Problem dealing with RBT

Has anybody else outside the US had trouble dealing with RBT? I emailed Lloyd Butfoy with a parts required list and he responded with prices, so I promptly placed an order by email with credit card details for payment. A week later I sent a fax asking for a response and nothing. I get the feeling it may be because they don't want to deal outside the US but maybe that's just me. I seem to recall getting the cold shoulder from Lloyd once before, when I had a query but didn't think much of it. Can anyone enlighten me as it's very frustrating.

Regards Ross

It's my understanding that people inside the US have their troubles as well. I don't think it's a matter of where you are, but more a matter of how big a (potential) customer you are. And I don't think it's a concious effort to slight the little guys, just a matter of limited bandwidth forcing them to give priority to the bigger customers...

I've ordered several items from Lloyd over the last couple of years and have had no problems either placing the order or receiving the parts.

If you are trying to get a whole transaxle, and you can't get one from Lloyd, try Marino Perna at MAP in St Petersburg, FL. He may have one left- I bought my ZF type 2 unit from him, he was a pleasure to deal with, and it looks fine. Now I just have to have the car finished to put it in.

Jim, likewise here on dealing with Marino in St. Pete FL (just up the road a piece). He's sure worth a call.

Priority and common courtesy are two different things. A business that sells direct to the public should always acknowledge correspondence, even if just to say we'll be back to you shortly.

MikeD

Food for thought department, or..how to feel lucky you only spent $7500...
My ZF 5DS25-2 transaxle arrived from MAP, said to be an unused BMW M1 unit, sure enough there are two old BMW parts tags on it with serial numbers, so just for grins I called the local BMW dealer and asked them to run the numbers to see if they were good and what the items cost....one number was good, the one for the transmission: slightly over $15,400 from BMW.. , of course, that's list price. Even a ZF BOAT transmission is only $2900, however you do need two of them and they are still in production.

Hi all,
I bought a 5ds25-2 from Lloyd Butfoy about a year ago, the goods arrived by air freight as promised and were exactly as ordered.

I bought my NOS M1 ZF via Maxmillian importing from BMW germany about 4 years ago now. At that time they were US$5000 delivered to my door here in Wisconsin. About a year later I called MI again (Paul) and was quoted the same $15000 as above. Similar to location in real estate, timing is everything.
Scott

Guys
I am very pleased to report that my ordered parts from RBT have just arrived via FedEx.My thanks to Lloyd except to say a 5 second email would have satisfied me that the parts were on their way and I wouln't have posted this Topic.Maybe Lloyd is monitoring this site and GT40's.com power (not unlike "people power")was the inspiration that did the trick.My thanks to all who posted comments, it's nice to know I am not alone in this GT40 world.

I just want to comment on the subject:RBT is a small company, we are tring to build are self up, at the same time we are doing production runs on are RBT 6-speed as well as maufacturing parts for the ZF 5DS25 transaxle that we took over years age. Well there is (4) types of transaxle in the mix
the ZF 5SD25/0 /1 /2 and the M1 box. All the parts will not mix and match,so there is alot to make. If someone calls from some other country and want's parts we try to get them, If we don't have it in stock I will try to find it. Some people expect us to have what they need at all times,and I may think we have it in stock but if not, I am on the hot seat to find it. It is hard to cover everyone all the time but I will try. Also yes there is a discount on large orders. Lloyd Butfoy PS I am a fan of the GT40 my father worked for Alan Mann, Shelby, and John Holman

One more point: we DO sell new ZF's to fit the GT40, Sometimes I will have a used ZF that I did a full rebuild on but time is hard to find for that. Lloyd

Ross, I'm curious how your ZF will fit into an RF chassis. Did you have to hack up and weld the frame?

Mark
I was surprised at how little I had to do to fit the ZF into the roaring forties chassis.The motor has to go forward and down so here is what I did in numbered sequence:
1/cut out the engine mounts
2/remove hand brake cable brackets
3/scallop angled brace on RH side of chassis to allow bell housing to occupy space when motor/transaxle centred.
4/shift hydraulic brake brackets forward on chassis and remount 4 way union.
Thats it as far as cutting goes Mark but I used some nifty Ideas to set up the new location of motor/transaxle.Firstly I clamped
a board to the bottom of the chassis.Then I sat the motor/transaxle in position so the bell housing cleared the crossmember and sat flat on the board(ERA bellhousing has flat open bottom section)and centred it as accurately as I could.The line up of drive shafts at this stage looked good approx 5 degrees rearward.Ah I did have to cut the support bracket off for the top link(suspension) and also move the top spring mounts forward (not a lot of work though).At this stage I had no sump on motor and levelled the whole assembly.I then put the engine mounts back in and fitted mounts to the top of the transaxle and 2 at the rear.The only extra comment I need to cover is my ZF being formerly in an M1 does not have the gearshift box on the side as in Pantera and if you do have this box I reckon it will require more chassis work.Thats the detail Mark and I hope I haven't bored you with it. If you decide to fit a ZF I can pass on more detail and I don't think you would be disappointed.
Regards Ross

Lloyd
Thanks for taking the time to explain how your company works and some of the problems we all have in running a business.My ZF is going together well now thanks to the parts I received from you and the car should be racing in June.As you can see from the posts on this forum the ZF transaxle is held in high regard but many believe it to be too expensive.I believe you get what you pay for and the ZF's ability to handle the power and torque of a v8 unquestionable.I hope the title to this topic I started does not bother you as I believe the posts of myself and others have been very positive.
Kind Regards
Ross Nicol

Thank you, Ross, for your description...you make it sound easy! I took a look at your web site but couldn't make out from the photos where you scalloped the RH angle brace nor what you mean by cutting the support bracket off for the top link(suspension) or moving the top spring mounts forward. Do you have more detailed pictures you could post or email to me?

And though I think I remember you posting that you went with the ERA bellhousing, I don't recall why. Finally, do you have an approximate idea how much you lowered the engine and how much further forward it went? I assume you're using the serpentine belt system rather than the V-belts.

Thanks again for the info.

The parts we have made to ZF print are the highest quality you can get,the price reflects it because of the low production.I would like to bring down the cost but we have to work on more volume first.

Mark
I have new pics on my website and maybe you haven't seen them yet.If you go to suspension the first pic shows a side view of the rear end and it's clearer than my long winded explanation.The photo shows a rod end at each end of the black upper link and the inner end is bolted to the chassis, unlike the RF and very much like the original GT40.I moved the strut top forward so the coil spring is more vertical and so the link clears the spring coils.Also there is now room for the drive shafts.
The photo shows the diagonal chassis brace but the scalloped section is on the other side and hidden by the spring too.I'm using an ERA bellhousing because it bolts straight to the transaxle and you can follow their clutch and flywheel details which I downloaded.I reckon the motor is 2" lower but it could be a little more.It's as low as you can go before the bellhousing hangs below the chassis.I wouldn't reccomend that.
I'm running vee belts as I have a short standard rotation pump and a rev limit of 6500.Your very welcome to any info I come up with Mark as I enjoy passing it on and we must all share I reckon.If you want more pics of specific things I'll do it.Things will really start moving next week as car comes back from the paint shop.
Regards Ross