Generally I stay clear of these kind of debates about replica verses real but this time I feel there is one missing detail. In 1986 when I started building my Fakey doo I had no other choice other than to purchase the real deal. That was not possible at the time as they were still quite expensive and just beyond my reach. I never once thought of making it a copy of the real Cobra. I wanted a Hot Rod with that body. That's what I got. I love it.
CS soon after I completed my car started making noises about starting his own replica company. One of his famous comments was " they will be scratching their asses when they see how cheap we can sell them for".. Well I was pretty exited to say the least cause I thought there was a chance that I could buy one of his cars. When he finally did make the reproduction Cobras they were just way beyond the average replica buyers price range.
Needless to say I was scratchin" my ass alright wondering what happened to cheap.
So the point of all this rambling is that if repicas had not been produced SAI would today be nothing more than a foot note in history. I think a lot of the replica entusiasts hold some resentment for not getting credit for carrying the flag for CS. He is what he is today only because of guys like Arntz, Butler and several of the other replica makers....
CS had no interest in these cars what so ever until he saw that they were becoming more popular. Ahaaa! A chance to make a buck. So here we are today at each other over silly differences.
The best thing about this is we all love the real deal and we
all buy what we can afford to get that special feeling you only get in that car regardless of it's origin.
Please understand that I am very happy for all of you that own a real reproduction Shelby. They are wonderfully built cars with the finest components. I never grow tired of looking at them. But as CS says ....Lets give credit where credit is due. (paraphrase) The replica owners and manufacturers got SAI back on the map. So a little acknowledgment to that fact wouldn't hurt.
That's enough rambling.
Firesuit is on and ready for any and all flamers...
Hersh
