Mainly Classics equeal to CR's? Better than!

[Double Venom]

“Mainly Classics equal to CR’s Inc,?

This question is really a surprise since too few Mainly Classics were built!

Since this is real part of Classics Roadster’s, Inc. History and so few people are aware of it- read on for the real HISTORY of this story, (I was there!)

When Gary Rutherford owner of the very original CR’s filed Bankruptcy, comparing Don Scotts* downfall nothing more than a headache compared to the two!

When Rutherford filed Bankruptcy a gentleman named “Tony Consiglio” Decided to make his own Classic Roadster’s Cobras. Tony started it our right, He did a lot of research, invited 5 builders to a meeting in Pa, where company Districts were actually drawn up. (This absolutely ended builders stealing work from each other. I Very proudly was selected to be one of the Builder/Dealers, I had the States of Michigan, Indiana, Pa., Ohio and Indiana, and another rather famous builder supplier you might know was “Tommy Beroth” of Big Dog Fabrication! (Tony is still as a straight shooter as he ever was!)

Once all agreements were in place Tony started building “Exact Copies” of the CR Cobra, ONLY as he promised his cars were tremendously upgraded, meeting or even passing the original CR cobras quality by far!

Very few “Mainly Classics” were sold due to the following reason(s);

The Problem: Tony went to far, he not only copied the car and frame exactly as CR’s designed he even used the original sales brochures, ONLY changing the name on the brochures; he copied the manual in the same way! (This is were the first changes to the manual were planned!)

Tony had actually started to build and sell the new Cobras! In all honesty they’re absolutely nothing to compare about the two. The frame was still excellent without any changes. BUT, the quality of the body’s went UP 100%! What did take 80 hours or more getting the body ready for paint, a very easy 40 hours was all that was needed and the bodies would have made any of the Big Three jealous!
The bodies fit the frames like gloves; the doors were a very simple matter of simply bolting them up and in place. NO shims, NO cutting the door frames out of the cowl and then re-mounting! The hood and trunk were no brainers’! Never a hood nor a door, nor trunk lid needed bodywork to make them fit or look, as they should.

It was about this time that the Ugly Head of Rutherford popped up. He threatened to bring the world down on Tony if he did not stop and desist immediately! Tony obviously had the funds to upgrade the kit, go into production etc., every thing a new company needed to get off on the right foot. Unfortunately he did not have the massive amounts of money to fight the numerous lawsuits Rutherford promised.

A sad but true ending on Mainly Classics! Even as Tony approached all Five of his builders for donations to fight the lawsuit, “we” just couldn’t come up with the extra big pot of money needed.

So…IF you are one of the few that own a Mainly Classis Roadsters, consider your self very lucky, very lucky indeed. It truly was AND still is one of absolute finest Cobras on the road today! To do one up the scale, so to speak you’d have to get a “Kirkham” or find the millions of dollars needed and buy your self a “True” Shelby Cobra,

The unknown part of the Classic Roadster’s History many do not know about!

Ed “DV” Combs

[tcrist]

That's interesting DV. Something that I had not heard before.
What brought this up. Talking with old buddies again?

[MaSnaka]

When was Don Scotts CRII formed? During this time or after the Mainly Classics was stopped? It's hard to understand why someone (Don Scott) would invest into something without full confidence that they could continue operations and succeed. Wasn't Rutherford the reason Scott was forced to stop? Lots of questions.

John

[Double Venom]

Terry,
As usual, the sharpest pin in the cushion!

Actually I am repairing a MC right now. The owner asked me if I knew anything about them, as he knew no one that had heard of them. He said those "other" guys acted like he had an unknown inferior product. Ignorance? Bliss is not always a good thing!

So he asked me to post something about them, I can not find a thing bad or needs improving on a MC, except it's to bad they did not stay in business.

Mark, I had two pages typed on this thing about the History of CR's to date-as I know it.
Almost ready to send it when my battery failed! In a day or two I will post the whole story...not a short note by any means, but just answering one portion about CR's doesn't tell you what really happened!
DV

[AL427SBF]

I don't doubt MC's back in "their day" were a good CR replica.
But making upgrades & refinements to the original CR design
is something all reputable cobra builders have done, this is not
unique to Tony and MC. The fact that he found the CR frame
acceptable 'as is' with no mods tells me at some point cost
was a driver as to what upgrades he would undertake versus not.
Staying true to form may have been a part of that, but I think
any replica builder who has stayed in business 10+ years is just
as good if not better. In the replica biz, making a superior product
is the rule to stay in biz, not the exception - JMO.

[Tony Ripepi]

HI DV,

I believe Bill Emerson resold the MC Cobra and then came up with his own version that he still sells today as the Emerson/MC/CR Cobra.

Here is a link to the website.

Emerson MotorSports - Emerson 427 - Bigger, stronger, faster, better. You heard this before, let us prove it!

Tony R.

[Double Venom]

Tony, my friend,
Yes Bill did start out with a CR!
Bill is definately one of kind of guy-amazingly talented !

Al, not truly following you but after building almost every replica on the market and many that aren't, very few come up the MC standards. (The noted statements are mine and mine alone )
Do you know Tony? I haven't spoken to him in years!
DV

[mervy49]

It seems to me that the problems at Classic Roadsters were going on just as I was purchasing my 'Classic 427' from them. I remember it being hard to get commitments from them on parts delivery and back orders. For some parts I had my friend out right drive all the way down there to their factory and adamantly Demand my parts that I had already paid for. I had all my documents and receipts and agreements. When the parts were sitting there on the factory floor and that was pointed out to them and said load them up, they didn't argue too much. All in all , the car went together great and Iv'e been driving it for 13 years. They always had a story why the parts were not shipped.