Contact me at mcohen@ (spam Blocker) ame.biz or call me directly at 858 204 4050.
Custom 427 Cobra. Body is thicker & stronger than the most current kit car Cobra bodies. (Believed to be a highly modified Shell Valley Body with significant body and frame reinforcements for racing use.) Car is street legal & pre-smog. Functional head, tail & brake lights, directionals, & set up for wipers. Registered as 1960 Roadster, this car still has its original blue plates issued in the early 80’s.
Doors look functional but are integrated into the body. NASCAR quick release steering wheel for easy entry and exit. Where the 427 emblems should be is a series of large spaced holes for more airflow out of the engine compartment. The hood scoop is much more pronounced then your typical cobra for more air cleaner clearance.
Over the years this car has been a club racer, a drag racer and a street rod. Engine is setup for both a big block and small block Chevy. Engine mounts are movable (6 Axis) to give better weight placement of the engine depending on the track layout and usage of the car.
I bought this car expecting that I would have more spare time, and would be able to run Willow or at the drags more then once a month. Due to a new responsibility at work I have little to no time even to even get it out for a cruise on Sundays. Car is a wonderful weekend car and can be setup as forgiving as you want with the adjustable suspension.
Currently it is setup as follows. Some of this equipment specifically the consumable has spares, which come with the car (3-4K worth of stuff for you to sell off or use)
350 (Racing Head Service) SBC with forged crank, 4-bolt block,
roller tip rockers,
turbo TRW pistons
hydraulic cam
Mallory comp 9000 dist
HD
oil pump
Hooker headers
oil cooler
flowmasters
Jacobs ignition box
B&M low profile blower with complete set of different size pulleys
Holley 800CFM double pumper.
Wideband 02 setup, in dash gauge
Currently running ~4-6 pounds of boost. Compression is 7.2:1 and the engine is setup and and built to run ~12 pounds of boost producing ~600hp. On the current boost settings it makes ~500hp at the crank. It runs fine at 6 pounds all day in 100 degree weather with California 91 octane.
New Richmond Gear super T-10 four speed
Dual face Centerforce clutch,
steel shatter-proof bellhousing.
Franklin Grand National quickchange rear-end
Wilwood discs and calipers
gun drilled full floating axles,
Torsen gear type posi [extra QC gears and Detroit Locker].
4 link rear end with full adjustability.
Rear end is tubbed as well as front modified to take up to a 14-inch rear tire and 13 -inch front without rubbing.
(Car comes with 2 complete set of racing slicks mounted on NASCAR spec rims, plus 2 un-mounted sets, approx. 1 race on each set still very good rubber)
Front brakes are Corvette rotors and calipers with billet aluminum hubs (upgraded C5 setup)
GM bearings
dual master cylinders with balance bar. (Adjustable brake bias)
Alden coilovers, (two way adjustable (two extra for track spares)).
Mounted Wilwoods are the upgraded C5 setup
Most of the time it sits up in my garage, but I have been using it to go back and forth to the office for the last ~1 month, or use it for getting groceries. It is very docile below 2000 rpm, but above is unmatchable by anything short of a liter class sport bike
Other unique features:
3 quart Accusump in trunk, (Manual switch integrated into cabin.)
Gel battery with cut-off switch, (extra hidden cutoffs in the cabin)
Engine start button.
Moroso extra capacity
oil pan (Accusump + Moroso + 350 = a lot of oil)
4-Row radiator
Auxiliary elect fans
5-point harness,
Centerline Convos for street,
Recently received its third black paint job
Foam Filled fuel cell.
Custom Shroud
Undercar skid plates for frame/motor protection
Multi-position temperature sensors
Quick release bumper’s/seats for easy removal at track
Trunk mounted battery.
Emergency brake mounted on driveshaft.
Driveshaft hoops.
Shifter with reverse lockout
Bolt-in supplemental roll-bar hoop that ties into the existing Shelby type hoop behind the driver, has NASCAR bar and is tied into the frame at all points, rear bar is tied into frame as gusseted as well.
Master cylinders frame mounted so you can lift off body without removing or draining brake lines.
Custom windshield and frame, which ties into cowl structure and frame, and replaces flexy kit/original car type frames. I can hang onto the front windshield mount and lift myself off the ground. It is triangulated and tied into the roll cage in the doors. It can clear tech as part of the roll cage in some situations as it is made from solid 1 ¼ inch steel.
Custom tow bar
History of the car as I know it.
Started out as a Sunbeam Tiger, which someone put a custom 427 Cobra fiberglass body on. Some time later they replaced the Sunbeam frame with a commercially made Cobra kit car frame, or made one from scratch, it is so extensively braced and modified there is no rear way to tell whom is the manufacture. I have seen a lot of cobras over the years and believe this to be a very early Shelly Valley body and frame that has been extensively modified, the fiberglass work is top notch and al hand laid.
The car is up to 3 times thicker then some cobra in the rear wheel wells and mounting for the body and in all stress bearing areas. More then likely added when the car was still in the mold
While the doors look functional, they are integrated into the body and lower than the standard Cobra door. More like the old MG's or TR's. The body is therefore much more rigid than the standard Cobra kit car body in this way as well. The lowing of the doors makes the rear flares look much bigger. You climb in like a kart or Manx bodied dune buggy.
Runs 115-120 mph with the small block and B&M blower on a moderate boost setting and without launching the car. Theoretically with the power to weight ratio and the ability to change out the gears in the rear, coupled with the size of tire you can mount this car should run in the low 10’s.
This car was built by and for a gearhead to drive, race and have fun with, not drive cross-country. But if you are like me you can use it everyday just the same and tune a lot of the racecar out of it with the adjustable suspension, it has also be very reliable over its time with me. Once setup it would require little owner input beyond maintenance and general upkeep.
Owners note.
I am selling my cobra due to work situation; I simply can’t use the car in the manner that it was built for. I bought it because I knew that I could not replicate the level of completion or quality of components for 1/3 the cost if I built it myself.
This car is an utter showstopper; you can take to a show and go shopping on the way back home in it. But with the included larger rims and tires, and the smaller pulley it can go out on the track and beat up on Ferrari’s with an extra zero the price tag.
Also with 5000 miles you are getting a car that is fully sorted out, no small/large problems to sort out they have all surfaced in my opinion
It is also correctly registered and contains all the correct VIN and title information in California and has been for ~20 years. As it is not a SB100 number car (did not exist when built from my understanding) if this is pulled the car will still be street legal.