The Shelby American (Summer 2022)

SAAC: Today it’s becoming a lot harder to see real Cobras. You don’t see very many of them at conventions and even fewer, if any, at local meets. So a museum may be the only place you’re going to see them anymore. SERB: On the Cobra 1000 I always enjoy looking in the rear view mirror or out the windshield seeing a row of Cobras behind me or in front of me. There’s nothing like it. When I look at old pictures from thirty-five years ago the cars have stayed the same, but all of the people have gotten old. I don’t know what the hell happened? SAAC: They all need glasses, they’ve lost their hair and put on fifty pounds. SERB: That seems to happen to all of us. SAAC: Yes, it happens. Nobody lives forever and very few people know the end is coming so they don’t plan for it. SERB: We know the end is coming. We’re timing out. It’s just a question of when. SAAC: Do you see other Cobra muse- ums, like Steve Volk’s and Larry Miller’s, as competition to get litera- ture, memorabilia and cars? SERB: On the museum front, I don’t see them as competition; simply from a geographical perspective we have different audiences. We constantly try to change things up. I am always hope- ful that some days we will share re- sources. I think it makes for a better fan experience to see different cars and displays. It helps us tell different stories about different people and cars, and it should work for both Steve and I. I kind of got into the game late. Larry and Steve started seriously twenty years before I did. Don’t get me wrong, I would have been right there with them if I had the deep pockets to do so. Although I’m not sure anyone is going to beat Larry Miller at the auc- tions. It is very disappointing because I still know where there are many col- lections stored away in basements and storage units that will never be shared. I’m sure Steve is aware of the collections, too. Neither one of us want to show our panties first. We talk often, but we never talk about other collections. Some day after the current owners are gone, the collections will be carried off to the landfill or sold piece by piece. It’s so discouraging that the artifacts won’t be shared with the gen- eral public and next generation. Our goal us to have as many Shelby Amer- ican artifacts on display as we can. We are constantly looking for resources. If I was naive about something we The SHELBY AMERICAN Summer 2022 45