AC COX / COB Information

[KevinM]

I am interested in replicating one of the AC COX cars with the narrow hip 427 body and 289 engine.

Does anyone have pictures or other information on these cars that they could share?

Thanks,

Kevin

[computerworks]

Member Nedsel has a nice spread of pictures of his car, COX6111, in the Gallery.



Look here for all the pictures...

[KevinM]

Ron,

What is the history on CSX 6111? I didn't think AC used 6000 Numbers on the 8 COX cars. His also has the frenched in racing gas cap, which I don't think was factory on those.

Thanks for the help,

Kevin

[KevinM]

The information I have been able to find so far is a couple of pages in Legate's book and 3 pages (with very poorly reproduced photos) in Clark's Cobra Gold Portfolio.

Some of the things I am trying to clarify are:

Did they use the 289 style drop center dash?

Were there any other differences in the interior from the 427 cars? (Aside from the forward placed 289 shifter.)

Thanks,

Kevin

[Jim Maxwell]

The COB/COX chassis were numbered 6101 through 6132. We were fortunate enough to have two of the original eight COX Cobras on the 2007 Cobra Moonshine Tour in North Carolina this past May, COX 6111 and COX 6126. There are indeed differences in the gas caps on the two cars. I feel sure Ned will comment on his car being Frenchy-fied. It was originally in Switzerland, perhaps the French region, and possibly caught something from the French gas that made his gas cap retreat? Just a thought.

[Jim Maxwell]

Here is a photo of the dash of COX 6126.

[KevinM]

Jim,

Thanks for the photos. Both COX6111 and COX6126 have the 427 street style dash. Clark's book has a photo of a RHD COB 289 with the drop center dash. I wonder if they only used that on the RHD cars?

That's the problem with these cars, the more you learn, the less you know.

Kevin

[A-Snake]

Foreseeing that this question would come up, here are two shots of the gas cap in question. One from COX6111 looking back to COX6126



This one looks back to CSX2555

[Jim Maxwell]

Here is the dash of COX 6111.

[A-Snake]

Originally Posted by KevinM

Jim,
Both COX6111 and COX6126 have the 427 street style dash. Clark's book has a photo of a RHD COB 289 with the drop center dash. I wonder if they only used that on the RHD cars?

Kevin

Kevin,
Is the picture you are looking at a COB 61xx or a COB 60xx car? 61xx is coil spring, 60xx is leaf spring.

[Jim Maxwell]

You might notice that the two COX cars shown here have two different styles of rear fenders. Ned will have to enlighten us regarding this.

[KevinM]

A-Snake,

It is a COB 61XX car, narrow hip 427 body with the 289 engine. It has the drop center dash with the tach and speedo set at the same height instead of one higher than the other as you see on COX6111 and COC6126. It is a reprint of an article from Autocar in 1969 so I don't think the car had been modified in any way.

Kevin

[KevinM]

Jim,

I noticed that. The pictures of the COB cars in Legate and Clark's books both show the extreme narrow hip with no flair whatsoever. I think that fender shape was only used on a handful of 427 street cars.

Kevin

[Jim Maxwell]

On page 90 of Rinsey Mills' book, Original AC Ace & Cobra is a photo of a COB 61XX car with the 289 style lower edge to the dash, with Rinsey's comment that it was in order to accomodate the clock. The instruments in 6111 and 6126 appear to be scrunched a little tighter so the flat bottom could be used, perhaps?

[Jim Maxwell]

I have reviewed the order documents on COX 6126, and there is no mention of the rear flares. The original owner custom ordered the car, with the intent of having Holman-Moody build a 427 for the car, which they did. The car was special ordered with a louvered hood, a hard top painted to match the car, and two differentials, a 3.77 and a spare 3.54. The car was ordered as an " AC 289 without engine, transmission, prop. shaft, wheels, tyres, and tubes".
However, there is a later letter,after the car was delivered from AC Cars ,responding to a request from the owner for drawings or templates necessary to modify the " wings" to accomodate the Shelby 9 1/2" rims, so that would indicate to me that COX 6126 came with the narrow fenders like the other AC 289 cars.

[KevinM]

Jim,

Thanks for checking that. Great information.

This leads to the slippery slope of; do I want to exactly recreate a standard car, or create a car as I would have configured / modified it at that time? For example, a couple of sources state that most owners switched to the Halibrand wheels soon after taking delivery. Understandable, since the wire wheels do look a bit lost in those fenders.

I never owned a car back then that stayed stock for more than a month. Headers were always the first step followed by additional modifications as I deemed necessary.

An ERA 427 kit seems like it would be a good start for this. Changing the fenders to narrow hip would certainly be the hardest of the modifications. Reshaping the fender top for the street gas cap would be fairly simple.

ERA can also supply 289 footboxes and a drop center dash if I wanted to use that.

Again thanks to everyone for their help so far,

Kevin

[KevinM]

Does anyone have good close-up photos, or better yet, measurements for the narrow hip and regular 427 street fenders? (As I understand it, the narrow hip was used on a few early 427 street cars before they went to the wider street fenders.)

I am thinking that if I started with an ERA with the street fenders and just removed the flair and reshaped the lips, I might be able to get close without having to completely redo the fenders. The big question is, with the flairs removed, how much wider are they than the narrow hip fenders?

Kevin

[1985 CCX]

QUESTION:

What type of cost is associated with buying a COB or COX car? I would assume that the car would be six figures however less than CSX?

Yes, still dreaming!
Jeff

[Jim Maxwell]

Good question, to which I have not a clue of the answer. They are so rare and so rarely sell (COX 6126 is still in the hands of the original owner and his son) that I don't know what it would take to buy one.

[mickmate]

Kevin ERA does a nice street car rear fender. I don't know if they mod an SC lip or there made in another mold. KMP has some pics on their site of the street fender also. I don't think there is much difference between SC and street fenders other than the lip. The narrow wheels looked so ungainly especially with wide rear fenders with or without a lip they made some narrow fenders. These were only made from 3125 to 3158. The narrow fenders were supposedly to improve the look with narrower wheels but they reintroduced the wide rear fenders after only those few. Customer demand sells or doesn't sell cars!