On-the-Road cost of an Ultima GTR with LS7 engine - info.

[pilbeam_mp62]

Prospective Ultima builders may find this information useful :-

This is what it will cost you to buy the parts required to build an Ultima GTR with an American Speed LS7 engine, to the factory specification.

This list includes EVERYTHING to get the car on-the-road, except your labour to build it.

(My car cost me a little bit more than this, as I used the excellent skills of the factory team to do a few jobs that I could not handle myself)

I am sure there are some items where money could possibly be saved, if you have additional time, skill, knowledge etc.

Chassis £3,368
Full roll cage £1,058
Alloy panel kit £282
Alloy double skin kit £217
Pedal set £223
LS7 accelerator pedal fitting kit £55
Master cylinders £246
Wishbones £626
Front suspension upper and lower ball joints. £97
Rear uprights £554
Rear toe in adjusters including rose joints and fixing bolts. £147
Front uprights £554
Front hubs and bearings £273
Rear hubs and bearings £429
Handbrake lever and cables £113
Brake line kit £221
Steering column £248
Steering rack £561
Cooling system £845
Gear linkage G50 rod £420
Petrol tank left £531
Petrol tank right £531
Intrax dampers £1,297
Drive shafts £759
Wiring loom £331
GTR body £4,790
Hinges and locks £591
GTR windscreen and sidescreens £651
Side window helicopter vents pair £22
Windscreen bonding kit £40
Gas strut kit for rear canopy £68
Front clip stay £29
GT spec mid mounted rear wing £1,898
Set of body grills in black anodised expanded alloy £219
Ultima electric door mirrors pair £338
Sealed side luggage containers £161
Luggage container covers in carbon fibre £138
12.7" brake kit £2,616
Handbrake calipers £316
Fuel system for LS7 engine £936
Braided stainless steel clutch pipe and fittings £75
Re-packable xhaust system in mild steel with cats. £2,905
Ceramic coating to exhaust system in silver £552
Oil cooler kit £458
Silicon water hose kit £181
Transaxle invert kit (mountings and breather kit) £228
Engine/transaxle adapter Chevy/Porsche. G50 £552
Clutch kit (cover, plate, thrust bearing and bolts) £569
Porsche starter ring gear £109
Slave cylinder £88
Clutch fork, pin & bearings £202
Starter motors gear reduction type £322
Speedo sensor £75
LS7 engine mounting kit £186
Dry sump kit for LS7 engine £917
Aluminised alloy cloth canopy heat protection £69
Steering wheel 320mm leather road £113
Steering wheel boss with deformable structure £44
Solid alloy gear knob £24
Leather dashboard trim kit £449
Leather Ultima seats - pair £918
Lumber support (pneumatic)- pair £97
Seat runners pair £64
Six point fixing seatbelts £299
Air conditioning kit including heater £1,374
Rear Bulkhead carpet £92
Side lights £351
Triple headlight kit £481
Relays and fuses. £90
Switches (rocker type) £79
Pantograph wiper and washer kit £278
Battery cables £53
Battery (Odyssey Extreme 40) £167
Battery fixing clamp £21
Ultima instruments £661
Headlamp flash relay £40
Horn £12
LS7 loom fitting kit £78
13" x 18" & 9" x 18" split rim wheels £2,293
335/30/ZR/18 tyres pair £771
245/35/ZR/18 tyres pair £454
AS Engine (including shipping and VAT) £18,347
G50/03 gearbox (recon - from factory) £3,680
Unleaded fuel restrictor (2 off) £30
Cat 2 Immobiliser £161
Charge Air Con system £92
Lubricants (oil, antifreeze, gearbox oil) £158
IVA Test fee £518
Registration + 6 mths Road Tax £183
Fill with fuel £92
Tax disc holder, number plates, screen visor £36


Grand Total (ON THE ROAD) £66,884




EDITED :- I had mistakenly added VAT twice on the engine costs, so I have now redone the list with VAT included in each item.

Edited by pilbeam_mp62 on Tuesday 27th October 10:53

[pilbeam_mp62]

spatz said:

that sounds very reasonable for a LS7 build, still there is another 2000-4000 pounds in smaller bits and tools that I would calculate in , I needed approx 12 tubes of sealant and there are some specail tools you need that not even I had already and I would say I am quite well equipped.

Perhaps you would be good enough to give us all a comprehensive list of these "smaller bits and tools" together with their prices so that prospective builders can see where this extra "2000-4000 pounds" comes from.

I think the reason you used 12 tubes of sealant is that you seemed unable to use contact adhesive on your rear canopy heat insulation mat - a problem that no other builder seeemd to have

I have spent a lot of time and effort on this list - what nobody needs is some casual reply which is completely unsubstantiated.


Regards

[pilbeam_mp62]

ivanj said:

AS Engine (including shipping and VAT) £18,347

For a LS7????

Why is it so much?

Compared to what ??

Regards

[pilbeam_mp62]

UltimaCH said:

Hi Kelvin,
Your list is VERY interesting as this is the type of setup I have in mind Just a quick word regarding the cost of the AS LS7. You mention "shipping and Vat" with the price. Have you added up this price in you sub total then calculated VAT twice in the amount?

No, I didn't do that.

This is the total sterling equivalent price to me when the US$ cost of the engine was added to the GBP costs incurred by me when the engine arrived in the UK. Obviously, if you import the engine from USA, the exchange rate is highly relevant.

Regards

EDITED:- Sorry - I see what you mean

Yes - I mistakenly DID do that
I have now edited the OP

Edited by pilbeam_mp62 on Tuesday 27th October 10:19

Edited by pilbeam_mp62 on Tuesday 27th October 11:12

[pilbeam_mp62]

UltimaCH said:

My first post has now been amended - I had mistakenly added VAT twice on the engine costs.

It's now under 67 grand !!

Blimey - if it's that cheap, I am going to build another one !!

Regards

[pilbeam_mp62]

YIIHAA said:

Why don't the factory just provide a menu pricing based on a few standard setups, all in? They can still publish the full price list for those who want to mix and match components.

As a starting point, an Ultima can be FAR cheaper than the cost of my build - You don't have to have a carbon wing, AP brakes, leather seats, Intrax dampers, double skin kit, full roll cage etc. etc. - There are thousands and thousands of pounds to be saved if you do your homework, and you source some parts yourself. I think it is a bit unfair to say that £30k "lacks credibility".

You don't NEED an LS7 (I chose one, but an LS3 would do a great job IMO) If you go with an LS3 you don't need the dry sump kit. You can go with a lower powered carburettor SBC if that suits your budget better.

I personally don't think it is appropriate for the factory to give "menu pricing" based on a few standard set-ups, because there will always be people who want to put their own stamp on the car.

Regards

[pilbeam_mp62]

brem said:

@pilbeam_mp62,

I think the list is very good and it would be more or less the setup of my GTR.

Why do you need a "Dry sump kit for LS7 engine £917" as on the AS page all LS7 engines
are listed as dry sumped?

And what was the reason to choose the "standart" LS7 when you can get the 650HP for only $1000.-more?

Thanks and regards

Peter

Peter,

The engine is described as "dry-sumped" , just meaning it stores it's oil externally.

The dry sump kit from the factory consists of a tank to store the oil, brackets to attach it to the chassis, all the braided hose and fittings, and an oil thermostat - The engine that I have is plenty for my requirements - you have to draw the line somewhere with the budget !!

Regards

[pilbeam_mp62]

It's 2 years since I sold my Ultima, but I still like to read this forum and I was interested to see that my "Cost of an LS7 Ultima" thread had been resurrected.

There are some interesting comments there, but the bottom line for any wannabee Ultima owner is to decide between the two main routes to ownership:-

Route (1) - You want a hobby that will take you several hundred hours but at the end of it, will give you an enormous sense of satisfaction for (hopefully) a job well done. I spent a lot of time and care over my "Factory-Spec" build, and in order to ensure that I ended up with a high quality result, there were one or two jobs that I had the factory do for me - They must have thought I had done a good build http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fRfBdz0_7Q because they asked me if they could display my car on their stand at Stoneleigh in 2010.

You MUST go into Route (1) with your eyes open... the instant the car is finished and IVA'd, if you choose to sell the car, it is highly unlikely that you will get back the money that you have put into the car - hobbies cost money, and I treated it as a hobby that would cost me money .... and it did !!

Of course, if you decide to keep your Ultima for many years, you will still suffer depreciation, but it will be over a period of time, and may not be as painful..

Route (2)- You want to own an Ultima but you are conscious of the money aspect. In this scenario, you may be better off looking for a car that is being sold by a builder who has maybe let the costs get away from him and needs to sell the car. He will have suffered that first bite of depreciation.

I will give you an opinion about the engine and exhaust as well - I bought the engine (and the wiring loom and ECU) from American Speed, because it was guaranteed to fit into the engine bay and guaranteed to work first time, and guaranteed to pass IVA emmissions - and it did. I bought the exhaust from the factory because it was guaranteed to pass the IVA noise test - and it did.

I have read so many threads on here where people are asking about emissions or noise....of course if you want the grief and the challenge, then go ahead.... but I always say.. "you buy cheap, you buy twice"

There are plenty of "box-shifters" out there who, on the face of it, are selling cheaper - but they are not selling the complete package so you are not comparing like-with-like. There may be an opportunity for someone to replicate, here in the UK, what American Speed are doing, and supply a package for the Utima that is complete, and guaranteed to fit and work.... I said this on here a couple of years ago, and to my knowledge no-one is doing it...yet.

I have no connection with anyone mentioned in this thread - it's all just my opinion.

Best of luck to all prospective builders/owners.

Regards

[pilbeam_mp62]

It’s almost 10 years since I started this thread and it’s had several re-incarnations since then. I can’t give you any facts as I sold my Ultima a long time ago, but I am sure someone will be along soon with some answers.