It's REAL, but what is it?

[STL Mark]

A 427 1968 AC Cobra - Light Blue

It's not a Shelby. But it is a Cobra. It's an AC. But it's made in 1968. It has a Ford big block. But it was assembled in England. It's left hand (US) drive. It's an enigma wrapped in a mystery. I saw this car today at Fastlane. It was built in 1968 using all of the chassis and body parts that remained at AC Cars. This car is actually chassis #1 (MX#1). It is fully documented including letters from the US buyer dated 1968 inquiring as to the progress of his build. Furthermore, it is represented as the only remaining AC Cobra 427 - chassis #1. It's been "lightly restored" and appears as new. It claims all original running gear. It is aluminum, and stunning. Is it valuable? You tell me. It has taken first place awards at Shelby events, but it appears in no registries. What do you guys make of this?

For Sale at Fastlane Classic Cars in St. Charles, MO - and listed on EBAY



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Other...fCarsQ5fTrucks

[jayscobras]

Hey mark! Did you see my 1968 Mustang convertable while you were there?

Jay

[STL Mark]

Red with white top GT390? Stunning.

They also just got a real deal 67 GT500 Red/white stripes numbers matching - 130K.

Also a couple of 69/70 GT500s - whoa.

David W is really raising the bar with his current inventory.

[lovehamr]

From their Ebay advert:
"The Body of this car was stamped on the same Buck of the 96" Wheelbase, 1963 thru 1967 Shelby Cobras."

Stamped? 96" wheelbase? They might need an education on what they're selling.

[PJ4myboo]

So, in essence, this is the first Shelby Cobra replica. I wonder if ol' Shel ever sued AC over this! All kidding aside, that is a very interesting car that I would suspect many folks on here never knew existed (me included)!

[STL Mark]

Originally Posted by lovehamr

From their Ebay advert:
"The Body of this car was stamped on the same Buck of the 96" Wheelbase, 1963 thru 1967 Shelby Cobras."

Stamped? 96" wheelbase? They might need an education on what they're selling.

I suspect a typo re:96" - I'll ask them. It's not 96".

[BT SNAKE]

Man! I could spend a week at Fastlane. Talk about
a candystore. It's more than just cars too. He has several mini museum type displays. My favorite was the Motion picture and TV cowboys. Dave has got to be living the dream.

Hersh

[STL Mark]

Originally Posted by PJ4myboo

So, in essence, this is the first Shelby Cobra replica. I wonder if ol' Shel ever sued AC over this! All kidding aside, that is a very interesting car that I would suspect many folks on here never knew existed (me included)!

Didn't Shel really sue back AC in the day.

I really don't think you can call it a replica, or a continuation. It's not a "Shelby" either.

Talking to the salesman today, he explained it like this - Same factory, one chassis gets shipped to US and turned into a CSX car once it has BBF added. This chassis gets left behind, and BBF engine gets shipped to England and installed. Both are Cobras, one is a Shelby, this one is an AC. Both are from the late 60s.

It's an enigma. So, is it valuable?

[1985 CCX]

MX1 is an extended wheelbase 96" car, saw it at SAAC 31 several years ago. Created as a special project by AC under the guidance of Brian Angliss. Not sure it was a true 1968 however it is titled as one.

[STL Mark]

Originally Posted by BT SNAKE

Man! I could spend a week at Fastlane. Talk about
a candystore. It's more than just cars too. He has several mini museum type displays. My favorite was the Motion picture and TV cowboys. Dave has got to be living the dream.

Hersh

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.

[STL Mark]

Originally Posted by 1985 CCX

MX1 is an extended wheelbase 96" car, saw it at SAAC 31 several years ago. Created as a special project by AC under the guidance of Brian Angliss. Not sure it was a true 1968 however it is titled as one.

OK - this is the car. MX1 - although it sure didn't look like a 96" Cobra IMHO.

So (I'm not a buyer) and I don't have a dog in this hunt - just curious. Is this a valuable "investment grade" car?

[1985 CCX]

My opinion, it is already at or above the value price. If indeed Brian Angliss was the mastermind it would be a 80's replica with a 68 title. Sorta like a one off MKIV, nice however collectable???

[STL Mark]

Originally Posted by 1985 CCX

My opinion, it is already at or above the value price. If indeed Brian Angliss was the mastermind it would be a 80's replica with a 68 title. Sorta like a one off MKIV, nice however collectable???

OK - help me with this. I don't know the history of Brian Angliss. Yes, he was the builder of this car and owner of AC at some point. When?

[Mark IV]

Brian Angliss owned Autokraft Ltd. which started as a Cobra restoration and parts operation. In 1983 he was licensed by AC Cars to use the "AC" logo and build Cobra shaped cars.

He aquired AC Cars Ltd in the late 80's and ran both companies from Weybridge. Ford Motor Company became a equity partner in AC (but NOT Autokraft) until such time as they wanted to liquidate AC. Brian fought them in court and won becoming sole owner of "AC Cars". Financial issues arose and he was screwed by his bank/banker and the company was placed into receivership with Price Waterhouse. The story from there gets really ugly with a rather unsavory charecter buying "AC"

If the "MX" chassis was done by Angliss it is NOT of 1968 vintage.

[Nedsel]

MX 1 was functionally the AC Cars "show chassis" for the lobby of the AC Cars factory in Thames Ditton. It was only constructed as a bare chassis, not as a Cobra. The fact that it was built to Cobra specifications long after the Thames Ditton factory closed does not make it an "original AC Cobra" in any fashion. If one were to take a Ferrari 250 GTE chassis and construct a 250 GTO-like vehicle on it, no one would call it an original Ferrari GTO, not would they make a claim that the resulting car should be valued as one. Maybe, instead of an enigma wrapped in a mystery, we've got an exaggeration wrapped in hyperbole.

[STL Mark]

OK - so it's not a Cobra?
It's not a Shelby for sure, but
it's not an AC, a replica, a continuation, or a completion?

Again, not trying to stir anything up here, and the information you have presented is good and I will pass it along to the dealer good, bad or otherwise.

How would you guys like to classify this vehicle?

[PurpleVenom]

From Wikipedia, do not know the accuracy:

Brian Angliss era

In 1982 Brian Angliss was running Autokraft, a Cobra restoration shop, parts supplier and replica manufacturer. To further such pursuits, he acquired some of the tooling from Thames Ditton and created the MKIV; the car had US-spec 5 mph (8.0 km/h) bumpers, a federalized motor, and a larger interior with modern switchgear. About 480 cars were produced in his factory at Brooklands. He also produced a lightweight model which was more in tune with the original Cobra spirit, though it could not be imported to the US due to Federal regulations.

Early cars were sold as the Autokraft MKIV but eventually Angliss acquired the rights to use the AC name. Derek Hurlock had been strongly protective of the name, but Angliss' high standards of craftsmanship won him over. When the Hurlock family finally sold up in 1986 Angliss fully acquired the AC trademark rights and set up a new AC company as a joint venture with Ford, who had also recently bought Aston Martin. A big conflict followed over the future direction for AC, but Angliss eventually won his independence as well as Ford's continuing and essential cooperation as an engine and parts supplier.

Also interested in aircraft, Angliss restored a Hawker Hurricane XIIB at Brooklands as well as acquiring two ex-Indian Air Force Hawker Tempest IIs as future projects. The Hurricane was registered as G-HURR and was destroyed in a fatal accident at the Shoreham air show in 2007.

Angliss looked for a new car to complement and perhaps replace the MKIV. At the 1993 London Motor Show, he introduced a new vehicle that he named the AC Ace. It was a modern automobile with a stainless steel chassis and an aluminum body, but was expensive to develop and build. The costs hit Angliss hard and he sold his large motor bike collection, vintage Bentley and other assets to try to make ends meet. The receivers were called in by 1996 after approximately 50 "new" Aces had been built.

[PurpleVenom]

Looking at a book that I have that lists AC chassis, all of those chassis' are numbered COB or COX. Sooo, I assume from that that this chassis was not one of the original chassis built by AC, but rather AutoKraft.

So, if a modernized car is built to the exact specifications of an older car, it would be a replica, would it not?

A few links for research:
http://www.acownersclub.co.uk/
http://www.w2ec.com/ACOCindex.html - I got this from here - http://www.w2ec.com/MKIV.html
http://www.acheritage.co.uk/

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by Nedsel

Maybe, instead of an enigma wrapped in a mystery, we've got an exaggeration wrapped in hyperbole.

Exactly.

[STL Mark]

I read the links. So, this is a continuation car?