Color of Sidepipes

[Larry N Johnson]

Sal,
You are probably right as far as "good sources for originality" but both CSX-3002 and CSX-3016 are very expensive cars, much more value than our humble rides. So if those owners invested in white pipes, I would not hesitate if that is what I wanted. Others may feel the same.
Larry

[Power Surge]

Originally Posted by Larry N Johnson

Sal,
You are probably right as far as "good sources for originality" but both CSX-3002 and CSX-3016 are very expensive cars, much more value than our humble rides. So if those owners invested in white pipes, I would not hesitate if that is what I wanted. Others may feel the same.
Larry

That may be true, but.... copying restoration modifications is not really with the premise of originality .

[Larry N Johnson]

true statement, Sal.

If I do another, it will have white sidepipes.

[santij]

Originally Posted by computerworks

Guys...you're on a side trip....

The original question:



Side pipes on Comp and S/C came either black or white paint; the customer could specify.

BTW, The Mills book is good, but not always correct.

what about the "chromed" side pipes, these are just dress-ups that the owners did?

thanks.

[computerworks]

Originally Posted by santij

what about the "chromed" side pipes, these are just dress-ups that the owners did?

thanks.

On Comp and S/C's, I believe the owners would have done the chroming after delivery. Certainly most Comp cars would be painted, altho I know of at least one that got chromed while it was still competing, but it was delivered with black pipes, like most were.

[Cobra #3170]

Originally Posted by Power Surge

Right. A street car is a street car. No side pipes, no hood scoop, no roll bar. Any street car that has those items, had them added after the car was delivered new.

I just happened to see this quote while looking at this particular thread regarding side pipe colors. In the interest of stopping misinformation, the street cars had as options side pipes, oil coolers, roll bars, hood scoops, flared rear fenders and 9.5" rear wheels. How do I know, because they were all offered to me as options on my car and they were not "dealer Installed" but were installed by Shelby American at their LAX facility. PS I have a copy of the original invoice showing these as Shelby American installed options.
While I am at it, the cars were referred to as AC Cobras not Shelby Cobras by all the owners at the time that I knew, because none of us wanted anybody to think we had Shelby Mustangs.

[ERA Chas]

3170,
Would you mind posting a photo(s) of your car? It would be great to see an original owner car.

[Cobra #3170]

Thanks for asking but I think you would be disappointed in the photo's, I have modified the car with racing seats, an original racing windshield, trunk mounted dry sump, 2 1/8 " primaries on the side pipes, Jongbloed 16x11 front and 16x12 rear wheels, revised suspension parts and electronic fuel injection on a 498 cid Shelby aluminum block with Blue Thunder heads, so it would be of no value to those members that are looking for original configurations.
I do have all the original parts however, so the car can be returned to as purchased condition by my heirs. I intend to enjoy it in the meantime with upgrades that keep it competitive with modern cars.

[ERA Chas]

3170,
Thanks for an honest reply but I never get tired of seeing any Cobra photos. The point is that you're enjoying your car and have taken a path less travelled.
Your information contribution about the pipes and options is appreciated as it is firsthand, not reference-studied like most of my Cobra knowledge.
Don't wish to hijack the thread but a few shots in your gallery would be of interest.

[Cobra #3170]

Thanks for the request, I posted a bunch but did not know how to edit, There is a picture of Dick Smith and my wife at his wedding party and it came out "modified street car" it is actually Dicks SC but I did not know how to change that, oh well everybody knows Dick's car. The photo's show what has to be done to make the original cars handle as they should. The geometry was really bad on all original 427 cars.

[ERA Chas]

3170,
Thank you. The photos are a wealth of detail and the car is all business with care to appearances. Excellent!

[DougD]

I have followed this thread with interest as I'm one of those nutso guys that prefers cars restored or created as close to an original as possible.

The comments by Cobra #3170 are especially interesting due to his intimate knowledge of an original Cobra.

One thing to remember, though. We have a viewpoint available to us today in the form of SAAC's Cobra Registry that allows us to judge how they were really built vs how they could have been built. It's pretty hard to argue with an original Shelby American invoice. Many options were available, but the truth is that few, if any, street Cobras were built with side pipes, roll bars, hood scoops and the like. We seldom see a replica built that doesn't replicate an S/C, so most assume that's the way they all came.......