For at least the past 15 years, an individual has made various posts on different social media and other websites attacking SAAC, its officers, its directors, its Cobra Registrar, and cars he chose to insult. Many of these have appeared through a website called WordPress, which allows posting of unsubstantiated claims but does NOT permit responses challenging them.
This has given the responsible individual an open season on people and vehicles, and he has taken advantage of this opportunity to call everyone with a position of responsibility with the club all manner of inappropriate, spurious names while simultaneously lying to prospective buyers of different Cobras claiming they were replicas and fakes that SAAC was trying to profit from by selling. He also claimed to be an independent private investigator of the FBI's Los Angeles office, a claim which we immediately proved was a lie.
SAAC has done everything possible to counter the absurd allegations leveled at us without success. Now, it appears that karma has flexed its muscles.
Richard Cranford was the person making these false statements. When confronted by various people he attacked, he cursed at them and refused to acknowledge his participation in the various lies spread around the internet. I am relieved to report that Cranford is no longer among us, as we have just received the news that he has died. Roughly 4 years ago, Richard was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and possibly one could blame it for his mental illness. However, unless this tumor was invading his brain for over 15 years, his own desire to lash out at people who refused to listen to his absurd demands preceded his illness.
I would never wish cancer on anyone. And I am sorry Richard had to go through the process. But I won't say I miss him, and I doubt anyone who came into contact with him ever will.
Bye, Dick!
I just found and read some of his posts on a Wordpress site. He sounds like a real piece of work. Sorry you had to endure that for so many years Ned (and others). Thank you SAAC for all you do for our hobby.
Terry
Never heard of this, how do you get to it? Did you need a password?
Quote from: davez on October 14, 2020, 07:49:19 PM
Never heard of this, how do you get to it? Did you need a password?
Search "SAAC Conspiracy" in google ::)
Richard was a real piece of **** work :o
Had the displeasure of running into this guy when an early VIN Mustang was discovered and he tried to say the door tag and VIN stamping on the car was fake. A convertible which had been advertised as the earliest known 'production' VIN had been advertised for 7 figures if I remember right. Somehow he got involved in that camp and didn't like when I validated a car with a VIN one number less than theirs.
Karma?
Wow, it took death to finally put a stop to his lies.
Hopefully this will end the "controversies" but I suspect there may be someone(s) else, possibly internet inspired to continue?
Inexplicably to me, many like to believe in conspiracy theories regardless of their ridiculousness?
Perhaps it just gives meaning to their otherwise meaningless existences?
To some, there are always monsters hiding under the bed.
Quote from: CharlesTurner on October 14, 2020, 09:16:45 PM
Had the displeasure of running into this guy when an early VIN Mustang was discovered and he tried to say the door tag and VIN stamping on the car was fake. A convertible which had been advertised as the earliest known 'production' VIN had been advertised for 7 figures if I remember right. Somehow he got involved in that camp and didn't like when I validated a car with a VIN one number less than theirs.
in regards to the car that you found how does that compare to the one at The Henry Ford Museum? That car is known as #1, correct?
Not to change the topic, but is that a picture of 0001? if so I would have thought the hood would have the bent edges and the headlight buckets would be beveled.....unless that is just a bad picture angle
Just a reminder cars were not serialized or built in numerical order. But, thats a little off topic.
Quote from: shelbymann1970 on October 15, 2020, 07:48:26 AM
in regards to the car that you found how does that compare to the one at The Henry Ford Museum? That car is known as #1, correct?
100001 has a scheduled build door plate tag of 05C. All 05C cars were pre-production and used for many different purposes. There is no record of when exactly they were built. It's estimated that the first 200 unit numbers were 05C.
The first day of production at Dearborn was March 9th, so after 05C, the next date on door plates is 09C. 09C cars are considered cars built beginning at the actual start of production. Up until about 10 or so years ago, a convertible with 100212 was thought to be the earliest 09C car... with a hefty price tag and advertised as the first production built car on the first day of production. I helped the owner of 100211 validate his car, which is a 6 cyl coupe. There's no way to know the order the cars were actually built, but we know 212 is not the earliest 'known' 09C unit number.
There have been some articles written on this in the past.
Quote from: KDunne on October 15, 2020, 09:57:42 AM
Not to change the topic, but is that a picture of 0001? if so I would have thought the hood would have the bent edges and the headlight buckets would be beveled.....unless that is just a bad picture angle
The first couple months of production didn't use the common '64.5' hood with beveled edges. Those early hoods look like a normal '65 hood, although there are understructure features that are different than '65 hoods.
Quote from: CharlesTurner on October 15, 2020, 10:48:40 AM
Quote from: KDunne on October 15, 2020, 09:57:42 AM
Not to change the topic, but is that a picture of 0001? if so I would have thought the hood would have the bent edges and the headlight buckets would be beveled.....unless that is just a bad picture angle
The first couple months of production didn't use the common '64.5' hood with beveled edges. Those early hoods look like a normal '65 hood, although there are understructure features that are different than '65 hoods.
I knew you would know the explanation on that.
Quote from: shelbydoug on October 15, 2020, 07:37:26 AM
Hopefully this will end the "controversies" but I suspect there may be someone(s) else, possibly internet inspired to continue?
There are indications that even in his altered mental state, Cranford knew he had screwed over many people. A half-brother has materialized, and it was through him we learned of Cranford's death. Now the half-brother has said he was given codes to access the various WordPress postings, and he has agreed to remove them. We will see...
The truth is definitely sometimes stranger than fiction. Hopefully this whole mess can be "undone"
Fingers are crossed.
Thanks to all of the SAAC Directors for doing all you have done since the early '70's. Lots of people know where to complain but seldom know where praise is warranted. So again, "Thank you!"
Ned,
Is this CaptDave guy trying to take his place on Facebook?
Michael
Quote from: mbriggs on January 21, 2021, 08:51:39 PM
Ned,
Is this CaptDave guy trying to take his place on Facebook?
Michael
Interesting first post, I'd have to say no, Capt Dave posts tons of pictures, but does not have any false conspiracies about this or that. Personally, I like the pictures, why do feel otherwise?