[Double Venom]

“Mainly Classics equal to CR’s Inc,?

This question is really a surprise since too few Mainly Classics were built!

Since this is real part of Classics Roadster’s, Inc. History and so few people are aware of it- read on for the real HISTORY of this story, (I was there!)

When Gary Rutherford owner of the very original CR’s filed Bankruptcy, comparing Don Scotts* downfall nothing more than a headache compared to the two!

When Rutherford filed Bankruptcy a gentleman named “Tony Consiglio” Decided to make his own Classic Roadster’s Cobras. Tony started it our right, He did a lot of research, invited 5 builders to a meeting in Pa, where company Districts were actually drawn up. (This absolutely ended builders stealing work from each other. I Very proudly was selected to be one of the Builder/Dealers, I had the States of Michigan, Indiana, Pa., Ohio and Indiana, and another rather famous builder supplier you might know was “Tommy Beroth” of Big Dog Fabrication! (Tony is still as a straight shooter as he ever was!)

Once all agreements were in place Tony started building “Exact Copies” of the CR Cobra, ONLY as he promised his cars were tremendously upgraded, meeting or even passing the original CR cobras quality by far!

Very few “Mainly Classics” were sold due to the following reason(s);

The Problem: Tony went to far, he not only copied the car and frame exactly as CR’s designed he even used the original sales brochures, ONLY changing the name on the brochures; he copied the manual in the same way! (This is were the first changes to the manual were planned!)

Tony had actually started to build and sell the new Cobras! In all honesty they’re absolutely nothing to compare about the two. The frame was still excellent without any changes. BUT, the quality of the body’s went UP 100%! What did take 80 hours or more getting the body ready for paint, a very easy 40 hours was all that was needed and the bodies would have made any of the Big Three jealous!
The bodies fit the frames like gloves; the doors were a very simple matter of simply bolting them up and in place. NO shims, NO cutting the door frames out of the cowl and then re-mounting! The hood and trunk were no brainers’! Never a hood nor a door, nor trunk lid needed bodywork to make them fit or look, as they should.

It was about this time that the Ugly Head of Rutherford popped up. He threatened to bring the world down on Tony if he did not stop and desist immediately! Tony obviously had the funds to upgrade the kit, go into production etc., every thing a new company needed to get off on the right foot. Unfortunately he did not have the massive amounts of money to fight the numerous lawsuits Rutherford promised.

A sad but true ending on Mainly Classics! Even as Tony approached all Five of his builders for donations to fight the lawsuit, “we” just couldn’t come up with the extra big pot of money needed.

So…IF you are one of the few that own a Mainly Classis Roadsters, consider your self very lucky, very lucky indeed. It truly was AND still is one of absolute finest Cobras on the road today! To do one up the scale, so to speak you’d have to get a “Kirkham” or find the millions of dollars needed and buy your self a “True” Shelby Cobra,

The unknown part of the Classic Roadster’s History many do not know about!

Ed “DV” Combs