Waking The Dead

Mitch, good sleuthing on your part.

It looks like you may have to clearance the frame if you want to keep the rear discs.

I would show Vintage this problem for sure.  That way they know there is a "crashing" problem for future builds.  You may even ask them if THEY can rework that frame area???  May have to give up your car for a week, if you don't want to cut on your car your self.  Ask them nicely.   Or tell them it is a road safety hazard and that you don't feel safe.

Don't know how you feel about it, but that isn't something that I could live with on a daily basis.  1/2 inch travel on a suspension???  Plus the banging/hitting when it does bottom out.

Cut that corner right out of the frame and re-weld a pc back in...from the picture it looks like it will clear after that.  Get yourself a sawzall and a grinder...

Zulu

Zulu, it definitely isn't driveable like this, but the car's still under warranty so I'll have to work it out with VS. I think the solution is to find a brakeset that fits which will probably mean something other than EMPI.

EMPI has changed their source for calipers sometime in the past several years (maybe more recently) and I'm guessing that's the problem. The same kit must have fit into the VS OK with the old (Varga) calipers, but the new ones must extend inwards more. The 'overlap' between the brake and the frame is only about a half inch.

I think as the frame keeps hammering the brake on sharp bumps, the brake bracket has gradually bent, so the caliper is no longer parallel to the disc. On really sharp bumps, the frame is deflecting the brake enough to bring the pads into contact with the rotor and that creates the droning sound.

Just a guess going on the evidence. My wife refuses to hang underneath the car while I'm driving to see what's really going on.

Well, if your wife's still under warranty, you may want to consider a twofer.  Mine expired in the 60's.

Historically Vintage has had a 'quality control' problem that could easily be corrected (and should have been corrected after Todd and Jerry's frustrating experiences!)

What's so difficult about establishing a build sheet that components are Identified, Inspected, and Signed off for??

It seems a road test would have caught Mitch's dangerous problem...And please don't tell me that everything going out their door has been road tested! Todds delivered odometer proves it wasn't even after he specifically requested that it be done.

Carl, you pays your money and you takes your chances.

I think a hand-made car that's thoroughly engineered and exhaustively tested today can't help but cost what Becks and IM's do.

How does VS deliver a car in 30 days that looks almost the same (from 20 feet away) yet costs half as much? Anyone being honest with themselves must understand how they do it and be willing to put up with the, uh, 'adjustment' period.

On balance, VS has been pretty fair with me through my 'adjustments' and I've learned so much about patience, the healing power of forgiving, and automotive engineering in the process!

Mitch, I'm not quite fully awake yet,  but I'm trying to put my finger on the origin of the phrase..."Condemning with faint praise"

It'll probably come to me after I get my morning coffee 

Geez, Carl!  You start asking for stuff like that from a builder and the next thing you know, they'll be going for ISO-9000 registration!!

It is funny you say this...OFF TOPIC here...but I actually e-mailed VS and asked them

1.  "If I purchase a Kit, do I actually need the donor vehicle or could I buy all my parts new, like gas tank, steering column, wiper motors and so on?"

2.  In the same e-mail, I then asked "after I purchase the kit do you have a needed parts list for me so I can go and round up all the extras, either via new or junkyard.

I don't even know if they got the e-mail since I haven't heard back from them...total silence.

So what I will have to do is show up to their door with cash and ready to sign the paperwork before I get my questions answered I figure.  The questions I have asked, they have probably answered over 1000 times.

So why not just compile a list of "what you get in a kit" and a list of "needed parts" and put it on their website???  I suspect they really don't want to sell a speedster in kit form.  Probably a hassle for them.

Sort of similar to a build sheet for a turnkey...

Zulu

Zulu, I was very fortunate with my VS in that previous owners dealt with whatever short comings it might have had... and pre-sorted them all out for me!

Also, a knowledgeable independent, like Jim Ignasio, gave me the thumbs up on it after he'd gone over it with a fine tooth comb, kicked the tires, and took it for a lengthy test drive. With that as a cautious criteria purchasing pre-owned could be a headache free a wise move.

I remember reading, some time back, about a black Speedster giving the local Police a merry chase down in Tijuana, Mexico, until he escaped across the border, back into the USA.

I wonder if that might coincide with Jim's "Lengthy test drive" of Carl's car??

LOL.

That caused a good chuckle on my end. Thanks! I needed it after the day I'm having at work.

T

No Gordon, it wasn't Ignasio...Jim cheerfully kicks tires for beer & pizza!

This guy cost me a bit of money, but it was worth it by calming a churning stomach when it came time to writing out a check for the purchase price...Haven't regretted a penny of it.

Musbjim (aka; El Guapo) - the MOST GUAPO hombre in ALL of SoCal! 

I don't always  test drive Speedsters. But when I do, its through Tijuana and back across the border. Drive muy macho, my friends! 

Mitch gets my vote for "man of the year" for knowing this, and just dealing with it. It sure beats all the hand-wringing that goes on.