Lost 427 CSX32xx in Rhodesia?

[Dominik]

Good day, I post this to entertain us a bit during winter:

Here it goes: We are approaching Christmas, many of you can’t drive your cars and we spend time with family (at home) or the CC-family online.


In 2002 I worked on my Contemporary Classics here in Cape Town, South-Africa, when my german neighbor came in to tell me that he once had a car like this. (Big deal, I think, probably a locally build Shamrock)

He walkes around and recalls a roll bar, sidepipes, red paint with white stripes, instruments...

I inquire: Instruments? Like these? (Shamrock and KCC as well as SPF only used Smiths later in the millenium). He replies, I am not sure, after all that was in the 70s...

Now I stopped working! Was is a left-hand-drive, like this one? He confirmed!

South-African build replicas are 99% right-hand drive. And haven’t been built in the 70s! I tried to extract more details from him to get more leads that it was a 427 with sidepipes, roll-bar, ...

He bought the car which has been formerly repossed by a finance company (I have that name), into his business in Rhodesia, 1976. And sold it to a new owner residing in Bulawayo, then it went to Salisbury (Harare). That all happend in the end of the 70s.

Who knows about a 427 Cobra that left the USA to Rhodesia before 1976? And how can I go about finding this car. I do know people from (now) Zimbabwe who raced there these days and would show me around. But I need a bit more than the above...

[SunDude]

Check with SAAC. They know everything about Cobras...

[Dominik]

I mailed Ned a while back and spoke to John Atk*** (who used to know about every Cobra outside USA). I got them thinking, but nothing solid yet. There are a few 427 listed as missing, 3(?) red ones.

[LMH]

If this gentleman remembers a car that long ago with sidepipes and rollbar, it would be one of a very few cars. Assuming he is correct, that should narrow it down quite a bit.
Larry

[Dominik]

Let's see.

If someone can confirm sighting of a red 427 there, or at least knew about it, I can dig deeper. After all, there was at least one owner before him in Zim, and one after.

The German bought it from the finance company Fincor who had repossed it, into his company (Autorama) and sold it to a portuguese to Bulawayo.

IF the story in real..., and if it wasn't a 289?

[JBo]

I know of a 63 split window corvette, that two people died in 40 years ago in a triple suicide, car is a barn find a now....interested?

[slider701]

Originally Posted by JBo

I know of a 63 split window corvette, that two people died in 40 years ago in a triple suicide, car is a barn find a now....interested?

Triple suicide.....only 2 dead..........how does that work???

How much for the car???? I can always get a priest to bless the car or someone to do an exorcism if necessary.

[Tom Kirkham]

Dominik,

When I was down in South Africa with Jim Price, (and when I meet you at the vintage race in Cape Town) Jim Price told me he and his good friend spent a week looking for a Cobra in Zimbabwe, although it may have been some other country. He said conditions were so terrible in that country; that they didn't take a shower, or bath for fear if they had some unknown cut or sore on their bodies they would get some incurable infection. He told me they never found anything.

Give Jim a call.

[PatBuckley]

Originally Posted by JBo

I know of a 63 split window corvette, that two people died in 40 years ago in a triple suicide, car is a barn find a now....interested?

I remember this car!

The big problem was the SMELL! The bodies were in it for a long time.

LOL! Seriously, this story is one of those urban legends as I am sure you are aware.

At the time I believed it and came up with all manner of inventive ways that I would get the smell out - only to be told "they tried that, didn't work".

[Riverside racer]

Tom, Jim and Peter were in Angola.
Dominic you can try Neville Austin in Hermanus.Zim is less likely as it did`nt have the total mass exodus as Angola did
Best of Luck. You not the first
Ross

[JBo]

if not an urban legend, perhaps the precusor to a fellow with poor spelling and an offer to sell you the car for 500,000 but you had to cash his 1,000,000 check first...

[Mark IV]

Originally Posted by Riverside racer

Tom, Jim and Peter were in Angola.
Dominic you can try Neville Austin in Hermanus.Zim is less likely as it did`nt have the total mass exodus as Angola did
Best of Luck. You not the first
Ross

Yeah Ross,

Jim told that story. How they were "detained" by the authorities while looking for that car and I think a Lola. Something also about "too much foreign currency" if I recall his telling the story. But then you were a lot closer to Zim and Angola than I have ever been!

[Nedsel]

I can tell you there is nothing known within SAAC about any 427 Cobra(s) going to Rhodesia, South Africa, or similar. If there is a car out there, good luck in finding it.

You may wish to hire some of the Nigerian experts who appear quite knowledgeable about locating missing things - I hear they stop at nothing to locate the progeny of people who have died and left some unclaimed funds. Heck, I didn't know there were that many people in all of Africa with my last name, yet these good folks have already found a dozen and earnestly want me to have the millions they left sitting there. It is surprising to me that so many people had so much money in that poor country, but - like finding an original 427 Cobra in a barn in Zimbabwe - miracles do happen.

[A-Snake]

Originally Posted by Nedsel

It is surprising to me that so many people had so much money in that poor country, but - like finding an original 427 Cobra in a barn in Zimbabwe - miracles do happen.

Cotter is on the trail

[Dominik]

Thanks guys,

I could've called Jim long time ago for that. For one or other reason I figured he might only be interested in replicas ;-)

So nobody heard about a car in Zimbabwe.
And I don't see myself going there and looking for a "Cobra" - just imagine that!
They might sell me a helicopter...

I admit, a very thin lead. But aren't such leads like that?

Let me try Neville. I was in Hermanus a week ago

[Jamo]

Damn it Ned, I was thinking the same thing as I read the first post.

[Nedsel]

Originally Posted by Jamo

Damn it Ned, I was thinking the same thing as I read the first post.

Then don't waste another minute, Jamo. Send those nice men from the emails you get regularly the earnest money they need, and your ancestors' fortunes will undoubtedly be on their merry way to you almost before you can snap your fingers. What a deal.

[Trevor Legate]

Well I've got nothing much planned for the next few decades so I'm off to conduct a search of every barn in Zimbabwe. I may be out of contact for a little while.....wish me luck!!

[Woodz428]

Originally Posted by Trevor Legate

Well I've got nothing much planned for the next few decades so I'm off to conduct a search of every barn in Zimbabwe. I may be out of contact for a little while.....wish me luck!!

All 12 of them??

[Riverside racer]

Never mind the cobra, you are going to struggle to find a unmolested barn, Trevor
Ross