This poses an interesting problem, due to the nature of the product. For you are not buying a car. You are buying an uncompleted *kit*, then paying somebody else to build a motor, and then a third party to assemble it into a cohesive package. When it doesn't work the way it's supposed to, who is responsible?
If the car doesn't run properly, that's not the fault of the guy who sold you the kit, it's an engine problem. The engine installer can say it's not his fault, it's an engine problem. And the engine builder can say it's not his fault, it's an installer problem. So lots of finger pointing and zero accountability.
Mike points out a very important issue. Buying one of these cars is so vastly different from purchasing a factory-production car with a rock-solid warranty that most purchasers are oblivious to the potential problems. Everything, I think, comes down to the integrity of the SPF dealer which, unless you do your homework, is probably a complete unknown at the time of purchase. My view is that your dealer should provide you with a reasonable product as per the given legalities outlined in Cliffbeer2's posting above. (I may be being naive, but we'll continue on.) But, as Mike pointed out, the ultimate responsibilities can get nebulous when problems arise. Not having gotten into the nitty-gritty of it with my local dealer (Dynamic MotorSports), my impression has been that they will insure that your desires for the engine and driveline will be met by the installer (in this case, Replicar Engines & Drivelines, a separate entity but located in the same commercial building (along with other businesses) whose business appears to overwhelmingly be doing work on SPF Mark IIIs', Cobra Daytona Coupes and GT40's for Dynamic MotorSports, but also does sports car restorations.). If there's problems with the "roller" the dealer should resolve them himself, with the distributor or High-Tech Auto; whatever it takes. If there are problems with the engine or driveline then the installer would/should be obligated to deal with those issues with the manufacturer/distributor, and the SPF dealer should require that they do that. If there's problems with the installation, the dealer should require the installer to straighten them out. Like I said, I may be being naive, but this is what I would/will do:
1. At the point that my dealer knows that I am super-serious about purchasing a SPF GT40, I would require of him a reference list of his previous SPF GT40 purchasers. (
Before you do this, casually ask him how many of these he has sold; then you will know how many references he should be providing you.) Names and phone numbers are all that you need, and is no significant invasion of anybody's privacy. If your dealer balks at this, then it's a "red flag" that he has a significant number of unhappy SPF GT40 customers. Something you need to know.
2. Also at this point, I would require a copy of the sales contract and hard copies of all warranty information for the "roller" for examination at my leisure; a dealer with integrity should have no problem with this. If he can provide, through his installer, warranties on your desired engine and driveline, I would require copies of these too. If he doesn't have available to him the latter, I would get them off the manufacturer's or distributor's website, so you know where you stand if problems arise.
3. Beyond the written documentation in 2. above I would, in the strongest possible terms, get a strong verbal committment from the dealer as to what he will or won't do in regards to providing you with a quality, trouble-free product upon receipt and final payment (from
him, not the installer or the engine and driveline distributor or manufacturer.) It should be clearly understood that there will be no buck-passing at this point; that you will hold him fully responsible for providing you with the product that you expect. Much better would be to bring an attorney with you, get a very clear verbal committment from the dealer as to what he will provide for you, have it written up and have him sign it. My experience is that even honest and legitimate dealers can get balky at this point, but the more you can nail down what you expect, the better.