Quote:
Originally Posted by Buzz
This is pretty much what I was thinking after trying to make sense of the paper trail. Are there no records at all of the original purchase in 1963?
I also wonder though, why on Earth would Ann Abidin buy a beyond-repair wrecked race Cobra in 1964 when a heap like that would've been of little value to anyone back then. Cobras were still production cars and not highly valued collector items.  |
I think Ned said that Ann sold the wreck to Lanse for $400. The wreck was probably worth that amount. You have magnesium wheels, engine, transmission, etc.
In the scenario that Ann bought the wreck from Shelby American after they got a mechanics lien, she presumably would have gotten it for less than $400 with the thought of reselling it to make some money. But to resell it to someone with a personal loan that took around 3 years to collect sounds odd.
Back to wild, crazy, unprovable speculation:
Hmm, what if Lanse had heard about the wreck being for sale and wanted to buy it. He went to his Dad and said "Can you loan me $400 to buy this cool wrecked racecar?". Dad says, "No". Lanse tries again asking his mom, who also says no. Lanse asks various other friends and relatives to help him buy the wreck, who all say no to him, until he asks his eccentric aunt Ann, who says "OK, I will buy the car for you, and you can pay me back $12 a month for 3 years. We will keep track of your payments on little scraps of paper".
Less likely scenario:
Ann owns the wreck, either as the owner from August 1963 or purchased it from Shelby American after a mechanics lien. She tries to sell the wreck for scrap or parts and finds absolutely nobody who wants the wreck except for some guy named Lanse, who offers to buy it from her for $400 over a reasonably short period of time. Ann says OK, and the reasonably short period of time to pay her turns into 3 years and Ann gets very frustrated that that she agreed to sell Lanse the wreck as a personal loan.