Filed OR Sanded?

[Tongue Pirate]

Originally posted by Maricopa


Send me one also, Hyde and I will have a contest as to whether guys who make metal body or wood body guitars can best finish an aluminum car!

You're on buddy!

[bbrown]

Bad idea David. Having done a little aluminum work myself, you know the last 10% of the job is the hardest. Plus you know, sometimes you really have to "work" this stuff. Most people don't have the guts to get right down to it on something they just paid good money for.

B Brown

[Ibr8k4vetts]

Bad Idea!

[David Kirkham]

I conceed.

My idea sucks. Now I have to motivate myself to file those suckers.



Now I have to go see how many t-shirts I have!

Thanks for the responses.

All who answered to this point, drop me a line, email, or PM with your name, address and shirt size. Or, indicate if you would like a hat, or poster instead. For the greedy ones, tell me if you want all three!

David

Jamo, I will look for two shirts.

[HI Cobra]

David,

Don't beat yourself up for asking the question! Like you said, better to
throw it on the wall and see if it sticks or slides. I hope to be able to get
one of your Cobras one of these years and I know better than to even think
of trying to work aluminum. When I go to the hospital for surgery I want
a specialist doing the work, why, because they know what they are doing.
A car as nice as this should not be offered in such a way that someone
could screw it up and cheapen the reputation - take no chances.
Even though I'm sure that the finishing work is a PITA your guys can do it
faster and better than most others and you control the end product appearance.
Just my 2 cents.

[427 S/O]

Your idea does not suck David, simply offer this to those skilled.

[Ibr8k4vetts]

David,
Received the hat and etc. just wanted to say thank you

[FatBoy]

Hi,
I'm with the general concensus on this one. A quality brand is thing of great value that takes time to build. However, it takes no time at all to trash it.
A good example of this is the Burberry brand here in the UK. For those who don't already know, Burberry is a brand of high quality clothing and accessories (handbags, belts, hats etc.) The brand has been built over years of careful marketing and quality products at "exclusive" prices. Unfortunately, a certain sector of society have picked up on the Burberry baseball cap as their own. This group has been unaffectionately called "Chavs" and I guess you would call them "poor, white trash", eg. plenty of teenage mothers with multiple minnie Chavs in tow, lots of oversize jewellery, shell suits, crap cars etc.
The result is that the intended market for Burberry goods don't want to be seen dead in it now and Burberry are left wondering what they need to do to recover their image.
Now I'm not suggesting that any potential Kirkham buyer is a Chav, but the last thing you want IMO, are poorly finished cars driving around with rippled bodywork, wearing a Kirkham badge and devaluing the brand as a whole.
Just my 2 pennies worth.
Paul

[BMK]

Fatboy,

Hi Paul,

After Burberry rip offs in every second Chinese market it's any wonder they are concerned about their product.

Sorry back to the 'Topic/Thread' at hand..

Saving $2000 - $3000 by sanding it yourself can lead to a lot of low quality products out there.

Unfortunately all bearing the Kirkham name. I feel that no one will say its looks a little rough because I sanded it or finished the body myself.

They will just say it's a Kirkham. The observer will draw their own conclusion on the body..

TQM - Total Quality Management, would not let a product go out to a customer unless it is 100%. Allowing a 90% finished product out in the market place could see it remain at 90%.

Dave, perhaps you could look at some assembly savings etc.

Again, just my $0.03 worth ($0.02 in US currency)

Bernie

[David Kirkham]

Bernie,

I truly appreciate your comments. Your very thougths weigh heavily on my mind. Perhaps I will just need to find a less expensive way to manufacture the cars.

Now, that begs a question. If I could wave a magic wand and have an aluminum body appear for free...what should I do? (More realistically, let's say we cut our costs in 1/2 because of some miracle that lands on our heads.)

Should I pass the savings along, or increase the margin on the product?

Any help, comments?

(NO, I do not have a magic wand...but I WISH I DID!)

David

[Lew Ledyard]

Pass the cost savings on to exisiting customers in the form of rebates.

[ENTDOC]

David,that would depend on your goals.If your goal is to put a Kirkham in every garage ,then pass on the savings. If it is to make a profit and continue to be thought of as a premier car producer,then keep the margin. Again,knowing the stress associated with deadlines ,shipping and keeping customers and employees happy,it would seem a no brainer to make more money while doing less work. chuck

[Tongue Pirate]

David, If you could just increase the margin. This way every third car could be written off as a donation to a Club Cobra member. I'll go ahead be first in line to take that burden off of everyone else

[CoupedUp]

Hold the current price, but throw in a Keith Craft all aluminum 427. Compromise to keep everyone happy!!!

[David Kirkham]

Chuck,

I generally understand your position. In the world of manufacturing, as you know, the more you make, the less expensive you can make it.

The first one is always the hardest to make--after that, it becomes easier and easier so 2 cars does not equal twice the headaches. At the same time, a cost reduction on our cars of 50% is dreaming as well.

Now, I would love to have a Kirkham in everyone's garage, but I don't think that is realistic.

One transmission coming up! The repair job was a BEAST. We will send it to you tomorrow.

Lew,

LOL

TP,

I WILL BE THE FIRST ONE IN LINE!!!

David

[xlr8or]

David,
Sort out the Skilled, Semi-skilled and unskilled labor used to build your car. Take as much of the semi/unskilled task and labor cost out as you can and see if it would be cheaper to pay someone to box up parts than to pay that labor to a gearhead with a clue that you pay now.
In my opinion a good set of instructions will allow anyone with a desire to build the car the ability to accomplish the semi skilled and unskilled portions without risking quality.
Factory Five has taken this idea to the extreme and allows the customer to do everything and others are somewhere in the middle. I think the difference between the nice cars and less than nice ones is mostly related to fit/finish.
Don't give up control of fit/finish and you don't give up control of quality.
Unless people know my particular situation they will have no idea if I put the bolts in or if Jeremy did it in your shop. A simple picture of here's what it should look like and here's what to torque it to will keep it easy enough for those that want to do it without risking quality.
There is no way to idiot proof it but your manual will go a long way toward that goal when it's finished. Whats there now is well laid out and easy to follow.

[Lowell W]

David: The only thing dumber than asking is not asking. And I do love your cars!

Paul: Sort of like Abercrombie and Fitch: When I was a kid they represented the high end of sporting goods-fine shotguns, fly rods and accessories. Now they sell T-shirts to trashy little brats.

Lowell

[TampaFla]

On the other hand, while it's a horrible example, Brent's car was sat on and so far he's spent 240 hrs. repairing the damage. He obviously has the skills but not sure all owners could do that but certainly those who could would like to DIY to start with.

[Rolling Thunder]

David,

I am certainly no expert, but it seems there is a major gap in the Cobra replica marketplace that was created when, and never filled since, Mr. Burtis destroyed Contemporary Classic.

Before SAI and Kirkham entered the market, Contemporary (along with ERA) was the premier manufacturer in terms of quality and authenticity of reproduction. However, since Contemporary went away, no-one has stepped up to offer a viable fiberglass bodied alternative with their level of body reproduction accuracy and a round tube frame.

Everything out there is a compromise - with SAI you have to pay the CSP (Carroll Shelby Premium) for the name, serial number and entry in the registry; with Kirkham there is no fiberglass option; with ERA there is still no round tube frame (and you're also stuck with 60's technology Jag IRS); and to add another, with SPF there is also no round tube frame but there is also a lower level of accurateness to the look of the car.

So, as I see it, Kirkham Motorsports is ideally situated to provide a formidable competitor and fantastic alternative to all of the top manufacturers by offering a fiberglass version of their aluminum body, and essentially take over the market and price point abandoned when Contemporary died.

Immediately, you would offer a comparable alternative to SAI's fiberglass car just as you do with your current aluminum car - without the unnecessary upcharge. You also would compete directly with ERA, only using a more authentic reproduction because of the frame, a rear suspension that has both lower AND upper arms, and hopefully less than a 12 month wait. And if pricing allowed it, you could also pull from both the BB and SB buyers of SPF, with a much better product.

I represent one of those buyers in the high-middle segment of the market. I want, expect, and can afford quality, but I don't care about nor want the expense of a period correct 427 - iron or alum. - nor an aluminum body; but I do want a car that is a dead ringer for the original from any angle (until you open the hood). All at a reasonable price for the package. I know, I may be the only one out there that feels this way, but quite honestly, when I go to replace my old Contemporary in the next 3-5 years, the only way to get what I want in a Cobra replica may be to buy a rolling chassis without body from you and get a fiberglass body from SAI, thereby hopefully avoiding the CS Premium, but getting a high quality, incredibly authentic, fiberglass bodied reproduction, which also uses up-to-date suspension components. About which I would not encounter any anxiety regarding installing a high power small block, nor would I feel like I was wasting my money if I chose to install a 427 or other big block.

I guess that's more than $0.02 worth, but it seems like there's a very good business case for it, and with your company's incredibly high level of quality and authenticity of build, Kirkham Motorsports is the only company capable of filling the void in the market. It would provide increased volume and overall market penetration to you, without sacrificing any of the market reputation the Kirkham products enjoy.

Keith

[ItBites]

Rolling Thunder,

Not to get off topic too far, but Midstates offers a nice round tube frame and has a very authentic looking 'glass body. Mine also has a more modern C4 suspension on it. While more modern than Jag, the rear suspension does not have upper arms like the Kcar, but the Kcar does not come in 'glass and I don't think they'll be trying that experiment again soon. Midstates might be the compromise you're looking for. Other than the round tubes and the body shape, much of the "originality" can be pursued during the build...

Just a thought.