svt 65 stang

[syborg tt]

Originally Posted by SN65

Hi Marty,

Thank you very much for the offer, but after checking all the dim's on all 4 wheels, we are pretty sure we have it just right.

I was very impresses. When we checked the front and rear spacing from side to side the measurements were identical. Not only that, but the front spacing was the same at all four corners.

I know Wayne was being a bit anal about the bodywork, but I would have expected to see some variation in the alignment of the body to the chassis. Right now there is no measureable difference, at least as far as a tape measure can tell. :-)

Your Welcome - that's very cool on the measurements. I amy try to stop by in the next couple weeks

[SN65]

Hi All,

This weekend we had the SN65's suspension dialed in. The car has been set up with 1.75 negative camber up front and .5 negative in the rear. Caster has been set to 7.5 positive front. The toe has been set to .125 out at the front and 1.25 in at the rear. Front to rear weight distribution is 55.5% front to 44.5% rear. Weight distribution from front left to rear right and from front right to rear left is exactly 50%. Total weight of the car is currently 3,552 lbs.

The tech that set up the car said that it should perform very well on any road course. He also said that he was very impressed with the accuracy of the front clip fabrication. When he was finished with the front end adjustments, the caster camber plates were, for all intents and purposes, mirror images of each other. He also said that it is very impressive that the car ended up with a 50/50 weight distribution from corner to corner.

He also made comment on the chassis overall stiffness. He saw no subframe connectors, or any other stiffening members, and wanted to know how we got the chassis so stiff. From his jacking the car up and down, adjusting the coil over setup, etc. he felt that this was one of, if not the most, rigid platforms he had ever worked on. We explained what we had done and asked what he thought of the results. He said che was vey impressed and that the results will speek for themselves once we got some track time.

He also said that the car was lighter than he would have imagined. All of the structure we added, the stereo system, the soundproofing, the heavy all steel hood, etc. should have made the car heavier than the original Cobra and yet we were about 130 lbs lighter. I told him that I was a bit disapointed in that I was shooting for somewhere in the 3,200 to 3,300 lbs range.

Catch ya'll l8r

[SN65]

Hi All,

This post really has nothing to do with the SN65 project, but…..

My brother just got word that State Farm is revising their authorized shop programs. They are consolidating all their programs into one and eliminating all shops that do not complete a specific number of repairs per month.

According to them, we are under the number required. From what I understand, the only shops that can qualify are those with multiple facilities.

Their decision has nothing to do with the quality of the work performed. Their decision has nothing to do with customer satisfaction. And while they will not come out and say it, their decision is based on cost and cost alone.

Also, they are “steering” business to the shops that will perform the repairs in the fastest, least expensive manner possible.

For those who don’t know “steering” is when you (as the customer) tell them that you want your car repaired by a specific shop but they tell you that your repair will not be covered unless you take it to an “authorized” facility. This of course is a load of crap.

I am sorry, but this is really pissing me off. We have worked long and hard to provide our customers with timely, quality repairs. And just because we don’t meet a specific quota, we are kicked out of the program.

So, how is the little guy supposed to get any collision work when the insurance companies are steering business away from small local shops? It is really hard enough to keep a business running without large insurance companies controlling what shop gets the work.

So…. Next time you need your car repaired, think long and hard about the shop you take it to. DO NOT AUTOMATICALLY TAKE IT TO ONE ON THEIR LIST. While I am sure some of the shops do a quality job, you have to remember why they are on the list in the first place. Also, do not be scared off if they tell you that your repair will not be covered. If there is something wrong with your repair all the insurance company does is direct you back to the shop that did the repair.

Bob

PS: So come, one and all, to Julian’s Collision Center. If you live in the Chicagoland area, and are covered by a major carrier, and have your car towed to Julian’s Collision Center for repair, we will cover all charges. We will also offer one and all easy payment terms on your deductible. I am sorry of this post violates any forum bylaws, but I am sick and tired of big business constantly crushing the little guy.

[syborg tt]

did i tel you how much i dislike insurance company's. I've just spent the last week on the phone try to make sure my truck is covered even though it's only a storage policy.

Also my brother-n-law had Alstate do the same to him. You must take it to one of our preferred '$hithole places and here they are 6 months later and the car still isn't right.

It's just another case of the big guy trying to screw the little guy.

[SN65]

Originally Posted by syborg tt

did i tel you how much i dislike insurance company's. I've just spent the last week on the phone try to make sure my truck is covered even though it's only a storage policy.

Also my brother-n-law had Alstate do the same to him. You must take it to one of our preferred '$hithole places and here they are 6 months later and the car still isn't right.

It's just another case of the big guy trying to screw the little guy.

Hi S,

Actually, you CAN take your car to ANY shop you want. They TELL you that they cannot guarantee the repair, but that is a load of crap. It is just their way of scareing the customer into taking the car to a shop that they have negotiated a sweetheart "deal" with.

Also, did you know that Alstate owns a lot of the collision centers that they refer you to. Is that a conflict of interest or what. Their goal (and you have already confirmed it) is to get the car out the door for the least amount of money possible. Are the repairs performed correctly? You tell me. Can you get them to fix it after the fact? Probably not.

So... If you want the car repaired correctly, take it to a shop that does quality work and tell the insurance company to shove their "perfered" shop list up their collective butts.

[syborg tt]

So... If you want the car repaired correctly, take it to a shop that does quality work and tell the insurance company to shove their "perfered" shop list up their collective butts.

I would say what they do is a conflict of interest and i could agree more with your closing statement.

[sinned]

Bob, did I read that correctly? You are running 1.25" of toe in on the rear! As in 1 and a 1/4", not a typo like .125" maybe?

[SN65]

Originally Posted by dennis68

Bob, did I read that correctly? You are running 1.25" of toe in on the rear! As in 1 and a 1/4", not a typo like .125" maybe?

Oops...

You are right. Just a typo. .125 is correct.

Although....


Maybe 1.25 may help when backing in and out of small parking spaces at the local White Hen. Seeing as we are going to be pulling this car in and out of tight spaces at the mall and grocery store, maybe we should consider the change. :-)

[SN65]

Hi All,

Josh, of the Daily Herald, is going to write an article about the SN65 project. He asked me if I knew anyone, other than us, he could talk to about the project, I thought of all of you.

So...

I would greatly appreciate it if you would give Josh a call at 630-587-8626 and tell him your honest opinion of the project, good, bad or otherwise.

Thanks Bob

OBTW, He would really like to talk to those who are coming to the open house from outside of IL. Here is your chance for your 15 minutes of fame. :-)

[SN65]

Hi All,

We have run into a little snag on the project pushing the completion date out to the beginning of next week.

So...

We are going to have to reschedule the open house to sometime after the Detroit show (the first weekend of March)

Sorry about the mix up.

That being the case, we will be working on the car this Saturday, so please e-mail me at [email protected] if you wish to stop by and see it in progress. Seeing as we will still be working on the car, we can only allow for a small number of people. For those wishing to stop by we will be able to show the car from 9 to noon.

I am sorry about having to reschedule the get together. We were really looking forward to meeting all of you and showing the finished car.

Bob