Is it real? Revisited

RawCobra · #1 (**permalink**) 03-06-2003, 08:19 AM

I know this topic has been thoroughly pounded into the dirt, but this episode kinda pi$$ed me off...

I'm sitting out front the other day, and lo and behold, this little red behemoth comes rumbling right past my house. Cool! I know he's gotta turn around and come back (dead end street), so I walk out to the end of the drive as he returns, and flag him down.

"Hey that's nice! You build that one?"

"No, it's an original 289!"

"Get out! Really?"

He pulls into the drive, kills it, and we start talking. I become suspicious - this guy comes off like a bs-er and somethin ain't right about the car. I'm no Cobra expert, but I know a bit about them, so I start circling the car and looking closer. 427 body style (big wide oval mouth and bulging fenders). Hmm, a chip here - hey that's fiberglass! Peek at the dash, an AC Cars plate on the pass. side - but it looks funny - the rivet holes are empty - it's glued on.

"This is an original Shelby?"

"Yep!"

Then I noticed the fake knockoffs. Conversation ends - he leaves.
I probly shoulda said something, but wasn't feeling particularly confrontational (a red letter day!).

I'm sorry, don't flat out LIE about your car. That just ain't right. If it's original - great - if it's not - that's great too. It's about the spirit, not the pedigree.

CSX 4039 · #2 (**permalink**) 03-06-2003, 08:34 AM

I used to get upset about that kind of thing. "Liers shouldn't lie", I'd say to myself, and anybody who'd listen. Well, of course they should! They're liers! That's what they do! If they didn't lie, they wouldn't be liers. That's like saying lions shouldn't eat meat...

terry lee · #3 (**permalink**) 03-06-2003, 09:44 AM

Hey Raw,
Maybe the guy was really STUPID and bought it as an original and paid really big bucks for it.
Now who'd have the last laugh?
HaHa,
TL

ohekk · #4 (**permalink**) 03-06-2003, 10:09 AM

I had a similar encounter at the gas station.

This nice looking Cobra pulls up next to mine...I ask him "What make is it?"

He responds "A Shelby!" as he points to the dash plaque!

Turned out to be a FFR...poor guy didn't know and I wasn't about to burst his bubble.

enjoy the ride!

good2go · #5 (**permalink**) 03-06-2003, 12:47 PM

Hey lighten up!!

The guy that I bought mine from said it as real. LOL

Dave Phillips

Just kidding.

That is my new reply to the often asked question,"Is it real?". I used to get pissed off but now just laugh at the look on their face. I guess they dont want to tell me how stupid I am.

rdorman · #6 (**permalink**) 03-06-2003, 01:31 PM

I still have trouble with the 'Is it real' question. Still working on my reply. I generally tell them if they see it on the streets, it is probably not and original Cobra.

I did lie to a guy once. He was a relative of the husband of a couple we know. The guy is a know it all jerk. Now our freinds know the story but when all of us where standing around looking at the car, the jerk showed us what he knew and told us all how he could tell it was an original, in great detail. I played along. My freinds where behind him barely able to control their laughter.

I get tired of the 'real' and '427' question. To the point I have thought of re-badging and getting a vanity plate that says something like 'fake', 'replica' or even 'unreal'. But nope, my car and it is the way I like it.

My favorite was a guy who asked the question. When I told him what it was he scoffed to his friend 'kit car'. Later I saw him getting into his car. Some POS econo-box. I went up to him and asked 'Is it real'

casaleenie · #7 (**permalink**) 03-06-2003, 01:37 PM

Hell, I'm gonna lie every chance I get... I told my wife it was an original that was worth ten times what I paid for it... Now I have to keep the lie going or I'm a dead man... Don't know what I'm going to do when it comes time to sell it and reap the supposed profit...
anyway, THAT'S MY STORY AND I'M STICKING TO IT...

Carroll DeWeese · #8 (**permalink**) 03-06-2003, 05:13 PM

I am sure that many owners do not know what they really have: original or not. Many others get the Cobra replica to impress and are willing to lie to try and impress. Most people do not know much about the cars and can be fooled.

Original or replica: they are both "real" if they are driveable. Now a "show" car that can not be driven is not real, only show.

The problem is not with the car but with the owner if he makes the car into something that it is not. I feel comfortable replying that my car is real, but I would feel uncomfortable being less than honest about it.

RawCobra · #9 (**permalink**) 03-06-2003, 05:27 PM

Well, unlike the usual "is it real?" situations, this guy insisted not that it was "real", but that it was an original Shelby. That's the part that grinds on me, and I'm sure would annoy 'ol Shel, too.

Whatever...no skin off my nose, I guess.

aumoore · #10 (**permalink**) 03-06-2003, 08:47 PM

Three things you can usually count on
1. If you see a cobra on the street it is a replica 99.9% of the time
2. Most women have replica..err..Meat Pillows
3. Most women will tell their frineds that 3ct CZ is real

I ususlly tell people that I am not rich enough to drive a museum car on the street.

Carroll DeWeese · #11 (**permalink**) 03-07-2003, 06:22 PM

aumore,
The 3ct CZ example is very good. Many of the replicas look "better" than the originals, just like the CZ. Both the diamond and the CZ are "real" -- one an original and the other a replica. Passing off a replica as an original is fraud.

good2go · #12 (**permalink**) 03-07-2003, 08:26 PM

Not only is my Cobra real, but-

I won this buckel at the rodeo-

My pick-up truck is paid off-

And I was only helping that sheep over the fence....

That was especially for Jamo!!!!!!

Dave Phillips

Slither · #13 (**permalink**) 03-07-2003, 09:16 PM

So Carroll, what you are saying is that you own a "real" replica, right?

tommycobra · #14 (**permalink**) 03-07-2003, 09:24 PM

I recently attended a ffrog / Cobra event in Greensboro NC. Out of the two dozen or so FFR replicas there was also an original 289 and an original 427 Cobra. They were both immediately distinguishable from the other replicas. They were both un-restored and looked like s&%^ but no doubt worth somewhere north of 200 large.

Excaliber · #15 (**permalink**) 03-07-2003, 09:56 PM

good2go,,,,,,how high was the fence?

Ernie

ha ha

Jamo · #16 (**permalink**) 03-07-2003, 10:23 PM

Hmmm...porno image.

Bill Wells · #17 (**permalink**) 03-08-2003, 06:35 AM

where is evan when ya need his input ? LOL..bill.

Dominik · #18 (**permalink**) 03-08-2003, 09:51 AM

I had a great episode about that.

in the mid 90s a 50s year old genleman came on the car show, saw my car and totally exited explained to his wife that he owned a car like this in the 70s pointing at the sidepipes, instruments and even remembering the knock-off wheels.

I stepped closer and explained what the story is. that "his" Cobra is now the most copied car in the world, et all.

he could not understand why people don't buy the original: aren't there any left? ...

dom

blubyu2 · #19 (**permalink**) 03-08-2003, 01:02 PM

The best one was when my friends ffr and my B&B were parked side by side outside a local resturant and I sat and listen to a guy tell his buddy the difference between the two

How there was no way mine could be a original and how his was because of the wheels

The funny part is they both have compomotives

Greg

Carroll DeWeese · #20 (**permalink**) 03-08-2003, 03:22 PM

Slither,
You have your CSX4266 Shelby American, 470cid Shelby aluminum block, Edelbrock aluminum heads, 606 hp, 587 ft/lbs torque. To answer your question, my car is "real." It is a "real" SPF replica. In some ways it is better than an original, but it is not an original: never was and never will be.

I am bothered by people who pretend to be something or have something that they are not or do not have. When I was young, I did not agree with Barry Goldwater, but I greatly respected him. He was true to his values. This topic because someone was dishonest with their answer. I do not like people that you can not trust. Even if I totally disagree with someone, I respect those who are true and upfront with their values.