I have some exciting news to share! Will Campbell and I were selected to be featured on the Gearz TV series.

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We spent all last week in Nashville in the Gearz studio shooting video with Stacey David (Gearz host). The video shoot also included scenes from driving on the local country roads, thrashing our SLC on the MCM Motorsports road-coarse, and at a local cruise-in.

Click here -> for a short video of the track filming

The SLC episodes will air sometime during the 2017 Gearz season.
 

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I have some exciting news to share! Will Campbell and I were selected to be featured on the Gearz TV series.

The SLC episodes will air sometime during the 2017 Gearz season.

Nice job guys and well deserved, you'll have to tell us the story about how this came together!:pepper::pepper::pepper:
 
Hi Bill. Congrats on the TV air time. The cars looked great in pictures and I'm sure they're going to look great on the show too. You and Will seem to frequent the same clubs lately. ;)

Hope to catch up soon.

Mike
 
Is there a new URL for the SLC Builder's WiKi?

I tried to get on to the SLC Builder's WiKi. but the old URL address no longer works -> superliteslcbuilders.wikispot.org).
 
What happened to Stacy's SLC? he was getting an engine built for it then it just vanished. Did he end up selling it?
 
Kit Car Name

I wish I had a nickle for every time I've heard "Oh, its just a kit car"

As you all know, the "Kit Car" name has a negative reputation associated with it. It started with a dark history back in the 1960s-1980s when there were many low quality manufacturers of replicars on VW chassis. Many of these early kit cars were all-show and no-go. Most of those poor quality kit car manufacturers went out of business long ago, but their reputation stained our automotive segment.

In addition, many kit car producers over simplify the expertise and time required to complete a car. This leads to a public perception that a kit car is just a big model car that you snap together over a weekend. I think we all know, that it's more involved to build a new car, than the simple "disassemble->paint->reassemble" steps of a muscle car restoration.

We need a better name for our specialty car segment. Lately, I've been describing my SLC as being from a "boutique" car manufacturer. The boutique name already has some recognition to describe low production car manufacturers like Morgan, Noble, TVR, Panoz, KTM, etc. Websters dictionary defines Boutique as "a small company that offers highly specialized services or products".

Boutique cars share many characteristics with kit cars. A Boutique car starts with parts from a high production car manufacturer like the engine, transmission, spindles, steering gear, etc. Boutique cars generally have a custom lighter weight chassis and cover it with a stylish body designed to attract attention. The construction techniques of boutique cars are similar as well, using tube space frame or monocoque chassis and composite body panels (fiber glass or carbon fiber).

The main difference is that kit cars are not fully assembled when they leave the factory. Here too, the line is blurred between boutique cars and kit cars with the availability of "Turn-key minus" cars. Turn-key minus cars are fully assembled road ready cars that are only missing the engine and transmission. These cars can be completed in a weekend.

Its a mystery why people think of kit cars and street rods as being so different. They are both delivered unassembled, have fiberglass bodies, and a custom frame. The only real difference is that a street rod body resembles a vintage American made car.

The one aspect that can legitimately degrade the reputation of kit cars is the quality of workmanship that goes into completing each car. I think its our responsibility to dispel the kit car reputation by building the very best car we are capable of.

What are your thoughts on the promoting the "Boutique car" name?
 
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Randy V

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Not a fan of the Boutique moniker as it reminds me of a place where my wife shops for her underthings.. But as a great number of threads on this forum have gone into great detail - the "KitCar" moniker is also not relative to the type and quality of builds we are familiar with here.
Actually - with only small exceptions - There are no manufacturers which truly produce a KIT*, but they literally ALL use the term in their sales brochures and websites.
Indeed, they are NOT kits but Components that are supplied which you can use as a basis for the creation of a specialty car.
Some of us have adopted the "Component Car" handle when referring to the "roots" of our creations.

* Kit would be defined as a collection of parts, all fitted and complete with no fabrication other than simple assembly required.
 
I think alot that could be added to the "kit car" mystique, is the sales of half finished cars, which look horrible as a stack of parts. If you go to some of the other kit car type forums, you see work being done, and design things that are far worse than the original Fiero that they started with! As we all know, the SLC is one of the best component cars available out there in terms of style and performance in what a guy starts with. Nothing in comparison to making a 355 kit out of a Fiero.

I totally agree. This is way harder than doing restorations. I did a 1980 Turbo Trans Am Pace Car a couple years ago. Was complete, low miles, but needed full restoration. With one guys help, we had car stripped of parts, stripped of paint, completely repainted and 90% assembled again in 4 weeks. Everything is already designed and engineered for you, and the whole job could be done with a $200 tool set from Home Depot. If a guy is having problems doing a restoration, they could never get one of these completed.

I prefer the term component car. With boutique, I personally get a vision of a guy prancing around with flowers. Haha. So not sure I would use that term to explain it.
Albeit, the problem does not lye with us, the guys building them who know the difference between an SLC and a Bricklin, but the people who have no idea what they are looking at. So, it will be very hard to change views largely. But, a good way, like you said, is if everyone is building their own cars to a top notch level.
 
Ya, component car is a better name. We dont need a donor vette or fiero for parts. All components are new. I dont see the words "kit car " appearing on Riley's site.
http://www.rileytech.com/PDF/DaytonaPrototype.pdf

Yup, Riley Tech is just 10 miles up the road from me.

I suppose I could drop in and pick up a Riley Daytona Prototype for a mere $445k. Just add the engine, trans, tires, etc.

Hmmm, suddenly the SLC seems like a bargan:pepper:
 
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Something strange happen to my SLC this past Saturday, and it could happen to any of you. I took my SLC to the annual Ray Evernham "AmeriCarna" Cruise-in. You may have seen Ray's AmeriCarna TV series on the Velocity channel.

Anyway, I arrived at 11AM and it was a cool 50 degrees with a bright morning sun just peeking over the distant tree line. I parked my SLC with its butt toward the rising sun and a crowd of spectators began to gather around it. I was talking with a fellow motorhead when suddenly a kid in the crowd yells...

:pepper::flameon::pepper:Your car is on fire!:pepper::flameon::pepper:

Yikes! The passenger side of my dash was smoldering and smoking up the cabin! There are no electrical components or wiring in that area, so what could be the cause?

The sun was behind the car at a low angle and was reflecting upon the lexan passenger side window. The side window is shaped like a parabolic mirror and it focused the sun's rays into a small hot point on my dash. Kinda like burning ants on the sidewalk with a magnifying glass.

I had the damage repaired today. The repair isn't perfect, but it's passable.

Lesson learned: Don't leave your SLC doors open if the sun is behind your car.
 

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