It's REAL, but what is it?

[Mark IV]

Early design airbags..........................

[REAL 1]

SDR: Thanks.

Thats a pretty racy photo op ad for an otherwise stodgy English company. I like it though.

[Trevor Legate]

Stodgy...??????! I say, steady on old chap.....

[JBo]

hand hammered?

[mrmustang]

Originally Posted by JBo

hand hammered?

Who's hand?

[Nedsel]

Our pal DMXF has a copy of a letter about MX 1 from AC Cars confirming that it started life as a 96" wheelbase chassis for an AC 428 Frua. It was shipped to the USA in June of 1969 as a chassis with brakes, suspension, and shock absorbers. The buyer was going to build a custom body for it, but didn't. That gives us a clear picture of the origins of the car, and confirms that AC built it, but it was never intended to be a Cobra from the factory.

[Trevor Legate]

Captain Ned to the rescue as always!! We can all sleep safely once again.

So it's yet another Cobra that isn't. Possibly. Maybe.

[nikbj68]

I still wonder why it didn`t have a 'CF' number, but it IS an AC chassis.
SO.
The burning question now is: When did it come back to the UK for AC (or Autokraft, Angliss or whoever..) to chop, cut, rebuild it, and where does it fit in the 'original/real/ repair/restore/recreate/continuation/completion/aircar' (did I miss anything, LOL?)sequence?!

[CBattaglia]

Originally Posted by STL Mark

That John Wayne collection is awesome. He has those peddle cars, and now he has those classic Schwinn bikes hanging from the ceiling. I spotted the same one I had when I was a kid. The "Lemon Peeler". It had a slick tire on the rear, shocks and springs, banana seat, sissy bar, ape hangers, fenders, and a 5 speed stick shifter. Man to be 10 years old again.

I have the other model "apple Krate" chopper wheel in front 5 speed shifter in the middle, etc. cool bike.

[REAL 1]

Ok, maybe not stodgy..."stayed" is better.

Anyway, I still like the photo.

[computerworks]

Originally Posted by nikbj68

...where does it fit in the 'original/real/ repair/restore/recreate/continuation/completion/aircar' (did I miss anything, LOL?)sequence?!

It doesn't... it's a nice replica built with a few scrap pieces from AC.

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by Nedsel

Our pal DMXF has a copy of a letter about MX 1 from AC Cars confirming that it started life as a 96" wheelbase chassis for an AC 428 Frua. It was shipped to the USA in June of 1969 as a chassis with brakes, suspension, and shock absorbers. The buyer was going to build a custom body for it, but didn't. That gives us a clear picture of the origins of the car, and confirms that AC built it, but it was never intended to be a Cobra from the factory.

So it's a very nice "classic" replica built by AC with a chopped chassis that has reached $156,000 (and hasn't met reserve) with 5 days left in the auction.

[PANAVIA]

This reminds me of a Ferrari Rebody I saw at auction. -- it was a 1952 or so coupe re-bodied to be a 166mm barchetta-a-like , they did a fantastic job, spent a ton of money and recouped some at auction. however the auction price was still significantly above where the original config would have been price wise.

In a world where you can order a new aluminum Krikham or Shell-bee basically over the phone, -this car is below where it would be if there were not such nice offering in the replica market.

A very special conversion with an Air cooled MSD.

Steve

[thudmaster]

Yeah, I saw that msd box also. I think I would have painet it aluminum.

[PurpleVenom]

Ok, I'm going to play devil's advocate here, so don't jump all over me, just trying to make a point.

For those of you lucky enough to own one of the cars built by AC or Shelby and still have it, does the car have 100% of the parts on it that came on it from the factory? If not, then how can your car be so different? I was thinking this about all "original" cars. There are very few examples of an original car - one with paint, tires, interior, engine, suspension etc.... so MOST original cars ARE pieces and parts from the factory/other cars. So, if you have a car with an original frame, body and engine (regardless of where the MSD box is mounted ) isn't that as close to original as you can get these days? What if any of us had the opportunity to take a box of parts shipped to us from AC and put them together? Just because AC or Shelby didn't put it together is it less original?

Just asking questions to maybe present a different point of view.

[SunDude]

I think MX-1 can most accurately be described as a "Cobra replica," using the official SAAC definition (which is not to be confused with a "kit car").

That is, the chassis, substructure, body, drivetrain and major components were all made to resemble an "original" Cobra.

This is much like the beautiful replicas that Mike McCluskey has constructed from scratch over the years. And like those beauties, MX-1 would be a fabulous car to own and drive. But it could never be called -- or valued -- as an original Cobra.

As luck would have it, the original owner/builder of MX-1 posted some background info about the car on eBay:
"To clarify some misconceptions, I am the original owner/builder. I purchased AC chassis MX1 in the summer of 1978 after hearing of its existence at the SAACII convention in Hershey, PA. It was a bare rolling chassis. The aluminum body was purchased from Brian Angliss. The attaching superstructure was purchased from Mike McCluskey, a noted Cobra restorer. The components were assembled by an older Englishman in Sterling Heights Michigan. The side oiler 427 block was built by John Vermersch of Total Performance in Mt. Clemens, MI. I sold the vehicle in 1999 and that owner finished the build. The current owner is the third one. I can answer almost any question requarding MX1. Thank you, Larry P. Kravitz DDS"

[computerworks]

Originally Posted by PurpleVenom

Just because AC or Shelby didn't put it together is it less original?

Absolutely...by definition.

[Excaliber]

I suppose it's like the value of a pedigree dog, without the papers. You can tell folks all day long it really is a pure breed, but without the papers, it's just another mutt.

[PurpleVenom]

SunDude - great info, I hadn't been to the e-bay auction listing. I would now agree with your assessment, Replica.

computerworks - hmmmm, so what about cars that get extensive work AFTER the factory? e.g. - Saleen, Roush, Shelby etc..... So those should not be considered factory cars since Ford Engineers didn't perform the assembly? Maybe I'm missing the point.

[computerworks]

Originally Posted by PurpleVenom

Maybe I'm missing the point.

Yes. In the context of factory-built original Cobras.