[n6opv]

I think some of the confusion in the earlier parts of this thread just comes down to wording; actually just one word - "tooling." In this case it is referring to tools and equipment and not jigs and fixtures to build original Cobras. Obviously, the way it's worded implies something else but that's not Russ' fault.

Here's the short scoop, as I know it. Back when Shelby closed up shop at the airport, he divided up what was left amongst the people (mostly employees, I imagine) who were interested in buying it. Ron came away with a large amount of tools, parts and equipment. He got welders, air tools, hand tools, lubricants, machinery, engine parts, hardware, racks, all kinds of stuff that he used to start his business. He never gets rid of anything and most is still being used to this day. He does not have jigs and fixtures to build original Cobras.

Which brings us to the next chapter... Arntz. Simply, Ron was contracted in the very early 80s to build frames for Arntz, right before he went belly up. He built about 60 of them and at the end of everything had a pile left over and a large unpaid bill. So he got in the Cobra business (this is the REALLY condensed version since many of the details are already here...). He had to make many jigs and fixtures from parts to be able to reproduce everything on the Arntz cars. In the end, Ron was able to make everything and the cars became Butlers with, as stated above, 104 being made.

He still has it all, mostly stashed away but occasionally pulls something out to graciously make a part for one of us. The Arntz and Butler cars are very similar and most of the pieces interchange. However, very few of these pieces would interchange with an original Cobra.

Jason