Complete turn key car

[Tyrese Jackson]

Hello I have heard through the grapevine that receiving all the parts for the superlite is a longer than expected original promise (three months)
Should I go with rcr or ultima
Is rcr providing all parts to make it a turn key car in three months promised delivery time
Why does Ultima have the all parts
I have been hearing through some of my fellow west coasters who already have one that they are still waiting for parts much longer than 3 months I would really like to purchase this car and built it however I only want my glitches in building it to be mine and not the supplier
is this true or should I just go ahead and purchase the Mongoose

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

There is only one car currently on the West Coast...there is another sitting in the shop waiting to ship to Ca. though

As the first production cars only started shipping 3 months ago I know the information you have received is inaccurate.

Delivery from time of order is running at approx 18-20 weeks in production...it has never been quoted as 12 weeks...and certainly never as a turn key...you would wait longer than that for a factory built special order production Porsche

We are hoping to have delivery down by years end as sales of the SL-C have been superb and we have already sold chassis/car 25.

We have been able to change customers orders and offer new interior components and also upgrade their option list along the way...these change orders have increased lead times on a few items but certainly not by months as you mention.

Ultima builds a good car and have done so mainly unchanged in design for close to twenty years...yet they dont always have ALL the parts in stock at all times.

Seems like you should buy whatever makes you happy in the long term ..whether it be an Ultima, an SL-C or a Mongoose.

With this being your first post on this forum , only joining today and it being so direct ,I find it somewhat suspicious but I am available via email and PM should you want to discuss your thoughts...and relieve my suspicions.

Thanks for joining the forum and showing interest in our car

Happy shopping....

Fran

 

[Chip Smith]

The current time frame Fran described sounds very reasonable to me for a car that has just come onto the market and they are still working to get ahead of the the orders. If you know what you want, wait for it, dont sacrifice.

 

[Chip Smith]

Fran, what is the chance of seeing the SL-C, Ultima and Mongoose all at the Run&Gun that is comming up?

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

I know there will be two SL-C at the event...my "track only" car and a customers track car too...although I dont know whether he will be running it or not...

We will have some big shoes to fill....

We are going to run a stock LS7 and a Ricardo box....all off the shelf customer available stuff...nothing trick at all....

 

[Jack]

I decided early on (after a shop visit with Fran) to be patient for my delivery date.
I did change wheels, tires and opted for the new windows and molded interior parts.

Because I have a sideline development shop, I do know what it takes to make these things happen. The response to the SLC has been overwhelmingly positive and Fran and his very skilled people have done a very credible job in the quality and timeliness of concept to production "parts on the shelf". So I say, if this is what you want, wait for it because the small delay will be well worth the result. You will wind up with a fantastic automobile of limited production which is a great value in the end.

 

[J. Salmon]

Wow, talk about wanting cake to eat. Want to spec an new Ferrari? If you are so lucky, two years later you can pick your colors and check the boxes of which carbon bits you want. How about an Audi R8? The wait is a bit less (18 months) but again you can pick your colors from the wonderful pallet that includes silver, blueish silver, greyish silver, white, black, and red. Want it without Nav? Sorry, it's a "mandatory" option. You can get any color you want, but it will cost you big and take significantly longer.

Here you have a car that can almost literally be built any way you want it. I won't speak to the lead time, but I'll wager less than a year. Seems very reasonable to me. Having seen the car in person and having a pretty good idea of what goes into building a completely custom car, I think it's pretty impressive.

 

[Craig Gillingham]

i am prepared to wait the 7months (hopefully sooner) to get a great car...the factory Ultima here in UK was quoted May2009 (similar spec)
If that is your major concern in deciding what car to get maybe an "off the shelf" car would be more suited?

 

[Tyrese Jackson]

Fran,
Is the car you are talking about in California a complete car with all the parts needed to finish.

After laying out that amount of money I'm just checking to make sure all my ducks are in a row before going forward on my purchase ie: side windows for an A/C equipped car and door/hood/rear hatch hinges and are any other items that I should be aware of.

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

"Is the car you are talking about in California a complete car with all the parts needed to finish...."
No it is not ...one of the reasons being the owner has changed his spec and has added the latest upgrades to interior..his own wheel specs,(which he is going to modify the body to accept).. he also added AC after the fact, and upgraded to hinged windows.
He also changed his engine spec only a week or two prior to his car shipping....and we were able to accomodate him.

After laying out that amount of money I'm just checking to make sure all my ducks are in a row before going forward on my purchase ie: side windows for an A/C equipped car and door/hood/rear hatch hinges and are any other items that I should be aware of.....
The nose and rear hatch do not hinge as standard ..they remove completely for access.....per a race car and similar to our RCR40

That being said we have developed a hinging tail and nose that we will offer as an option once we have tested its durability...

We have added many more luxury/production/sportscar items during the development of the SL-C , such as power tilt and telescoping steering column with OEM switchgear(as standard) and more that we will release once finalised.....

With this genre of handbuilt cars ..mine or otherwise ..you will need to understand that some vendor supplied items are out of the manufacturers control...a glaring example is the ZF/RBT transaxle for GT40 replicas....and the increase in price and scarcity of Porsche G50 transaxles...thats the reason RCR stocks ALL of the transaxle variants ALL of the time....

Another thing to keep in mind , building any type of car...replica or race will need input from the builder....none of the products on the market are like Lego...some are much better than others though.

Almost every higher end replica/kitcar on the market is of high quality componentry and is not rocket science to assemble but it takes patience and perseverance...sometimes not for the faint hearted....or shallow pocketed

 

[Jack]

A good example is myself, I had decided that I MUST have a Superlite Coupe, PERIOD! This was especially reinforced after my shop visit. I worked out a build budget based upon the engine/gearbox combo that I could afford, plus about 1/3 more for the unexpected. Then after learning of the several upgrade modifications that Fran was working on, decided to wait for them. I also upgraded wheels and tires after the photo's of Fran's black SLC were posted. AWSOME!

Originally, I had intended to make a few of these upgrades myself, but Fran beat me to it, and I decided to wait patiently. The time spent I would have spent in development and making these parts myself simply pays for the reasonable charges by RCR. I am convinced that Fran's crew could produce these much more efficiently than I.
A complete turnkey car will add somewhat to the timeline for a delivery, this is only common sense because the assembly labor must be added to the timeline.

The bottom line is that on the scale of production required for the surprisingly large number of orders submitted for the SLC during the introduction of this new product, there are inevitably some delays by outside vendors, as well as development improvements, etc. A few months wait for one of the best component cars in the world is hardly a valid concern (Just my thoughts here).

 

[Tyrese Jackson]

Hi,

It has been brought to my attention to go with the Ultima.
Please find below their comments:

I ordered a Car from Fran in July of 2006. A few years ago, I was still waiting for headers and sway bars for my car.

Parts delivery has been much slower than promised, even for items that are standard parts of the kit (such as the body.) When the body was finally delivered, it was extremely rough requiring an additional unexpected $5,000 worth of body work to be assembled and prepared for paint.

What is particularly frustrating is that Fran requires payment for all options up front. One of my options was an air conditioning system. I was told repeatedly that the item was out of stock and would ship when available. I later learned, through monitoring gt40s.com, that air conditioning systems were being delivered to other customers, some of whom had ordered their kits well after I placed my order.

Eventually, I believe I will have a car I am very happy with. What Fran produces is of high quality. However, Fran needs to do a better job of setting realistic expectations of delivery times and I find his response to your question on gt40s.com misleading.

Are the delivered SLC's that are paid for supplied with all the parts they paid for.

I don't want to order a car and have to chase you down for the parts that I was already suppose to receive and paid for!

Can I purchase this car in a pay as you go or do I really have to pay for something in advanced that even been produced yet!

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

You have chosen your path good luck with your new car.

I make no excuses about vendor supplies sometimes being back ordered....I even put customers in touch with the very same vendors that supply me.....they can then hear it from the horses mouth and not second hand through me....

Bodies are NEVER shipped separately from the kits....so your above comment about the bodies being delayed are also inaccurate and a veiled attempt to mislead....

We build many models of car and many of the items do not fit all models....this does create delays with my suppliers...and are unavoidable.

When we have parts on the shelf we ship them ASAP..often overnight/next day...many customers will attest to that......

I personally feel that you were never intending to purchase anything from RCR but whatever your agenda, I appreciate you highlighting RCR's need to work harder....we certainly will and we will also continue to provide inspiring quality kits at affordable prices.

 

[Tyrese Jackson]

I was personnaly intending to purchase you kit, But I don't want to receive an incomplete kit Car after providing you complete funds in advance.

Can you please answer me one question?
Have you "RCR" delivered any totally complete superlite Kits to date or are customers still waiting for parts?

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

We have not shipped a complete SL-C kit yet as EVERY customer has requested additional upgrade parts.....after their initial order....
Interior ,upgraded wheels, AC, sway bars to name a few items....does that help you with your Ultima purchase decision..?
When we get a "straight" order for an SL-C it will ship complete....

I have a question for you...Have you ever purchased a kit/replica/hot rod car that you have had to assembled..and if so what ..?

 

[Tyrese Jackson]

OK Fran, would'nt door hinges, hood hinges, diffuser, head or tail lights be considered standard or are these the upgrades that you are talking about

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

Yes they would ...

We have made changes to these parts...and I will list them for you.

Door hinges...now double walled steel with more adjustability and a more robust design than our original tubular ones...as seen at Carlisle

Diffuser to accomodate hinging rear deck option and adjustable wing wount ....previously mentioned

Tail lights are in stock and have always been....so not sure where that one came from

Headlights...upgraded to HUD and waiting on the supplier

Hood hinges.....never listed as available but coming soon due to popular demand

The goal is provide single generation parts and not have a mix of Gen 1, 2 ,3 etc changes...makes life simpler in the future for everyone concerned.

Does that help??

 

[Tyrese Jackson]

Can you tell me where this car was at Carlisle and can you please send me any or all pictures Please.

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

Here ya go.....
http://www.gt40s.com/forum/rcr-forum-rcr40-rcr70-p4-mkiv/25297-any-pictures-carlise-yet.html

 

[Tyrese Jackson]

Thanks