Another NEW CSX 427

[Power Surge]

Originally posted by Allan A


Sal,

You have it all figured out, not worth the time to provide you with all of the FACTS.

Allan

Why not? You made the statement, why not back it up? I'm not trying to be a jerk here, I am genuinely curious as to why you said what you said. What I posted is what "I" have seen. If what I posted does not agree with what "you" have seen, tell me why.

[CSX 4027]

The AC Car retail price from the dealer has been lowered from it's original 135K to now a low low price of 121,769K
That as I was made to understand comes with the modern updated underpinnings as far as suspension, brakes, wiring, and a host of other items that were not as per 1965. But, I am sure you can negotiate for the "Good Stuff" at a price if that's what is important to you. Some don't care about original bits and pieces. Tha's OK too but I feel the most authentic will always get the highest dollar down the road.

I have seen their methods that have left loyal customers waiting to long.

I have a plan that will put them back in the green along with maintaining the customer smile factor.

Weather they have the open ears or not to listen is up to them.

[Turk]

For sale CSX 4000. Aluminum. More Real than Evans.
$176,000.

There. That sets the value..
They ARE going up..

TURK

[BROOKLANDSSPEED]

CSX 4027 ....whats the secret to AC Success in the states ? id listen ..........feedback is whats required ,as far as i see it kirkhams are well engineered and the CUSTOMERS ARE HAPPY = They are doing it right ........ Real dont get on this thread with the assumtion now im ALAN LABINKSYS mole and weve come to devalue your car ,wrong , we simply support the marque and if you crashed yours we would help fix it ...............but the waxing would be down to you! ........he he, see ya [its not what its worth its the fun thats the value ]

[nikbj68]

Originally posted by REAL 1
Rumor has it they have relocated to a one car garage for operations.

It seems to me the "magic" of AC has been somewhat tarnished/dissipated by the current shananigans. Made by totally different people, in a different location (if any), using maybe some but likely not all original tooling.
Whats production going to be? 1 a month if that?

I have to agree with pretty much all of that, Real, but I think it`s a little unrealistic to expect too many original 'people' to be building Cobras, as any of them who were older than about 25 would now be at or past retirement age!

Originally posted by Bud Man
Flashback to 1996:
The Angliss/AC Cars aluminum COX rollers made at Brooklands and imported in '95 and '96 by Dave Wagner went for about $48,000 US. Now they are $100,000.

AC Autokraft were based at Brooklands, and are not to be confused with the Brooklands Motor Company(despite the fact that they might have the odd WW11 aircraft in for repairs!)

Originally posted by london
Real 1 AC's UK base has moved. See the link below:
http://www.accars.co.uk/

AC Cars let that web address lapse & it was since bought by J Bradburn classic cars. The 'official' AC Cars` web address is (or are!) :
http://www.acautomotive.info
http://www.accarsuk.com

Nik.
(p.s. Trevor, in work they`re now calling me "Nik Van Bike". Lawd luvvaduck. Avin` a giraffe ain`t they? J.Arthurs.)

[Trevor Legate]

Real 1

(Back again after 8 hours horizontal...)

I cannot comment on the new AC facility as I have not graced them with a visit, so far (a shortage of red carpet I believe) I am reliably informed that its at the other end of the spectrum from the Ford-backed palace that Angliss had on the Brooklands Industrial estate. As for staff numbers - dunno. But its "not a lot".

To avoid any confusion I should point out that the Brooklands Bashers are located nearby on another small estate, in the Brabham Buildings, for those with an F1-fetish. There is also a big chunk of the old circuit just down the road, now graced by having 2 supermarkets built opposite...!!! (You can't make it up)

In case you have yet to get the message, the dreaded Bashers are doing their own thing but its inevitable that they are in contact with 'AC'. But they do not make cars for them. Also, and very importantly in my opinion, they have little regard concerning how nice and shiny their Cobras (and Aces) are, since they race 'em hard and if they get bent, then the old club hammer can put that right. No trailer queens here thank you. In other words Cobras are meant for driving and ****** the resale value.

[BROOKLANDSSPEED]

Trev you speak with fork tounge ........[pun intended] we use a sledge hammer to repair damage when you bagged a tree .....[csx 4027 the ledgend lives on !]

[nikbj68]

Hey Brooklands....are you implying that we need to call him Trev'sideways' Legate-post?
Dirt dished please!

[BROOKLANDSSPEED]

nickbj68 ......soory my splelin went wroong .........i ment we use a bigger hammer for big dents .........the faster you go, the more chance you got to hit that lone tree ..........not trev ......Teddy treebagger ............csx4027s ledgend ......he lives on ....... you can call Trev whatever you like but ill tell you one thing .........he wont hang around ...........those caterhams have got more grip than a cobra ....on wet english roads ........back then to tree baggin !!!

[REAL 1]

Trev: Thanks for the info.

You guys are sure an entertaining lot!

[CSX 4027]

AC in the US? One way only.
Honesty, open door policy, timely delivery, no BS stories, no change from the original which includes the correct chassis paint. They seem to make them High gloss now for whatever reason.
Fair price. $35,000-$40,000 more than a Kirkham is a tuffy. Look at the cars side by side in the eyes of an end user. Would you pay $35K more? And if you were the exception to the rule, how many others like you would you think would buy them during the course of a year? Enough to pay rent and make Las Vegas profitable? cause the stock to climb? and most of all carry the Shelby name on forever?
AC in it's current form has nothing other than the logo from the 60's. It is not in the Original building, has no original employees. As you know, the ancient art of making a body from a flat sheet of aluminum is a lost art not easily taught and certainly not easily mastered. Lubinsky owns the AC brand and has the right to make cars anywhere and anyway he wishes. He also has the right to place the AC logo on the side of a UPS truck if he so wishes. But, that's not what it is about. It's about being true to thyself and of course the public.
If a potential customer came to me looking to spend a lot of money, I would romance my operation. Not hide it.

Shelby LV needs to deliver lots of aluminum Cobra's.
AC should be able to deliver lots of aluminum Cobra's. Isn't that's why they are here at all? I don't see Lubinsky as a talk show host.

Yes. I know how to do it. But they never asked me.

[nikbj68]

Originally posted by CSX 4027
....the correct chassis paint. They seem to make them High gloss now for whatever reason.
....AC should be able to deliver lots of aluminum Cobra's. Isn't that's why they are here at all?

Steve:
High Gloss is easier to lick clean!
I don`t think AC have been in the position to "deliver lots of aluminum Cobra's" since about 1967..... They are 'here' to appeal to a (small) number of customers who will pay a premium for an AC built /Shelby partnership Cobra the likes of which hasn`t been made for 38+ years.
Whether an AC built CSX1*** is better or worse than a Kirkham or Shelby CSX7*** or whatever is a separate issue, but personally, I think I know where my money would go.(If I had any!)
Shelby needs to deliver a lot of Cobras, indeed, but I think the priority is not AC/Aluminium ones.

BrooklandSteve. Sorry mate, I thought you were talking to Mr L.
Dammit, we`ll have to call him 'Teflon Trev' if we can`t get anything to stain his impeccable record!

[Trevor Legate]

Teflon Trev indeed? Well I survived 3 years of road rallying with just the one trip into the scenery but of course, if Brooklands is laying down a challenge!!!!! You supply the car and the loser buys the drinks............or is it the best of 4 laps with a car swap half way? Better bring the sledgehammer. I think I've still got a bit of testosterone floating around somewhere so I'll dig out me Paddy Hopkirk driving gloves and cork helmet - if its good enough for Sir Moss.....and yes - the ol' Caterham gives some luvverly sideways fun on the greasy pathetic roads we are lucky enough to have at this time of year - the reflexes are beginning to come back after too many years in Volvo estates and brakeless 'American' Voyagers (yuk)

[CSX 4027]

[quote]Originally posted by nikbj68


[b]Steve:
High Gloss is easier to lick clean!
I don`t think AC have been in the position to "deliver lots of aluminum Cobra's" since about 1967..... They are 'here' to appeal to a (small) number of customers who will pay a premium for an AC built /Shelby partnership Cobra the likes of which hasn`t been made for 38+ years.

I don't agree. If we could all turn back the clock, we would have all bought Cobra's in the 60's for a bunch more than the Corvette and not gotten a top, heater or windows.

We also know that as volume goes up, the price goes down so, a lot of Cobra's produced might end up being more affordable than one might think. Also, affordable aluminum should be the focus. Not Fiberglass!. Many have found that the difference in the final cost of a well done fiberglass car is not far off from aluminum and the re-sale value percent of depreciation on the fiberglass is certainly much more than the aluminum.

This is the 21st century. We should be able to make it better, cheaper, faster or at least a combination of 2 out of 3.
I have a sign on my desk. It says; GOOD, FAST, CHEAP Pick 2.
You can't have it all but, at least you can get close.
If Shelby concentrated on only aluminum, I bet they could deliver more cars at good prices and not have to deal with fiberglass at all.

Let's not forget that in 1996, the Shelby glass car finished as a painted roller was in the $50,000 - $55,000 range. A Kirkham PAINTED Roller was $50,000. So, yes. It can be done and already has.

[BROOKLANDSSPEED]

We arnt goin on the AC vrs kirkham thread are we?if so im gettin off the bus .........there are a number of sensible people with ACs in the UK [ I AINT SENSIBLE ] .....Who wish to uphold the Marque of AC and be ProACtive . you guys know product quality and service [KIRKHAM CARS,] there are loads in this club but only one Real 1!!!!!........ hand built cars are expensive the quality is expected to have moved on since the 60s , therefore should we use old designs old ideas old methods ...to recreate our dream =continuation or build a cobra with a lightweight racing chassis , made from stronger lighter materials .....and composite ....or aluminuim body .....improving the breed ... for speed ?.....[shelby ethos] ...........are there already enough continuation cars for arses ? every owner in this club has their own interpretation of a cobra , in different guises ......with different agendas for ownership , investment , speed , enjoyment . id build one but it wouldnt come with a trailer !!!

[CSX 4027]

Certainly not an AC vs Kirkham thread.
Merely the fact that the cars should be made "as was" and be made in aluminum at a reasonably proportionate price above the cost of an all out bestus glass body car.
I also do not believe in the waxy thing. Just boring.
They are meant to be driven. Replica's can obviously be replaced so what's the point of building a "no touchy" replica?

[BROOKLANDSSPEED]

well said 4027 .....problem is the hours to make a body chassis to the standard costs lots of hours ....as we dont build new cars, i would guess it takes ages .....there was a guy at AC Years ago who was so slow , he was employed to make rocker panels , so when the cars were rotten the parts would be avalible ex stock ....wax whats that for ? to keep the bugs waterproof ?

[CSX 4027]

Another reason to build a "dead-on", "spot-on" replica that no-one has touched on is the now "new to the scene" opportunity to be able to potentially achieve FIA paperwork and race your Cobra. Did we forget what they were built for?
You can't do that with ANY Fiberglass Cobra. Ever Never.

Also, I was at the recent talk Carroll Shelby gave in Saratoga. He told of an old story about one of his spies at Chevy who came running into his office and mention they were going to build a "King of the Road" Corvette or something. He had his lawyers work through the night finding out if the name was registered. When he found out it was not, he did so himself. Hence the
GT- 500 KR.

If you are sweating and you see a guy with Air Conditioning, you will want to find out how he did it and do it yourself.

I am sure there are ways to offer affordable aluminum dead on Cobra's to the public through Shelby. Carroll has always been creative and has not seemed to slow down any at 82.

Who would have thought he would come to Saratoga on a snowy freezing night.?

I am not sure I would have.

[BROOKLANDSSPEED]

csx4027[ i posted that thread england cobra club ] didnt think anyone cared less ...i met the fia inspector and correct as you are the aluminum ones will be eligble for fia papers as the fia understands that the "originals " are valuable and grids may diminish allowing a true ringer out there that can be ragged sh~t less, also there are two or three of each chassis no so you can make a team up ..or a pair and one for parts...interesting theory about the old man youre probably right he likes to hatch a plan [pun intended ]

[CSX 4027]

For those who own aluminum Shelby Replica's, don't get too excited. The FIA will not allow the following;

Aluminum Block
Baer Brakes
5-speed or Jerico Trans
17" wheels
Billet suspension
Adjustable heim jointed suspension
Big cube strokers
Roller Rockers
Roller Cam
Electronic Ignition
...and anything else that would be considered a modern performance enhanced upgrade from 1965.

They will however allow the following;
Scattershield
Fire System
6 point harness