Inventory?????

[eamici]

Someone please tell me this is going to get easier. Got my kit last week and started doing the inventory with significant difficulty.
There are parts listed on the Parts Order List that says were not shipped ...but that I received. But the worse is the dozen or so parts that have no number on them. I'm fairly new and don't know the names of these parts so how am I supposed to reconcile these?

[edwardb]

Take it a box at a time. Use the shipping manifest provided for each individual box and check items off the list one-by-one. Usually, between the description, process of elimination, and looking in the manual you can figure out what everything is. If in doubt, post a pic. We're here to help! Strongly recommend that you leave the parts in the boxes they were shipped in. Take them out of the box and cross off the list as used. When POL stuff shows up, put them in the box they were supposed to be in and update your list. Organization is key here, especially since you're a little new at this as you described.

As far as parts being received that are on the POL, not a surprise necessarily. But it should be clear from the paperwork. What they explained to me is they pull and stage your kit some days ahead of the actual pickup or ship date. At that time, the POL is created. They take another pass at the POL items right before it goes out the door. Likely some of the previously unavailable parts were available then, and that's what you're seeing.

[GoDadGo]

1. Make a copy of your packing list and place a copy of the individual sheet to the corresponding box is a huge help.
2. Having an extra person to check off parts from the list is extremely helpful too.
3. It took Mrs. Go-Dad and yours truly about 10-12 hours to do the inventory.
4. As EdwardB stated, keeping the parts in their respective box helps.
5. Working from those boxes gets easier as the parts are used.

[slpro1207]

Go-Dad and EdwardB have given you the best advice. When you take a part out of a box, always put it back in the box or on the car. You will save hours of searching for the parts you need that wound up in the wrong box. Been there, done that.

[phileas_fogg]

It will get easier in time. Like you, I started with very little (in my case no) experience working on cars. After working on my car for the past couple of years, I can readily tell you the name of any particular part or piece of aluminum with 90% accuracy. Also, you've got the good end of the POL problem; most folks have to wait longer than they want to receive back-ordered parts!

I also write the name of the part on the box / wrapping paper, and write the name of the aluminum panel on a piece of painter's tape & stick it to the panel. That saves time later when you open Box 3 and are confronted with 20 white boxes and 5 blobs of packing paper.

Cheers,


John

P.S. When you get stuck, take a break and ask the forum. There are TONS of folks who can help. Pay close attention to the words of forum members edwardb, Jeff Kleiner, Mike Everson, and Mark Dougherty; ignore their advice at your own peril!

[carlewms]

Nothing much to add here ....

I ordered a basic kit plus multiple options ... those options made some of the basic kit parts redundant (for example brake parts) so depending on options you could end up with some "extra" parts.

I didn't put the part names on the boxes (I often wished I had), make sure the numbers aren't faded or smudged. Exposure to sunlight will tend to fade over time to the point of being unreadable. I would sometimes put the part number in more than one spot on the part.

Although not really part of the inventory ... save any resealable bags and some of the brown wrapping paper. For example the wrapping paper got recycled to serve as a drape when painting.

Carl

[AC Bill]

The key thing about doing the initial inventory, is to make sure that you got all the parts that you were supposed to have rec'd. If any of them are missing let FFR know right away.
I wouldn't worry to much about the ones they already sent that are shown as on back order. The worst that could happen is you might end up with duplicates. If that happens just let FFR know. Depending what the items are, they may not even bother, but otherwise they can arrange for their return..IE; ship it collect to them.

A picture or two, of the mystery parts posted on here, will soon solve the issue as to what they are for.


As mentioned, you can often figure out what items that have no part number are, by

[KDubU]

As others have said, take your time as truly this is the fun part (building) and inventory while can be tedious, just look at all the parts and realize you are going to build a car! An awesome one at that.

[jrcuz]

You can also use the brown paper to make templates for items like dynamat heat/sound protection if you are going to install it.
JR

[GoDadGo]

As others have said, take your time as truly this is the fun part (building) and inventory while can be tedious, just look at all the parts and realize you are going to build a car! An awesome one at that.

This Point Is Truly Excellent!

KDubU is so on target with his comment because you really do get a feel, quite literally, where each part goes as you do your inventory.

Steve

[eamici]

Take it a box at a time. Use the shipping manifest provided for each individual box and check items off the list one-by-one. Usually, between the description, process of elimination, and looking in the manual you can figure out what everything is. If in doubt, post a pic. We're here to help! Strongly recommend that you leave the parts in the boxes they were shipped in. Take them out of the box and cross off the list as used. When POL stuff shows up, put them in the box they were supposed to be in and update your list. Organization is key here, especially since you're a little new at this as you described.

As far as parts being received that are on the POL, not a surprise necessarily. But it should be clear from the paperwork. What they explained to me is they pull and stage your kit some days ahead of the actual pickup or ship date. At that time, the POL is created. They take another pass at the POL items right before it goes out the door. Likely some of the previously unavailable parts were available then, and that's what you're seeing.

Thanks. I am definitely keeping the parts in the boxes. I'm confused enough already. The worse part is the multiple parts without numbers. I mean if you don't know the name of the thing or don't have reference number, how are you supposed to know if you have it or not???????!@#$%^&*.

How do you load pictures? That would be a huge help if somebody could show me that.
Thanks a bunch.

[Jdav]

Some parts are labeled by their group rather than an individual part - for example, all of the parts for the power steering connections are in a bag with a single part number (Power Steering), rather than labeled individually. And process of elimination is really your best friend in the inventory phase - like others have said, look at the pics from the build manual to get a idea of what it might look like and then look at all of the 'unknown' pieces in that inventory box. That said, be warned that the pics in the manual do not always show the most updated parts, so sometimes what you get and the pic do not match.
Stick with it, take it slow and enjoy the process of learning.

Here is a good thread on using the image gallery (be sure to read to the end): http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?18962-How-to-use-the-Image-Gallery-to-embed-pictures-in-posts

[edwardb]

Thanks. I am definitely keeping the parts in the boxes. I'm confused enough already. The worse part is the multiple parts without numbers. I mean if you don't know the name of the thing or don't have reference number, how are you supposed to know if you have it or not???????!@#$%^&*.

Seriously, this is one of the easiest of the many challenges that are ahead of you with the build. True enough many parts don't have part numbers. Some bags are marked, but a lot of stuff isn't. But you have the box-by-box listing, right? The boxes are sort of logical in what they contain and it's shown on the listing. So you know you're looking at suspension parts vs. electrical components, for example. That gets you in the general ball park. A box at a time, compare the contents to the list. Check off the easy stuff. Air filter, check. Radiator cap, check. Rivets, check. etc. etc. Hardware (there's a ton of it) has the dimensions on the box lists. I use digital calipers and measure every one. Typically the hardware is for a subassembly, like the e-brake, or the pedal box, etc. Once you've identified what it is, and confirmed what's there, now put your own marking on the bags or parts. Don't overlook the manual to help you either. With the general description on the box list, you can usually find the part of the manual where that assembly is documented. Many have said doing the inventory really helped them get familiar with the parts, where they're used, where they're documented in the manual, etc. Sounds like for you that won't be a quick process. But that's OK. Take your time and it will pay off later.


How do you load pictures? That would be a huge help if somebody could show me that.
Thanks a bunch.

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?18962-How-to-use-the-Image-Gallery-to-embed-pictures-in-posts

Edit: Jdav beat me to it with a couple points and the picture thread. Good luck!

[wallace18]

Have a friend who has good car knowledge to help you out.

[rychi1]

One thing that will help in the future, is writing on the bags of bolts or parts, what the part is in words. Some of the boxes have several bags of nuts and bolts and it was helpful for me when I got to that part of the build to have the description instead of the part number so I didn't have to go back to the parts list.

[Ducky2009]

Someone please tell me this is going to get easier. Got my kit last week and started doing the inventory with significant difficulty.
There are parts listed on the Parts Order List that says were not shipped ...but that I received. But the worse is the dozen or so parts that have no number on them. I'm fairly new and don't know the names of these parts so how am I supposed to reconcile these?

As others has said, one box at a time. I found that I had parts that were supposed to be on back order, and missing parts that the list said were there. Take your time. Also, I posted a few pics, because I couldn't find a supplied bracket in the manual. (What do I do with this?) FFR supplies base kit brackets, but I'm building from the complete kit. We're all here to help each other!

[JIMOCO]

Where are you located? Maybe you are near one of us that can give you a hand?

[chopthebass]

Rest assured though that if you do have missing parts Factory Five will ship them out no questions asked. Great customer service.

[Straversi]

Someone told me to watch the build videos and to read through the instruction manual a few times prior to the kit's arrival. The manual has enough photos that as you go through the boxes the parts should look familiar. This advice and taping an inventory sheet on each box when you are done was very helpful. Once you know what you have you will want to know where it is.
-Steve

[Rodster]

The key thing about doing the initial inventory, is to make sure that you got all the parts that you were supposed to have rec'd. If any of them are missing let FFR know right away.
I wouldn't worry to much about the ones they already sent that are shown as on back order. The worst that could happen is you might end up with duplicates. If that happens just let FFR know. Depending what the items are, they may not even bother, but otherwise they can arrange for their return..IE; ship it collect to them.

A picture or two, of the mystery parts posted on here, will soon solve the issue as to what they are for.


As mentioned, you can often figure out what items that have no part number are, by

This is a critically important hint -- especially if you ordered "upgrade" or "options" -- make sure the rest of the parts match to the options. For example, I ordered the IRS option. But the brakes were for the standard 3-link. Arg. But it was fixed over a phone call and an exchange of pictures via e-mail, I shipped the wrong parts back and got the correct ones in return.

I am (still) building a Coupe, but most of the chassis is the same as the Roadster...

BTW -- It took me 3 days to take inventory. So enjoy the process, I learned a lot when looking at the details on our parts -- like my avatar - I love the "5" laser-cut out of the upper A-arm.

One more hint ---- as you take inventory, make a note on what parts are not powder coated -- or steel parts that may be subject to corrosion -- and paint them soon so the rust does not get too bad when it comes time to install them.

For example, door hinges, hood hinges and some brake parts.

If you did not order ceramic exhaust like me, consider painting them, like this:
https://wayne-yoshida-kh6wz.com/2013/12/01/type-65-coupe-update-exhaust-side-pipes-and-more-fuel-system-stuff/

And the small brake parts:
https://wayne-yoshida-kh6wz.com/2013/03/17/type-65-coupe-update-irs-brakes/

Use the inventory experience to enjoy getting to know your parts. You may want to re-box them, but make sure to include the original box number - this will help you find the parts months later since the manual calls out what box the part comes from.

Then there's all the sheet metal . . .

[Papa]

As others have already said, make sure you get the parts you ordered. In my case, I found a small list of items that I ordered, and were not on my POL. I also found that I got three clutch cables and no e-brake cables. I contacted FFR via e-mail and all was taken care of immediately. I was sent a return label for the extra clutch cables and have received all the Missing In Kit (MIK) items and have just a few back ordered parts still not delivered. Also, I had a box of parts that were listed in other boxes, unavailable at the time the boxes were packed, but shipped with the kit. As I inventoried my boxes and found a part that wasn't there, I checked to see if it was in this catch-all box. If it was, I moved it to the box it was supposed to come in. It has made it much easier as I start pulling parts for an assembly to have them in the box that matches the inventory sheets.

[initiator]

Even though Factory Five asks you to tell them if you're missing parts within some time frame (30 days?), they have honored missing parts for much longer. I was able to identify 90%+ of the parts during inventory, but the lack of numbers on some bit me later when I realized some were missing. They've sent me parts over a year later without any complaint. Their support is very reassuring.

[AC Bill]

FFR is great in that regard. I think they realize that they can goof up on a short shipment, as well as a new builder, not always being aware of something missing for quite some time.
Part of letting them know ASAP, is to prevent your build from being held up because some crucial part is missing, right when you need it..:)