Nubodi Automotive - Reading

[Roadster]

Originally Posted by Mister Towed

As Hurnleft says, the panels are great value and it's just a bit of final fettling that's needed to get the panel gaps right.

These cars at Stoneleigh last year all looked fine, even though they weren't in paint the panels fitted pretty well.





Instead of thinking along the lines of paying someone to fit the panels, how about relishing the challenge and having a go yourself?

The finished result will be something you can be proud of, even if it isn't perfect.

I didn't expect my comment would provoke such a reaction but I am very pleased to see that most of the contributors here see the situation clearly.

How many Kit car manufactures are brave enough to display their products in the state you will receive them? The flash lines still visible not covered in a tonne of filler and paint.

The 250 swb is still a straight forward build for a novice to the kit car scene and will attract people that never considered building there own car.

If you do not have the confidence or the the skill then a build agent is the way for you to get the car of your dreams and you will pay for the time and the skill.

My point was that the build agent should not undermine the value of the product to sell his services.



Pretty paint can't hide a poorly aligned boot.
Funny I wonder if this was on Ebay would it have been slagged off like the Kobra with misaligned stripes was on this forum recently.

[IanA]

Originally Posted by hurnleft

...an observation which I think is worth pointing out for any newcomer to the hobby who may be used to mass produced perfection.
As you can also see I couldn't find any other downside...

Agree- point well made.

[y cymro]

Geoff has answered the conundrum about panel fit on his build thread. I'm sure he won't mind that it's repeated below.

Originally Posted by casamolino

Good morning all , there has been a great deal of comment on the Nubodi thread ref my 250SWB , I should say that when I delivered the car to Richard at Nubodi any problems that were pictured showing the door skins were down to me , for some background , Chris built my car and at that time the process was to use Alfa 156 door handles , it was difficult to come up with a mechanism to make a 156 door handle work efficiently with the BMW lock .
A 250SWB builder(sorry don't know which) worked out that a "Classic" Mini door handle to could be used to provide a better solution , I replaced my 156 door handles with the Mini ones (not a straight forward task) , this meant that my door skins were on and off more times than a (insert your own statement) , and so after numerous efforts I had two functioning locks , but was so fed up that the position of the door skins took a back seat , OK I accept that was not a very good reason for not trying harder but Hay Ho .
I had already booked the car into Nubodi and so I new that Richard would do a much better job at sorting the skins out .
I agree with the comments about working problems through but I also know where my limitations are , sorry for the long post , Geoff .

[Nubodi Automotive]

This really has got very childish and silly. The 'badly' aligned bootlid we worked with Chris to fix, as the gap was massive and would not line up. He produced a bigger lid and it was better but never was right, but as it was my wifes daily driver and not a customers car it seemed irrelevant.

We will be respectively bowing out of the arena now as I am sick of the politics. I only wanted to show a before and after and it started world war 3. Chris will have to find a new build agent. We will continue to build cars as ever but for resale and our own pleasure. Happy New Year!

[JG]

Originally Posted by Roadster

My point was that the build agent should not undermine the value of the product to sell his services.

I certainly didn't take it that way, Richard was just showing a before and after picture of the work they have done. It wasn't implied that the 'before' picture is what to expect from the kit itself

Richard, I'll be sorry if you don't contribute any more because of a few comments from posters that see things differently from the majority. I know you don't like forums for this exact reason, you have to have a thick skin and ignore some comments, but I hope you change your mind but understand if not.

John

[hurnleft]

Originally Posted by Nubodi Automotive

This really has got very childish and silly. The 'badly' aligned bootlid we worked with Chris to fix, as the gap was massive and would not line up. He produced a bigger lid and it was better but never was right, but as it was my wifes daily driver and not a customers car it seemed irrelevant.

We will be respectively bowing out of the arena now as I am sick of the politics. I only wanted to show a before and after and it started world war 3. Chris will have to find a new build agent. We will continue to build cars as ever but for resale and our own pleasure. Happy New Year!

Please don't decide to do this on the basis of a few remarks which may not even have come across as intended. Misunderstandings are common in all non face-to-face communication.

I've seen the quality of your finished cars and spoken to you and your good lady at Stoneleigh and found you both to be excellent ambassadors for the products you sell and the kit car industry as a whole.

Chris's products are an excellent base from which you produce a superb car. Once the dust settles on all this, hopefully you will realise that the possibly harsh words of the few are far outweighed by the appreciation of the many.

Best wishes, Bob.

[Lucky@LeMans]

No harm intended Richard, your work is 1st class and the end result looks stunning ( blue 250 SWB in particular ). There are plenty of existing customers on here who will vouch for that and there are also lots of potential customers who are reading up as much as possible before placing an order, like myself.

Paul

[Mitchelkitman]

[QUOTE=hurnleft;73653]

Originally Posted by IanA

I'd agree with that except that it's a KIT car- only to be expected.

That's my point. It ONLY requires a little fettling which is great for a kit car at that price. None the less it's an observation which I think is worth pointing out for any newcomer to the hobby who may be used to mass produced perfection.
As you can also see I couldn't find any other downside.

Bob.

And with a kit like this you can change as you wish without being constrained as you are with a production car - one of the benefits of building your own (or to your spec by someone else) It's one of the many reasons why we like kit cars

[Danny_HUFC]

I've followed this 'debate' and I cant understand where this fall out has come from.

Tribute kits are a great product and fantastic value for money.
If you want to build your own car you can and with little skill and the outcome will be great.
If you want a perfect car, then you have to pay a professional and the build quality will be that of a professional.

I really enjoy building 'kit cars' but when it comes to the finish, I have always payed a professional because i want that finish.

(Im not sure ive spelt professional right either? But im using my phone and it doesnt look right but dont have spell check?!)

[Nubodi Automotive]

Thanks John for your support (MK is the owner of this website and forum by the way, I met him doing an article for Kitcar, great guy) it means a lot. Unfortunately Im not thick skinned, but in fact as passionate about kitcars as yourself. This may become ‘War and Peace’ but bear with this till the end. This is for the people that do not know me.
I have been building cars for 35 years, I guess between 250 and 300 by now (could be double that, lost count). Presently due to time and budget constraints I cannot spend a year building one car which is a shame as many cars I’ve built and sold have won ‘best of show’ and countless trophy’s.
Im a qualified vehicle engineer, LPG fitter for three different manufacturers, 10 years of drag racing, circuit racing, off roading, rallying, building V8 engines, designing and constructing chassis’s. I have written recently articles on engine management systems and LPG problems for Car Mechanics Magazine, also Mini world, Jaguar world, 4x4 magazines, etc I recently was asked to be the editor of Kitcar magazine but declined. I could go on but your eyes would start glazing over.
I currently run a company inventing, developing and manufacturing Hydrogen Fuel Cell systems which are fitted to cars, trucks, ships, etc. I could not live on building cars for a living, mostly if you divide the hours by my charges I could get more at Burger King! On Geoff’s blue Koupe I just broke even, but I love what I do so it does not matter. I offer advice to all petrolheads free of charge whether they have bought a kit from me or not (ask Andy (Ericholm)).
In the two years since I met Chris and Dan I have delivered everything I promised and more. A line up of demonstrators (3 at present) bought and sold more Tribute kits than anyone else by far, supplied a build service at a great price to customers, raised the profile of the company immeasurably by 20-30 magazine articles, etc. I have personally built more finished Tribute cars than anyone including Chris and Dan. I have been approached by several Kitcar companies to be their build agent, who I will not name, after they had seen my work. I declined all because I think the Tribute product is the best value for money on the market. It is not perfect and IS flawed but we can work together on that. I cannot sell a product without being honest to the customer. I hear from some of you that you were happy with the build of your kits and quality and fit, I’ve seen most them and sorry they do not come to my level of pride, but I understand everyone is different. My honesty can offend but it’s just an opinion. My aim these days is for a metal, production car level of finish not show standard.
I am currently reviewing products for Machine Mart and Rally design. I write a monthly column in Kitcar magazine, I run the website for the Ferrari Daytona owners club (have two of these). These people value my experience and expertise, which is what I was hoping to bring to this forum.
So when people call me a liar (the door was not closed), accuse me of attacking the products I sell (roadster), can’t align a bootlid (Stuart Mills (MEV, the largest kitcar company in the UK) told us this was the car he would most have liked to drive home from Stoneleigh 2014!, etc, etc. I throw my teddy out of the pram. So when people on the forum who have only built one or no Tribute cars think they are defending Chris and I’m not, I understandingly get a bit annoyed. Hopefully now that’s clear can we MOVE ON from this and I’ll try this forum thing for a bit longer??????

[Ollie]

Stay on the forum...yay...!
I too have been working on cars proffesionally for over 20 yrs, and yet i still love to see what other builders are up to.....
So, keep up the good work...!
All the best, Ollie...
PS, keep posting photo's, please...

[WorldClassAccident]

Glad you are staying.

I will email you about popping up to discuss sorting out my bonnet as I think some things are best discussed away from the public forum.

[WorldClassAccident]

Great to see you Richard. As you see, the bonnet is a great fit straight from the mold even though Chris was doing a one off from measurements.

I will be up towards the end of Feb to let you do the final fettling and paint.

Thanks for the coffee

[Nubodi Automotive]

Working on three cars at once at the moment at the same time. Just started to paint an internal hinge for Scotts car in Matt black. (this is an extra to the standard Kalifornia kit).



This is a close up of the bonnet grille on a real 250 SWB which I want to replicate.



I started with some stainless strip and made a frame. The grille mesh was added from behind.



This is the basic shape now. Still a way to go.



I will be adding 'dummy' mounting bolts and painting the mesh black and the frame silver. Hopefully will look okay when finished.

[Triumph Special]

I much prefer internal hinges, in fact I'd like to keep the brightwork to a minimum on the whole car. I'll have to budget for these too.

[smash]

I want the grille! I want the grille! Lol

[Mikewade]

Nice work!
Glad you're staying. Have a Great New Year!

[Nubodi Automotive]

Thank you everyone for the support since my rant...I think it helped to clear the air.

Im going to start a new thread creating a Ferrari-esque interior for my Kalifornia. As usual these will not be an exercise in how much money you can spend, more how little you can get away with but still have a quality finish.
The outside of the car is pretty good and fooled 99.9% of the viewers UNTIL they looked inside where it was too modern.

[ned]

Glad your staying , i like your work and your posts are clear and informative , i will look forward to the interior thread and seeing your latest work at Stoneleigh
Happy New Year to all

[IanA]

Originally Posted by smash

I want the grille! I want the grille! Lol

Yes, very pretty but which is the correct mesh? What looks like black expanded metal in the pic of the real car or the chrome wire "fireguard" pattern on Richard's "replica"?