Not understanding the delivery process, looking for help.

[Joel K]

Not sure if you have seen the SLC Wiki. It documents many of the upgrades included with the SLC since inception. It clearly shows when changes were made, better solutions were offered over prior versions.

My car is a 2018/2019 and since then new uprights with stronger bearings, better formed roll hoop, and improved steering rack are now all included with the base kit.

Here is the link…

Production Changes — SL-C Wiki

slc-wiki.squarespace.com

 

[Lee Patterson]

This is no different than any part you buy for any car. They are all made somewhere by somebody. Assurances come from the certifications the manufacturers have obtained. Remember, the big OEMs vend out lots of stuff for new cars and the used car market is way deeper in remanufactured and replacement parts. I am not sure Captain Ron analogy works here. If you are talking about building a RACE car, do the homework and check and double check every part multiple times and assume something will still break and have spares. I assume you are not planning to go 150 on a public road.

 

[Randy V]

Idle minds can sometimes dream up terrible things.
—
Coleman & guys, Like you, I‘ve trusted Fran to produce a quality product or I would not have purchased it.
There is no way I would believe that Fran would jeopardize his company or any of his customers well-being by implementing something slip-shod.
Be patient and trust that he’s doing the best with the hands he’s being dealt..

 

[Coleman Bee]

First off, Captain Ron is in my top 5 favorite movies of all time, Kurt Russel is my spirit animal!

To answer your question I’ll tell you a story.
While I was driving Pro Formula Mazda we had an issue with the rod ends for the a-arms both front and back corners. It was the start of the season and we had swapped out all the rod ends over the off season, along with everything else that had a sub one year life span. We did not know it at the time but there was a manufacturing flaw with the parts and it made them weaker than they were spect. Unfortunately we did not heed the warning signs of the issue (they were loosening up during practice more then they should) and during a hot lap (putting together a timed lap to judge how we are doing) the back right lower rod end attaching the a-arm to the upright let go. This was at Road Atlanta, my home track, on the exit of turn five just after “the Esses” (we called it Death Valley lol), turn five is a very fast left turn with high loading and to get your best time you run the curb on exit. Because this is where the short course re enters the main course, the safe barrier is not very friendly. Suffice to say, the car was very badly damaged when the back end went and I hit that barrier at about a 45* angle backwards.

My point is this, there are no guarantees in this life. I trust the designer and build of a race car to do their job, but it’s on me and my team to listen to the car and make our judgment calls based on all the evidence. If we would have stopped and thought about why the rod ends were loosening up, we may have caught the problem before the accident.

You should never just Willy nilly go run a race car at 150mph without doing the work to get up to that point. Never start with your hot lap.

At any rate, here’s to swimmin with bow legged women! (Sorry, I also love the move jaws lol)

I love this whole post man lol

This part:

If we would have stopped and thought about why the rod ends were loosening up, we may have caught the problem before the accident.

leaves me wondering, if you had gone with your gut, did you have a backup? Im thinking no, because if you had, those parts probably would have been put on the car anyway. With no recourse in parts, your options were forfeit or "lets see what happens"...right?

 

[Coleman Bee]

Idle minds can sometimes dream up terrible things.
—
Coleman & guys, Like you, I‘ve trusted Fran to produce a quality product or I would not have purchased it.
There is no way I would believe that Fran would jeopardize his company or any of his customers well-being by implementing something slip-shod.
Be patient and trust that he’s doing the best with the hands he’s being dealt..

Roger that. In hindsight, it doesnt really help anything that I brought it up. Like the others said, this isnt a car with a giant recall department where theres a warranty and youre expected not to void the warranty. It seems like every build winds up being unique even if the order was completely stock; mods just wind up happening during the assembly process and we accept that burden going in.

 

[Coleman Bee]

Not sure if you have seen the SLC Wiki. It documents many of the upgrades included with the SLC since inception. It clearly shows when changes were made, better solutions were offered over prior versions.

My car is a 2018/2019 and since then new uprights with stronger bearings, better formed roll hoop, and improved steering rack are now all included with the base kit.

Here is the link…

Production Changes — SL-C Wiki

slc-wiki.squarespace.com

Thank you Joel.

 

[Ian]

I love this whole post man lol

This part:

leaves me wondering, if you had gone with your gut, did you have a backup? Im thinking no, because if you had, those parts probably would have been put on the car anyway. With no recourse in parts, your options were forfeit or "lets see what happens"...right?

Hey thanks man!

"Lets see what happens" in motorsports is a scary proposition! Not to say I haven't done it in my earlier years...

So we had many extras and it was a three car team so lots of resources. The trouble is that you just don't start seeing these things when you are in the heat of the moment. A proper team will have a team boss who is talking to everyone, getting feedback throughout the day and pushing decisions. Unfortunately we were not that well organized and it was not until after the postmortem on the crash that we put together that the part was requiring more than normal attention. Mind you when I say it was loosening up, i don't actually mean it was coming in loose and flopping about, I mean that it would come in slightly clocked (rotated out of the position it was intended to be in) and a crew member would straighten it and snug it up. The sub par metal was stretching on the shaft of the rod end and after a while it failed under the load of the turn. Once we realized the issue we stripped all the cars and replaced them with known backups that still had some life in them. I was still able to run as well the next day, but it was a very very long night getting my car back together and the other two stripped of the faulty parts.

One of the defining moments in experiencing motorsports is when you realize that any part can fail at any time, and when you and your bag of bolts are traveling at triple digit speeds, you gain an eminence amount of respect for the obsessive process of prepping a car.

Always good to ask questions, especially before the crash and not after! haha

 

[Coleman Bee]

I see, its such a classic tale. I struggle with it all the time in everything I do, and Im sure some of the guys here would agree:

You have a task or a goal in mind that requires considerations, they could be all manner of things that you have to collect and prioritize. Some have to be solved/addressed well in advance, some CANT be solved in advance but need to be solved at the time with little to no notice. So you go through them in repetition, making sure as you complete the task and progress toward your goal that you are checking all of these considerations, and theres always a couple small things that you either honestly mistake as being a non-issue, or like in my bad habits, considerations that you see as vaguely being a problem but you sort of wishfully think they wont be "this time".

And every time something happens to me, its one of those things. I considered it, I didnt completely overlook it, but--I was taking 25 other considerations more seriously than THAT one, and THAT is the one that bites me in the ass lol

 

[Jeff W]

>You have a task or a goal in mind that requires considerations, they could be all manner of things that you have to collect and prioritize. Some have to be solved/addressed well in advance, some CANT be solved in advance but need to be solved at the time with little to no notice. So you go through them in repetition, making sure as you complete the task and progress toward your goal that you are checking all of these considerations, and theres always a couple small things that you either honestly mistake as being a non-issue, or like in my bad habits, considerations that you see as vaguely being a problem but you sort of wishfully think they wont be "this time".

Dude just summed up life.

 

[Coleman Bee]

Dude just summed up life.

Lol just got a good chuckle man thanks

 

[Randy Folsom]

I called Vicki at RCR. She tells me my kit will be ready for shipping in two weeks. There is quite a backlog, so won’t be surprised if that gets pushed out. It has been ten long months of anticipation. Now I have to rearrange my garage to make room for the GT40 and my half built FFR cobra ( which I suspect will remain half built for a while). Really looking forward to getting started on the GT40.

 

[Jeff W]

Awesome. Mine got pushed back a month after it was initially supposed to be ready, so yep, good to be patient.

 

[Coleman Bee]

Awesome. Mine got pushed back a month after it was initially supposed to be ready, so yep, good to be patient.

Quick question...did Fran ever offer you guys a deposit to insert yourself "in line" early? I'm playing out a specific scenario in my head here:

-Customer decides they want to go with Superlite, wants to pay all-at-once
-Customer hears about backlog, begins sourcing engine and transaxle
-Customer finds engine and transaxle, contacts Fran
-Fran says it will be "6-8 months"
-6-8 months turns into whatever you guys are currently dealing with

^Would customer have benefitted from a deposit? starting the long-lead time of sitting in the queue while he sourced his engine and trxl?

 

[Randy Folsom]

Quick question...did Fran ever offer you guys a deposit to insert yourself "in line" early? I'm playing out a specific scenario in my head here:

-Customer decides they want to go with Superlite, wants to pay all-at-once
-Customer hears about backlog, begins sourcing engine and transaxle
-Customer finds engine and transaxle, contacts Fran
-Fran says it will be "6-8 months"
-6-8 months turns into whatever you guys are currently dealing with

^Would customer have benefitted from a deposit? starting the long-lead time of sitting in the queue while he sourced his engine and trxl?

I paid mine in full in September. Doesn’t seem to have made a difference. I don’t think RCR’s suppliers care much about our payment status . The only way to get a car quickly is to buy a partially assembled kit that someone has given up on. That doesn’t happen very often.
I have decided to put down a deposit on my next build just as soon as I get delivery of my current order.

 

[Coleman Bee]

I paid mine in full in September. Doesn’t seem to have made a difference. I don’t think RCR’s suppliers care much about our payment status . The only way to get a car quickly is to buy a partially assembled kit that someone has given up on. That doesn’t happen very often.
I have decided to put down a deposit on my next build just as soon as I get delivery of my current order.

GT40: So when did you actually first put your order/deposit in for the GT40? Like the moment when they said, "okay youre in the queue".

Deposit on your next build: How much do they ask for, and what does it get you? (It doesnt seem to be very clear on the Superlite website)

 

[Chris Kouba]

GT40: So when did you actually first put your order/deposit in for the GT40? Like the moment when they said, "okay youre in the queue".

Deposit on your next build: How much do they ask for, and what does it get you? (It doesnt seem to be very clear on the Superlite website)

Directly from the FAQ:

"How do I pay for the car?
Normal terms are 50% of the car’s base price at order time, second payment of 25% to be paid on request, and final payment of 25% to be paid in full before shipping or pickup. Options must be paid for in full at order time. "

FAQs — Superlite Cars

www.superlitecars.com

 

[Howard Jones]

Anybody who has built a custom home knows this is how it goes. Small down payment then, progress payments as the build progresses with a final payment to close. If you want a house that is how it is done. The same goes for a custom car. If you want one then that is how it is done.

If they will do something "special" for you after the agreement is made, then they will do something else "special" for everybody. What that means is, there is no system....... No business model, and no management oversight, You WANT hard guidelines in a business deal. Delays in progress happen to everything. What is important is that the basic structure of the agreement is being followed even with delays to mileposts as well as reasonable updates to both parties. by both parties, as to obligations spelled out in the agreement. Buying a kit car is a business deal. Treat it like one and you will be fine.

The only thing I can add to this is, to go in person to the manufacturer's facility, spend a couple of hours looking at everything, talk to the principal manager/owner, and ask all the questions you have, then go home and think it through. I did this with both my kit cars and have been happy with my decisions. I also had delays, but even with delays, the agreement moved forward as agreed. That is the important point I believe.

The other thing is this. It's ALL gonna take longer than you think.

 

[Jeff W]

Quick question...did Fran ever offer you guys a deposit to insert yourself "in line" early? I'm playing out a specific scenario in my head here:

-Customer decides they want to go with Superlite, wants to pay all-at-once
-Customer hears about backlog, begins sourcing engine and transaxle
-Customer finds engine and transaxle, contacts Fran
-Fran says it will be "6-8 months"
-6-8 months turns into whatever you guys are currently dealing with

^Would customer have benefitted from a deposit? starting the long-lead time of sitting in the queue while he sourced his engine and trxl?

No, thank goodness RCR isn’t a company that AFAIK allows people to jump the queue because they threw more money at them, there are certainly plenty of business that play games like that with customers that make you pay more for special treatment.

 

[Coleman Bee]

No, thank goodness RCR isn’t a company that AFAIK allows people to jump the queue because they threw more money at them, there are certainly plenty of business that play games like that with customers that make you pay more for special treatment.

Its all good I wasnt trying to jump, just reserve my spot at the most optimal start time.

from what everyone is saying, its not going to be a big deal. I'll have way more delays than Frans queue in the big picture its not worth worrying about.

 

[Randy Folsom]

GT40: So when did you actually first put your order/deposit in for the GT40? Like the moment when they said, "okay youre in the queue".

Deposit on your next build: How much do they ask for, and what does it get you? (It doesnt seem to be very clear on the Superlite website)

I placed my order in May, 50% down. That is the date you enter the queue for the chosen kit. However, there are lots of opportunities to add delays if you opt for RCR to do some of the work. For example, requesting installed wide body flares. They can’t do that until the car is about ready to ship. There are also more parts in the delux kits that create delay opportunities.

I figure it will take me about a year to build the GT40, so if I order another kit after I receive this one it will arrive just in time to just keep on building. The deposit is 50% of the base kit. Any and all options are 100%. I think progress payments are for those that ask RCR/Superlite to do some of the work, but I am not really sure.