Not to be nitpicky, but I never thought of the Daytona Coupes as being connected with AC, as they were a styling exercise completed here in the U.S. solely by Shelby American, weren't they?
Admittedly, not an originality buff at all........so I could be dead wrong about that. I just wonder if Thor meant to include them, too, that is IF I am right about them bearing no connection with the AC factory.
If so, I'd say the FIA roadsters are the winner! (I would lump both categories of the USRRC roadsters and both categories of the DragonSnake roadsters together, doesn't matter if they were for team use or private customers).
What were the Slalom Snakes and the Sebring Roadsters? I remember a Sebring top that extended halfway down the trunk, necessitating the dissection of the trunk so that the rearmost section would open with the hardtop in place, but weren't they just 289 models with differently styled tops? If so, which 289 model, the FIA or the USRRC? Not familiar with the Slalom Snakes, though....any info?
Cheers!
Doug
Like Thor said, ALL of the Cobra chassis were produced by AC Cars, including the Daytona Coupes.
The Sebring roadsters (CSX2127-2129) were campaigned by the Shelby American team. Surely you recognize this photo of Carroll with the cars.
The "Slalom Snake" package consisted of special wheel-tire-suspension-brake components suited for autocross and high-speed driving. CSX2537 is on display at the Shelby American Collection in Colorado.
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Hi, The early road racing cars were Cooper Fords nicknamed King Cobra but in 1967 Shelby American fielded a three car Can Am team and they were officially Shelby's King Cobra. The King Cobra was one of the first aluminum monocoque Can Am cars produced. Chassis was designed by Len Terry in England and Phil Remington (Shelby American) was the constructor. As mentioned, Dan Gurney and Shelby owned AAR and the King Cobra was the only Cobra with Eagle suspension parts and Weslake heads. Sun Dude I hope this helps!!
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Cobra Make, Engine: Cobra Auto Works body, Ron Godell Racecars chassis, 1989 Mustang GT 5.0 HO (converted to carb), W/C T-5, 3.73's in a Ford 9" Traction-Loc.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SunDude
Like Thor said, ALL of the Cobra chassis were produced by AC Cars, including the Daytona Coupes.
Thanks...I wasn't positive about the Daytonas, thought they were a styling exercise managed by Pete Brock here in the U.S. including the stretched chassis. I can see that the chassis being original, i.e. having been produced in GB by AC cars, would include them in the population specified by Thor.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SunDude
The Sebring roadsters (CSX2127-2129) were campaigned by the Shelby American team. Surely you recognize this photo of Carroll with the cars.
Absolutely...that's a photo I'm sure we've all seen many times, one of the iconic images of ol' Shel!
So...the Sebring roadsters...they don't look like slab-sides, so would they be FIA models or USRRC models? IMHO, they would not be a separate model unto themselves unless they had different chassis or body configurations. Where would they fit?
Quote:
Originally Posted by SunDude
The "Slalom Snake" package consisted of special wheel-tire-suspension-brake components suited for autocross and high-speed driving. CSX2537 is on display at the Shelby American Collection in Colorado.
I guess the "Slalom Snake" package would be similar to the Sebring roadsters...must have been some sort of modification to one of the factory iterations...either the FIA model or the USRRC model. Where would they fit, given that my understanding (once again, perhaps flawed) is that they were merely styling/equipment "options" on an already existing model.
Not sure why this issue is so important to me, I've never been much of an originality nut, but I find myself, as I plan future upgrades on my Cobra replica, looking more and more at the Originality forum and planning the upgrades so that the end result will be a more original looking replica. My car just won "Club Choice" at the 1st Annual SHSU Auto Club Car Show, but when I had the "placard" that was placed on the car as it was shown completed, I made sure it said "1966 Shelby Cobra REPLICA"...but, having said that, IMHO there is no shame in attempting to make it appear to be a more accurate replica. I really liked what Dean Lampe did with his recent Hurricane build...even went to the trouble of installing dummy wiring in the engine compartment so that it would more accurately replicate one of CS's originals...that may be a bit "extreme" for me, but I like the intent!
One more question for the originality buffs here....what were the differences between the FIA and the USRRC models? I understand the FIA models had to have "bumps" in the rear "bonnet" to accommodate the FIA required luggage. What kind of wheel flare, roll bar, etc differences would cause them to be "replicated" by our replica manufacturers as FIA vs. USRRC? For example, Unique markets an FIA replica, and I think ERA markets theirs as a USRRC replica...
Thanks, guys!
Cheers!
Dugly
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Last edited by YerDugliness; 09-28-2012 at 12:15 PM..
Reason: spelling....again....and again....it's ALWAYS spelling for some reason :-(
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Rare Cobras to me are the factory race cars...
QUOTE=SunDude;1212866]I suppose by definition "rare" means "fewest produced." So to answer your original question, I'd start by pointing out there were many one-off Cobras:
CSX2000 - original Cobra prototype and the only one with inboard rear brakes
CSX2008 - Cougar II styling concept
CSX2131 - Willment Cobra Coupe
CSX2196 - "flip top" roadster
CSX2451 - Mercer-Cobra
A-98 - AC Le Mans Coupe
CSX3001 - XD Cobra styling concept
CSB3054 - Type 65 Daytona 427 Super Coupe
CSX3055 - Willment/Ghia 427 Coupe
CSX3198 - 427 Dragon Snake
In addition there were several low-production runs of special Cobras:
427 Twin-Paxton "Super Snakes" (2 produced)
289 Slalom Snakes (2 produced)
289 Sebring roadsters, factory team cars (3 produced)
260/289 Dragon Snakes, factory team cars (2 produced)
Great list..." rare " to me means unique factory road racing history...
I would go with the FIA Team Cars.... the Daytona Coupes.... ect.... but I have to include the Willment roadster....
I don't consider drag racing sports car racing.
Certainly others will have a different opinion...but, if I could have a real one, it would be one of the FIAs by a mile.
What could be more rare than having been raced around the historic road courses of Europe in international competition by a Phil Hill or a Dan Gurney ?
Last edited by Bartruff1; 09-28-2012 at 08:45 AM..
First production 427
Unique 289 features on a 427 (roll bar, dash, front, body)
Dry Sump
The only Team 427 Cobra
Driven by four World Champions
Aluminum heads
Darn pretty to look at
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Picking almost any Shelby Cobra would seem to have something about it the others don't have. Something seemingly makes every car unique from the others. That is the benfit of having hand-built cars.
I do not remember the build number, but wasn't there a Cobra sold in the UK that never made it to Shelby or was sent back to AC to have the engine installed? It was on Ebay for a while trying to be sold.
I do not remember the build number, but wasn't there a Cobra sold in the UK that never made it to Shelby or was sent back to AC to have the engine installed?
About 10% of the total production of Cobras never went to Shelby.
There were completed by AC Cars and sold primarily outside the US.
The Flip Top would get my vote, given that it was widened, stripped of all un-necessary bits, chassis reinforced with extra tubing, doors that open out & down etc etc... I doubt there is any other cobra or coupe that had so many alterations in its time of construction & racing history [ albeit short] with the Shelby organisation.... not everyones cup of tea, but I can appreciate the rational & thought process behind its developement..
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