[Richard Hudgins]

Hi Folks,

This thread was pointed out to me by one of the JBL onwers and they said that I should add my two cents worth.

Well, here it is.

Mr. Fixit.

Thanks for the Kudos. However, I still do not know much about chassis design. I keep learning new things everyday. As to roll centers. At normal ride height of 5 in. front and 5.5 rear. they are "0" front and ".625" rear. Now, I could go on about the migration of the roll centers and roll axis from a dynamic standpoint, but the audience would go to sleep. (Actually, just go to the website, the camber curves and other information is there for all to see.)

Jeff,

I agree that the JBL operation depends on a couple of people. JBL Dave and Mike. (I am only the design guy, Therefore I do not count. But the other eight guys in the shop certainly do.) If JBL Dave decides to ride off into the sunset, the JBL owners will have to have their own parts built by other machine shops and fabricators.

All owners can get the complete detail design drawings at time of delivery. ( In autocad, IGES, DXF, mastercam, or solidworks format.) Also, there is a complete parts listing with suppliers on the JBL site for anyone to see. (Of course it is down right now, as I am upgrading the servers and it is taking a bit.)

Also, JBL/Sk Specialties does indeed make its money from doing CNC machining and fabrication. As it has for 24 years. JBL Dave built all of Micky Thompsons gearboxes, dampers, and chassis bits in the past.

Some of the current customers are Honda racing, Toyota Racing Development, Pacwest racing, Reynard (Who went bankrupt and left JBL/SK with a 6 figure unpaid bill), Lola Cars, Caldwell development, etc. Also many normal industrial customers in the semiconductor, medical, instrumentation. etc.

This is what supports the JBL cobra. It would be impossible to build this car without a supporting business or a sponser.

It takes two weeks to build the raw chassis. It takes over 120 CNC machine hours to build the custom machined parts per car. The fabricated bits such a suspension arms, anti-roll bars, etc. take many more hours.

Now, to address the build process. JBL builds only one chassis ahead of sales. It costs way too much per chassis to build anymore than that. Bodies are built the same way. Why have a bunch of bits sitting about?

But JBL does build all other components in a 10 car lot basis. Therefore, there is always a fair inventory of bespoke spares on the shelf.

Parts that come from outside suppliers are purchased on a as needed basis.

I guess what I am trying to say here is that the JBL is a custom piece as all race cars are. JBL does not build production cars.

If someone wants a production car, they should buy a a main line car. Hell, if you wish a race car from Porsche, you face the same issues. (Just look into the GT3 spares program.)

In closing, the JBL is not for everyone. It is a special piece, and only certain folks will wish to have one.

And the folks at JBL certainly hope it stays that way.