GTM -build time and turn key value

[The cobra lady]

I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who has personally been involved in the building of the GTM. How many hours did it take you? Did you find it more difficult than a Cobra build(if you've also built one)? And if you know the value of a turn key or the selling price of any. We've been building Cobras for 1 1/2 years now and would like to branch out to the GT-40 or GTM.

[TButtrick]

You may want to hop on the FFCobra GTM forum and ask there. There are also three individuals over there that are building RCR's GT40s and have shared their experiences. Just do an all forums search for "RCR". Builder's screen names are:

2FAST4U
Mark Reid
Jef Hamilton

You should also check out www.gt40s.com for more on other GT40 kits

[Clois Harlan]

I am building one of the Daytona Coupes by FFR and it takes a lot more than a general understanding of kit car building. Plus, many parts require a lot of tweeking and then you have be able to recognize when a part just doesn't fit or is wrong. In my opinion a full bodied replica is not an amature project. Cobra's are fairly straight forward and can be built in just a few weeks if you really want to get it done.

Clois Harlan

Clois

[The cobra lady]

Thanks for the info...I'll follow up at the FFR forum. Clois nice to see you have a B&B. We've been building the Hurricane but had so many problems with the quality and parts that we switched to B&B. We now have 2 in our shop. Bryan produces true quality in his chassis and body. I hope the new owner of Hurricane will have some quality control. We have Cobras that the doors open 30" and we have another that opens 18". Every kit from Hurricane is different. B&B makes 50 parts at a time and they're percise. It's so easy to work with a company that's been in business a long time and is past the learning curve! Thanks again for the info.

Bonnie

[jwd]

Originally Posted by The cobra lady

We've been building the Hurricane but had so many problems with the quality and parts that we switched to B&B. We now have 2 in our shop. Bryan produces true quality in his chassis and body. I hope the new owner of Hurricane will have some quality control. We have Cobras that the doors open 30" and we have another that opens 18". Every kit from Hurricane is different. B&B makes 50 parts at a time and they're percise. It's so easy to work with a company that's been in business a long time and is past the learning curve! Thanks again for the info.

Bonnie

Bonnie,

It's interesting that while you were selling Hurricane's, they were the best thing going. Now that you changed kits, because Hurricane stopped building for a while, your story has changed.
Regarding the door opening issue, if you checked the Hurricane forum you would have found that there was change in the moulding around the hinge that required a little trimming of the door sill to allow the door to fully open. No offense but if your builders aren't smart enough to figure that one out on their own they certainly don't have the skill to build a GTM as they required alot of fabricating and problem solving.

Jim

[Danonline]

I'm a Hurricane owner and am nearing completion of my car. I haven't experienced a single problem of significance in my build, and have found the quality of parts first rate. The owners are quick to discuss challenges they encounter on the Hurricane forum, and I'd say my experience isn't unique. Casting Hurricane's product in a bad light says a lot about you and Exotic. If anyone wants get a real feel for building a Hurricane, feel free to post a question here or on the Hurricane site and you'll get plenty of info from the many owners that have built their cars. The folks from Exotic apparently have an ax to grind.

[Bill Bess]

Bonnie, I've seen your cars and it appears that you guys have done a good job, but get a clue...it's a kit car, not an erector set.

With every build there are some minor problems and it take some skill and patience to work through these issues. If you want to throw a kit together with no problems and make a fast buck, perhaps building motorized skate board would be more to your liking. Perhaps I'm being unfair with my comments but you know what I mean, so lighten up with your negativie words about the best cobra replica out there for the money.
My Hurricane was an easy build with very few issues that presented problems, so I can't understand why you always want to bash other folks efforts and products.

Beware negative actions will come back to bite you in the end.
Bonnie, have a great day and I wish you much success, Bill

[danc30]

I echo Jim, Bill and Dan's comments. I too didn't have any issues to speak of. I completed my build by working only on weekends and a couple hours after work a few nights a week and it took me only 10 months in my 2 car garage and it's the first car I ever built.

No 2 cars/builds are going to be exactly alike. The originals are even different from one to another.

Be careful the bridges you burn as karma has a funny way of returning the favor.

Good luck in your new endeavors.
Dan

[Clois Harlan]

Both are nice cars and each have their own rough spots and pieces of cake. There are other manufacturers out there that will make you think that both B&B and Hurricane are paint by number kits. I have seen poor QC in Kits and these manufacturers do a pretty good job of producing a very high quality product.

Clois

[ENTDOC]

if there were quality control problems then they have a right to let that be known no matter how good any other persons experience might have been. Hurricane obviously has had some issues of late.

[danc30]

I guess our point was, Bonnie seems one of the only ones that had, "so many problems with the quality and parts".

I didn't say that their QC was perfect, just not a huge issue. I guess if I were trying to build them quickly to generate more turns or sales which equals profit, it would probably magnify my build experience as I am only building one of these for now and can afford to take my time.

I'm not bashing her or her company. By looking at their site, it looks like they do a great job of building. I even considered buying one of their turnkeys for $50K before finding Hurricane.

To some extent, Hurricane has "had issues as of late." If you consider keeping mostly quiet about their status during a sale of the company an issue. I do not. They did the right thing and will be a better company as a result.

Just my $0.02
Dan

[ENTDOC]

and Dan I hope they prosper. I just do not want this to become like the FFcobra site where if anyone has any negative comments about FFR they get pounded on by the faithful. All of these small companys have issues at one time or another, it does not make them a bad company, but builders have a right to voice concerns, as you have a right to support them. This way the uninformed can make decisions based on multiple opinions.