Some companies don't even have a brochure, let alone a manual. Pilgrim by contrast, supply detailed manuals, properly printed and bound, with literally hundreds of pictures. It has been said that Pilgrim instructions might be too complete and give too much information. needless to say we don't agree with that philosophy. We would rather place all possible information before our customers and let them decide to proceed after they have an opportunity to see all that is involved. We trust that potential customers will see, through our instructions, that we have well thought out our products which must be at least as easy to build as any others. We hope to show that Pilgrim kits are easier to build than most.
You should find that our instruction manuals are clear concise and informative. Thousands of customers have used them to build Pilgrim kits and would testify that they provide adequate information to enable mechanically unskilled, but otherwise practical people, to build their kit using our parts plus those donor parts they are designed to accept. We even had one customer from Framne who has successfully builta Sumo and had i pass the SVA test using our manual when he couldnt even speak or read English
However we realise that people can and do get 'stuck' at various stages and therefore require a little extra assistance in building their kit. This is why we have technical heipline which is manned by friendly, knowledgeable staff who can guide you through any unforeseen difficulties or assist with advice. Our customers find it comforting to know that we are available to help even if the vast majority never or rarely need us in this respect.
A big problem we have had in the past has centred on where to draw the line in respect to how much advice we can reasonably be expected to give. We have noticed that most enquiries have not been in connection with the actual building process nor with the parts we supply but have mainly concerned other matters. These have included the servicing of the mechanical parts themselves (to which we refer customers to the donor car manual) or the suitability of certain components neither supplied by us nor recommended in our instructions. Other customers have wanted advice on how to manufacture or source parts for themselves rather than buy from us. In this category we have been asked for exact sizes of fuel tanks, how to measure wheel offsets, etc. We have even been asked to trace patterns from items such as carpet sets. On top of these we often get asked general questions relating to the likes of how to varnish wood, make trim panels or paint fibreglass. In fact we have been asked just about everything at some stage or another.
Because our service has been so good and comprehensive we find that people continue to use our technical helpline long after their kit is completed. We are frequently contacted in matters of servicing, repairs, modification and valuation. often we are contacted by second and third owners who very often don't understand the nature of kit assembly and therefore require a great deal of background information. More recently we have had requests for advice in matters relating to the SVA test and registration, not to mention the discontinuation of leaded petrol and other similar topics.
Whilst we are prepared to offer advice over and above that directly concerning the assembly of our products. It must be appreciated that the provision of such technical assistance takes up the time of highly skilled personnel.
We suggest that anybody building any kit car should budget for a few minutes of technical assistance as part of the overall cost of building their car The amount of assistance shall clearly vary depending on the resourcefulness and confidence of the person undertaking the job. Only you can assess to what extent you are likely to need help.