Autokraft AC Cobra Mk IV

[CowtownCobra]

There is an interesting auction right now over on Bring A Trailer
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1986-autokraft-cobra/

[Alfa02]

I really like the color comb. .

[twobjshelbys]

That interior hurts my eyes.

[1985 CCX]

As with any of these cars its always a banter.
Very cool car, great seller and clean car.

[Harpoon PV2]

I really like the sound! Not sewing machine quite, but not ear bleeding loud, just Goldie Locks right! Cheers, Dennis

[767Jockey]

The interiors in these cars look to me like they belong in one of those Liberace crowd Excalibur ersatz Dusenburg style disasters. It's just terrible. Nice car on the outside, but damn, that hideous interior. What the hell were they thinking?

[CowtownCobra]

Someone has bid $100,000 for that car. Its his money.....

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by CowtownCobra

Its his money.....

Or it's someone else's money. I would only bid other people's money on that car.

[Dominik]

The interior had to adhere to quite a few safety standards then. I believe Mk4s are still undervalued. Not that I can afford one...

it is basically a Mk3 chassis with similar ally body and a 302 (like the 60s COB/COX with 289 cui). Just 20 years later, when a SPF costs $100.000...

[Harpoon PV2]

Originally Posted by 767Jockey

The interiors in these cars look to me like they belong in one of those Liberace crowd Excalibur ersatz Dusenburg style disasters. It's just terrible. Nice car on the outside, but damn, that hideous interior. What the hell were they thinking?

You need to understand, these were not kit cars, or continuation cars. They were sold at Ford dealers as brand new cars, so they had to comply with the safety and emission standards of the day! The one thing they had going for them was, that the AC name was used with permission of the Hurlock family. All original Cobra's were built by AC, something that even the modern CSX Shelby cars can not claim! By all accounts, they are fun to drive, and are an important link in the Cobra story! Cheers, Dennis

[767Jockey]

Originally Posted by Harpoon PV2

You need to understand, these were not kit cars, or continuation cars. They were sold at Ford dealers as brand new cars, so they had to comply with the safety and emission standards of the day! The one thing they had going for them was, that the AC name was used with permission of the Hurlock family. All original Cobra's were built by AC, something that even the modern CSX Shelby cars can not claim! By all accounts, they are fun to drive, and are an important link in the Cobra story! Cheers, Dennis

I completely get the circumstances under which they were fitted with the terrible interior. What I don't get is the concept that this was the best they could come up with. It's terrible. The whole concept of the car is "it's not a kit car." And then - they install an interior that looks like it belongs in one of those cheesy VW based Kit Cars of the early days.

[patrickt]

Would you rather have a kit car that looks like a real car or a real car that looks like a kit car?

[xb-60]

Originally Posted by 767Jockey

...What I don't get is the concept that this was the best they could come up with. It's terrible....

I agree. If the idea was to appeal to those Cobra enthusiasts who missed the boat with the originals, then for starters, why not emulate the dash with the correct shape (some of it is there) and the correct instrumentation. I can still buy period correct Smiths gauges from Caerbont or Nisonger.

Why do this if you don't have to....?

[1985 CCX]

I too had to get used to the dash. My way of getting around the "softening" of the MKIV dash was to retro-fit the steering wheel and shifter.

Now I am at peace with it, however its still a fragile and yet great car.
To me its a great car, better than the MKII's and MKIII's that I have driven from a driving around town standpoint.
Its a lot bit slower than both but none the less a great touring car. Nothing beats a Cobra (MKI, MKII, MKIII, MKIV) for thrills, this is what I commonly call a Gentlemen's AC made to drive and enjoy.

One has to remember most of the changes to the MKIV were due to US DOT requirements which seems to the case for most cars.....
AC did make Lightweights which carried a more MKIII standard dash in some cases, these cars were touched by the 80's (as was I) and just like many cars of that era different.

I think when these cars were designed they were not trying to copy a Shelby, they wanted a Ford/AC sports car. Certainly with Ford influence they could have done anything they wanted this was just the result.
Bill Ford and Jack Rousch has them, so do I

And lastly, not sure if the radio works, never turned it on as its still a drivers car.

[CowtownCobra]

Originally Posted by 767Jockey

The interiors in these cars look to me like they belong in one of those Liberace crowd Excalibur ersatz Dusenburg style disasters. It's just terrible. Nice car on the outside, but damn, that hideous interior. What the hell were they thinking?

I just died laughing reading that, thanks hahaha

[Trevor Legate]

Since the USofA was a large market for the MkIV, the poor old car had to have impact bumpers, side-impact bars, headrests and all manner of fugly parts added to the interior. Had it only been sold in the UK and Europe, it would have been far more 'original'. Kinda ironic when you think about it. (Or even if you don't..) But happily a number of owners over here have seen the light, stripped out all the c**p and reverted to a 427-type interior. Much nicer.

[1985 CCX]

Well said Trevor

If begin to make changes to mine then I too will make it so.
Once I start changes:
1) Stroker 331
2) Dash change
3) Exhaust change

Then my feet dissapear down the rabbit hole ..................

[xb-60]

Originally Posted by Trevor Legate

Since the USofA was a large market for the MkIV, the poor old car had to have impact bumpers, side-impact bars, headrests and all manner of fugly parts added to the interior. Had it only been sold in the UK and Europe, it would have been far more 'original'. Kinda ironic when you think about it. (Or even if you don't..) But happily a number of owners over here have seen the light, stripped out all the c**p and reverted to a 427-type interior. Much nicer.

Come to think of it, it's a requirement for my car for road registration purposes that it has head rests.... but that's OK, I wouldn't feel very comfortable driving or riding in a car regularly that didn't have head rests.
Another safety requirement on my car is side impact protection in the doors; that's nice for peace of mind.... and the bonus is that they are not at all visible

Cheers!
Glen

[Trevor Legate]

I always suspected that Brian Angliss may be color-blind as some of his color combos were less than tasteful. A friend of a friend ordered a MkIV in a rather nasty shade of light metallic blue (think Kit Car) matched with a screaming scarlet red interior. It made that green/'tan' combination look good. Plus he even painted a MkIV in a weird shade of light brown that looked very unlovely.
Thinking about it I have photos of a 1964 AC Cobra that Autokraft restored and painted mid-brown - truly awful and I even photographed the nasty thing as a friend bought it!! (No longer brown, needless to say, and part of a certain Pink Floyd collection...)

[Mark IV]

Originally Posted by Trevor Legate

I always suspected that Brian Angliss may be color-blind as some of his color combos were less than tasteful. A friend of a friend ordered a MkIV in a rather nasty shade of light metallic blue (think Kit Car) matched with a screaming scarlet red interior. It made that green/'tan' combination look good. Plus he even painted a MkIV in a weird shade of light brown that looked very unlovely.
Thinking about it I have photos of a 1964 AC Cobra that Autokraft restored and painted mid-brown - truly awful and I even photographed the nasty thing as a friend bought it!! (No longer brown, needless to say, and part of a certain Pink Floyd collection...)

We had an early MK IV (AK013 if I recall correctly) that was painted to match the "Ford Blue" of the Ford oval logo as it was going to Ford for review and Brian thought that would impress the execs. It turned out to be a Toyota color and with the tan interior and black anodized wheels, it was certainly "unlovely".