#2228 delivered but not on the road

I finally took delivery of my Mk I #2228 last Thursday. A lot of things went wrong, some of which I will not comment on yet because I am trying to keep a working relationship with my dealer.

One of the first issues I had was the chassis warranty. SPF thinks the warranty starts on the day the chassis is delivered to the dealer. If that was so, I would be out of warranty for electrical items (90 days) already. After some back and forth I got the start of the warranty changed to the day of the actual delivery.

After paying the car in full we head to the DMV. It took us a couple of hours but in the end we got the registration the way we wanted it (Year: 1966, Make: Specon, Model: GT 40).

Time to head home. But I didn't get too far. After about 15 miles I pull over into a parking lot and shut the engine down. The engine, a Roush 427 IR, backfires like hell and had quit on me twice already. Because of an oil leak, it had been the center of delivery delays for the last few weeks. I call the dealer to tow the vehicle. In the end that is what happened but not until he tried a few things to get me going. Some improvements and some new symptoms like a screeching accessory belt. The car was definitely not ready for delivery.

Other things I noticed: Some of the screws that hold the side windows in place had already come loose or were sheared off. The right hand tank cap disassembled itself. Am meter didn't work and I noticed that according to the speedometer I was going 110 mph just following dense rush hour traffic on the freeway.

Overall this has not been a good experience for me. Maybe my expectations are too high but the combination of dealer, SPF and Roush did not produce an experience that is worth $140,000.

I still hope that in the end I will have a usable car soon.

Thomas Hertzler

P.S.: The car looks @#$%-hot.

Thomas, you will not get the requisite " do not worry, these are component vehicles built by a small company and you should expect such problems" from me. You have every right to expect better and I wish you the best in doing so. There is no doubt that some dealers are better than others and I am fortunate to have Olthoff so close to me. Having said that, you will enjoy the car once it is dialed in, they are fantastic.

That's really bad.... if i'd have paid what you have, i'd expect a truly top quality product and a first rate service.

I hope all gets sorted out.

I have to agree with Chuck. My car (P/2192) is also being delivered by Dennis Olthoff, and I have to say he is a perfectionist of the first order. Undoubtedly I could have pressed to have the car delivered earlier, but then I'd probably be experiencing some of the same problems you're having.

Choosing the right dealer is essential, as with these cars so much of the final product is influenced by who is actually completing it. He's certainly not the closest dealer to where I live, but I'm willing to live with that inconvenience – as are a lot of other folks.

Dennis us also a first-class race car driver, so it's gratifying to know that he is personally testing my car through all its completion phases and 'dialing it in'. I'm not sure whether some other SPF dealers even know how to drive these cars.

Best of luck, Thomas. Keep us updated on how things evolve with the car. And don't forget to post some photos!

Kim

You should expect first-class treatment from your dealer, however understand you bought a replica of a race car........and race cars need a lot of "fetteling" and therefor you are the "development department"

Mark IV said:

......and race cars need a lot of "fetteling"

Click to expand...

Is that the procedure that involves a gerbil, a card board tube, and a match.....oh, never mind.....

Ron,
You sick b@astard, you are almost as warped as I am!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Methinks it is a case of PWD.

Thomas

We feel your pain. Some dealers totally suck !!!!! Others are great. I did my own car so I dealt with ALL the problems myself. This is where the genesis of the "How To" section on the forum came from. Some of the issues you are dealing with are covered there. Obviously your dealer should take care of everything and give you a perfect car but I wouldn't count on it. Rick Muck-Mark hit the nail on the head. As anyone who buys one of these cars you will find, you will be tweaking, fussing, "dicking" with these things forever. It's just the nature of race cars. This doesn't let the dealer off the hook but this is not the same as a new Porsche, BMW, Mercedes or what ever even though you spent the same money.

Lynn understands it.

Consider that most will spend close to the original 1966 price of a GT40, for JUST THE TRANSAXLE today! Read the contemporary road tests of the original street cars and they were pretty crude, even for converted race cars. Today, we demand even the cheapest Kia to work as expected.

Any GT40 is going to require a 'working out" period and more than a little constant attention.

I did my own car so I dealt with ALL the problems myself.
Amen Lynn, I also did my own car, I know every inch of it and every problem that must be corrected so far and there are many little things to tweak in order to make it a drivable car. I was once told what Olthoff charged to do the job and its CHEAP compared to amount of time I have in my car. If it were not that I loved doing this stuff so much I would have had him do it for me. Keep on it and get it done its worth it. I drove mine day before yesterday in 90 heat and humidity that was almost the same, it was cool inside (some of the tweaking I was talking about) and a great ride. Being in AZ you have it much worse, have them plug all the holes going into the cab and put insulation on the engine firewall.

Just hang in there, Thomas. It most certainly IS worth it. I drove my MKI to work the other day through warm weather and heavy tollway traffic and it never missed a beat. The Roush motor ran cool and the AC was perfect. I am Soooo glad I had Dennis Olthoff and his guys put mine together. My biggest problem has been that I haven't been driving the other cars enough. I can't seem to get enough of the Superformance.

Vintage64 said:

I finally took delivery of my Mk I #2228 last Thursday. A lot of things went wrong, some of which I will not comment on yet because I am trying to keep a working relationship with my dealer.

and I noticed that according to the speedometer I was going 110 mph just following dense rush hour traffic on the freeway.

Thomas Hertzler

P.S.: The car looks @#$%-hot.

Click to expand...

Thomas,

I'm guessing that you have a 4:22 final drive in your ZF, right?

If so, then it will read too high, like mine did, because I believe they assume you'll have a 3:77.

Mine is working perfectly now. Dennis Olthoff supplied an adapter that screwed onto the ZF speedo output. The speedo cable is then attached to it.
Works perfectly compensating for the different gearing.

Sorry, I don't have a picture handy, but will get one tonight after work.

FWIW,
Kirby

I'd trade my car for your's. You are fortunate at chassis 2228 to be on the road at all. I've got P2226 and have been waiting since July 2007 for a transaxle.

Lynn and Rick,

I am expecting things to break, ownership of boats and airplanes (certified and experimental) taught me some valuable lessons. Having said that, I expect a functional car the day I take delivery. I had a mirror falling of the car, an engine that backfired and stalled, a squealing accessory belt, a turn indicator that didn't work.

daryl adams said:

... the other day through warm weather and heavy tollway traffic and it never missed a beat.

Click to expand...

Daryl:

So tell us, how do you negotiate tollways with your GT40?

Apart from an electronic pass (e.g., SunPass), and without benefit of a sliding window, I'm guessing that you either: a) open the door and pitch the coins up and behind you, like a vehicular three-pointer, keeping plenty of extra change at-the-ready for the frequent misses; or, b) using the small, standard push-out window, configure a coat hanger and a piece of gum and carefully project your quarter in the general direction of the toll booth attendant.

Someone like Lynn could probably engineer a pneumatic blow-gun that fires the coins like a mini-bazooka through the crook of the window. Otherwise, any insights would be greatly appreciated!

Kim

kepetersen said:

Daryl:

So tell us, how do you negotiate tollways with your GT40?

Apart from an electronic pass (e.g., SunPass), and without benefit of a sliding window, I'm guessing that you either: a) open the door and pitch the coins up and behind you, like a vehicular three-pointer, keeping plenty of extra change at-the-ready for the frequent misses; or, b) using the small, standard push-out window, configure a coat hanger and a piece of gum and carefully project your quarter in the general direction of the toll booth attendant.

Someone like Lynn could probably engineer a pneumatic blow-gun that fires the coins like a mini-bazooka through the crook of the window. Otherwise, any insights would be greatly appreciated!

Kim

Click to expand...

Ha! You guessed it. Here in Chicago we have the electronic "I-Pass" transponders. Interestingly, however, I CAN actually throw money out my window if I wish. One of the numerous upgrades Dennis Olthoff made to my car was to replace all the hinge hardware on the plexi wing windows with billet pieces of a different design. The new design has a locking support strut that can be disconnected to allow the window to open to a full 90 degrees. I think I would still have a tough time with my short arms reaching up to make an accurate left-handed money toss, though.

daryl adams said:

Ha! You guessed it. Here in Chicago we have the electronic "I-Pass" transponders. Interestingly, however, I CAN actually throw money out my window if I wish. One of the numerous upgrades Dennis Olthoff made to my car was to replace all the hinge hardware on the plexi wing windows with billet pieces of a different design. The new design has a locking support strut that can be disconnected to allow the window to open to a full 90 degrees. I think I would still have a tough time with my short arms reaching up to make an accurate left-handed money toss, though.

Click to expand...

Pics?

Kevin,

See below as installed on P2125.

Olthoff sells the kit

Go to www.olthoffperfection.com

Steve

steve c said:

Kevin,

See below as installed on P2125.

Olthoff sells the kit

Go to www.olthoffperfection.com

Steve

Click to expand...

Thanks! I found the link does not work, here is the correct one:

Olthoff Racing Perfection

Update:

Picked car up today.

Fixed: Hardware for side windows replaced. Nice job, except they over-tightened one screw.

Not fixed: turn indicator
Not fixed: rough engine, lots of back firing and idle stalls

What really pisses me off is that they give me the car back without fixing the two most important issues (engine & turn signal). I have pretty much lost trust in dealer. I guess I should have known who I am dealing with when a few months ago he told me "Thomas, I won't blow smoke up your ass, but I am not building the car for you. I am building it for me."

New: Driver door won't lock, mechanism seems "dry" a bit of grease may help.
New: One of the two sleeves to remove the steering wheel have come off. Not good when you have to get out of the car quickly.

Thomas