Evening Guys
Thanks very much for all the positive comments and questions. They do spur a builder on!
To bring you all up to speed and to answer the questions so far….
This kit is designed with the home builder in mind. Roland at ANuD founded DNA which prided themselves on the ease of their builds. I have experienced this first hand when I built my first car, the DNA 4thirty. Most of the regulars know this car (and the build diary) and as a first time builder, the kit was so well thought out and complete, it enabled me to complete it to a pretty high standard. It will be at Stoneleigh on the Sunday so come over and have a chat.
The Porsche GTB kit is no exception. What is also great it the customer service. With many sharks in the kit car business you need to be careful but Roland is always available to help if you’re stuck. He has become a good friend of mine over the years and he is passionate about what he does and likes nothing more to see his product finished and on the road. It’s the best form of advertising!
While I haven’t personally fitted the body on the GTB, I have no doubt I could have. That is the beauty of the kit. The reason why I chose for Roland to do it was just because of my personal circumstances. I have done it before with the DNA 430 and I have no doubt this would be just as straight forward. I work long hours in my job and whilst I have a (very) forgiving wife, bless her, she put up with a lot on the last car. So now, less than 2 years later I couldn’t do that to her again so soon. LOL. For me it is now about finishing the car and dressing it how I want it to be and for me there is no rush. Not that I will let it drag on too long, but given my current lifestyle (wife, 2 girls and now a dog) I estimate I have a years-worth of work ahead of me.
Build diaries are great and they give a sense of how taxing the build could be. The diaries on the DNAOC sister forum helped me decide that I could do it on the 430 and since then I have made numerous friends and helped other builders also with their cars.
On the questions:
Wheel spacers: this is always a bit of a sensitive subject on kit cars, although spacers are not the correct term really. While we use the term spacers, what is actually used are hub extenders. Spacers have no physical attachment to the car where hub extenders do so are more secure/safe. The first 2 cars built by ANuD wheels spacers/extenders were used. The fronts were only 10mm spacers while the rear had 30mm extenders. So a very minimal size. However we are currently looking at other wheel options that could do away with the need for anything so watch this space.
IMS Bearing: a popular subject among any Boxster owners. I read numerous articles/forums on the issue. My conclusion? Don’t worry about it. My job is to take calculated risks. It affects a very small % of cars and you have no idea when it will happen. You can buy a 12 yr. old Boxster with 30k on the clock and 1 careful lady owner that is mint and then it goes. Or you can buy one that has been driven hard with 150k on the clock and it is fine. I had many sleepless nights worrying about it but in the end it is fate. All I’d say is if you need to change the clutch, get the IMS uprated to the better one at the same time and then problem is sorted.
HTH
Paulie