabricated or CNC'd. The engine harness is altered to run down the front of the engine, includes tach driver, fuel pump and ADSL connectors integrated so theres no wiring to be done by the client (also means it's OE level reliable) so I guess an engine integration project such as 5.4 takes a little longer the way we do it - our OEM engineering backgrounds probably extend the process but I think people are excited by the end results. Especially as whereever possible we make upgrades retro fittable to existing cars - this certainly adds some complexity to the design and the kits. There is nothing whatso ever you need to source yourself if you so choose, every part is available from us. I think you can figure this takes some time to set up !!

I hope that the updates on the website (still probably months away) will show you the full story, it's hard to compress a couple of years into a couple of paragraphs but we are proud that it's a much better product now with the engineering input.

The difficult part in the US is the strong Aussie dollar, old RF were trading against ballpark 55 US cents, now its more like 95. Having said that the product is better and until recently we have concentrated on the local guys for reasons above. It was a bigger task taking over and rebuilding than you can probably guess from outside. Thanks for your interest and please always feel free to ask questions.

Appologies for the long post, I could write for hours but above are the basics, please shoot the questions through if I'v emissed something of interest, specific new designs and parts updates would be another looooong post !

Regards Paul

The New Roaring Forties · 07-01-08, 10:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobski

I second Anthonys post. The new RF and Paul in particular have been nothing but the most helpfull guys and a pleasure to do business with.

Bob.

Thanks Bob,

From our side I've got to say what makes it easy and a pleasure to deal with these guys their co-operation and understanding that we're here for the long haul and that we do everything to the OE level per our engineering backgrounds.

It's great to get feedback from clients who have decided to do something differenty from the parts list and showed us their project - Bob's car is a great example of that !

Regards Paul

john · 07-01-08, 10:50 PM

Good luck guys I will order parts for my RF directly through the websit only.
Thanks again and good luck!

John

The New Roaring Forties · 07-01-08, 11:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dogface

Good luck guys I will order parts for my RF directly through the websit only.
Thanks again and good luck!

John

No problem John and thanks for the good wishes, I hope I clarified the (lack of) RL possition ?

We are doing sales through sales@roaringforties.com.au which is on the website if that helps.

Regards Paul

Ian K · 07-02-08, 12:49 AM

Thanks Paul. I am glad to hear things are going well. No questions now (maybe when
the dollar gains some strength

), but I do look forward to seeing the updated site,
and look forward to more details about improvements.

Have you guys done any chassis/suspension mods?

Ian

Jonathan · 07-03-08, 09:39 AM

Hi GT40 folks - I feel slightly guilty. I must admit to being a bit of a watcher and not so much of a participator on the forums, (which I was content to do in a lazy but interested manner - let other people run the forum and say what they wish. Cool to mine) and after reading more lately, I feel a that I should contribute more.

Paul (RF) is a business partner of mine and we generally let him handle these areas, as he is our senior pruduct engineer (mechanical, of course, for this industry) and well versed with the forums and people on them, but my role in RF is more systems and business structure oriented, including marketing and such.

My apologies for being absent in a public manner.

What are RF up to...
The reason for this post is purely to let interested people know that RF is puting a few different and interesting activities into place, that all enthusiasts can be a part of (GT40's, Cobras, Clubmans, whatever) but for this thread, it is biased toward GT40 people predominantly. This is a GT40 thread after all.

What are we doing (1)....
Here's one for the locals in Australia - yeah, a big country, but we're trying to make it smaller in the manner of getting people interested in ICV cars to share the knowledge and fun of how to get involved in this industry, live their dreams and to put these cars together in a systematic, controlled, educated and supported manner.

More on that later, if people are interested. Please let me know. (Or let me know if this is out of order)

What we are doing (2).....
We have organised an option to a track day at Sandown racetrack (Victoria) on Sunday 20th of July. Organised by a companion of Paul's, we can get onto this track for $300 for the full days track time. (Cheap, and no profit to RF) We might need to act fast as places will fill up quickly.

I plan on having GT40's (and other) people knowing this is happening to get folks together, as a part of progressing the ICV community and other interested people to a fun day out at the track - anyone interested?

We wish to support people interested in these sytems. It is a community afterall.

That is an example to what we (RF) are doing socially. Paul can deal with the engineering side ot things....

Have fun.

Jonathan.

Please feel free to comment. I'm new-ish at this posting thing.

Bobski · 07-05-08, 07:37 AM

Hey Jonathan, That is a great idea and I would be very interested on the next one (may be in NSW?) Anyway keep up the great work and thanks for all your support.

Bob

MReid · 07-05-08, 09:30 AM

Just a question from my own ignorance, but why call it the new Roaring Forties if the name RF has such a bad reputation? Don't you think you will be fighting that reputation forever regardless of the great people now involved?

Jonathan · 07-05-08, 11:46 AM

Hi Bob. Thanks for your reply post. I'm fairly new at posting, but I'm finding it interesting and informative and I hope I can contribute to the group.

Something I have found, sorry, WE (RF) have found, is that folks thinking about building a car like this can be a daunting task to get the build to completion, for a GT40 replica build does have a level of complexity about it - it is a special vehicle.

I've been looking at and listening to people who are interested in GT40 replicas, ours in particular as you could imagine, but one thing that keeps coming up is the level of confidence that people have about having the ablity, or confidnce, or skill, to make the build complete - a car of their dreams complete- and hence have their prime project come to fruition.

That's a fair call, because it is a significant project and I/we (meaning RF & myself personally) appreciate that. We realised immediately that we can support this....

As a result of our research, and including your interest in such things, we are doing somthing that hasn't (to my understanding) been done before in Australia. Build support and services!

So, with that in mind, we are acting on it.

Bob - you mentioned that you are interested in a "Get together" with like minded people, on a vested interest of ICV's and specificallly GT40's.

We're shipping Paul (our senior product engineer) to Perth mid july, to meet wiith the WA guys/gals for an information and exhibition day to work out what people want, and need and desire in the GT40 world.

Similar will be done in other states - we want to be involved and interactive. NSW will certainly be there. SA & Qld. are on the go as they have reported interest. We respond to interest. Just contact us to get involved.

So Bob - where and when do you want to get into contact? Maybe we can make a show of GT40's, owners/builders, products, ideas, barby's, and conversation with like minded people
Sounds like fun.

Jonathan.