Bad start to a new relationship

[tin-man]

Originally Posted by Dallas56

I bought a new SPF from Keith Craft last week, SPF chassis 2895. SPF sold the roller to dealer Jim Creel in January 2009, Jim sold the roller to Keith two or three months ago, and Keith put in a small block 427 and tranny. I love the car. The engine performance in particular is breathtaking. I bought the car new, with less than 80 miles, all of which Keith put on the car after engine installation, making sure everything was perfect. Keith is a real talent and has been a delight to work with. Did I mention? The engine is bad ass (Dyno'ed 580 horsepower, 590 torque).

The outside driver's side mirror was mounted by SPF improperly. From the driver's seat, it reflects the pavement, and even when I loosen the screw and move the mirror up as far as it will go, it still aims too low. Not a big deal, but I figured, after paying $55,000 for a new car, I should get a mirror that works. It needs to be remounted to be functional. And, while this is a small issue, I want the comfort of knowing that SPF will take care of defects in the roller that it built.

So, I called SPF Friday of last week, spoke with Michael, said I had a minor warranty problem, described the mirror issue, and asked what I needed to do to get it resolved. Michael said I had no warranty, that SPF extends a twelve month warranty, and that it begins to run from the date the car is delivered to the dealer (in this case, January 2009), not the date the car is sold to the customer. I told him that seemed wrong and asked: So if you sell a car to a dealer who has it in inventory for twelve months and then sells it to a buyer, are you saying the buyer has no warranty? He said, Yes.

The seems absolutely wrong to me. If Ford sells a car to a dealer, who then later sells it to a customer, the warranty runs from the date of the sale to the customer, not from the date of the Ford sale to the dealer. Michael's position also seems inconsistent with the SPF written warranty that I received with this car, which says: "This warranty begins on the date that the vehicle is delivered to buyer or put into service by the seller as a demonstrator."

Again, I like the car. And the mirror is small ball stuff. But this is a bad start to a new relationship. I did my due diligence. All indications are that SPF has a good reputation. But Michael's position on the warranty issue is wrong. I want to like these people, to trust them, and to have confidence that they will stand behind their product and work. This puts a bad taste in mouth at the start of what I hope will be a long relationship.

Has anyone else tussled with SPF on this issue? Is SPF right and I am just missing something? Should I just forget about my relationship with SPF, pay for any repairs/adjustments for defects in the roller, and move on?

Dallas 56, I have no idea who this Michael is but clearly he has no idea what he is doing. I have just returned from Hi-Tech Automotive in Port Elizabeth South Africa to check out how my own roller was progressing and met the owner of the Superformance Brand, Jimmie Price, he is without a doubt one of the most straight shooting guys I have ever met and is passionate about the quality of the rollers he sells. It is extremely doubtfull he or his team would ever let such a situation happen on one of the rollers they sell. Further, if he heard of the type of bull**** that you are being fed he would no doubt fire the guy. That said, send Lance Stander at Superformance in California an email, his email addres is lances@hillbankusa.com and tell him the type of misinformation you are being fed. Lance is the president of Superformance and has total accountabilty for distribution and sales of the Superformance brand world wide, thus he is the go to guy for resolution.

I would like to suggest that you do not judge the services or realtionship that can be had with Superformance based on one misguided and ill informed person. You made a great choice with the Superformance MK111.

Please send me a private email and I will make sure you get satisfaction at Hillbank. tin-man

[jhv48]

I have SPF #2932 and the side mirror was useless from the get go unless you wanted a great view of your rear fender.

No adjustment will give you the view you want.

Replacing it is not the answer either. Just buy a stick on convex mirror from your local auto parts store and you will have the best view and you will be able to see that blind spot to your left.

[gary osborne]

Originally Posted by tin-man

Dallas 56, I have no idea who this Michael is but clearly he has no idea what he is doing. I have just returned from Hi-Tech Automotive in Port Elizabeth South Africa to check out how my own roller was progressing and met the owner of the Superformance Brand, Jimmie Price, he is without a doubt one of the most straight shooting guys I have ever met and is passionate about the quality of the rollers he sells. It is extremely doubtfull he or his team would ever let such a situation happen on one of the rollers they sell. Further, if he heard of the type of bull**** that you are being fed he would no doubt fire the guy. That said, send Lance Stander at Superformance in California an email, his email addres is lances@hillbankusa.com and tell him the type of misinformation you are being fed. Lance is the president of Superformance and has total accountabilty for distribution and sales of the Superformance brand world wide, thus he is the go to guy for resolution.

I would like to suggest that you do not judge the services or realtionship that can be had with Superformance based on one misguided and ill informed person. You made a great choice with the Superformance MK111.

Please send me a private email and I will make sure you get satisfaction at Hillbank. tin-man

Just as a point of clarification....Jimmy Price is a great guy and very proud of the Superformance (as well as the Shelby Cobra, Nobels and other cars he manufactures for other companies) but he does NOT own the Superformance brand anymore and has not for several years.

Superformance is owned by Lance and he IS the guy to go to if you cannot get satisfaction from your dealer (and Keith is NOT a dealer...but also a wonderful human being and trusted supplier of engines). It sounds to me that you "technically" bought a very lightly used vehicle since Keith would have been a purchaser.

Furthermore, Lance is an awesome guy as well, with an enormous amount of pride in his vehicles and stands behind them too. I have known Lance to routinely go well beyond the terms of the warranty to make certain that a customer is happy and that his brand's reputation is respected and trusted. Lance has a sincere appreciation for the kinds of guys who drive hobby cars and so it is not just about protecting his brand. Lance is just a good guy who wants to help people out and believes in doing the right thing. That said, sometimes what a person considers "the right thing" is in reality a ridiculous expectation.

My SPF #569 is 11 years old and I have put well over 60,000 trouble free miles on it. I am not a mechanic and don't have the time to screw with it if I was. I have had NO trouble finding people who I can trust to take care of the car in a responsible and economical fashion. It is also the least expensive car I have ever owned if you consider the high resale value and minimal dollars invested in maintenance. So just jump in and drive and smile. Life is good.

[Rickd]

Dallas - you got a great car with a super motor. Fix the mirror no big deal - but also get familiar with the organization chart of Superformance and "who is who" in the US in case there are other issues. I've been at ERA when Peter - the owner - has spent 45 minutes talking with 2 guys who bought Street Beast kits - and he was giving them suggestions on how to resolve build issues as they couldnt get help from the factory. That is a genuine man with a passion for cars. I 've got to believe somewhere in the Superformance group you can find someone that dedicated to help A CUSTOMER??

[tin-man]

Originally Posted by gary osborne

Just as a point of clarification....Jimmy Price is a great guy and very proud of the Superformance (as well as the Shelby Cobra, Nobels and other cars he manufactures for other companies) but he does NOT own the Superformance brand anymore and has not for several years. Superformance is owned by Lance and he IS the guy to go to if you cannot get satisfaction from your dealer (and Keith is NOT a dealer...but also a wonderful human being and trusted supplier of engines). It sounds to me that you "technically" bought a very lightly used vehicle since Keith would have been a purchaser.

Furthermore, Lance is an awesome guy as well, with an enormous amount of pride in his vehicles and stands behind them too. I have known Lance to routinely go well beyond the terms of the warranty to make certain that a customer is happy and that his brand's reputation is respected and trusted. Lance has a sincere appreciation for the kinds of guys who drive hobby cars and so it is not just about protecting his brand. Lance is just a good guy who wants to help people out and believes in doing the right thing. That said, sometimes what a person considers "the right thing" is in reality a ridiculous expectation.

My SPF #569 is 11 years old and I have put well over 60,000 trouble free miles on it. I am not a mechanic and don't have the time to screw with it if I was. I have had NO trouble finding people who I can trust to take care of the car in a responsible and economical fashion. It is also the least expensive car I have ever owned if you consider the high resale value and minimal dollars invested in maintenance. So just jump in and drive and smile. Life is good.

What I should have said was Jimmie Price was the former owner of the Superformance Brand, I stand corrected. Current owner or former owner his passion for the Superformance Brand is undeniable and is very evident when talking with him. tin-man

[ztarum]

I had the same issue with mine. To fix it I loosened the screw at the front all the way and remove the reflector. You can then unscrew the bullet shaped housing from the pedestal mount. Now, drill a new mounting hole in the bottom of the bullet, so the bullet rolls to a more appropriate angle (trial fit first to find the position you want) and resecure. Reinstall the reflector, and you're good to go.

This will all be invisible as the mount pedestal will still cover the old hole in the bullet. It will then work as well as any tiny mirror can.

[madmaxx]

Loosen the screw on the back of the mirror and rotate to get the proper adjustement, but I still recommend a convex mirror to put over the existing to make it usefull.

As far as Superformance your issue is with Keith Craft not Superformance!!!! Why did you not call Keith Craft?????? You purchased KC not Superformance or an authorized SPF dealer.

The bottom line is you have the best replica Cobra on the market bar none. At least you did your due diligence in picking the right car.

[snakebittexan]

Originally Posted by madmaxx

Loosen the screw on the back of the mirror and rotate to get the proper adjustement, but I still recommend a convex mirror to put over the existing to make it usefull.

As far as Superformance your issue is with Keith Craft not Superformance!!!! Why did you not call Keith Craft?????? You purchased KC not Superformance or an authorized SPF dealer.

The bottom line is you have the best replica Cobra on the market bar none. At least you did your due diligence in picking the right car.

You might add "In my self absorbed opinion" to your comment to be more precise.

[madmaxx]

I have owned two BDR's, 1 SPF, worked on a factory five, and a classic roadster and without a doubt the SPF is heads and shoulders above the others, then again it cost the most. So yes in my self absorbed opinion SPF is the best.

Originally Posted by snakebittexan

You might add "In my self absorbed opinion" to your comment to be more precise.

[snakebittexan]

Thank you for your insight and experience, however the most enlightning comment you made was "then again it cost the most." Really?

[RodKnock]

I think it's wonderful that Rick at Time Machines Auto and Tin-Man have stepped up to help you with your SPF. Very cool guys. Help like that should be applauded.

[RodKnock]

Most of the major Cobra manufacturers have wonderful owners and very good factory support.

[jhv48]

As a new owner, I hope you are at least familiar with how to turn a wrench, otherwise you will become a very frustrated owner.

You can't just drive your car down the street to the local dealership, get a loaner car and come back later to pick it up when it's done.

The majority of repairs, maintenance, adjustments will need to be done in your garage, with your tools. If you want to ship it back to KC every time a problem comes up, you will be without your car more than you will be driving it.

My history:
Bought the car in August of 09 from Hillbank.
Installer put motor and tranny in.
Installer found leaking intake manifold gasket. They replaced it twice before I took delivery.
Horn didn't work when I got it home. Crawled under the dash and connected the wire to the horn button.
Oil pressure line began leaking right away. Removed the line and fixed the ferrule (this happened twice)
Engine overheated. Trailered back to the installer for diagnosis (I wasn't going to mess with the engine as it had a warranty from Roush) Tow bill $350. Stuck thermostat.
Side pipe gaskets blown. I replaced the side pipes with Full Throttle 3 inchers, with Remflex gaskets.
Front wheels out of balance from day one. Vibration at 65MPH. Had the fronts balanced by three different shops (including the installer) until I found one that balanced them on the car using a 70's style machine. Problem solved. Found one wheel slightly out of round.
Oil temp gauge stopped working. Ordered one from Nisonger and re routed the line away from the engine vibration. Cost $160.
And the big one: Trans started grinding in reverse. Drove back to installer and paid almost $1000 to have the tranny removed, transmission and clutch inspected and the pilot bushing (a $13 part) replaced.

My point is that these cars are not done till they are done. And then something else will need attention. But, when they are right, damn they are a kick in the butt. Until they kick your butt!

[Silverback51]

Originally Posted by jhv48

As a new owner, I hope you are at least familiar with how to turn a wrench, otherwise you will become a very frustrated owner.

You can't just drive your car down the street to the local dealership, get a loaner car and come back later to pick it up when it's done.

The majority of repairs, maintenance, adjustments will need to be done in your garage, with your tools. If you want to ship it back to KC every time a problem comes up, you will be without your car more than you will be driving it.

My history:
Bought the car in August of 09 from Hillbank.
Installer put motor and tranny in.
Installer found leaking intake manifold gasket. They replaced it twice before I took delivery.
Horn didn't work when I got it home. Crawled under the dash and connected the wire to the horn button.
Oil pressure line began leaking right away. Removed the line and fixed the ferrule (this happened twice)
Engine overheated. Trailered back to the installer for diagnosis (I wasn't going to mess with the engine as it had a warranty from Roush) Tow bill $350.
Side pipe gaskets blown. I replaced the side pipes with Full Throttle 3 inchers, with Remflex gaskets.
Front wheels out of balance from day one. Vibration at 65MPH. Had the fronts balanced by three different shops (including the installer) until I found one that balanced them on the car using a 70's style machine. Problem solved. Found one wheel slightly out of round.
Oil temp gauge stopped working. Ordered one from Nisonger and re routed the line away from the engine vibration. Cost $160.
And the big one: Trans started grinding in reverse. Drove back to installer and paid almost $1000 to have the tranny removed, transmission and clutch inspected and the pilot bushing (a $13 part) replaced.

My point is that these cars are not done till they are done. And then something else will need attention. But, when they are right, damn they are a kick in the butt. Until they kick your butt!

One person here described them very well. They are race cars with license plates. Race cars require a lot of care.

[Gunner]

Originally Posted by Silverback51

Race cars require a lot of care.

But even a race car, especially one bought as an assembly-line, factory-built turnkey item should arrive without significant flaws.

High maintenance, yes. A need to finish fixing and building a factory-finished roller and engine, no.

[Got the Bug]

Originally Posted by Gunner

But even a race car, especially one bought as an assembly-line, factory-built turnkey item should arrive without significant flaws.

High maintenance, yes. A need to finish fixing and building a factory-finished roller and engine, no.

Agree. And that's the case with most SPF purchases. The only SPF related issue that I had, was that the clutch reservoir had some seepage. Superformance sent me a new one under warranty.

Based on Jim's list, the only issues that were specifically related to SPF were:

- Horn didn't work when I got it home. Crawled under the dash and connected the wire to the horn button.
- Oil temp gauge stopped working. Ordered one from Nisonger and re routed the line away from the engine vibration. Cost $160.

[Tony Ripepi]

Congrats on the SPF,

Great deal and a great car.

All good comments on the mirror.

I went to Kragens bought a convex stick on lens , adjusted the mirror with the new lens and that gave it a new perspective that worked....... An inexpensive $2 fix.

TR

[Dallas56]

I am figuring out the lot of care part, and that's OK. I can do some of the basics now, will learn more with time. I love the car, the look, the engine sound, the beastly power, and all the attention the car commands as I drive around.

Today I ordered a convex bullet mirror from Finish Line Accessories. I am going to take the convex mirror from that and see if it will fit onto the bullet mount on my car. If is does (likely), that should solve the problem. It looks like taking the entire mirror assembly off to remount would be a chore because of very difficult access to the mount assembly hardware inside the shell or body of the car. Again, thank you to all for good advice and information.

[Got the Bug]

Originally Posted by Dallas56

I am figuring out the lot of care part, and that's OK. I can do some of the basics now, will learn more with time. I love the car, the look, the engine sound, the beastly power, and all the attention the car commands as I drive around.

Today I ordered a convex bullet mirror from Finish Line Accessories. I am going to take the convex mirror from that and see if it will fit onto the bullet mount on my car. If is does (likely), that should solve the problem. It looks like taking the entire mirror assembly off to remount would be a chore because of very difficult access to the mount assembly hardware inside the shell or body of the car. Again, thank you to all for good advice and information.

I installed the same convex mirror in mine. It's OK, but I don't depend on it 100%. A wider convex rear view mirror is pretty handy as well.

[vanoochka]

Originally Posted by Got the Bug

I installed the same convex mirror in mine. It's OK, but I don't depend on it 100%. A wider convex rear view mirror is pretty handy as well.

Second that advice. In the end, the mirror just doesn't matter. You will be amazed how often a vehicle has sped into your blind spot without you noticing, mostly to get a closer look at your car, sometimes to provoke you. My unsolicited advice it to not trust any mirror and always look over your shoulder.