Talk to me about Thunder Ranch

*fare

OH MAN WAIT TILL I GO GET SOME BEER AND POPCORN BEFORE KEVIN SEES THIS

I and others have sued TR for various grievances...all justified. My advice: buy a car that is sorted out and with a history, including receipts for any work that was done.

If possible have an existing Speedster owner look at the car. What ever you decide, take your time and be patient.

TR is off the list.

Still gotta like the TR Miami Vice Ferrari Daytona!   

Thunder Ranch was sold in July to a new company that completely revamped the processes from top to bottom.  New company is www.carreracoachwerks.com 

Good to see another crafter coming on line.  The 250 GTO looks very nice.  I also see they plan to offer a 356 Coupe in turnkey and kit.  Nice!

 

Websites with pictures are easy to create.  The proof is in the execution.  TR has always had some good looking replicas.  Most builders have had their ups and downs.  I am not quite ready for the high fives yet.  Sometimes new and good management can help. 

On the web site, you can play around under "Build Your Coach" choose different bodies, motors, options, etc & estimate the price.  I guess time will tell..........

Below is our posting from July 2009:

 

At this point, our Thunder Ranch Speedster seems to be an overall solid design and build.

Aside from taking ALL timetable promises and having to multiply by 3 or more, the blatant lack of reply to our telephone calls, emails, faxes and letters is frustrating and seems to be an utterly STUPID way to run a business in an economy that isn't favoring discretionary "toy" spending.

At 500 miles, T/R adjusts the lifters and are suppose to fix any items that were missed on the original build or developed over the first 500 miles. We brought the car to T/R with about a dozen minor items on our repair list and picked it up 4 weeks later (yes, it was promised to be done in 1 week). Some of the items were fixed, some were not fixed right, some were worse and some were ignored.

Over the past month, there has been no reply to any of our attempts to have the open items resolved. It is as if Thunder Ranch was sucked into some kind of El Cajon black hole.

Here's my favorite page from the new website:  http://www.carreracoachwerks.com/gallery/

 

And a snapshot of the text: "

<h6>356 SPEEDSTER</h6>

Nullam viverra tempor ligula sit amet mattis. Donec tincidunt congue semper. Ut cursus lobortis dui, at fermentum lectus faucibus ut. Integer a nisi a risus pharetra molestie. Donec euismod vehicula..."

Looking at all the stuff on the Internet about what has happened to TR since July 2012, I can only think 'Testla'.  IMO, TR and Tom McBurnie will never be the same - maybe good, maybe bad - but clearly different.

 

I suspect we will end up with a Street Beast West and a large debt to the Federal and CA taxpayers.  The website is beautiful but replica automobiles would not be a place I would recommend to my government for job creation and investment.  I wonder why there are so few of these guys still in business?  Am I catching the scent of politics?

I did find a web site explaining their green jobs hiring and (of all things) electric replicas. 

 

DUH!  It didn't register with me that "Green" may be a code for government "Stimulus".  A mini Solyndra?

I can only reply that it would appear you have not yet sipped the Kool Aid.

 

I would prefer that we leave politics off of SOC but I would observe that if Tesla with all of the government investment cannot produce a marketable electric car and GM continues to struggle with the Chevy Volt and its acceptance, why would anyone think that Thunder Ranch would be fertile ground for electric cars?

 

Nonetheless, I wish them well.  In addition to my SAS coupe, I also own a 250 GTO replica that was assembled from a TR 250 GTO fiberglass body and I have purchased may parts fom TR.

MisterAC - welcome to the group!  I see you joined the site a day ago and have posted twice, both regarding Thunder Ranch aka Carrera Coachwerks. Based on that, it appears you have a stake in Carrera Coachwerks?   Nothing wrong with that, if it was my business I would be supporting it, just trying to clarify if you are in the stands or on the field so to speak.

 

The Carrera Coachwerks website certainly looks nice.  A google check of the team leadership shows real estate backgrounds (Heatland Sustainable Housing) - GREAT!  Numerous members on this site have backgrounds in real estate/mortgage, etc.  You should never be without something to talk about during a get-together!

 

Either way - whether you have a stake in Carrera or not - welcome!

 

angela

I do have a stake, and simply wanted to inform some of the frustrated that there is a change. I'm also a replica owner and respect the they owners and enthusiasts in this niche. Thanks for the welcome!

The so called Outlaw on the site looks a little strange with the Mercedes type things above the wheels. I'd like to know if they offer the hardtop on it.

I'm with Gerd. Got the popcorn and the beer is being chilled!!!

MisterAC, Welcome!  I think it is great anytime someone new comes along to bring more of these cars into the world.

I see a lot of your website info is "TBD".  Although I am not in the market (my JPS coupe is happily under way), I'm always interested to see what is the latest new thing in the 356 replica world.  Please do post when you update your website (unless there is some sort of rule against that?).

Best of luck!

In this case, MisterAC, change is a probably a very good thing.  There are quite a few TR cars around and the "changes" may bring more into the world.  The website was a little unclear on one point, exactly what position does Tom fulfill at Carrera Coachwerks?  Or is it truly a sold business, meaning that he has moved onto other things?

 

angela

 

I was at the coranodo speed fest today, CCW had a white speedster, 2 550s and an inwork 904 all on display with the san Diego Porsche Club.

PICTURES LARRY NEED PICS

Chrissy took all the pics. I'll post as soon as she unloads the camera.

 

Larry

 

Thunder Ranch wasn't purchased, Carrera Coachwerks purchased the assets and took over the facility.  Tom McBurnie was hired as a designer.  There is a completely new management and admin staff as well as new techs and fabricators.  

Hi guys, i'm new to this universe as well. I just wanted to add in, (and i dont have a stake in the formerly known TR(carrera coachwerks). 

I'm a local resident with a new found love for the 50s & 60s racing machines. I visited Thunder Ranch in the beginning of July to take a look at some of their builds. My first impression was not that great from the overall facility and operation.

 

I had the opportunity to visit again a few days ago and it was like going into a place i had never been before. I noticed a huge banner logo in the front of the building, a ton more employees on the floor building cars...(not resembling my first visit at all) The biggest thing i noticed was that there were quite a few cars being built but what stood out most were the vehicles off the lift and on the ground. The guys were testing out the new silver 904 they had built next to 5 or 6 550 Spyders all parked in front of their building. 

 

I'm not familiar with the way TR has operated for the last few years, but what i can say from my brief visit was to CarreraCoachWerks is that these guys are definitely not screwing around...

LOL JOEY U JUST JOINED. COME ON U MUST BE FRIENDS WITH THESE GUYS.

I'm just throwing my 2 cents in. But dont take my word for it. come down to El Cajon and see and hear these cars for yourself.

 

their facebook shows quite a bit as well. 

 

https://www.facebook.com/CarreraCoachwerks

Boy, you joined this forum just at the right time-right when we were talking about Thunder Ranch, whoops, I mean Carrera Coachwerks. 

What a coincidence.

Thanks for the warm welcome guys! I joined to specifically post my new experience...This site is well optimized for anyone to stumble upon looking for relevant content. 

OK joey welcome to the madness. Are you planning on purchasing a kit car from the new owners. I am very interested in their coupe

This is my favorite TR car.

Thanks Naughty Gerddddd! I've thought about modifying my 57' speedster. I had some ideas for a custom version similar to the phantom they built. But something new... I went for consultation and to my surprise, their CAD department rendered out an image of what i was thinking about on the spot. I was blown away...

I overheard the coupe is going to be available anytime now. Its probably a matter of days...

NEXT TIME U R THERE IF U CAN POST COUPE BUILD PICS THAT WOULD BE AWESOME

 

sure thing!!

Judging by their site and facebook page, it's their only car (under new ownership)

Maybe closer to the truth than you might think.  I have seen this type of thing before.  So, what's the plan? 

You guys are hilarious. We're extremely proud of that red GT, but do have a few owned speedsters and 550's.  We are sponsoring a local event tonight with our owned vehicles along with a few new builds for clients that were just completed including a 904 GTS. We'll be sure to post pics.

Keep the zingers coming, we love it.