SLC Body Fitment

Thanks for that update Will- After a nights sleep and thinking about the "white only" I was ready to pass on an SL_C. Regardless of the color change options it was just adding more cost to something I have been trying to spec out on budget I have created. I realize any budget is just a starting point but I am trying to utilize my business position to bring the cost down. I operate a race shop. I am a QA1 dealer, Penske dealer and have multiple sets of AP calipers ( same mounts as Wilwood 3.5" bolt spacing). FYI- I am located about 8 miles from QA1 and know how the sausage is made!
 
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Roger Reid

Supporter
Mike and Will, I stand corrected on the color options. Mike, I look forward to seeing what you come up with.
 

Howard Jones

Supporter
I have painted both of my cars at Earl Scheib's for less than $3000 Total. I did all the body prep and took the SLC in pieces to them in my covered trailer. The pieces were only the fiberglass, nothing else. Was it a show car job? I guess not but then I am not into show cars. BUT there were no ugly runs or paint failures like bubbles or something. My SLC got the 999 deal and they didn't need to do any prep other than basic covering up what I didn't want painted. Great track car job. The GT40 has a painted center stripe and was done in BMW colors. IT's been 15 year's now but it still is holding up well other than road chips. They did a few hours of prep on it and let me tape it myself at their shop.

The point is these cars can be painted for a very functional cost if you intend to actually drive the car. By the way the front of the car needs to be covered with the clear stuff if you want the paint to last. EVERTHING hits it on the road.

Do I like to do body prep. I HATE IT! But you can save thousands doing it yourself. More than likely enough to buy your engine. I do LIKE that!
 
Yeah, we send our fiberglass and aluminum race car bodies to Maaco because they buy so much paint they can do it for less than most based on material cost. I am well connected in the auto community here and other than the Maaco stuff there are no good deals to be had. Street rods go into a body shop for 2 years to get a paint job and 20K later come home. Most of the big cars dealers shut down their body shops due to government regulations and the others want insurance work- we have snow, lots and lots of snow.
 
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That's why I refuse now to paint any of my cars - either wetsanded/polished gelcoat or GTFO.

My cobra had to be re-painted 3 times because of issues and although the 3rd time was the charm it took 15months to do. Not fun!
 
Good to know I'm not the only one. I had my (daily driver) F150 repainted recently and it was in the shop a full 11 months. I was frustrated beyond belief at the delays.
 
Mike - it's not really my place to talk about your motivations for wanting to do the project, but if you're having second thoughts about constructing an SLC because of (relatively) minor body fitment issues, gelcoat color options and the costs associated with paint, knocking off portions of the full kit because you've already got spares, etc ... then I'd really recommend you sit back and fully sort out why you'd pull the trigger if these are things that would make you walk away. This project isn't a snap-together plastic model where everything fits the first time out.

I gave myself a +20% cost overrun budget and I just made it under. Not because I was so far off on my original estimate, but because I underwent a fair bit of scope creep along the way. You start putting something together and realize "nah, I'd rather do this instead" - and that "this" just cost you an extra $500.

Paint? My car is plastidipped and is probably at about an Earl Scheib/Maaco quality level but it cost me $400 to do and I can do it multiple times over again before I cross the threshold of a "cheap" paint job. You send a bunch of stuff to Maaco and you're familiar with the cost and finish associated with that shop - so passing on the project because you don't want to spend the bargain basement dollars you have access to doesn't really add up.

The SLC is one of (if not the) highest level component cars you can purchase. It's not a budget friendly kind of endeavor.
 
Cam, what is right for you isn't necessarily right for me- I am not saying that to be disrespectful in any way so please don't take it that way. Opinions are like belly buttons-we all have one. I want to control the costs and not stare at a pile of shiny new unused parts that I had to upgrade. In all honesty, I can be frugal at times. I like owning really nice stuff and have worked really hard to get what I want. I am at an age where my disposable income has dropped so I can't afford the luxury of waste. I saw the pile of the supplied brake line you had and deemed unacceptable because of fit and don't want to make mistakes on costly purchases that would end up in a pile of unused parts. The gel-coat deal is just an way to get a reasonably nice finish without more dollars and I did not want a white car. thankfully the "white only option" was incorrect, still moving forward with my order. Selling off some other toys to fund it- vintage race car leaving this week. BTW, a couple monthes ago I bought an a low mile, no rust 89 Mustang LX-5.0 5speed from San Diego and had it shipped to Minnesota. The original owner drove it straight to Saleen and they installed their race suspension, sub frame connectors, Vortech supercharger and body panels. Really neat car from your neck of the woods. The guys I bought it from just bought a Shelby GT500 / red. His name was Jorge -you may see him at some "Cars & Coffee events". back to the SL-C, I am not a fan of some of the components Included in the various stages offered. Some we have had durability issues, others you can get a higher quality at the same price. Not trying to bash Fran, he is in business to make money, but as I said, we all have our own opinions.
 

Joel K

Supporter
Mike, just an FYI. I was able to purchase extra gelcoat in my color just in case I had some touch ups to do.
 
Mike - no disrespect taken. I just want to make sure if you jump into this that you do so eyes wide open. I’ve been following the forum for a few years now and the few folks I’ve spoken to who were unhappy with their outcome were disappointed because (I believe) there was a misalignment between their expectations and the realities of the project - time, cost, complexity, finish, etc.

As far as the brake lines on my kit, I’m not above saying it likely came down to user error as most other people report no issues with theirs. From what I gather the stainless lines take some real effort to properly seat - and I may not have been doing it properly. In the end, 50 feet of NiCopp line and a day of labor was relatively inexpensive in exchange for the ability to shift components around and get a frustration-free, leak-free system quickly and easily.
 
OK.......I think I got this. Install the body over the pan, make sure the windshield fits, don't let anybody know if I replace any original components, have someone else prep the body work and have MAACO or Earl Scheib plastic dip the car. Whew I'm beat
 
OK.......I think I got this. Install the body over the pan, make sure the windshield fits, don't let anybody know if I replace any original components, have someone else prep the body work and have MAACO or Earl Scheib plastic dip the car. Whew I'm beat

Hah - you got it Rich! ;)

For what it's worth, I don't think the discussion we had here was a bad thing, and I really don't think the derail was in a negative direction. The original question was relatively straightforward and it could have been answered in one sentence. Instead, we got a very thorough answer about how one should emphasize centering the wheels and windshield installation. We also jumped into the topic of SLC's latest offering with respect to gel coat colors, various thoughts on paint, and questions about just how much work it takes to get an SLC body finished. Rich's original question was answered (and then some) well before the train started drifting so I don't feel any of the additional discussion was a disservice to Rich's original intent.

Someone a few months or a year from now doing a search for "body fitment" could come across this thread and have their basic or more in depth questions answered by reading this post. I think of the discussions on GT40s as both active and passive. There's the active discussion important to the person/people who started the thread, but there's also the passive that happens when the dust settles and someone comes scanning through these posts later - sometimes with a specific question, or just in search of more information. I know I personally went through and read about 10 years' worth of posts before I pulled the trigger on my kit and there was a treasure trove of information that I didn't even know I wanted/needed. That's also why I believe whatever gets posted needs to be accurate and complete (to the best of our abilities) because someone reading these posts later may not be aware of the other active discussions happening in parallel.

Go to the SLC wiki page and read what it says about bodywork and compare that to the discussion we just had - which do you think provides more information to the potential builder?

http://slc-wiki.squarespace.com/body

The build manual has a more thorough discussion but a potential builder won't have access to that until after the deposit's been placed.
 
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