Ak Versus Pilgrim

[Bodyshop Simon]

A few months ago, her in doors gave me the go ahead to build a cobra.
Its something ive allways wanted to do since i was a lad but theres allways been something else to spend my money on like weddings, houses, children and food...
But now i have delt with those items...
Ive spent the last six months reading, researching and gathering as much information as i can in a more serious way.

Everything seemed to be pointing towards the Pilgrim Sumo,

• Ease of build
• Price
• Local to me ...ish
• Can use a rover v8 as the granada bits weigh less

I drove a chevy sumo 3 months ago and was mightly immpressed!!

Today i drove an AK427

OMG !!! What a difference
What i dont know is was the the sumo that i drove built really badly or was the ak built really well.?.toatally different feel.

What do i do?
Im going to Stoneleigh in May and planning on placing an order (hoping to get a show only deal!) so could do with some help making up my mind before i go.
Thanks guys.

[TINKA]

I presume you have already paid Pilgrim a visit, so my advise would be to go along to the AK factory and meet the people you would be dealing with if you were to chose this model. As far as if it was a good AK or a bad Sumo It takes quite a bit more work to set up a Sumo well from what I have read on this forum with all the mods that some people have to do But with most of the other makes these mods are not required and they can be set up well if care is taken. HTH

An AK will cost more to build but should be worth more once built provided it is built well. Ease of build I would say the AK is easier but MikeT would be a better person to talk to as he has built both.

AK good choice of kit by the way ( before any one else gets in )

[Sidecarbod]

Originally Posted by Bodyshop Simon

Today i drove an AK427

OMG !!! What a difference
What i dont know is was the the sumo that i drove built really badly or was the ak built really well.?.toatally different feel.

Hi Simon,

In what way were the two cars different?

One thing that I can say about a Sumo built as per the manual is that they handle like a bag of crap! However a few simple mods can transform them. This is the thing that pi55es me (and others off)...why won't Pilgrim do these mods to the chassis before they sell them.

I do think that if you are going for a RV8 then the weight of the car becomes more important, the Granda based sumo must be a fair bit lighter then a car built round jag running gear.

All JMHO and no doubt others will have there own opinions, this sort of post comes up about once a month on average!

Pete

[Bodyshop Simon]

The difference in feel was that the AK felt tighter, more grounded than the Sumo, as for build cost ive got to factor in the fact that the paintjob will cost me nothing and the refurb costs will probably be a lot lower than normal as i will be doing the work myself and getting all the parts at trade cost.

[Purple AK]

Nothing wrong with a Rover powered AK if that is your engine choice

[Bodyshop Simon]

Im sure a rover 4.6 should get me to the off licence by closing time

[Purple AK]

Originally Posted by Bodyshop Simon

The difference in feel was that the AK felt tighter, more grounded than the Sumo, as for build cost ive got to factor in the fact that the paintjob will cost me nothing and the refurb costs will probably be a lot lower than normal as i will be doing the work myself and getting all the parts at trade cost.

If you actually do the sums. The AK doesn't work out more than a grand dearer bearing in mind you get a lot more in the basic kit price that is extra with a Pilgrim. And it all Fits

[Sidecarbod]

Originally Posted by Bodyshop Simon

The difference in feel was that the AK felt tighter, more grounded than the Sumo, as for build cost ive got to factor in the fact that the paintjob will cost me nothing and the refurb costs will probably be a lot lower than normal as i will be doing the work myself and getting all the parts at trade cost.

Yep, thoses are all the things that a standard sumo does not have!

Basically the steering jumps about all over the place due to bumpsteer, that the "more grounded" feeling out the window! The bumpsteer is totally elimentated but cutting 8mm off the chassis rack posts. (On the MkIII chassis)

The back end of the sumo 'bobbles' about over bumps, the rear tow out needs to be removed, quite easy to do on a bare chassis.

The rear grip can be improved a lot by just moving the outer trailing arm pivot bolt to the bottom hole in the chassis. (gets rid of the over the top camber of the rear wheels)

That's it in a nutshell!....you should not have to do these things but there you go!

Pete


Edit...I'll let you know what a 4.6 goes like, I'm fitting one to my sumo at the moment!

[Bodyshop Simon]

Ive done the sums Chris thats the problem! Im lucky in the job i do so i know i can get a lot of the building part of the project done cheaper than most. Hence the Ak option. so confused.

[Bodyshop Simon]

So why dont Pilgrim sort these issues out??
They sound like easy fixes to me?