Bloody hell (can I say that?)
I can see exactly where you are coming from now Emmanuel. It sounds like a nightmare.
Was the car "Professionally" built when you bought it or amature built by someone with the enthusiasm/talent ratio the wrong way around?
The work you have done in those pictures looks like a real credit to you.
I would love to be able to put the time into my builds to raise the bar but the UK market for pre built Cobras (Of any variety) is limited. (We have 1/5th of the population of the US and not such a good proportion of the better climate areas) And the equivelent of $50K+ for labour would not keep me in business.
I know the stuff tha I build is very different to the Kirkham but the basic principals are the same. The engine sits in the front of a ladder chassis with a gearbox behind it. The car has 2 doors with no roll down windows. The interiors are trimmed with leather and the carpets are leather bound wool. Neither car has air con, power steering, heated seats etc.. I do not manufacture the chassis or the body, I assemble them to customer spec. My customers expect "Glass" finish paintwork but the replica side of things has been forgotten on so many things on the cars here than they are now barely even a lookalike in my book.
However. Headlight, indicators, steering, suspension geometry, body hardware all have to be fitted and they have to be fitted correctly as does the (Dare i say) Chevy engine, Tremec gearbox, Jag suspension etc. I would by the engine from someone who has lots of experience and is well versed with the FE motors.
At the end of the day i will build what someone orders and it that be a Dax for 30K GBP or a Kirkham for 70K GBP it doesn't make much difference as it is all work to me.(Work that I love I must admit, Just don't tell the customers or they'll all want me to do it for free.[
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Posted - 25 January 2007 : 16:31:21
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Quote:-
"Dave,
I checked your website, now I see where you are coming from, you are in the kit car business! Now be serious, you can't compare a Dax or any other fiberglass kit car to a Kirkham! Funny, I dont want to be rude, but this is a different ball game altogether. I am not putting down fiberglass kits, they fullfill a particular price point."
So please enlighten me as to what is so different. It is a car sold for self assembly. The difference being what?
The price and what the completed vehicle represents. In either case the car has to be assembled by the customer or their agent.
Although the Kirkham may take the term "Kit car" to another lever it is still a kit car. unfortunately the label "Kit car" conjurs up images of cars built with bubblegum and string which is all too often exactly that. Its is the fact that the Kirkham is the king of the hill in the authenticity stakes and the Dax is not and as you say it fills a price point in the market. There are kits available that are not a patch on the Dax but they still come under the same "Kit car" umbrella.
i can see you are offended by people refering you your car as a kit car but I'm sure the owner of a genuine 60's car would be offended if at one of their gatherings you tried to pass your car off as some legendary racer.