Sleek Z Posted September 23, 2003 Share Posted September 23, 2003 Although mostly big news for Tomahawk Z kit owners, I thought some of you here would be interested to see Rory Bateman's very unique and creative adaptation of Nissan 280ZX T-tops and roof section pieces into his newest 4 piece Targa style hard top design that he has now finished and produced to fit the early generation Z kits. Vincent Hudson, stopped by today with his fabulous looking "Purple Candy" Tomahawk Z to proudly show off the new, virtually finished, new 4 piece hard top that Rory Bateman has been working tirelessly on for over a year now. Vincent will next be taking top to his favorite body & paint man to refine a few details before having the top painted to match look and color of his custom painted body. Steve Cameron, owner of a black V8 enhanced Tomahawk Z kit in Sacramento was the first owner to get one of these tops, but to my knowledge, Vincent's is somewhat more refined than the prototype that Steve first had fitted to his car. Knowing that some of you keep abreast of Tomahawk Z kit developments I quickly took a few shots of the new top on Vincent Hudson's car and have already published them on my website at http://zparts.com/showcase/tomahawk/docs/news.html Feel free to send me any feed back about the design you care to. I'd most like to know what the rest of you think of it, pro or con. Eric Neyerlin - owner of ZPARTS.COM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilRufusKay Posted September 23, 2003 Share Posted September 23, 2003 Do you know if there are any of these complete Tomahawk kits available? I read on the web that the company is not producing them at the moment. Do you have any info about them? Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sleek Z Posted September 23, 2003 Author Share Posted September 23, 2003 First the good news for someone ready to purchase a turnkey Tomahawk Z kit now. Currently, the owner of Tomahawk Z kit #004 has just contacted me asking me to broker his freshly painted and restored Tomahawk kit for sale. Sitting on a 240Z body, this car sports a Rebello L28 engine with triple Mikunis carbs and is painted in a royal, irresdescent blue with Traditional Cobra like, dual white stripes from front to back. Asking price is $17,000 When time allows, I will be taking full ad photos of kit located in the San Francisco Bay Area for display at ZPARTS.COM. Potential buyers interested to learn more can contact me at sales@zparts.com Read below for more background news on buying a Tomahawk Z kit in the future. Although, the one man company that has produced the Tomahawk kits since 1995 is very much alive and active in building Tomahawk kits, circumstances of life have prevented him from filling more than a few select orders that he occassionally accepts per year through the grapevine of loyal Tomahawk owners and admirers of his kits I keep in close contact with the designer/builder, Rory Bateman. I was just up at his 2nd new shop in Sacramento, CA last month, which he moved into and is in the process of furnishing and setting up at the moment. Most likely I will be up to visit him again for tech and business marketing discussions next week and may have more news after that visit. I have received recent signals from Rory that he may be ready to begin taking new order deposits again on Tomahawk kits in the near future. When he gets to that point, most likely an announcement and buyer inquiry & screening form will be posted on my website, ZPARTS.COM, to allow SERIOUS buyers the chance of getting on a waiting list to have one of these superbly crafted kits built for them. Reason for emphasis on screening for "serious buyers" is because Rory has found out the hard way that most persons interested in his great looking kit, that casually contact him on the phone, just distract him from his work day without producing any income business. For general public inquiries and the curious, we are hoping to publish an online brochure with plenty of specs and photos with new price changes in the next couple of months so the general kit and Z car enthusiast can get a better understanding about the 3 Tomahawk kits that Rory has so far designed and produced for 3 different generations of Z car, the 70-78 (S30) , 79-83 280ZX (S130) and 84-89 300ZX (Z31) models. Note: Currently, the owner of Tomahawk Z kit #004 has just contacted me asking me to broker his freshly painted and restored Tomahawk kit for sale. Sitting on a 240Z body, this car sports a Rebello L28 engine with triple Mikunis carbs. Asking price is $17,000 When time allows, I will be taking full ad photos of kit located in the San Francisco Bay Area. Potential buyers interested to learn more can contact me at sales@zparts.com Eric Neyerlin - owner of ZPARTS.COM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilRufusKay Posted September 24, 2003 Share Posted September 24, 2003 Thanks for the info Eric!! I am definatley interested in a kit but not a finished project. I was under the impression that the kit was about the same price as the Vella Rossa around $3900.00 with out the emmenities. Is this anywhere close? How do you get on a wait list to order one? I am sure a deposit is required and I am willing to do that I just wonder about a turn around time etc. I guess I will have to wait for the form to appear on your website? Thanks for your time!! Rufus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sleek Z Posted September 24, 2003 Author Share Posted September 24, 2003 Rufus Don't want to discourage your interest in the Tomahawk Z kit, but last price Rory charged for his kit unassembled was nearly $10,000 and recent comments I have heard indicate that a price increase is likely in the near future. Long, long ago I believe the Tomahawk kit was priced under $5000. until reality bite Rory in the butt hard when he discovered how much time it took him to produce the high quality fiberglass and inner liners his body kit panels are note for. Secondly, although a very likeable, honest and hard working guy, Rory Bateman is well known for not exactly knocking out his kits on schedule nor within time frames associated with larger kit building companies. It is obvious to me that most buyers of his kits remain enthusiatic and devouted fans of his kits and his craftsmanshiip, but all will tell you that you must have the patience and understanding of Job to complete a kit purchase from Rory. At least that is how it has been so far. Now that he has a new and larger shop and the very positive influence of his new wife plus the support of many of his loyal customers in the Sacramento and SF Bay Area regions, past production problems may get ironed out and speed of completion improved in the future. I have not seen the quality of other kits straight out of the box, but Rory's molds are works of art in themselves, being reinforced with extensive steel L bar outer bracing and the quality of the body panels and their paintable surfaces are so smooth and dimple free right out of the mold that they look almost like pressed steel panels from a Mercedes factory. Last time I visited Rory he imparted to me some of the advanced fiberglass laying, blending and smoothing techniques that he uses to create his kit panels in order to avoid the typical "wobbly-wavvy" look typical of most fiberglass body kits on the market. Very impressive attention to detail and high quality, indeed. I wish you could see the incredible rididity and finish fit quality of the new hard top components that Rory just completed. His quality would blow you away if you compared them to average quality fiberglass work dominant in the market today. Hope that helps answer your questions a wee bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hudson's Hawk Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 Just to chime in a little about the Tomahawk by Rory. It's a great kit for anyone who wants to do something radically different. To our knowledge Native American Craftsman-Rory Bateman will be putting together a list of those who are interested in purchasing his body kit. Please feel free to contact me or Eric to get an update on the starting point for him to begin production. To date he has made over 30 cars in about 7 years. He's a one man operation so that means, he, makes about 4 cars made a year. If he's going to be doing installation as well as producing bodies for sale, we don't know. Hopefully we'll have a better clue by Sept 29, 2003. When you understand the immense detail and attention he puts into his car, you'll understand the time it takes to make a body. Everything is hand made. 3 layers of fiberglass with tube reinforcement around all openings for structure support and strength... The car continues to win awards at different shows, featured magazine articles and just about stops traffic everytime it's on the road...Peoples heads turn 180 degress, mouths drop open and people point and stare...(Didn't their mommies train them better then that?) Hahah... So, keep tune to this station as the saga continues.. Peace out, Hudson Hawk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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