Newbie questions...
Discussion
I've went through 20 pages on this forum so far so if I ask a question that has been asked lately or too many times, please forgive me.
1)Who here has an engine in their Ultima that wasn't bought from Amerspeed? I'm sure their engines are top notch. I'm a firm believer in "you get what you pay for", but their prices are a little high, okay, really high. I can understand those prices for race spec engines for cars used in racing, but not on the road.
2)Has anyone heard of using a Viper engine, if it would even fit? I've seen a few used w/ low miles for around $5000-$7000.
3)Many questions on this but how many of you have built your Ultima all the way by yourself? I've seen a few sites but each says the factory helped with just this one thing, or this one thing, just wondering because that's what I will be doing to cut down on costs.
4)How many here in the US have bought parts from within the US, ie., tires, seats, tranny? Not only for shipping costs but I've read on here that a few things are more expensive in the UK than in the US likes tires and engines, just wondering about what else could be cheaper.
5)What extra costs are involved in bringing a kit to the US? I've read about VAT but have no clue what it is. I know they only ship for free to the nearest port, so shipping from there is unavoidable. Also, since I'm in the military, depending on costs to Japan, might be able to get it shipped there and then to the US with my furniture and such and avoid customs. I know it's possible cause I had a friend do it with his Ducati he bought in Spain.
I've got a million more questions, but some have been directed to the factory in an email and some will just have to wait. Thanks and please pray for all the troops here in the Middle East.
1)Who here has an engine in their Ultima that wasn't bought from Amerspeed? I'm sure their engines are top notch. I'm a firm believer in "you get what you pay for", but their prices are a little high, okay, really high. I can understand those prices for race spec engines for cars used in racing, but not on the road.
2)Has anyone heard of using a Viper engine, if it would even fit? I've seen a few used w/ low miles for around $5000-$7000.
3)Many questions on this but how many of you have built your Ultima all the way by yourself? I've seen a few sites but each says the factory helped with just this one thing, or this one thing, just wondering because that's what I will be doing to cut down on costs.
4)How many here in the US have bought parts from within the US, ie., tires, seats, tranny? Not only for shipping costs but I've read on here that a few things are more expensive in the UK than in the US likes tires and engines, just wondering about what else could be cheaper.
5)What extra costs are involved in bringing a kit to the US? I've read about VAT but have no clue what it is. I know they only ship for free to the nearest port, so shipping from there is unavoidable. Also, since I'm in the military, depending on costs to Japan, might be able to get it shipped there and then to the US with my furniture and such and avoid customs. I know it's possible cause I had a friend do it with his Ducati he bought in Spain.
I've got a million more questions, but some have been directed to the factory in an email and some will just have to wait. Thanks and please pray for all the troops here in the Middle East.
I did my own engine, alloy 5.7 EFI LS6 Gen 3 sbc.
Viper engine may be a bit long, not much width in the Ultima chassis.
I bought a few pcs in the US, seats, belts, tires, instr. The factory prices are pretty good, I just wanted to customize a bit, since every car I own is modified to my tastes.
VAT (value added tax) is for UK only. We in the US have to pay a 2.5% duty and maybe state sales tax when it's registered.
Mine was shipped to Chicago and I picked it up, others have rented trucks or trailers and picked their's up at the port.
Viper engine may be a bit long, not much width in the Ultima chassis.
I bought a few pcs in the US, seats, belts, tires, instr. The factory prices are pretty good, I just wanted to customize a bit, since every car I own is modified to my tastes.
VAT (value added tax) is for UK only. We in the US have to pay a 2.5% duty and maybe state sales tax when it's registered.
Mine was shipped to Chicago and I picked it up, others have rented trucks or trailers and picked their's up at the port.
yeah, not sure about the viper engine, but being original would be the point. i owned an LT-1 which was a great engine and never gave me any problems. a lot of searching, i must do. powerful the force of the ultima is, build it i must. my father-in-law was planning on giving me and my wife $20,000. let's keep the fingers crossed.
I am in the US and also went with an LS1 corvette motor. Just recently started my canam, but plan on building the whole thing on my own. I had the factory do the body prefit, but for the US price you would be crazy not to.
I had a great lead on a viper engine but it is a very long motor. I only checked the major companies, but had no luck finding anyone what made a viper to Porsche trans adaptor. It's also very expensive engine to deal with. Headers alone run several thousands of dollars. For the money an LS1 was much more cost effective.
Has for import costs, you have the 2.5% duty, possible a customs broker fee, and a bunch of other little fees from the shipping yard / cargo holding companies. I live 20 minutes from my nearest port, so I just had a flat bed tow truck deliver the crate.
You may want to look into the bringing it over from Japan very carefully. My friend tried to bring back a skyline year ago, when it got to the US, they wouldn't allow it in the US because it didn't meet the US crash regulations. When I talked to the EPA + DOT before ordering my kit, they told me if it didn't have an engine they didn't consider it a car, just a bunch of unassembled parts. In your case you would be importing a car, which can be much harder.
Mark
I had a great lead on a viper engine but it is a very long motor. I only checked the major companies, but had no luck finding anyone what made a viper to Porsche trans adaptor. It's also very expensive engine to deal with. Headers alone run several thousands of dollars. For the money an LS1 was much more cost effective.
Has for import costs, you have the 2.5% duty, possible a customs broker fee, and a bunch of other little fees from the shipping yard / cargo holding companies. I live 20 minutes from my nearest port, so I just had a flat bed tow truck deliver the crate.
You may want to look into the bringing it over from Japan very carefully. My friend tried to bring back a skyline year ago, when it got to the US, they wouldn't allow it in the US because it didn't meet the US crash regulations. When I talked to the EPA + DOT before ordering my kit, they told me if it didn't have an engine they didn't consider it a car, just a bunch of unassembled parts. In your case you would be importing a car, which can be much harder.
Mark
yeah, the viper engine was just a thought. i had previously been saving up for either a viper, corvette convertible, or my all-time favorite car a lamborghini countach. but spending $65k on a car that has to be regularly serviced at a price of thousands per year is crazy. i was willing to do it cause that was my dream but i have a new dream, the can am in yellow with a soft top. and since i've owned a chevy small block, and did all the work on it myself, another one will be cake. and by looking at all the pics, there looks to be plenty of room in the engine compartment of the ultima to work on the engine. go look at a f-body/y-body car with an lt-1 or an ls-1 and try to see all 8 spark plugs. it took me and my dad 6 hours to change all 8 plugs and wires, there just is no room to work, but we did it and did it right with msd. what i've been looking at is a carburated sbc w/ aluminum heads to cut down on weight. great thing about being in the military is the diversity of people you meet. i've met more than one person who has built a kit car before, a guy in my shop has built racing engines professionally and has given me a huge amount of info. i live on an air base and every air base has an auto hobby shop where people gather which huge amounts of knowledge. they are always ready to help and usually do it for the fun of it. a case of beer that they'll help out all night. it's just great. the shop on my base in japan has 10 garages complete with everything from every tool you could ever want to hydralyic lifts, engine lifts, brake disc turners, tire balancing, removal and fitting, alignment tools, everything, i just can't wait to start this project. and all that stuff is available for $3 an hour. that's it. sometimes i have a lot of complaints about the military, mainly the money we get paid, but most of the time they really help out their people. once i finish my degree and become and officer, i won't complain about the money no more. so i'm thinking small block, dependable chevy, and cheaper maintenance costs than anything else on the road, and i'll be able to spank all those cars. i really don't see why there aren't more ultimas in the states, they should be everywhere. but since i like cars you don't see everywhere, i'll let them find the ultima on their own.
eric
eric
also, when i said ship it to japan, what i was thinking is that right before i move from japan back to the states, getting the kit sent to japan, if the shipping is free, and then without building it ship it to the US, which would be free through the air force, and it would go through customs as a bug box of parts and no 2.5 duty or customs fees. not sure if the free shipping would extend to japan or if japanese customs tax kit cars. japan is expensive for everything. just to get my ducati in the country would cost me between $1000-$3000, so it's at my dad's in florida. you never know though, i'll check into it. might only save $1000, but any money i can save is worth it.
eric
eric
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