SLC Superlite: All In Cost Spreadsheet

Hey Guys,

I am in the beginning stages of discussing the SLC Superlite with my wife

I wanted to get ya'lls take on the total cost to Buy, Ship, Build, Complete one.

Does anyone have a spreadsheet of their costs?

Any and all info is helpful. *Picture is what started me down this path*

Thank you!

Chris
 

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I hate to be that guy, but it "Depends". I'll offer this, though:

What do you want for a finished project? Do you want it ASAP or are you going to slave over it for several years and build a show car? How much are you going to spend on the engine, transaxle, paint, interior, carbon fiber goodies, and anything else? How much will you do yourself vs how much will you farm out?

The SL-C Configurator on RCR's site is a barebones starting point. Go over the parts you've selected multiple times. You can decline parts that you don't think you'll use or you plan on buying third party, like seats, taillights, dash...whatever. RCR will knock that off the price at time of order.

My car was just under $60k, I declined some parts but also chose some carbon fiber parts along with the RCR billet shifter. I took all the interior finishing parts, but now that I have them I don't think I'll use all of them and probably would have declined some of them.

Shipping - again, depends. I used Stewart Transport. They were fine to work with. I'm only 3 states east of RCR, shipping was $1700. If your're further away, it's obviously going to be more.

Engine and trans? What kind of engine? Going to have RCR get it together for you, buy third party, or DIY your own engine and find a used trans? Minimum for a decent dressed LS3 crate engine is probably $10-13k, you could take your chances for a dressed scrapyard drop-out, or a new barebones crate LS3 longblock, for $6-7k. Jack up the price to $15-20k+ if you start slapping specialty parts on it like turbos, forged parts, flat plane cranks, whatever. Add more $ for engine accessories like alternator and all the rest, ECU, etc. DIY isn't cheap, either, because we all tend to go a little crazy with forged parts, flat plane cranks and whatever else you can imagine plus you're paying retail for all of it.

Transaxle. RCR was selling their Graziano for ~$15k. HCF had a couple for around $20k. You can also use a Porsche transaxle, I don't know how much those are. I bought a used Graziano for $7k but it needed work, sent it to HCF to have it gone through, drop gears and overdrive done, and by the time that was all done it was almost RCR's price, but there was some savings to be had doing it that way. It took months of scouring the web, learning Graziano transaxle codes, and sifting through all kinds of damaged transaxles to find one in decent shape for refurbishing.

So my price for car, engine, and trans were just over $70k. That does not include wiring, dash, paint, A/C, engine accessories, or basically anything else to make this car drivable and run.

Then there's the rest...

Paint or RCR gelcoat? Sky's the limit for paint. Show quality paint will probably be $20k to start. RCR gelcoat prices are in the configurator.

Interior? Huge price variables. RCR interior parts are in the configurator. They're good, but pretty minimal. If you want a supercar look you need to fork out a lot cash and elbow grease if you want to have a more refined interior. Top tier seats in carbon probably start in the $5k range. Each.

Personally it took me a year and a half of reading these forums, everyone's build logs here and elsewhere, pricing parts and accessories, and various custom car building videos, before I commited. I bought the engine and transaxle first to spread the costs out a little, I waited for the best deal I could.

Building one of these cars is full of hundreds of very personal choices and decsisons. You could hurry the car onto the road with a lot of low budget choices and probably get there under $85k. Won't be pretty at all. Want a decently outfitted car? Closer to $100k. Serious show car? keep adding $$$ until you get there. Even if someone here had a spreadsheet you'd still end up having to add and remove a ton of selections because they aren't your preferences. You're far better off reading the forums and making your own decisions and spreadsheet based on that.
 
I think I was into mine for ~120k completed back in 2012. Would be much more today with inflation/supply chain.

I priced out the exact same build I ordered in 2009 - originally $42k, today almost $85k. Not a knock on RCR as everything has become more expensive exponentially with automotives over the last 15yrs - I recently priced out the same engine Katech built for my 917 back in 2016. Originally paid ~$18k for it, today they want almost $40k.

Assuming you're just a regular guy - i.e., not a shop w/ connections - I don't think you can do one for less than $100k unless you take the most stripped down thing possible, source a junkyard POS engine, etc.
 

Steven Lobel

Supporter
This is always a bad idea.
Things never go as planned, costs always run higher than expected.
If you want to run these numbers you need to fluff the heck out of it and get your estimate to $200k.
When it comes in at $150k she will be happy.
 
I think I was into mine for ~120k completed back in 2012. Would be much more today with inflation/supply chain.

I priced out the exact same build I ordered in 2009 - originally $42k, today almost $85k. Not a knock on RCR as everything has become more expensive exponentially with automotives over the last 15yrs - I recently priced out the same engine Katech built for my 917 back in 2016. Originally paid ~$18k for it, today they want almost $40k.

Assuming you're just a regular guy - i.e., not a shop w/ connections - I don't think you can do one for less than $100k unless you take the most stripped down thing possible, source a junkyard POS engine, etc.
Thanks all for your feedback. This is the kind of thing I need to hear (Anticipated cost Multiplied by X etc...). I do work for a large dealership group so I may be able to get connected with some parts for cheap, but understanding the actual out the door costs those building these are experiencing is important. I want to set expectations with the wife from the start so it isnt a shock when things hit the $90-110 mark.
 
Thanks all for your feedback. This is the kind of thing I need to hear (Anticipated cost Multiplied by X etc...). I do work for a large dealership group so I may be able to get connected with some parts for cheap, but understanding the actual out the door costs those building these are experiencing is important. I want to set expectations with the wife from the start so it isnt a shock when things hit the $90-110 mark.

I would call it $100-150k ... shit always happens during the build that pushes prices up. When I built my cobra I did a very detailed down to the nut-and-bolt spreadsheet of everything ... then when I got into building it I threw out the entire thing because I realized planning it on paper does not translate well to when it's sitting there infront of you.
 

Howard Jones

Supporter
When you buy a Tranaxle....... Well, here is what not to do. Don't buy a used transaxle that is " low miles, shifts fine, no problems" and take it to your chosen rebuilder only to have it transform into " there are nearly no usable parts in this gearbox, the cases are cracked and the ring gear is missing teeth as well as all the gears show very bad wear, I think they must have run it out of oil."

Here's what to do. Find your rebuilder that is near to you or at least you can go and see them. If you want recommendations then ask on this forum. There are at least 3 in the US that are very good and reputable. Then ask them to source the core for you. That way you have them taking the risk of buying a bad gearbox. They won't do that because they see lots of gearboxes and are privy to sourcing a good one.

One thing to note: Aluinium case gearboxes are subject to front-end crashes! The worse the front of the car is the better the chance the gearbox is damaged,. What did you say? The high g forces involved in a head-into-a-wall type of crash will cause the steel (heavy) gear set to travel forward with high inertia inside the gearbox and can damage a lot of expensive stuff in there, Even crack the cases! You will never know this until it is taken apart. It will more than likely still feel like it shifts fine on a pallet.

You have been warned.

A bad gearbox can completely destroy your spreadsheet budget.
 

Randy Folsom

Supporter
Thanks all for your feedback. This is the kind of thing I need to hear (Anticipated cost Multiplied by X etc...). I do work for a large dealership group so I may be able to get connected with some parts for cheap, but understanding the actual out the door costs those building these are experiencing is important. I want to set expectations with the wife from the start so it isnt a shock when things hit the $90-110 mark.
I spent that much before my kit arrived. I might have been able to save a few thousand on the power train, but I could have spent a lot more as well.

Bottom line is this hobby is still less expensive than golf. Just a few years of golf with membership and green fees at a decent club is going to be as much or more than a finished SLC. And you can sell the SLC to fund your next project while golf leaves you with nothing to show for it.

So tell your wife that you are saving money by building an SLC and even better you will be home instead of at the 19th hole.
 

ChrisNebraska

Supporter
Im at $109k at not even remotely close to being done. I'm projecting 150k-ish. One thing that hasn't been mentioned - if you are building this car do you have all the tools that you need? If you plan on borrowing or renting tools you can save money, but buying tools gets expensive real quick. I've spent about $1k just on nuts and bolts from McMaster.
 
To be honest, I rather not add up all the receipts , it will be depressing. so many unknowns and unforeseen expenses on this project depending on how detailed you want to get, heck, the paint job alone can cost you several grand. I agree that a $50k cushion is safe bet, for real ,(additionally to what you roughly calculated ) little parts add up fast because there are so many of them, just to give you a taste, broke up a headlight that I dropped $300, custom a/c hoses that I miss crimped $200 , extra quick release hub to accommodate momo steering wheel $100 (original SLC steering wheel is a 5 bolt, momo is a 6 bolt), momo steering wheel $250 (larger diameter, allows me fully see the digital dash ) AIM digital dash MXS unit $1300 . speed sensor alone for AIM unit $85 , Morimoto tail lights $600, I have 3 sets of seats, I did not like the fiber glass ones, then I bought cheap racing seats $300 that started falling apart at the seams, and finally bought a really nice set of Braum ORUE racing seats $1100, just to show you how unpredictable things get, and the list goes on and on and on.

But at the end of the day, a lot of those purchases are custom choices that are completely different than other builds, some cheaper some more expensive than others have chosen. I will say it is almost impossible to approximate within $10k unless you have a bare bones car.

I think my wife has an idea of the numbers, she sees the credit card bills every month, she finally realized is par for the course ond the expenses will continue until the project is finished. Luckily I am driving now and it is pure awesomeness!!! my wife is not a car person at all and she enjoyed a video a local news guy did of my first car show and she showed it to all her family and you can tell she was proud of my accomplishment, even though she can care less about the car.

Sorry for the bad news , but at the end it is totally worth it, at least for me. And I intend to drive it A LOT more than most people . Not into garage queens. So that adds to the enjoyment and value of the build in my mind. By far coolest car I have ever had.

Good luck
 
Don't forget about all the parts you buy with great intentions only to find a better way forward, and put them on a shelf top collect dust. I think I have about $5k in parts that will never be used. :rolleyes:
Oh man, I totally forgot about those , plus the ones that did not work like you thought and you have to re do . Great point.
 
Has RCR talked about updating the baseline kit price at all? I assume and increase is coming if it already hasn’t.

Separate from any upgrades, transmission, or power plant.
 

Randy Folsom

Supporter
RCR raised prices 10% on 1 Jan 24. I am pretty sure that includes Superlite as well. Assuming the SLC was part of that price hike, you should be good for a while. No harm in calling just to be sure.
 
Don't forget about all the parts you buy with great intentions only to find a better way forward, and put them on a shelf top collect dust. I think I have about $5k in parts that will never be used. :rolleyes:
Damn, already have a collection of those and I've barely even started.
 

Howard Jones

Supporter
The rule of hotrods is if you get one the wife gets a new kitchen. If you do her kitchen first she will never complain about the car. Oh, and bathrooms are cheaper. Just be sure to bling it up with a makeup station and special lighting that makes her pretty when she puts it on. Includ a nice seat to sit on in both the makeup spot and the shower. And don't forget the spray thing on a hose. Let her pick all the tile and stuff. After all, it's a bathroom.......who cares? Andddddddd.......................if you do the bathroom first and save the kitchen for the second hotrod....................win win baby!
 
The rule of hotrods is if you get one the wife gets a new kitchen. If you do her kitchen first she will never complain about the car. Oh, and bathrooms are cheaper. Just be sure to bling it up with a makeup station and special lighting that makes her pretty when she puts it on. Includ a nice seat to sit on in both the makeup spot and the shower. And don't forget the spray thing on a hose. Let her pick all the tile and stuff. After all, it's a bathroom.......who cares? Andddddddd.......................if you do the bathroom first and save the kitchen for the second hotrod....................win win baby!
vigorously copying screenshots of, and chisling this post onto a stone tablet
 
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