We found one!
We'd both been looking for quite some time but Craig (750HP) finally located this beautiful old Arntz in Washington state a few months ago.
The search had been long because the car had to be over thirty years old for import purposes and some of the thirty year old cars we had looked at were either "past it" or had no provenance confirming their age. This one ticked all the boxes.
Craig was able to obtain verification that this car had been built and first registered in 1979. He then took it upon himself to liaise with the federal Dept of Transport and obtain an approval to import, and he also did all the negotiating and arranging the transport from Lynwood down to Long Beach and then across to Brisbane.
We collected the car from the importing company just on a month ago, put it on David Jones’ truck (the best towie in town!)
and took in straight to Scott Hampson (Oz Venom) with a list of what we thought it required for compliance purposes, to which Scott added a few more things he thought it could do with for road-worthiness and general maintenance/ upgrading.
We thought we were pretty much on track but our engineer added a few more things he required before he would issue the crucial modification plate. In total there were over twenty items (!!) on the car that needed to be modified or fitted to meet the relevant ADRs and compliancing requirements. The engineering exercise is therefore significantly more difficult, time consuming and expensive than simply bringing in a 60’s Mustang Camaro or Corvette. Scott attended to all these, and more, with the skill and enthusiasm and professionalism that those of us who have had dealings with him over the years have come to expect.
The car passed engineering with flying colours on Dec 23rd and it was registered on Christmas Eve. I resisted the urge to tie a big bow on it and put it under the Christmas tree!
Here are the plates which give you just a small hint as to what powers her.
Factory-built Arntz cars were mainly fitted with small or big block Chevs (or Chevys) but have a look at how far back that old BB is mounted. There’s room for a fair sized esky behind the radiator!
The leading edge of the block is actually to the rear of the trailing edge of the tyres. Mid-engined or what? And a cool feature is that notch in the bodywork near the windscreen to allow access to the distributor.
The car is in superb condition for its age and is an absolute credit to its previous owners. I am so elated that after being a Cobra fanatic for a long time – I bought Carroll Shelby’s “The Cobra Story” nearly forty years ago – and having had two other Cobras in the family, I finally have my own.
The Arntz is built on a 91” wheelbase yet the footwell is longer and, importantly, wider at the pedals than any others I’ve seen, even with that big block sitting so far back. Brisbane guys will know that I am unable to fit into the driver’s side of any of the local cars: there simply is insufficient length or width at the front of the footwell, even in the stretched versions, and so I’d almost given up hope of ever having one of these terrific cars.
I had read the fascinating Arntz history during our research and corresponded with some of the Arntz owners in the US. They assured me that the way their cars were designed, with a wide and deep footwell and adjustable floor mounted pedals, I would be able to fit my 6’5” in – just. With the pedals relocated to full stretch I could have driven the car safely but not altogether comfortably. And predictably Scott was not satisfied with that situation. This is where the benefit of his years of experience with Cobras, together with his renowned fabricating skills came into play. He managed to create from somewhere another two inches of forward placement for the clutch and brake, and re-jig the throttle pedal so that it now sits further forward and higher, and works much more smoothly than before. Perfect! In fact Craig, who is right on the six foot mark, has to slide forward in the seat to be able to fully depress the clutch.
My car is 31 years old and she has a lovely old-school American sports-muscle car feel about her; LHD, the carbied big block, a fairly meaty close ratio 4-speed Muncie box with an incredibly tall first gear, Jag rear, and an MG front end with lever arm shocks and, by today’s standards, quite puny brakes! The front end is to be replaced very smartly with an uprated alloy aftermarket IFS with a weight saving of some eighty pounds, much lighter steering and some good Wilwood stoppers.
The fuel cell is mounted up high behind the seats giving very spacious luggage carrying capacity in the boot. (Don’t know about the centre of gravity though!)
The seats have a lovely aged look about them but are still quite comfortable.
It runs fifteens and I’m going to keep them to stay with the “period” look.
What surprised Scott was the condition of the underside. It was almost brand new. I think the car has led a very sheltered life. Did I say I’m rapt? Now I just wish this rain would stop so I can take her for a nice long drive…..
PS: My heartfelt thanks to Craig, Scott and….Jodie Hancock.