CSX vs. Superformance Body Mold

[RUFdriver]

Originally Posted by FredG

I always wondered why, of all places, South Africa was the place a lot of these cars come from.

Fred

Wouldn’t have anything to do with cheap labor ?

[Buzz]

South Africa's Bob Olthoff - Dennis Olthoff's father - drove a Cobra with the Willment Team starting in 1964. Quite likely there are other people and circumstances that influenced the rise of the grassroots Cobra replica industry in that country.

[tomshep]

Originally Posted by Buzz

South Africa's Bob Olthoff - Dennis Olthoff's father - drove a Cobra with the Willment Team starting in 1964. Quite likely there are other people and circumstances that influenced the rise of the grassroots Cobra replica industry in that country.

I remember attending Shelby Mid America in the 2000s and seeing Dennis driving and racing what I recall was a SPF. I believe he also competed in the Run and Gun competition with the same car. I also knew of the connection of his father racing in the 60s. Was either Olthoff an owner in SPF? What was the connection?

Tom

[snakeeyes]

Originally Posted by tomshep

I remember attending Shelby Mid America in the 2000s and seeing Dennis driving and racing what I recall was a SPF. I believe he also competed in the Run and Gun competition with the same car. I also knew of the connection of his father racing in the 60s. Was either Olthoff an owner in SPF? What was the connection?

Tom

I believe Dennis was one of the first SPF dealers in the U.S.

[TimG427]

The first Hi-Tech company built my replica of CSX 3002 with all the correct details. It is a great car. I was the second owner

[twobjshelbys]

I don't know that HST stood for anything... It was the name of the company, HST International from San Diego. Their primary business was armor stratified vehicles. HST and Hi-Tech were building cars at the same time. HST also built some carbon fiber cars. (I had one.)

[ERA 626]

I think HST cars were being built in Mexico, there were quality issues. Some were very nice some were Bad...
I have seen an example of a CSX HST car where the rear wheels off sets are wrong, the carbon fiber body work is BAD... I think (I may be wrong) but Shelby contracted Hi-tech in SA after the quality issues at HST.

[twobjshelbys]

Originally Posted by ERA 626

I think HST cars were being built in Mexico, there were quality issues. Some were very nice some were Bad...
I have seen an example of a CSX HST car where the rear wheels off sets are wrong, the carbon fiber body work is BAD... I think (I may be wrong) but Shelby contracted Hi-tech in SA after the quality issues at HST.

HST was based in San Diego with manufacturing in Tijuana.

This is the first I've heard of quality issues with HST (of course, there can be what some considered quality issues with all of them though), and I'll reiterate that the quality of HST was considered higher than HiTech at the time as dealers requested HST cars.

The carbon fiber body on mine was perfect.

Shelby contracted with HiTech because HST couldn't build enough. They were very small. The Cobra business was in some ways a hobby, er, passion, of the owner of the company, but they couldn't build enough.

I got excellent support from HST. I had a huge door crack due to a rock and sent the door to them for repair. Not only did they have the right color to repaint it, but they had MY PAINT!!! They had some of the original paint still in the can. The match was perfect.

The guy that ran the Cobra portion of the business was a former French race driver.