Finally, a statement from Everett-Morrison

[scottj]

I too have nothing but good things to say about Bob and the service I received.

I think it was Bob's RESPONSIBILITY to let the Everetts, as owners, handle the situation.

Good to hear from you Bob.

Scott Johnson
CADPRO Motorsports Inc.

[rbray]

Bob,
Just wanted to take this chance to say thank you for all the help you have given me with my car. Your are service was fantastic. I hope everything works out well for you and your employer.
You are a first class act.

Roger Bray

[glasssnake]

Originally posted by Bob Spedding
Mark ,
You are very good at editting your posts . I'd like to know how you do that .
I printed a copy of every one I saw before you did that .
No hard feelings ,but leave my name out of it .
Push the little butten that says edit Thanks .

[SpitzSpitz]

Mongoose, I believe it was obvious to most of the customers dealing with EM that last year, that they were having financial problems, I knew this because Buford the owner was up front with me and told me so, I decided to go with EM anyway because I liked Buford's honesty. These are good people that bad things happened to, please tell me how that equates to Bob being up to no good. He was a good and honest employee who loved his job, why would he have bad things to say about EM? Your point makes no since.

The Spitz

[nimble]

I just had to chime in. For anyone to have anything negative to say at all about Bob, is ludicrous. He is the consumate professional, and in my view, the single greatest asset of Everett-Morrison Motorcars.

The only reason he posted anything was to clarify facts related to his name being used. He doesn't owe anyone anything related to the problems at E-M.

Best of luck, to you Bob, if you are still tuning in here...although I wouldn't blame you if you didn't. If E-M does return, I hope you are still a part of the business!

-Jamie Hayslip

[Chuck Hurley]

I am a builder who has built two (2) Everett Morrison Cobra 427's in the past couple of years. The fit, finish and integrity of the structure are excellent.

The first kit I ordered was missing parts, some of which were the result of my misunderstanding of what was included. I also decided to fabricate some of the sub-assemblies myself and do things a little differently. There were a number of parts that I had to have shipped from E-M to complete the project. Ups charges do add up.

The second time around, January 2001, I was determined that I was going to order everything possible from E-M as I found that fabricating sub-assemblies, wiring harnesses etc. was not worth
the aggravation. There were a number of items that were related to exterior trim that I acquired elsewhere. I visited the factory and felt assured that everything was in order just prior to the kit being shipped. I quess I am a little idealistic. Although most everything was there, I was missing a number of small parts. Through the efforts of Bob Spedding I was able to get everything I needed. Bob has a calming effect as a result of his extensive knowledge.

I have talked with Buford a couple of times regarding the future and I am cautiously optimistic. I am not saying that E-M is the best kit available but from my limited experience building several manufacturers kits I am more comfortable with the E-M product. Like anything else we become comfortable with what we get to know best.

Part of the problem with E-M is their desire to customize the vehicle to every customer's specifications. Although it is to their credit that they try to satisfy every customers's desires it leads to many different configurations. Everbody wants to build a Cobra to their specifications and part of the reason that we have unhappy customers is that the completed vehicle might be the result of incompatible combinations that work marginally or not at all. Building Cobras is a hobby for me. My full time job is President of a small corporation. I know that from a business perspective the way to make money is to standardize your product, buy quantity at discount and offer a limited number of options.

The hand writing is on the wall and I suggested to Buford that he standardize his product with a limited number of options to cut his overhead and be able to buy components in quantity based on a years projected production. What I mean by hand writing on the wall is that the days of picking up an old 427 and transmission and customizing them to the owners needs are almost gone for practical reasons. Here in Massachusetts you better have documented evidence of where every component came from including Vin#'s for each car that a component came from and a salvage title. For each car I have completed and applied for a Mass VIN (required) it takes me no less than 12 hours with the Registry of Motor Vehicles. The last one took 20 hours! Each time I build a Cobra I get better at identifying what is required to put in on the road and believe me when I say that if I did not take the time to get the VIN for the customer they would be tearing their hair out and screaming at me. Additionally in order to waive the emissions test in Mass the registration has to read in a particular sequence or else you will not get an inspection sticker. The problem is that the Registry wants to say that the car is year it was completed not the year of the replicar,
i.e. 1966 Cobra. The problem is easily solved if you know what you are doing but beware the first time! I know!

What is the point of all this rambling on? The point is that with all the requirements for parts documentation, emissions requirements (some states are now mandating OBD II computers for kit cars) E-M should take a hard look at the future of kit cars and market a kit that has a limited number of options, has engine drive train combinations that are off the shelf and readily available, have OBD II computers and meet current emissions standards. Buying a recommended crate engine, new transmission and rear end will simplify the acquisition of components, lead to easier customer completion, fewer operational problems and ease of registering the vehicle. I would love to build a car that is state of the art with a brand new fuel injected computerized engine, new transmission and new rear end. The problems for the builder and owner would be minimized. I think this is the future not only for Cobras but for all kit cars. It is too hard, too costly and too time consuming to find the vintage parts to make a real 427 Cobra and when you are all done you still only have a replicar!

[t6192dw]

Has anyone heard a date when Everette-Morrison will be open for orders again? I still need to buy seats, carpet, door panels in order to finish my car.

My car should be back from the paint shop in a couple of months and would like to finish it this year. Is there another source for the interior for a 90" wheelbase car like mine?

[PJS50]

Actually, I emailed them at the end of last week and got a reply from EM on 1/27...
I asked them "How thing were going?" and also about a unfinished EM chasis on Ebay with a Jag suspension and this was the reply...

Patrick,

We are still currently working on the reorganization process. It is coming along very nicely! We hope to be back open very soon. Check back with us in another month.

Everett-Morrison

P.S. We will no longer be offering kits or parts for the Jaguar suspension system. Sorry!

Well, this doesn't bother me because I was planning on using the 9" IRS anyway...
SO, It looks as though they will be back pretty soon...

T6192dw... What chassis does your kit have? Did you assemble it from the ground up? I was thinking of letting EM build the chassis and I would finish it... What motor are you running?
I hope we all have good news from EM soon... I've got the itch...!

Pat

[SpitzSpitz]

I also got a reply back from them that was encouraging. Was going to try a different route to get some parts but now I will wait.

Good things are worth waiting for.

Spitz

[t6192dw]

Thanks for the update.

I am running a Lincoln Mark 8 IRS and a Ford style front end all custom made by EM except the knuckles.

My car has power steering, power brakes, a 390 bored to 400cid, and a C6 automatic.

I started this project 3 years ago when a friend of mine gave me an old 360 FE truck powertrain. I tried to give it away but no takers. I got the bug and started rebuilding the engine. I converted to a 390 with the use of a 427 crank and rods ordered from PAW.

I then looked for a car to put it in and found EM. I bought my kit as I could afford it, a few pieces at a time. The body kit was delivered the week of July 9th to the body shop. That was cutting it a little close.

It has the aluminum trim panel option for the engine and trunk areas and is painted Rangoon Red which Ford used during the early to mid 60's. No racing stripes just red. Interior is going to be beige.

Thanks again for the update

[Santiago Fonseca]

Hi guys, I've moved on with my life and I haven't been keeping up with the postings, but today someone sent me a note that brought the past to life, and as I read past postings, I felt I needed to clarify something

This is for Mike Braddock. Mike, I do not want to start a barrage of crap again, I have finally fixed my car and as I said, I am moving on, actually. moving to Germany - job relocation - and taking it with me, but I wanted to tell you that Everett-Morrison DID NOT "offer to build me a car and when I declined, they recommended the builder who lived close by..."

The were both near Tampa and I was in Melbourne. Classic Roadsters ((CR) out of Fargo ND) recommended Cavaliere who told me the CR cars were crap and EM were way better. Cavaliere is the one who recomended I go with an EM kit and he took me to the factory to see the op and meet the owners. Brett is the one who told me Cavaliere was the guy to go with since he was good and he'd build me a top of the line car.

Now, the rest is sorry history.

You are entitled to your opinion, but I'd like you to have your facts straight. I'm sure you'll feel different if you really knew how it al went down.

EM made their bed when they refused to even look at the car. That's all I have to say. I plan on enjoying my car and will continue to replace the substandard components it was built with, as they continue to fail.

Respectfully,

Santiago Fonseca
sefh@earthlink.net

[dscott]

Santiago, I'm glad you have most of the problems fixed. Perhaps now you can enjoy the car and forget how you got it to this point. Good luck in Germany. Let us know how the car cruises on the Autobahn!
Don

[Santiago Fonseca]

Yeah buddy, me too. It was eating me up and at the end, after screwing me, building a wreck and owing me money on top, he was still on top of me. So I "grew up".

I don't know about taking it on the Autobahn. I still have to gain confidence on the car and though it has the beautiful and strong EM chassis, you know who put it together and with what, so I'll do some back road cruising first. I already have a challenge from a budy of mine who still lives over there and has a Camaro with which he terrorizes the Germans all over the place. : - )

What I'm really going to enjoy (besides cruising) is replacing the bad components with quality ones over time. You should see the door panel inserts I built for it. The "builder" glued some naugahide to the holes on the doors and called it a finished product.

Thanks for your words of support.

[Santiago Fonseca]

For Mike Braddock.

Hi Mike, I have been out of circulation for a while and have moved on with my Cobra and my problem with the builder and Everett-Morrison.

However, as I checked the boards to see what was happening I noticed your comment and - believe me, I do not want to start down this path again - but I felt I needed to make sure you knew how I came about Cavaliere and E-M. Your recollection of what happened is a bit off in your posting.

Here's what happened.

In early 1998 I contacted Classic Roadsters (CR) of Fargo, ND and spoke with Lon Johnston, a very personable and honest sounding man (on the phone), and HE recommended Cavaliere because "CR had a builder who lived my way" and gave me Cavaliere's number. So I called him and made an appointment to come by - he lived three hours away from me then. When we first met, he told me the CR Cobras were of inferior quality, and to illustrate his point, he showed me a CR body he had in his backyard and told me that it would cost me an additional 5-6 K just to "fix" the problems with their product to have a good car. He then mentioned E-M and recommended their product, so we went to see the plant on a Saturday and I met Brett and was given a great tour of the plant.

The factory looked great and everything looked to be on the up and up. Brett was very open and honest and allowed me to look anywhere and take as many pictures as I wanted. It was then that Brett told my wife and I that Cavaliere was one of E-M's preferred builders and that I could not go wrong with him.

The rest is all in the Cavaliere Cars thread.

A curious fact is that when I first went to see Cavaliere, he was working out of his garage in the back of his house (bells should have gone off) but told me he was having a new shop built because his present shop kept getting broken into. His web site showed a big shop and several cars outside so it sounded plausible.

Looking back on all that, I should have seen all the signs, but I had a Cobra in my dream and he talked the talk. Too bad he didn't walk the walk.

I am now living in Germany and have managed to repair my Cobra as much as I can and have had a tremendous summer of cruising with it here. It is just gorgeous here in the summer. I have hooked up with a group of Cobra owners (mostly Mohr Cobras and some from Australia) and have cruised around and gone top car shows with it. There are 8 of us Cobra owners in the local area. There's a big show in June in Mainz-Finthen and another in July in Kaiserslautern. Life is good.

I still have many issues with mine, but at least - after being repaired by others and made safe to ride, I have been replacing crappy components with new as they fail.

Have a great 2004.

PS. many people in the Cobra community supported me through this fiasco of mine. Unfortunately, the authorities (DMV, Attorney General, BBB, and others) chose to look the other way and the bad guy won.

Santiago.

[John McMahon]

SF,

Talk about being left to twist in the wind by the folks that took your money!

Glad to hear you're at least trying to enjoy the car. At least now you have some of the most beautiful scenery in the world to enjoy!

Hope all is well.

[Santiago Fonseca]

Thanks John. Besides some local friends, you are the only one who saw every picture of the disassembled car and almost every document back and forth between the lawyers, the builder and I. E-M refused to look at anything and even returned my "return" receipt packet unseen - just refused it.

It still amazes me to no end that the authorities did not want to get involved even after the safety issues and the lies about installed components came to light.

Oh well. FL is a great place for crooks.

But you're right. I have enjoyed cruising all summer. It's pretty cold now, but I still drive it when it's clear with no chance of rain. Should see the looks I get from the Germans all bundled up like an Eskimo. :-)

I'll post some gdod pictures soon.

Santiago

[Santiago Fonseca]

PS. That was supposed to be "..good pictures.."

[John McMahon]

SF,

I still have that package (bundle?) you sent me of your problems.

Whenever I start feeling bad about my Burtis Cobra, I open up your package and read...it helps to make me feel better. My problems were insignificant to what E-M and Cavaliere put you through.

[Santiago Fonseca]

Wow! It gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling knowing my case is the worst of all.. Thanks John, you made my day : - ) : - )

But to be fair to E-M, they didn't really put me though anything. They just ignored the problem and decided I had nothing on them - which I didn't - unless you'd consider the moral and business ethics part of the fiasco.

Look at Martha Stewart. She could have just taken the 40K loss back then - chump change to her, but (allegedly) she did what she did and the backlash is costing her millions upon millions and taking so much of her time.

I don't know what it would have cost E-M to re-do my car or pressure the builder to do so (while helping him - God knows he didn't know what the heck he was doing - I have my theory...), but I'm sure had they immediately jumped in to support me - a customer - they would have been the heroes and would have avoided all the bad publicity. I would have praised them to my grave; instead, look what happened.

Anyway, I've moved on so let's talk about "funner" issues. I will be collecting some pictures of the last couple of shows/cruise-ins here and will attempt to post a "Cobras in Germany" section as there are for other clubs on the ClubCobra site.

Have fun y'alls

[John McMahon]

SF,

FYI....I received your email at home via CC messenger, but my response to you was returned by your Spam Blocker. Please add me to your profile.

I have changed my home email address, but my work email remains the same.

H: johnnymac@patmedia.net

W: johnm@att.com