Were They Ever Just Cars?

[HealeyRick]

[1795]

I would imagine for some people they were. They were a daily driven car that looked cool and was fast. If I had enough money to have one back in the day, or even today, I would drive it on the road and enjoy the hell out of it. They were meant to be cars, not museum pieces or investments.

Jim

[Tommy]

Around 1968 I worked Summer and Winter quarters at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama as an engineering co-op student. The daily commute to the base was crowded and slow as thousands of employees went to work at the same time. One winter I found myself creeping toward work along side a Shelby Cobra about every week or so. It was apparently someone's daily driver. I always heard it before I saw it. I was enamored by Corvettes at the time and I recall thinking that it looked very uncomfortable with its ill-fitting soft top and open side windows. Stop and go traffic and my lack of automotive knowledge at the time made it look unappealing as the only car I might own. And I couldn't afford one back then either.

[Tom Wells]

Tommy,

Interesting backstory. I worked at Redstone in 1962, taking instruction from our half of the Peenemunde rocket crew (the other half went to Russia) on the Saturn V S1-C booster program. I didn't see any Cobras then, but there weren't many around at that time ;-)

Tom

[Harpoon PV2]

The photo bellow should answer your question! In the August 1983 issue of Road & Track, they did a shoot out, between a Contemporary, and ERA Cobra Vs an original SC. I will let you guess which one the below photo, with the Momo steering wheel and tacky plastic cobra belonged to! Cheers, Dennis

[t walgamuth]

They were never really just cars. They were and are race cars. Some people choose to drive them on the street then and now.

I drive mine on the street but am always vigilant like when I used to ride motorcycles.

[Dan Case]

Originally Posted by Tommy

Around 1968 I worked Summer and Winter quarters at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama as an engineering co-op student. The daily commute to the base was crowded and slow as thousands of employees went to work at the same time. One winter I found myself creeping toward work along side a Shelby Cobra about every week or so. It was apparently someone's daily driver. I always heard it before I saw it. ...

I grew up in Huntsville. In the late 1960s there were at least eleven (11) Cobras, one 427 Cobra, and a GT40 MKI in Huntsville. There was a red with white GT40 MKII owned by a man on Mud Tavern Road just south of Decatur. It was kept in a very small wooden shed maybe 60 feet from the road. I got to talk to the former owner about the car about twelve years ago to see what he still recalled. I saw the car in person at a SAAC Convention years later. I long since forgot its chassis number. Yes, he occasionally drove the GT on the streets to a few local car shows. A Ford engineer at the Ford casting plant near Florence saw the car on highway going the opposite direction one weekend in the mid 1970s (before Ford sold the plant). Circa 1981 the owner drove the GT to a car show at Point Mallard but did not enter it in the show. He just parked in spectator parking. I was driving my Boss 302 Mustang that day.

Dr. Johnson off Pulaski Pike had a rouge iris painted Cobra he bought new and a spare aluminum transmission in a wooden crate that he ordered at the same time he ordered the car. I never knew the chassis number. Tom Odom owned drove and raced CSX2465 and he lived on Drake Avenue about a half mile or so from where I grew up. He lived just a couple of blocks from Jordan Lane. He drove the Cobra to work on the Arsenal sometimes. He sold it and bought a Chapparal (spelling?) Can-Am car that had been used in making of a movie. The camera pod was still on the car and he mounted a movie camera on it and filmed as he drove around Huntsville. In 1999 he spent the afternoon showing me movies of the Cobra and Chapparal including a movie somebody took as he drove the Chapparal through the Arsenal gate. The last time I visited Tom was in 1999 and he gave me the catalogs he use to buy street and race parts for CSX2465 directly from Shelby American.

A mechanic at one of the car dealers, cannot recall either’s name anymore, had two Cobras at the same time. He eventually opened his own car restoration business not far from Woody Anderson Ford. The owner of the news stand at Parkway City (a strip mall back then) had three Cobras at the same time. That company turned into Anderson News. The owner of a Corvette shop bought a green 427 Cobra in Atlanta at auction as theft salvage and brought it back to Huntsville and repaired it sometime before 1971, I don’t recall exactly. I bought a used Cobra emblem from him at the time and I still have it in a display case.

There was a 427 Cobra that use to street race on the causeway at the bridge in Decatur, we think the owner lived in Athens. Another 427 Cobra was wadded up into a mess south of Decatur when it struck another vehicle that was stopped. The remains of the car sat out in a field until 427 Cobra values got high enough for somebody to recreate the car from the wreck.

Tommy Andrews (Ford racer himself and helped prepare a Cobra and GT40 for Le Mans he told me.) supervised the destruction of a wrecked Cobra for an insurance company. He kept the steering wheel, engine and transmission, and the remainder was cut into pieces with that giant shear at Hines Metals. No, he had no idea what the chassis number was in 1972 when he told me about it. The engine, transmission, and steering wheel went into a hot rod build, and I did get to see the hot rod at a car show.

CSX2144 was parked at the Cabana Apartments about two blocks from our house. I went to look at it frequently. I tried to buy it for years. It was owned by an airline pilot and his lady friend lived on the second floor of the building on the right as you entered the Bayless Drive side entrance. We lived on Bayless.

The last Cobra I knew of to leave Huntsville was circa 1981. There was a red car for sale in the paper in Jones Valley. It was on an open trailer in a garage. The lighting was not great but there was plenty of evidence underneath that it had hit something and was repaired not so well. I passed and bought a Cobra I had known since 1977 in 1983 a week after we moved to Decatur.

Dan

PS. My spreadsheet indicates that I bought 1970 Boss 429 Mustang I had back then on December 6, 1974 for $1,750.00. About two days later CSX2465 was for sale in the Huntsville Times. The car was under an army surplus type canvas tarp under some pine trees on Drake Avenue. The race tires were flat, the magnesium wheels were corroded to black with white speckles, all the original street parts removed for racing were hanging on nails in a garage, and the Weberized engine and transmission had been removed and transplanted into the owner’s Fairlane. The seller was keeping the engine and transmission. The price $1,900ish. I was the first one there but I had just cleaned out my accounts to buy the Mustang and I could not afford that day to fill the fuel tank of the Mustang. No, he would not trade, I asked. I believe a racer from Birmingham scooped it up later that day.

[xb-60]

Dan, you're a national treasure. Cobra cars are at an age now where first hand accounts like yours are becoming increasingly rare.
Thank you for your Cobra reminiscing

Cheers!
Glen

[Buzz]

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

They were never really just cars. They were and are race cars. Some people choose to drive them on the street then and now.

I drive mine on the street but am always vigilant like when I used to ride motorcycles.

The overwhelming majority of Cobras were sold as street cars and never set tire on a racetrack.

[1795]

In order to qualify as production race cars, at least 100 had to be made as street cars, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to compete in the manufacturer's classes.

[Alfa02]

This post reminds me of a good friend of my Fathers, who after coming back from Viet Nam, saved his money there, was going to buy a "NEW" 67 XKE his dream car. At the Jag dealership just happened to be a 65 Ferrari 250GTE, which was $2000 more than a new Jag, made the deal, with the extra $2000 bank loan, and the Ferrari's off to its new home. Only problem was Doug was a welder by trade and didn't have any money left for a truck to haul his welding supplies, you guessed it, for a year that Ferrari hauled welding tanks in the trunk One Saturday my dad asked if I wanted to go for a ride in Doug's Ferrari (Oh You Bet) when we pull up to Doug's shop the DIRTEST looking Ferrari you could ever imagine was sitting there, but once in inside that V12 sound oh'lordy 7000 grand in 3rd gear was good for a 100mph, with two more gear's to go!! I will always remember my first Ferrari ride Cheers Tom.

[Chicagowil]

I was a senior in High School in Concord, CA in 1969. I had a 55 Chevy BelAir 2 door hardtop that had been repainted dark green metallic. One of my school buddies had a next-door neighbor that had recently gotten out of Dental school, was single and in his own practice.

I had popped by to pick up Hale for an event. As I pulled up in front of Hale's house, I could see this dark green 2-seater sports car in the next-door driveway. A guy had just come out of the house and when I got out of my car, he shouted "nice car- love the color". I said the same back to him. The colors were so close you could have thought they were painted together!

He came over and wanted to know more about my car, so I gave him the nickel tour.

I them asked him about his car. He took me over and said it was a Cobra. I had seen them in my Road & Track mags of course but was unsure. Just remember it had some of the sexiest lines I had ever seen on a car! As I remember it visually now, I think it was a most likely a street version 427 in what I suspect was ivy green metallic.

He asked me if I had ever been in a Cobra and of course I said "No". So, he took me for a ride. What a car! I think it was the 2nd fast accelerating car I have ever been in (the 1st was a MG TD about the same time with w "built" Chevy 350, about 400 HP- scariest ride I have ever had). He said it was his only car and it was his daily wheels. He said he would enjoy his life as long as he was single.

That was how I became "Snake bit". Don't know whatever happened to him and the car.

Reconnected with Hale about 10 yrs ago thru one of the social pages- he lives in Hawaii now. He remembered the car, he was not much of a car guy, but lost track of the neighbor when he went to college. I think he said the neighbor had moved away when he came home.

[Buzz]

Originally Posted by Alfa02

This post reminds me of a good friend of my Fathers, who after coming back from Viet Nam, saved his money there, was going to buy a "NEW" 67 XKE his dream car. At the Jag dealership just happened to be a 65 Ferrari 250GTE, which was $2000 more than a new Jag, made the deal, with the extra $2000 bank loan, and the Ferrari's off to its new home. Only problem was Doug was a welder by trade and didn't have any money left for a truck to haul his welding supplies, you guessed it, for a year that Ferrari hauled welding tanks in the trunk One Saturday my dad asked if I wanted to go for a ride in Doug's Ferrari (Oh You Bet) when we pull up to Doug's shop the DIRTEST looking Ferrari you could ever imagine was sitting there, but once in inside that V12 sound oh'lordy 7000 grand in 3rd gear was good for a 100mph, with two more gear's to go!! I will always remember my first Ferrari ride Cheers Tom.

Ferrari wouldn't have been happy to hear that, lol! They're pretty heavy handed about what owners can do with their cars in the first year of ownership, ie: modifying, painting and even reselling. I read somewhere that Justin Bieber (sp?) got banned permanently from new Ferrari ownership for repainting/modifying and selling his 458.

I also heard years back about a US pig farmer who carried pigs around in his Rolls Royce (or maybe it was a Cadillac?) and was sent a cease and desist letter from the manufacturer. The story goes that he told them to stuff it - said without his hogs he'd never have had the money to buy the car in the first place! Proper thing, I think!
I doubt ol' Shelby would've cared if someone carried a pig or a sheep in a Cobra. He probably would've done it himself if the need ever arose!

[Alfa02]

I believe. the Ferrari rule about selling the cars before the first year, was started, around the (84-87) 288GTO were being produced. and continued though the F-40,50, Enzo, Etc.
As private owners were selling them for 100's of thousand over what they bought them for. Besides Buzz, the 1965 250GTE was 2-years old when Doug bought it in 1967.

[Alfa02]

I believe. the Ferrari rule about selling the cars before the first year, was started, around the (84-87) 288GTO were being produced. and continued though the F-40,50, Enzo, Etc.
As private owners were selling them for 100's of thousand over what they bought them for. Besides Buzz, the 1965 250GTE was 2-years old when Doug bought it in 1967.

[incoming]

Wow Dan, we've walked the same roads at different times. I just sold my house on Archer Dr. a couple of years ago. Owned it for 18yrs. When I bought it, people were walking their dogs and jogging through the neighborhood. It's much different now.

[Chicagowil]

A friend of mine in the Chicago suburbs is into Rolls Royce cars. A few years ago, he saw a very low milage Rolls for sale, Not a great model, a Sliver Shadow. But the price was so low, he had to check it out. It was in the Lake Forest area, one of the money areas of Chicagoland.

When he got there, he saw 2 Silver Shadows! different colors- but from the street they looked very nice. When he rang the doorbell, an eldery lady ansered the door and said she was the one selling the car.

My friend approached the car she indicated was for sale and when he looked into the car, he noticed the rear seat and carpets were destroyed!

It turned out that this car was used to transport her dogs! The other car was for her personal use.

He decided there was so much damage (seat, carpet, door cards, & headliner) that he would decline since the repair was about what she was asking for the car.

Can you say, "Too much money?"

[Harpoon PV2]

I only had one ride in a Ferrari, though I have driven a few. Back around 1966, my parents had a detail shop in Tucson. My dad had a sense of humor, so he sent me out as passenger, I didn't know much, just a funny looking little foreign convertible, but I recognized the name. The driver was a guy named Clem, yes he looked just like his name, a mountain of a man! It must have been quite the sight, me, just looking over the dash, and Clem looking completely over the windshield! I had no fear, so I didn't notice how fast we were going. Oh how I wish some one would of had a camera. Cheers, Dennis

[rms427]

I purchased csx3225 in 1968 by getting my dad to cosign on a loan as I graduated from college. I spent a week convincing it would be worth more than the $4,995 asking price. I was 6'7" at the time and didn't tell my dad that when the seller offered to let my drive it I couldn't figure out how to get behind the wheel. When I purchased it I found I could just step over the steering wheel and slide in. I removed the seat frame rails and bolted the seat directly to the floor that added head room with the top on. I drove it as my everyday car for the first 4 years. It had 9,000 miles when I purchased it and I added about 48,000 miles over those 4 years. The longest trip during that time was about 800 miles on our honeymoon. I also slalomed the car and went on number of ralley's including several 12 hour SCCA ralley's. Currently the car has about 85,000 miles on it.

[hazards280]

Considering the work required to drive a Cobra in all elements, I would assume most of them were secondary vehicles for people both when they were new, and today.

Unless the climate is as such that warm weather and sun can be counted on most of the time, the extra work and risk of driving in the rain would have me second guessing usage as "just a car".