Shell Valley Co. is no longer in operation.

[HI Cobra]

Glyn,

You are correct - I fixed it - sorry for the confusion.
Senior moment?

[GlynMeek]

LOL...welcome to MY world...senior moments ALL THE TIME!


G

[Cashburn]

All I know on the subject is that we were offered their space for Kit Car Nationals at Carlisle and we took it.

If SV is closing then a lot of builders will suffer, they made/supplied many of the parts others use in final assembly.

[twobjshelbys]

Originally Posted by Cashburn

All I know on the subject is that we were offered their space for Kit Car Nationals at Carlisle and we took it.

If SV is closing then a lot of builders will suffer, they made/supplied many of the parts others use in final assembly.

I agree. Like I said, HST (Shelby) used their windshield in my car and when I broke it I got replacement glass from them.

[Bryan Anderson]

It is sad to hear that shell vally is gone, rich is a great guy I know that his daughter has been sick and that this has really been a hard time for him my thoughts and prayers go out to rich and his Family.

[John McMahon]

Better get yer Cobra outta there before it becomes part of the bankruptcy inventory!

[rustyBob]

Its a shame........Rich is a nice guy,there are people loosing there jobs,there a lot of customers that dont understand what has happened to Shell Valley/Midstates but the blame for this is not the people that have said darn i was going to buy from them,or the economy.

[patrickt]

Sad -- to see anyone lose their job, any business go under, anyone lose money. But, the reality is that business, and our economy in general, is nothing more than fiscal Darwinism and natural selection in action. Painful, but true.

[PANAVIA]

Well it is a lesson in the Economy- if you want to have things around you need to use them, this idea that you can stop consumer spending and everything will still be there tomorrow is simply NOT true.

[dlampe]

Rich is one of the best. He supported Run and Gun when almost every other manufacturer didn't. I met him there and I will confirm that he is man of integrity and I believe there is little chance of anyone loosing anything as a result of his company closing.

Rich, I hope things work out for you and your family. I hope you read this thread and realize the impact you have had on our hobby.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by dlampe

...and realize the impact you have had on our hobby.

That's the problem -- this is a hobby. A very expensive, and totally expendable, hobby. A bit of fun for a very small segment of the populace. Be it Lionel trains, Faberge eggs, or Cobra replicas, it's almost impossible to make a consistent and lucrative living out of other peoples' hobbies year after year after year. You've got to carve out a real niche; that's hard to do, and even harder to keep doing. But you see it in other forms of business -- you know, the guy that always wanted to open a shop dealing in this or that, or a restaurant that has a this or that slant to it, or a curio shop... and they end up going out of business in a year or two or three. It's not terribly difficult to make money in America, even without advanced educational degrees. Pick a service that people pretty much have to have, preferably one that other people don't want to do, and one where there's a limited amount of competition, and then work like he11. I wouldn't dream of going in to the Cobra replica business (unless it was purely for fun); on the other hand I might dream of going in to the septic tank cleaning business -- and it wouldn't be for fun.

[Bernica]

No one will let you breath a word of this stuff before it goes down. Attorneys and accountants......no offense to any of you out there, but that is how it works.

[elmariachi]

Originally Posted by Bernica

No one will let you breath a word of this stuff before it goes down. Attorneys and accountants......no offense to any of you out there, but that is how it works.

Many of these businesses run on highvolume/low margin and when the volume slacks off, suddenly its over. So the bookkeeper walks in on Wednesday and says "Boss, we can't make payroll Friday." And just like that, poof, its over.

[Michael C Henry]

I bought a replacement windsheild glass from them a few years ago. I waited a while to install it. A crack apeared in just days of that. The crack has spread from bottom to top and started back down again. I have yet another replacement windsheil glass still in the box in the attic. If that glass fails, I don't know where to go next time.

[tcrist]

From what I understand, most if not all, of the windsheilds are the same.

I got one from Finishline. I thought it was too big so I took it to a glass place and had them install it. The only thing is that I forgot to ask them, how much if any they had to modify it to make it fit. But it did fit.

Terry

[Cobrabill]

This is a "market correction".There were too many replica makers to begin with.

[Venamm]

Wholesale Internationals from Nebraska was the wholesale division for SV, I import from them. (I will be on the phone first thing in the morning) any news if they went as well?

[rustyBob]

International Wholesale is part of Shell Valley/Midstates if one is gone i'm sure all are gone BUT they are not the only ones who can get windshields for Cobras they are not a brand specific part of a Cobra like some of the headers/side pipes or suspension parts there are others who can supply parts for these cars.

[SP01715]

Originally Posted by Cobrabill

This is a "market correction".There were too many replica makers to begin with.

Yep, it's happening to the boat builders, trailer builders, RV builders, etc... It's not over yet.

[Bernica]

"Thinning of the heard". Makes you wonder who will survive? Bets on survivors? I would say SAI, Kirkham and ERA.