WELD/SUTTON DIRT MISSILE build

[mfain]

I too have been reluctant to comment. I like both parties involved but, in my opinion what began as a cheerful, good faith effort, was overcome by the realities of trying to build a complete, finished race car (a prototype of sorts) in an unrealistically short period of time. I certainly feel Greg's pain and he has fulfilled all of his obligations in this contract. On the other hand, the most important part of the car (the chassis and suspension) seems to be rock solid and is the basis for a very fast car. There are perhaps design issues that need to be dealt with (airflow for cooling, for example) and Ron needs to work with his suppliers to sort out the engine oiling and cooling issues. He owes these things to his customer. The body is your typical aftermarket piece that needs 2 months and $10K worth of work to bring it up to Greg's standards. Proper bodywork was not possible in the time allocated for the build, so it got a hurried, cheap wrap to make an appearance at THill. Unfortunate, since it gave the impression of a less-than-professional effort. The car really needed another (or perhaps multiple) test and tune to work out the bugs - not at a NASA competitive event. Hopefully Greg and Ron can work out an equitable solution that will benefit both. Best of luck.

Pappy