COBRA Bell Housing Origination?

WardL · #1 (**permalink**) 10-26-2010, 09:59 PM

A friend asked me if you guys would know anything about this bell housing with COBRA printed on it:

He said the engine is a 1968. What is it? Who made it, etc? Any ideas?

BT SNAKE · #2 (**permalink**) 10-27-2010, 02:07 AM

That is a 164 iron bell Housing . It was an over the counter piece from Ford. They became available in 1968,

Hersh

mickmate · #3 (**permalink**) 10-27-2010, 05:03 AM

That's a nice piece. I believe it will have some NHRA lettering also for drag racing.

WardL · #4 (**permalink**) 10-27-2010, 10:37 PM

OK, thanks. The 164 refers to the number of teeth in the flywheel? Is this a racing explosion proof type bellhousing? Did it match up to the Windsor block?

289ACE · #5 (**permalink**) 10-29-2010, 08:12 AM

Wardl,
Until this thread I had thought the original Cobra scattershields were made in the 63-64 time frame and they included 5 and 6 bolt versions for early and late 289s. They were scattershields (not just bellhousings) and carried the NHRA designation on the side of the housing just behind the starter housing. They carry a Ford P/N, C5DA-6592-A, and have "Wedge" in the casting which may be the manufacturer. They are not built to be lightweight and tip the scales at about 60lbs. There was at least 1 run of repops somewhere along the line for the 6 bolt version (maybe a couple of runs), but I do not think the 5 bolt version has ever been redone. In case you have a 5 bolt version laying around, there are some original cobra owners who have offered a couple of thousand for one. Another interesting feature of the 6 bolt versions is the dual pattern transmission mount. They would accept either the early narrow pattern toploader or the later wide pattern and you can see this in the pic you posted. If you want any detailed pics I can pull one out that I have (not sure if it is original or a repop) and send or post them.
Jay

Edit: I added a couple of pics of my scattershield to my gallery.