mendeola transaxles update

[Dj22]

Thats up to FFR they have tabs on who will get parts.

Run Silent, Run Deep

Thanks for responding on FFRs behalf but we already know this and need a response from them. How bout an update from the mendeola side instead, especially unit 12 as I'm waiting back a quote to decide if i have to plan a drive to the border.

[Dave Smith]

I spoke to Ian on the phone yesterday and he did not ship any units this past week as we were promised. Ian told me that he was working this weekend and the first five units will ship on Tues, Wed, and Thursday. The following week will see another 5 units shipped and then one or two units the next week. Then they will need 2 weeks of restock/set-up to continue. I and the crew at FFR are truly helpless in this effort and I regret the entire project as my personal credibility was put on the line on behalf of commitments made and broken by Mendeola repeatedly. Still, we put customer deposits and payments into a dedicated account and so at a minimum, no-ones money is at risk and never has been. In 15 years I have never taken an order that I could not fulfill or refund no matter what. On the positive side I do believe that Ian is doing his best and we are days from seeing boxes land in peoples garages. Jesper can update you guys on the better shifters (cable vs older solid linkage units) but to suggest the shifters has ANY affect or delay on this transaxle program is not accurate.

Lastly, I will not accept new orders on these units, based on past performance, until Mendeola can redeem themselves by having units IN STOCK and ready for delivery. I accept 100 percent of the responsibility for this problem and should have had the wisdom to wait until Mendeola had units in stock before accepting orders. My mistake was understandable based on Mendeolas 30+ years in business and Mike's emphatic guarantees, but still, I took the orders and the blame lies with me.

I am very anxious to see the reports once production begins (translation, boxes ship) and hope that the future for FFR-Mendeola is brighter than the past year. Redemption is as easy as building and shipping quality product and meeting commitments to the people who pay our salaries.

[Joe Mush]

Thanks for the update Dave

[Radkat]

Hi Dave,
Let me also add my thanks. This has been frustrating for everyone, but it's nice to hear an update
and encouraging that the first wave will be shipped very soon.

[sressue]

I'm waiting to hear if my unit is one of the 12 being sent out in the next two weeks or if I have to wait for the RESTOCKING/SET-UP before mine is expected. Is there a shipping list? Not sure where I stand but thought I was one of the first to buy.

[Rick Williams]

Like sressue, I think I'm one of the early ones. I ordered my kit through Whitby so if someone at FFR establishes a priority list they'll have to check the Whitby order.

[flotowngtm]

Dave has to be the most stand up guy I know ( well I don't know personally but maby one day )

[The Stig]

Dave has to be the most stand up guy I know ( well I don't know personally but maby one day )

I've had the opportunity to meet and talk to Dave, and You're right. He's a good guy. He truly feels the need to make sure that the FFR experience is the best that it can be for all Factory Five customers. That's one of the main reasons that this Forums exists.

Factory Five Racing really is an extension of Dave Smith.

It's kind of odd that there isn't a Factory Five Surf Board in the product line...

[Sailor]

I spoke to Ian on the phone yesterday and he did not ship any units this past week as we were promised. Ian told me that he was working this weekend and the first five units will ship on Tues, Wed, and Thursday. The following week will see another 5 units shipped and then one or two units the next week. Then they will need 2 weeks of restock/set-up to continue. I and the crew at FFR are truly helpless in this effort and I regret the entire project as my personal credibility was put on the line on behalf of commitments made and broken by Mendeola repeatedly. Still, we put customer deposits and payments into a dedicated account and so at a minimum, no-ones money is at risk and never has been. In 15 years I have never taken an order that I could not fulfill or refund no matter what. On the positive side I do believe that Ian is doing his best and we are days from seeing boxes land in peoples garages. Jesper can update you guys on the better shifters (cable vs older solid linkage units) but to suggest the shifters has ANY affect or delay on this transaxle program is not accurate.

Lastly, I will not accept new orders on these units, based on past performance, until Mendeola can redeem themselves by having units IN STOCK and ready for delivery. I accept 100 percent of the responsibility for this problem and should have had the wisdom to wait until Mendeola had units in stock before accepting orders. My mistake was understandable based on Mendeolas 30+ years in business and Mike's emphatic guarantees, but still, I took the orders and the blame lies with me.

I am very anxious to see the reports once production begins (translation, boxes ship) and hope that the future for FFR-Mendeola is brighter than the past year. Redemption is as easy as building and shipping quality product and meeting commitments to the people who pay our salaries.

Now that's INTEGRITY. We should all strive to be men like Dave.

[crash]

Well, Dave, I just don't see it from your angle.

You asked Mendeola to build you a CUSTOM BOX with non-standard ring and pinion, non-standard synchros, and all the related parts that would also be "non-standard". You wanted this done at a price point of about HALF what a "normal" Mendeola box goes for, and you wanted them in a rather short timeframe. Now add all that to a historically VERY difficult economic period for the entire country, and indeed world, and I just don't see how you could possibly expect Mendeola to build boxes before having orders in hand. These are not cheap pieces to build, and I really, for the life of me, don't completely understand how Mendeola can send these beautiful pieces of precision machinery out the door at your demanded price point.

I visited Mendeola on Friday and ALL THE PIECES ARE THERE for the first few boxes, and indeed these first few were almost complete as of September 2nd. Most everything for what looks like about 40-50 boxes total are also sitting on the shelves on pallets but, as I said, these are precision pieces, and a very specific setup must be done TO EACH BOX.

Quite frankly, while I share your concept of not promoting something until you have it in stock and ready to ship, in this situation, I think you are doing little other than trying to pass the blame, if there is any, which I really don't think there is, for the boxes taking longer to produce than people, including yourself, would like.

Let me put it another way, if you really wanted the boxes to be on your shelves before advertising that they were available, why didn't YOU put up the cash to produce the first dozen units?

Now I will say that I too have had some discussions with Mike about needing an item by a certain date, and sometimes it takes longer than I would like, but when the pieces are all there, the units are going together, will be shipped in a matter of days, if not shipping TODAY, and the guys at Mendeola are bending over backwords and look like they haven't slept in a week, I really don't see the need or wisdom in posting such a critical statement about Mendeola.

Somebody told me once that when you were in a business contract, or sponsorship deal, with someone else, regardless of what went on in the backround, to the public it HAD to look like you supported each other 100%. Anything else would be completely unprofessional. Those were wise words, and something we should all strive to follow...IMHO.

Just some observations.

[mmaragos]

The short of it is Mendeola missed on multiple promised delivery dates. It is inconsequential how good of a price Dave negotiated or how many demands he was putting on Mendeola or the state of the economy - Mendeola agreed to do it and made promises - then continually came up short with those promises. If it was so apparent that it would be impossible to build those boxes within the time table given, why on Earth did Mendeola agree to do it? I don't want an answer, just stating the obvious question.

[crash]

I was not privy to the conversations between Dave Smith and Mike Mendeola, but I have never seen a statement posted that said "I promise to have those transaxles delivered on XX date". I have seen plenty of ESTIMATIONS of when the gearboxes would be available.

I'm thinking maybe everyone is just really anxious to get this part and the expectations may have gotten ahead of themselves.

Have I told you guys about the truck that I ordered from Dodge that was sitting in the factory for 15 weeks because the six speed stick transmission was on back order?

This is a key part. It is a complex part. It is expensive, and it takes time to produce properly.

That said, if it turns out not to perform as stated, then have at it with Mendeola. I make it my business to hold companies responsible for doing what they say they will do, but so far, I am really not seeing the issue here. Yeah, we all want the parts for our vehicles as soon as possible, and usually that means yesterday, but I just don't see the issue here.

As Dave and Ian have said, the transaxles are currently either shipping or very near to it, but if you do not wish to keep your order pending, I am sure Dave will refund your money, and I am equally sure that someone else will gladly take your order for an ALL NEW parts transaxle for ~$7500.

My point is simply this. The boxes are currently going out, Mendeola never, that I recall, PROMISED a delivery date, you are getting one heck of a deal on a great transaxle, and I'm sure someone else will take up the slack on an order that is cancelled right now as the boxes are, like I said, currently being shipped.

Mike and Ian were waiting for a supplier for some particular parts, the ring and pinions, as I understand, which is basically the foundational guts of this transaxle, so aside from gathering parts for the builds, their hands were really tied as far as actually building transmissions until these parts came in. Since those parts started coming in, and I have talked to them and been down to their facility to see first hand, they have been working non-stop to get these things out the door to you builders. They are doing everything they possibly can to fulfill these orders as fast as they can now that they have the parts that they need. Remember that Mendeola is not solely an FFR supplier, and they have other customers too.

Anyway, as I see it, yeah it is taking longer than anyone would like, including Mendeola, but Mike and the guys at Mendeola are working their ***** off to get these things done, and to come on here and dump on them when they are finally shipping the units, well, I think it stinks.

I think you may have missed my previous point mmaragos. My point was that Dave stated that Mendeola should have built these transaxles and had them on the shelves before offering them to customers, and I believe, given the current economic situation and the nature of this gearbox, that that is not reasonable...unless Dave wanted to front the cash for such an endeavor.

[kabacj]

On a positive note I am thankful to Dave and Factory five for providing such a good kit. I am thankful that Mendeola and Factory five have teamed up to provide this custom solution that will raise the quality of our cars. I am glad Mendeola and Factory Five have invested time and money in this solution so it will be sorted when it arrives.

The Factory Five kit is so sorted that it just goes together like a big model. Rarely are there major issues mostly just the normal assembly challenges.

For those of us that have gone off the reservation modifying stuff its massively time consuming to figure out, mock up, and build or source the modified parts. Mendeola have taken that task on for us and are getting it done.

Nobody is perfect. This are just two small companies doing their best to give us a great product.

We are all just car guys attempting to build a better machine. Rock on Crash, Dave, Ian and Mike!

[mmaragos]

I understood your points crash, but obviously someone gave FFR a ship date, then missed it, revised it and gave another date, then missed it again, etc. Maybe I threw "promise" out there too easily, Dave used it in his last post and it was in my head, but I am like you in that I expect people / companies to deliver on what they say they are going to deliver and within the timetable they helped to establish.

[Dave Smith]

You can search far and wide for any bad comments I've EVER made about a business partner... I just dont roll that way. On the downside, Mike knows that there needs to be accountability for promises made and not fulfilled (Crash, you have not been a party to any of these). As far as blame, I take it all and said as much, still wanting people to know the facts so that they may make their own decisions about waiting or getting their money back. As far as price, Mendeola committed to that price and had it been more, the future may have been different, but I can tell you a thing or two about working for short money, but in this economy, working for short money is still working!

I am anxiously awaiting news that units are shipping. This has been a long time and everything Crash said about the quality of the product, the value, the complexity... all of it is correct and I am still very hopeful that we have the monkey by the tail here. Still, I am sick to my stomach that I took people's money and said 3-4 months delivery, based on what mendeola clearly stated, only to find it was going to be 10 months. I made this deal with Mike at SEMA last year and took orders in November. I, and FFR have been an extremely loyal and supportive partner in this effort, and despite the difficulty, remain committed.

Like I said, the most important thing right now is to get news that units are leaving the building. More news as soon as I get it.

[Kalstar]

On a positive note I am thankful to Dave and Factory five for providing such a good kit. I am thankful that Mendeola and Factory five have teamed up to provide this custom solution that will raise the quality of our cars. I am glad Mendeola and Factory Five have invested time and money in this solution so it will be sorted when it arrives.

The Factory Five kit is so sorted that it just goes together like a big model. Rarely are there major issues mostly just the normal assembly challenges.

For those of us that have gone off the reservation modifying stuff its massively time consuming to figure out, mock up, and build or source the modified parts. Mendeola have taken that task on for us and are getting it done.

Nobody is perfect. This are just two small companies doing their best to give us a great product.

We are all just car guys attempting to build a better machine. Rock on Crash, Dave, Ian and Mike!

You must be in politics.

I strongly disagree with Crash. I do not have a dog in this fight and I am not a Fan Boy of anyone or anything, but Dave has been a stand up guy throughout. Mendeola is doing their best but truth is, dates have been missed and just as Dave has taken resposiblity for Mendeola, Mendeola has to take resposiblity for their suppliers. I have been waiting on a wire harness for nearly a month, who should I blame? To single someone out on a forum, let alone the the guy that created your kit, The president of Factory Five and the father of this forum, takes real Balls, could you be the smartest guy I know or just foolish. I do not think you are either. I guess it is best to keep this talk to a PM though.

[Dave Smith]

I met Crash last year at SEMA and he's a solid guy. I know Mike and Ian at Mendeola and they are decent guys. There is nothing personal on this and I can assure you that I have failed in business more times than I can count, still the important thing is to get thru it, do the right thing, and remember who the boss is (the guy paying the bills). This forum has a clear charter to SERVE THE COMMUNITY. No-one is exempt. I serve the community, as does Mendeola. The minute we take money from someone, we work for that person. This forum is growing by the day and while not everything will be perfect, we strive for that and never give up. I can promise you that the guys at Mendeola as well as everyone here are focused on one moment... that is when GTM's with mendy boxes are seen SCREAMING down the track or road. With luck we are closer to this than ever.

[crash]

You must be in politics.

I strongly disagree with Crash. I do not have a dog in this fight and I am not a Fan Boy of anyone or anything, but Dave has been a stand up guy throughout. Mendeola is doing their best but truth is, dates have been missed and just as Dave has taken resposiblity for Mendeola, Mendeola has to take resposiblity for their suppliers. I have been waiting on a wire harness for nearly a month, who should I blame? To single someone out on a forum, let alone the the guy that created your kit, The president of Factory Five and the father of this forum, takes real Balls, could you be the smartest guy I know or just foolish. I do not think you are either. I guess it is best to keep this talk to a PM though.

You presume much.

I like and respect both of the other parties involved here in this issue. The only issue I took with Dave's statement was that he says "Lastly, I will not accept new orders on these units, based on past performance, until Mendeola can redeem themselves by having units IN STOCK and ready for delivery. I accept 100 percent of the responsibility for this problem and should have had the wisdom to wait until Mendeola had units in stock before accepting orders. My mistake was understandable based on Mendeolas 30+ years in business and Mike's emphatic guarantees."

While commendable that he won't take more orders until some are actually finished and out the door,(I agree with thAT btw) and also commendable that he is taking responsibility for the issues that arose, it does appear that Dave may be forgeting how we got to this point. If you read my posts on the "other forum" you will see that the Mendeola option is discussed repeatedly and one of my comments was something to the effect "OK so we see that Mendeola can produce what you need (speaking to Dave Smith) and you have the market for this product, so whose going to put up the cash to make it happen?"

Mike Mendeola was unwilling to front the cash due to an unproven market and difficult economic times. Understandable.

Dave Smith was unwilling to front the cash...for whatever reason he had. I don't know what that was, but also, I am sure, reasonable and understandable.

So the issue came down to how to fund it, and the buyers spoke with their dollars.

I think it is all working out well for all the parties involved, except for the fact that there has been some delays, but again the issue I had with Dave's comment was that he should have waited until Mendeola had the product on his shelves waiting for people to place orders that could be immediately filled. Facts are, that just wasn't going to happen. It was plainly apparent then, and a way was concieved to "get the job done".

Back orders are a part of this industry. Always have been, always will be. Fact is that the transmission is arguably the second most complex unit in a vehicle and for a company to go from concept to finished units, even if based upon an off the shelf unit, in less than a year, is, actually, a very impressive feat. Ask any builder of a kit car if they received EVERYTHING 100% when their initial kit arrived, and I think you will get ZERO replies that it did. Granted this delay is longer than say, for the dash, but look at the difference in complexity of the part.

Again, I don't know what promises were made and/or broken between Dave Smith and Mike Mendeola, and frankly, it's really none of our business, but I can tell you that by visiting Mendeola for about an hour on Friday it is impressive the amount of hardware that is sitting in that factory and the scale of this build for the FFR SDR transaxles.

If I get a chance in the next couple days I will go back down and take some pictures to post. I know it is little consolation for those that are anxiously awaiting arrival of your new gearboxes, but maybe it will also give you some perspective on what a monumental task it is to build five of these things, much less 50 at a time.

[crash]

I met Crash last year at SEMA and he's a solid guy. I know Mike and Ian at Mendeola and they are decent guys. There is nothing personal on this and I can assure you that I have failed in business more times than I can count, still the important thing is to get thru it, do the right thing, and remember who the boss is (the guy paying the bills). This forum has a clear charter to SERVE THE COMMUNITY. No-one is exempt. I serve the community, as does Mendeola. The minute we take money from someone, we work for that person. This forum is growing by the day and while not everything will be perfect, we strive for that and never give up. I can promise you that the guys at Mendeola as well as everyone here are focused on one moment... that is when GTM's with mendy boxes are seen SCREAMING down the track or road. With luck we are closer to this than ever.

Couldn't agree with you more.

IMHO the difference between talk and a contract is when money changes hands.

I run three businesses and the top two items on our mission statements are:

1) DO THE RIGHT THING

2) SOLVE THE CUSTOMERS PROBLEM

So we come from the same positions there it appears. Like I have said previously, in the immediate future, maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, whatever, the hard work of the guys at Mendeola will pay off for all of us and these anxious times about where we are as far as this project is concerned will be behind us. Believe me, Mike and Ian and the rest of the crew at Mendeola would like nothing more!

[Kalstar]

Crash,

Sometimes it is gammon, other times, interpretation. It is not up to me to decide which of those best describe your comments.

[bobzffr]

I find it interesting that all of you who are yelling about the delays in the Mendeola delivery have not once discussed what you would say if they did deliver their product on time and then found out that the parts inside were not up to their standards. Would you be willing to front the additional expense of returning the transmission for updated ring and pinions? Would you be happy with noisy gears because they were not lapped in correctly? Would you be ok with a little less life in the transmission because the better heat treatment process was not used? Do you think they would have been in business for 30 years if they shipped transmissions with parts in them that were not up to their standards just because a few people were upset that they didn't get theirs on time? Which one of you would yell the loudest when your 7500.00 transmission did not perform the way you expected it to? Or would you be willing to say "I don't care that it is noisy, worn out with only xxx miles, doesn't shift like I want it to ... BECAUSE they shipped it to me on time!!!
All of you that are screaming that you want your transmission yesterday should be saying, thank you Mendeola for making sure my transmission is the best you can make it rather than just shipping it out to meet your stated timeline. Just like FFR's GEN 1-4 Roadsters or the GEN 1-2 GTM's things get better as they are sorted out.

[spytech]

I find it interesting that all of you who are yelling about the delays in the Mendeola delivery have not once discussed what you would say if they did deliver their product on time and then found out that the parts inside were not up to their standards. Would you be willing to front the additional expense of returning the transmission for updated ring and pinions? Would you be happy with noisy gears because they were not lapped in correctly? Would you be ok with a little less life in the transmission because the better heat treatment process was not used? Do you think they would have been in business for 30 years if they shipped transmissions with parts in them that were not up to their standards just because a few people were upset that they didn't get theirs on time? Which one of you would yell the loudest when your 7500.00 transmission did not perform the way you expected it to? Or would you be willing to say "I don't care that it is noisy, worn out with only xxx miles, doesn't shift like I want it to ... BECAUSE they shipped it to me on time!!!
All of you that are screaming that you want your transmission yesterday should be saying, thank you Mendeola for making sure my transmission is the best you can make it rather than just shipping it out to meet your stated timeline. Just like FFR's GEN 1-4 Roadsters or the GEN 1-2 GTM's things get better as they are sorted out.

Or just maybe, assuming Mendeola was the one that gave Dave the timeline for project completion, Mendeola, having been in business for 30+ years, could have set a realistic timeline from the start and none of this pissing and moaning would have happened in the first place. If Dave dictated the timeline, Mendeola, having been in business for 30+ years should have said that was not a realistic timeline.

People here screaming and upset have every right be screaming and upset. If someone tells me something is going to be done at a certain time, and I plan for that and months later it still isn't done, you can be sure I'm going to be irked. I know exactly how these guys feel. I went through the same thing with a certain reputable bodyshop from this community telling me my car would be done in 2-3 months, and then it sat untouched for TEN months while I was being told it was being worked on and nearly completed the entire time.

[bobzffr]

I don't remember saying anything in my post about realistic or unrealistic time lines. Unforeseen problems happen in all businesses. There is no sense being upset about delays if they are caused by someone trying to make their product the best they can before shipping it. On the other hand, your body work comparison seems like apples and oranges. If it truly sat for months without being worked on then I would say that the company was not being responsible. If they were trying to just make it flawless then I would say you should thank them.

[spytech]

I don't remember saying anything in my post about realistic or unrealistic time lines. Unforeseen problems happen in all businesses. There is no sense being upset about delays if they are caused by someone trying to make their product the best they can before shipping it. On the other hand, your body work comparison seems like apples and oranges. If it truly sat for months without being worked on then I would say that the company was not being responsible. If they were trying to just make it flawless then I would say you should thank them.

These people purchased a product that was expected to be delivered by X date. It is assumed that the product to be received by that date will be the best product that can be created, not some piece of crap. To say now that it's senseless to be upset because 'they are perfecting it' is lame. 'Perfecting it' should have been already included in the initial timeline. They should have said from the get-go when it would be done realistically and not cause unreasonable expectations in the first place. Yeah delays happen, but the communication while this was all happening was pretty lacking. I think everyone would have rather heard 'you know what, this is taking longer than expected and a reasonable estimate is now 10 months, not 4', rather than saying month after month stuff might be happening... It's easier to stay complacent and calm when you know what to expect, somewhat, than sit here wondering day to day/month to month (like I did for a year with my bodywork).

This situation kind of peeves me (as you can tell, hah) as it reminds me all to much of the waiting/drama I went through, being strung along month after month. At least these guys had the option of canceling at any time and moving on.

[afourcault]

probably just sticking my nose where it doesnt belong.. but i can be known for that at times.. IMHO i belive that no matter how much talk gets done or how many flamed comments get hurrled it still doesnt change the facts. from everything i can tell about either company both are doing the best they can with what they have. FFR cant/shouldnt/and from all i can gather WONT force Mendeola to deliver sub-par equiptment just as Mendeola cant/shouldnt/and from all i can gather WONT force their supplier to deliver sub-par equiptment. everyone is getting all up in arms at eachother and chomping at the bit for equiptment that was promised. this is the real world, things happen here beyond our control, part of being a productive and respectful member of a community is taking that in stride and not turning on each other like a pack of rabbid dogs. things have happened, deadlines have changed,(yes i was one of the ones who at first spoke ill of how Mendeola was handeling things but i am now retracting and appoligising for those statements as i didnt have the full picture.) looking back i can understand BOTH sides of the coin. the very last day i was in iraq as we were headed to the airport to come home we got hit with an ied(no serious injury to any person) and that set our leaving back by 3 weeks for the investigation into what had happened as equiptment had failed in the feild. were all of us pissed, ya you bet, did we have a right to be, we sure felt that we did, who did we look to to blame? the investigators as it was their job to clear us for departure, we were mean to them, talked all kinds of ****, then it came to light that a peice of gear that was supposed to protect us from cell triggered ieds had failed. and thats was what was keeping us there. waiting for the equiptment to come back from a very long and drawn out test set to make sure that it wasnt the users(translation OUR) fault for not updating the equiptment. turns out they were just trying to make sure that our *** was covered and at the sametime tring to prevent more bad from happening... so long story short.. just because your not privy to the whole picture doesnt mean you should attack or disrespect the person you most likely suspect, because as more often than not they are just as innocent as you are in the whole ordeal.

[Rick Williams]

I was not privy to the conversations between Dave Smith and Mike Mendeola, but I have never seen a statement posted that said "I promise to have those transaxles delivered on XX date". I have seen plenty of ESTIMATIONS of when the gearboxes would be available.

HUH! I don't know about you but when someone makes a statement to a customer it's taken as a good faith estimate. Yeah, maybe there's some wiggle room in the time frame but the original delivery date was sometime around March. A month or two slip might have been acceptable but the problem is, some pretty strong statements regarding delivery dates have been made and I viewed them as strong enough statements to be promises. On top of that, there has been very little communication of status. We've typically found out that delivery has slipped right about when we were expecting delivery.

In this thread http://www.ffcars.com/forums/42-fact...ransaxles.html the following statement was made by Mendeola.

"The NEW STAGE I SDR is in process.
It is 3-4monthes out as FFR stated in there terms for the first 15 units.
edited sorry wrong time frame-02-03-2011 12.00pm" I never did figure out if Mendeola meant from time of order or from 02-03-2011 but even if it was from early February that should have put deliver at no later than sometime in May. Well that didn't happen.

Then there's this statement from this thread in post #5. "I have spoken to Dave Smith and assured him that I will have a new delivery date next week: 5-11-11." That didn't happen.

How about this one from post #15. "Mendeola Powertrain, along with both ring & pinion and gear manufacturers, have ironed out our final challenges dealing with our current delivery issues. Both entities have ‘assured’ us (barring freak sun spot activity) that we can begin shipping July 30th." I might have missed it but I don't remember any freak sun spot activity yet delivery didn't happen.

Here's one from post #18. "Projected shipping date for first unit: August 31st." As we all know, that still hasn't happened.

You can tell me all you want about the complexity, build time, and quality of these gearboxes and that doing the job right takes time. If these things are really as complex as the space shuttle and would therefore take as long as they have for delivery then it should have been stated up front. That is obviously not what Mendeola has been saying to us or to Factory Five. Right now I'm still not sure when my transaxle is going to arrive. Do you? If you don't, why are you interjecting yourself into this thread? All we want is an honest, good faith estimate of when we can each expect to see our transaxles. This needs to come from Mendeola and/or Factory Five.

[crash]

Rick,

Seeing as Dave Smith is about as far away as one can get from Mendeola's manufacturing facility and still be in the U.S., and the guys at Mendeola are busting their chops trying to get customers their transaxles with no time to hold hands on the forums, I was simply trying to give some updates by ACTUALLY GOING TO THEIR LOCATION AND REPORTING WHAT I SAW.

I thought that may be helpful to people, but obviously you don't think so.

About delays. Now I'm not saying that this is what happened, but I can certainly see how this COULD be the case with the limited knowledge that I have of the situation.

Mendeola meets with Smith and projects 3-4 month time frame.

Smith says great and then puts it out to people to put their money up so that this project can be funded.

The project is funded, but in the mean time Dave decides that the 3:55 ring and pinion is what's needed after installing a demo Mendeola box with the 4:11s.

3:55s are ordered, but since this is a COMPLETELY CUSTOM RING AND PINION it takes Mendeola's supplier longer than anyone had hoped.

Not much can be done on the gear boxes other than gathering parts, which obviously, from what I have seen, was done, until the R&Ps show up because the pinion is also the lower main shaft of the gear stack.

R&P manufacturer keeps pushing back the dates, hence Mendeola must also push back the dates.

Finally the R&Ps start showing up and all looks good.

Testing and proofing of the R&Ps show that more labor than anticipated will need to happen before the pieces are in an acceptable state to make sure these things "go the distance" and are the quality products Mendeola is known for.

When the work is near completion and the boxes are just a day or so away from going out, people start a huge *****fest about how their parts aren't delivered yet.

I just don't think it's right. It's understandable, and I would probably be crowing too if my car was sitting there waiting for this last piece to be complete, but I also see the flip side that...well I think I have pretty well stated it already.

Should Mendeola take some heat for these delays? Absolutely. Should Dave Smith take some grief for this? Yes. Should you guys be upset at the suppliers to Mendeola? You betcha. Are you justified in being mad that you don't have your parts? Yes.

Am I trying to make excuses to everyone of why they don't have their gear boxes? NO. What I have been trying to do is to lay out what I know and some possible scenarios that could be the REASONS why you don't have your units, but it is certainly not about making excuses...and BTW there actually WAS freak/out of the ordinary sun spot activity two to three weeks ago!

The bottom line is that the parts are there, the boxes are going together, and things are moving forward quickly now.

[David Hodgkins]

I for one would like to thank crash for going above and beyond in trying to give us updates on the exact status of the boxes. Ideally I think perhaps that info would have been better conveyed by the vendor directly, but crash did a good job of keeping everyone up to date.

I also think guys are right to express displeasure if they are being affected by the current delay.

Now with that said, maybe it's time to move on and await word from Mendeola as to when guys can expect to take delivery, and then perhaps we can all gain insight from this experience, wiser to the ways of R&D and the complexities of a small business bringing a new, substantial custom part to market...

My $.02...

[crash]

Ut-oh. This isn't looking good...

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/...es/?test=faces

[fact5racer]

Ut-oh. This isn't looking good...

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/...es/?test=faces

Oh-oh is right. Crash, maybe those waiting for their transaxles should paypal you $25.00 each, that way you can run over to the factory and hand out sunglasses and sunscreen so they can keep going!

[Rick Williams]

Ut-oh. This isn't looking good...

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/...es/?test=faces

I just got a PM from Mendeola with an update on the status of my transaxle. Honestly, I really appreciate that. It's not hand holding. It's just good communications.

Now this damn solar flare activity...OH $#&*!

[Joe Mush]

I think a update today from Mendeola or Factory Five would be a great thing. Just to let us know what's going on.

Thanks
Joe

[ArtGirl]

Ask any builder of a kit car if they received EVERYTHING 100% when their initial kit arrived, and I think you will get ZERO replies that it did.

As I've mentioned before, I have a real problem with this. Seems like others have accepted it, but I STILL have a problem with it.

[JCHRacer]

As I've mentioned before, I have a real problem with this. Seems like others have accepted it, but I STILL have a problem with it.

Would you rather wait longer to get the kit (so that all the parts are available) and pay more for the kit (because the kit company has to carry inventory for a longer time)?

I don’t have a problem with it unless things get out of hand and the communication is poor. Unless you are attempting a speed build, the parts usually show up before you really need them. To me, FFR has been great in that respect.

[mmaragos]

Would you rather wait longer to get the kit (so that all the parts are available) and pay more for the kit (because the kit company has to carry inventory for a longer time)?

I don’t have a problem with it unless things get out of hand and the communication is poor. Unless you are attempting a speed build, the parts usually show up before you really need them. To me, FFR has been great in that respect.

Why would you have to wait longer AND pay more because the kit company has to hold more inventory? If they are holding more inventory, they can ship sooner, right?

I initially had the same feeling as ArtGirl, but honestly, it the end it was inconsequential. My POV was that I paid for everything so why don't I have it yet. There were quite a few shipments that came in after my initial kit shipment. It actually became a cool thing...Christmas every other week or so for a few months. FFR is eating the shipping charge on the B/Os. I would also think there would be an offset to the additional $$$ spent on shipping components after the fact. In the end I appreciated getting my hands on what I did as soon as FFR could get it to me vs. getting everything at once.

[JCHRacer]

Why would you have to wait longer AND pay more because the kit company has to hold more inventory? If they are holding more inventory, they can ship sooner, right?

My point was that if you want ALL the parts in your first and only shipment, the parts that are ready have to wait for the parts that are not ready.....hence more inventory......and cost.....and lead time.

Compared to a company like Toyota, maybe FFR's logistics are a little weak, but for the size of the company and diversity of products that Dave and FFR produce, I think FFR does a great job.

[crash]

Well folks, I went down to Mendeola yesterday afternoon in hopes that I could bring everyone some good news...

Unfortunately not. All I will say is that there is an issue that will cause another delay. How long that delay will be and what the issue is I will leave up to either FFR or Mendeola to address.

Just know this, Ian took me to the work bench where your transaxles are being assembled, showed me the issue, and told me what they are doing to address it.

Could the transaxles have gone out the door with the issue in place and 90% of the boxes not shown any further issues down the line? Yeah, I think they could have, but as I have said previously, these are precision made and adjusted components, and if it's going to be up to standards, then this item needs to be addressed.

I will say that the issue involves an outside vendor and the costs, JUST TO SHIP THE PARTS BACK AND FORTH TO THEM, is well into the thousands of dollars...which Mendeola is having to pay for.

Now I don't know if this is any help to anyone or not, but I do know that Mendeola supplied me with a "setup" box to make everything fit before I actually received my finished boxes.

Don't know if this is available and an option for the SDRs or not, but if you are really stuck and need the box for fitment purposes RIGHT NOW, then, if you are willing to pay the shipping, Mendeola MAY have some "setup boxes" available. Again I don't know this to be the case as I run a Mendeola S5 and the setup box I got consisted of parts that were not readily usable for one reason or another. I.E. the main case has a casting flaw in it that became apparent when it looks like about half the machine work to the case had been done.

You must understand that JUST THE CASES represent a substantial amount of $$ value and there may even be a deposit required or something. Again, I really am kind of just throwing this out there since I don't know what is available from Mendeola as far as "setup boxes" are concerned for the SDR.

I guess this would kind of be the equivalent of sending you your gear boxes, but having some parts still on back order!!

Oh yes, and then there was that freak power outage yesterday...

Sorry guys, and gals, but it looks like these things are gonna take just a bit longer.

[Mendeola Transaxles]

I think a update today from Mendeola or Factory Five would be a great thing. Just to let us know what's going on.

Thanks
Joe

Hello People of the Factory Five Forum,
I started this response @ 3:15 on September 08,2011- and then the west coast went dark with no power.
This is kind of how my week has gone.

Answer to the Question 1: No, I have not shipped any units yet.

Answer to the Question 2: I will hope to be sending them out the week of the 19-23 of September.

Excuse 1 for those that wish to read further:
In doing the final build I found several issues of minor concern that we were able to address at our facility.This was Sunday @ 1130 p.m.
In reviewing the Gear stack Monday morning and fitment I found yet another issue that stopped us dead in our tracks.
We then took 2 days to review this problem and collect information to discuss with our gear cutter in order to get a consensus as to what if anything could be done by us at our facility to remedy the problem.
In discussion with the gear cutter the decision was made to return these gears to their facility for modification.
This will take a week to address + shipping time.
I am primed and ready for build as soon as these items come back in.

Statement 1: As in the past We deeply apologize for the horrendous delay.
Thank you
Please feel free to contact me direct if needed regarding this issue. 619-710-8800 ext.109 -Ian

[Kempo]

Thanks for the update Ian. Now back to wiring.

[kabacj]

Hello People of the Factory Five Forum,
I started this response @ 3:15 on September 08,2011- and then the west coast went dark with no power.
This is kind of how my week has gone.

Answer to the Question 1: No, I have not shipped any units yet.

Answer to the Question 2: I will hope to be sending them out the week of the 19-23 of September.

Excuse 1 for those that wish to read further:
In doing the final build I found several issues of minor concern that we were able to address at our facility.This was Sunday @ 1130 p.m.
In reviewing the Gear stack Monday morning and fitment I found yet another issue that stopped us dead in our tracks.
We then took 2 days to review this problem and collect information to discuss with our gear cutter in order to get a consensus as to what if anything could be done by us at our facility to remedy the problem.
In discussion with the gear cutter the decision was made to return these gears to their facility for modification.
This will take a week to address + shipping time.
I am primed and ready for build as soon as these items come back in.

Statement 1: As in the past We deeply apologize for the horrendous delay.
Thank you
Please feel free to contact me direct if needed regarding this issue. 619-710-8800 ext.109 -Ian

Thanks Ian. We appreciate your commitment to deliver a quality product.

John