[Trevor Legate]

ALL 289 COBRAS WERE AC COBRAS (good title for a book!)

Hi Mr. Whats.......

Thank you. Seems like I'm another bait-riser.

At least you saved me the tiresome job of stating the simple bald bloody facts AS THEY WERE IN THE 1960'S. Not the facts as we know them now. I was THERE at the AC factory AT THE TIME and I talked to Alan Turner, Keith Judd, Derek Hurlock and they made, developed and modified the cars according to the information and requests that came back from Shelby American who, unlike AC, were blessed with substantial Ford money that allowed them to go racing. AC did not (as a rule) race cos THEY BUILT THE CARS.
Actually the one race car they built themselves really annoyed SA as it was so fast straight out of the box so they, in modern parlance, 'dissed' it and still do. In fact the AC Coupe, A98, is still regarded as a road going Cobra whenever the subject of their one quick blast up the M1 crops up. I recently tried to put the record straight in our national press and it seems that half the population was driving along the M1 at 4.30am that one day in June 1964, as everyone saw it go by (at over 200mph). What they saw was really an Aston Martin as the factory was just a short drive from our only motorway. But, like the AC/Shelby two-step, the myth is better than the truth.

By the way, going WAY back to an old thread, I have just had a very pleasant drive in 427 over our South Downs near the coast, courtesy of its owner Joe Eagle and I have to say, it was a great drive simply becasue it was a proper unadulterated 427 without a roll-bar, side pipes or even a hood scoop. Just a proper 427. Nice. Maybe I have changed my mind about 427s - a little.

Having said that, I was exposed today to a Caterham R500. Now that is a TRULY fast car and NO 7-litre Shelby would even see which way it went (below 120 mph). But as if that was not manic enough, they now make the R500evo which is faster again......

Enough from me since, like you WaC, I have posted enough info on the AC topic in the past. Let people believe what they will. I give up.

Cheers!