So I know I may get accused of "drinking the Kool-aid" ... ok may be... but the Factory Five Cars are more than just the cars they are the community. We help each other when needed; feel bad for each other when the builds don't go the way we expect... and even allow us to open up to discuss shortcomings about the kit and collectively find solutions to make the cars better for ourselves but for EVERYBODY ELSE who comes along. So bare with me for a moment...
The genesis of the company was to produce reasonably priced component cars that you complete in your garage and that would perform on the track. The idea being that they didn't want to see cars not completed = not complicated.
At the price point they set and the components that come with the cars are up to the task in my opinion... I have built a few of their cars... I have not Built a RCR , I frequently hear being compared to the GTM.... I have seen a few up close... the Yellow GTM that was in the shop where Pandora GTM was painted, I got a chance to crawl all over.... nice car!
To me this all about expectations.... Fiberglass is being put down by humans - hand-laid... the molds are put together by humans - in low production run (all their kits). Molds wear out... the second part coming out of the mold is usually the best... but the molds do need to be replaced. Are fiberglass bodies perfect? will the gaps line up? no way.... if you think RCR do - I invite you to read their own disclaimer on what to expect on the RCR website {what-to-expect}
" If you require very tight body gaps like your new Mercedes S-class, fiberglass kit cars may not be realistic for you, as even if you do the body massaging necessary to get to those gaps, the bodies will move over time and lose some of the gap precision you put into the car in the beginning"
"
From ten feet, the car can be polished to look very good indeed. Many people have come up to the factory race car and remarked on the paint- but it is just polished gelcoat!
A painted body will always look better than a polished gelcoat, mostly due to the effort required to prepare the body for paint- any minor defects will be corrected, and the car can be painted to look just as good, or better, than a factory car."
Each of the company's have their pluses and minuses - you will spend 40k on a GT and less body work; and potentially less of "blank slate" to customize the car
vs
GTM - 25 K will require potentially more body work and in fact a clean sheet to customize = look at the examples that SHANE has come up with! There are some benchmark cars in there.
Bottom line - need to manage expectations and understand that fiberglass isn't perfect. There have been plenty of cases over the years where mistakes were made and Factory Five replaced those items..
I can guarantee the body being off here or there on sides you can not see at the same time - will not matter the first time you hear that thing come to life. Even the 20 extra minutes you have to account for when taking your GTM somewhere, because everybody will want to ask you about and will be impressed that YOU built it!
Certainly there are flaws - and YOUR money is something that is important and you should get what you pay for! I agree!
I am only suggesting to take a step back and enjoy the fact that you are one of few people that will undertake a task like this and it is Factory Five who has allowed that to happen... if it was going to be easy and cheap -there would be a RCR and GTM next every mail box (that would be a cool neighborhood) .
The door issue with window frame has been a well documented issue on the forum - I personally passed this one back to FFR during my GTM build. The window deal.... actually found that windows were not square... huh.... wouldn't have expected that.... even the bow of one of the side windows was different.. between 2 sets of windows; The door issue of one being physically wider inside to outside... is an interesting one... did you ask FFR for a new door? Could it be you have one Gen 1 Door and 1 Gen 2 Door?? .... man.... it's just part of it.... I ENCOURAGE you to reach out on either forum... and Factory Five.... they want you to be happy with your kit....and with in reason they will help you do that!
For me... I saved this GTM from another builder who failed to deliver (locally here)... and the owner wanted it finished.... the previous builder was so pissed - he put ALL THE PARTS from FFR in ONE box!!!! Can I tell you how hard it was to find parts that were not in their marked boxes!! I always took for granted FFR packing procedure and numbering.... never again....
While it's easy to say quality can be better and more precise tools and mapping equipment can be used... certainly the mass produced cars can leverage the economy of scales, somebody mentioned earlier, to lean on to cover the expense of that technology... The issue, and I am sure everyone can understand, how does a company balance that with also keeping the cost down so you can afford to do this in your garage.
BTW I am not just making statements without some experience - and yes my wheel arches were SLIGHTLY off and my door frames had to be re-welded, and the hood was slightly off if you had a ruler... but until now ... I only knew that.
It came out ok for most... THANKS SHANE for all the custom stuff !!! And Wayne P. for all the logistical/paint and dyno tune... (have to give them props!!) - all I did was put it together!
this was in and out of the Body shop in 4 months.... the other 4 months was the rest of the build ...8 months to completion... man it was hard! boy was it fun!....