4000 series hub / upright / spidle options

[RICK LAKE]

Power Surge Sal I agree with some of your answers to the problem BUT, Johns car doesn't have 500 miles on it for the first service. After working in the car dealerships for 28+ years, new cars and well a car or truck I repair, ALL require a roadtest which I am not payed for when I repair a car for piece work. Average test between 5 -10 miles depending on the problem it came in for. As far as the Shelby name, they have the right to choose the dealers they want who will sell and assembly there cars. Here we are again with maybe a friday afternoon car or Monday morning car that was put together with a guy That could have been drunk or had a bad weekend, Comes in on Monday and drops the ball. I have seen guys fired for this. It's a safety issue. Most of the people that pay this car like yourself are White collar people that make well over 100K a year and may or maynot know anything about your car except where the gas goes in and when to change the oil. You may be able to build a car from scratch. In Johns case, he is not. Car has been in for more than 1 problem and been fixed more than once. If this guy beat the CRAP out of this car, I wouldn't even be writing this. Personally I don't like the CSI at all. This is a different problem I had and will not get into. People are buying a SPECIAL CAR and paying more for it because of the CSX# and who's company built it. I have been to other manufacture companies and they have assembly sheets on each windshield or body for assembly. This is to prevent this kind of problems with loose parts on the chassic. You finish you sign off. Some companies have a checker that checks the work. I guess where John's car was built this doesn't happen. John was not hurt with this car and there is no real damage but 2 or 3 times back for problems that he had NOTHING to do with..... I wonder how easy you would be if this happened to you? Me I would be on a plane and PI$$ed. The money tree in my back yard is long gone. Not even the roots are left.. Sorry, Shelbys name is on the car and that is who I would hold accountable for these problems. It's there dealerships. Maybe they need to do a little inspection of the Dealers and find out who is doing a great job and who is dropping the ball. Customers are the best info and company can listen to, to find out these things. As far as the splindle assemblys, they need some help. I looked at the original chassic book and the pictures of John's car look nothing like the OEM ones. Are yours the same as John's??? I hope not. We just have 2 different point of this problem and views. I did think that only the bodies and frames where built in South Africa? I have not kept up on where and who with them. Have a good evening Sal, going out for a drive?? Becareful, I heard there are BIG jackrabbits where you live. Rick L.

[patrickt]

I think Rick's right and, since I don't really have a "dog in this fight," I'd really like to hear the other side of the story. After hearing SR's side of the story I can't imagine why Amy and the Shelby folks wouldn't step in and fix this on their dime. I guess if they were concerned over similarly situated owners asking for the same fix -- but I don't know that. I can just imagine though if crap like this slipped out of the ERA or Kirkham shops they would have already fixed it before it made the CC headlines.

Afterthought -- Perhaps someone with Amy's email could drop her a note and ask her to at least address the issue on this thread.

[shelby racer]

Originally Posted by patrickt

I think Rick's right and, since I don't really have a "dog in this fight," I'd really like to hear the other side of the story. After hearing SR's side of the story I can't imagine why Amy and the Shelby folks wouldn't step in and fix this on their dime. I guess if they were concerned over similarly situated owners asking for the same fix -- but I don't know that. I can just imagine though if crap like this slipped out of the ERA or Kirkham shops they would have already fixed it before it made the CC headlines.

Afterthought -- Perhaps someone with Amy's email could drop her a note and ask her to at least address the issue on this thread.

I would love to hear the SAI explanation. I asked them politely and gratefully for help. When I got conflicting information, I politely asked Amy to authorize release of parts or technology to help resolve my issue incase the people below her did not feel comfortable doing so and because I had been told in the past that what I got for support was more than the people I spoke with were actually authorized to do and flat out refused to do something that Amy later offered on her own to do for me (although it was kind of too late based on my understanding of the then current condition of my car - having been at SAI to be fixed and checked). Amy was insulted and said that my comment that they would not be willing to help me was uncalled for. I did not say to her that I did not think that SAI was unwilling to help me, I had said that there had been miscommunication / misunderstanding with what people felt they were authorized to do in the past versus what she had been willing to do for me later (which was the solution that I had wanted all along). Since I have gotten to know Amy she has shocked me multiple times with how helpful and responsive she was to the issues that I have had with my two Shelbys. Interestingly to me, I got to know her because she posted on another SAI thread here that I was "mistaken...?" regarding what I was publicly saying about what had been wrong with my car and why it had had to go back to Las Vegas at my time and expense and that they had done me a favor instead of that they had fixed some major docccumented problems with no further compensation for the frustration or inconvienece beyod replacing some parts that they knew were defective and installing some parts that I paid for. I also started this thread and made a point of trying to keep it non -confrontational. I am just trying to resolve some more major issues with this SAI product AFTER being told by SAI that there was nothing else that they could do. Since SAI had nothing further to offer I turned to others for help and support,

[Power Surge]

Originally Posted by RICK LAKE

Power Surge Sal I agree with some of your answers to the problem BUT, Johns car doesn't have 500 miles on it for the first service. After working in the car dealerships for 28+ years, new cars and well a car or truck I repair, ALL require a roadtest which I am not payed for when I repair a car for piece work. Average test between 5 -10 miles depending on the problem it came in for. As far as the Shelby name, they have the right to choose the dealers they want who will sell and assembly there cars. Here we are again with maybe a friday afternoon car or Monday morning car that was put together with a guy That could have been drunk or had a bad weekend, Comes in on Monday and drops the ball. I have seen guys fired for this. It's a safety issue. Most of the people that pay this car like yourself are White collar people that make well over 100K a year and may or maynot know anything about your car except where the gas goes in and when to change the oil. You may be able to build a car from scratch. In Johns case, he is not. Car has been in for more than 1 problem and been fixed more than once. If this guy beat the CRAP out of this car, I wouldn't even be writing this. Personally I don't like the CSI at all. This is a different problem I had and will not get into. People are buying a SPECIAL CAR and paying more for it because of the CSX# and who's company built it. I have been to other manufacture companies and they have assembly sheets on each windshield or body for assembly. This is to prevent this kind of problems with loose parts on the chassic. You finish you sign off. Some companies have a checker that checks the work. I guess where John's car was built this doesn't happen. John was not hurt with this car and there is no real damage but 2 or 3 times back for problems that he had NOTHING to do with..... I wonder how easy you would be if this happened to you? Me I would be on a plane and PI$$ed. The money tree in my back yard is long gone. Not even the roots are left.. Sorry, Shelbys name is on the car and that is who I would hold accountable for these problems. It's there dealerships. Maybe they need to do a little inspection of the Dealers and find out who is doing a great job and who is dropping the ball. Customers are the best info and company can listen to, to find out these things. As far as the splindle assemblys, they need some help. I looked at the original chassic book and the pictures of John's car look nothing like the OEM ones. Are yours the same as John's??? I hope not. We just have 2 different point of this problem and views. I did think that only the bodies and frames where built in South Africa? I have not kept up on where and who with them. Have a good evening Sal, going out for a drive?? Becareful, I heard there are BIG jackrabbits where you live. Rick L.

I agree that it should not happen, especially on a car that costs so much. But the truth is, it DOES happen. Shelby, Kirkham, ERA, SPF... all the top name, top quality brands have their share of build and design issues. These are not DOT government regulated major manufacturer assembly line built cars with years of testing before their release and strict quality control. These are low production hand build component cars. Mistakes are made. Design flaws are found and fixed. Contrary to popular belief, John's upright setup was an "improvement" over the original setup which was prone to many issues. I agree it's not the smartest design, but the point it that it was the result of a known issue.

You ask me what if it were my car... I've had my share of problems with my own car. And keep in mind that I am the third owner, the car was already on the road previously. The problems I had stemmed from a combination of parts copied off original design, and how they were put on the car. Am I mad at Shelby for it? No. It's how the car was made and this is a copy of a 40 year old car. Am I mad at the dealer how built the car? Not mad, but a little dissapointed in the poor assembly issues. I have to deal with that and fix things as they come up.

If anyone thinks they are going to own a Cobra and it's going to be trouble free from day one, they are out of their mind.

[cobra25]

I have to jump in here with Sal.
I have a newer CSX so I do not have that issue. But, I got to say compared to the originals these cars are leap years nicer.
We had an original 289 when I was growing up and this upright issue is nothing compared to the original AC fasteners constantly breaking off in the wrench, having to sleave the frame because the body kept breaking below the doors, etc.
It sounds like SAI have been pretty cool. SAI had a saying in the 60's, the warranty is 3ft or 3min which-ever comes first
I say fix it and talk to Amy and if she does not feel like its SAI's responsibilty then let it go and enjoy the car!
By the way, I am sure we could use another dog/cat vet on the south side of the bay.
Feel the burden of the price of this car??? Dude, if you only knew what I went through.......

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by cobra25

I say fix it and talk to Amy and if she does not feel like its SAI's responsibilty then let it go and enjoy the car!

Uhhh, I think not.

[shelby racer]

Originally Posted by cobra25

I have to jump in here with Sal.
I have a newer CSX so I do not have that issue. But, I got to say compared to the originals these cars are leap years nicer.
We had an original 289 when I was growing up and this upright issue is nothing compared to the original AC fasteners constantly breaking off in the wrench, having to sleave the frame because the body kept breaking below the doors, etc.
It sounds like SAI have been pretty cool. SAI had a saying in the 60's, the warranty is 3ft or 3min which-ever comes first
I say fix it and talk to Amy and if she does not feel like its SAI's responsibilty then let it go and enjoy the car!
By the way, I am sure we could use another dog/cat vet on the south side of the bay.
Feel the burden of the price of this car??? Dude, if you only knew what I went through.......

Applied and worked for a day at a practice in Monterey only to be told at theend of the day " your a great vet, you did a great job, but we hired some one 3 days ago...)

Yeah, I tried that after the first round of screwed things were discovered on my car. How many rounds do I have to go through? The latest problem, they can not even blame on any one else since it is 100% SAI.

So, what you are saying is that I should be grateful since it is not more screwed up??? Just because my car is better than a 1960s car, I should be grateful that they are using modern fasteners and it doesn't matter that they did not torque them properly (even though they are inaccessable unless you take the front suspension apart) and that with less than 500 relatively gentle street miles they are backing out and could have killed me and others because things were worse in the 60s..? That I should be grateful that they are using modern technology. Is this the better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick philosophy or the "ido it because it feels so good when I stop phiosophy"?

Can you send me pictures of your suspension since you have an upgrade and do not have these problems? And if you do, and the parts are available, why , when I asked about such a thing, was I told that they did not exist?

[shelby racer]

Originally Posted by Power Surge

I agree that it should not happen, especially on a car that costs so much. But the truth is, it DOES happen. Shelby, Kirkham, ERA, SPF... all the top name, top quality brands have their share of build and design issues. These are not DOT government regulated major manufacturer assembly line built cars with years of testing before their release and strict quality control. These are low production hand build component cars. Mistakes are made. Design flaws are found and fixed. Contrary to popular belief, John's upright setup was an "improvement" over the original setup which was prone to many issues. I agree it's not the smartest design, but the point it that it was the result of a known issue.

You ask me what if it were my car... I've had my share of problems with my own car. And keep in mind that I am the third owner, the car was already on the road previously. The problems I had stemmed from a combination of parts copied off original design, and how they were put on the car. Am I mad at Shelby for it? No. It's how the car was made and this is a copy of a 40 year old car. Am I mad at the dealer how built the car? Not mad, but a little dissapointed in the poor assembly issues. I have to deal with that and fix things as they come up.

If anyone thinks they are going to own a Cobra and it's going to be trouble free from day one, they are out of their mind.

My issue was not that I have had problems with the car. A company is composed of people and people make mistakes and poor decisions (I think that is in the definition somewhere ).

My issues are with the number and severity of issues that this car has had (and please note that I purposely did not say issues that I have had with the car). I also have issues with the way these issues have been handled. The dealer screwed me (and Shelby didn't care). I greatly appreciate that some of the people at SAI were willing to stick their neck out and do me a favor and help to try and fix the car (which was ordered for a 427 and a top loader - an exotic combination for a cobra I know ) by cutting and rewelding the frame so that I would have some place to bolt the tranny (I even went out and bought the 5 speed that I was told that it had actually been built for as a solution to their screw up and it didn't fit either...), moving the motor mount and the passenger side foot box, replacing the defective uprights....., when I was told that the company's answer to my problems would be buy it back from me since they are now selling for 20-25k more and we have a waiting list a year long. I accept the limitations of the design and that a few fasteners may need to be retorqued or mild mods might have to be made, but there are MAJOR problems. Also, to imply that any of these things are my fault or responsability is ludacris.