Road & Track -August 1992 Shelby Cobra 427 S/C Test

[REDSC400]

Hi Gang:

Was recently able to pick up this old issue of R&T which features a Road Test report (byJohn Lamm) of the $500,000 aluminum bodied Shelby Cobra 427 S/C. This article was both informative, puzzling and somewhat perplexing to me.

It was informative to learn that Carrol Shelby had stored away many parts and peices from the original Shelby AC Cobra 427 production run and has also pre-registered 43 non-exisitant cars in California! (in hopes to someday build them and avoid upcoming anti-smog and air polution regulations by having the cars grandfathered). Some forward thinking on Carroll Shelby's part!

Puzzling in that in the article, Shelby says that he stored away all the parts, engines, for the AC Cobra 427 S/C's that he never assembled. Sadly, according to the article, Shelby did not have the foresight to store away brake components. He said he spent nearly $2 Million dollars to build the tooling and molds to cast the Girling front brakes. "I started from scratch, took a caliper, cut it up, did the drawings and made the molds, we also had to redo the kingpins, rear hubs, center sections, steering wheels"

Shelby then admits (this is 1992 remember), his goal is only to sell only one or two or three of these $500K cars. He also updated the "very soft aluminum hand formed bodies". "So I built the new bodies (made locally) out of much stronger material".

Also stub axles, halfshafts, and so forth are made of aircraft-quality metal. Also Goodyear built us an new radial tire (Goodyear Blue Streak 6.00-15 Front and 8.00-15 Rear) with aluminum Halibrand style wheels. (the original magnisium had a habit of corroding over the years)

Now for the perplexing part of the road test. Other than a picture, there is no mention of the engine, carb, cam, crank, intake maifold, clutch, transmission (although one can deduce it is the Close Ratio 4 Speed Toploader), shocks, etc. This is sad (in my opinion) as I was hoping to get some insight on those component choices. The engine is indeed shown with the plain, chromed, pentroof covers, turkey pan, Stellings Air Cleaner on what is stated to be a Holley 730CFM carb. The engine block is cast iron with iron heads 4.24 X 3.79 bore and stoke. Rated horsepower is 425 at 6000 RPM with max torque at 480 Lb-Ft at 3700 RPM. Compression is 10.5:1 and.

Breaks were considered "good" but the 95 Lbs of pedal force needed to elicit a .5G stop from 60 MPH is accurate. (the same issue road tests the Viper of 1992 as well as the 1992 ZR-1 Corvette which require only 22 Lbs and 24 Lbs respectivly for the same brake test. (no wonder so many new Cobra replica owners, without power assisted brakes do often question the braking capability and pressure needed!)

All in all, I am happy to have this Road & Track roadtest of the 427 S/C. Sad, that Shelby seems to talk down the contribution of AC Motors of England in the development of the Shelby AC Cobra. Sad, that the writer (John Lamm) of Road and Track did not do a more technical article to suit my tastes. Happy that the article starts with the words RUMPA-RUMPA-RUMPA.... and ends with them as well.

BTW, RUMPA would make a nice vanity plate.

Grab this old Issue of Road & Track.... RUMPA!

[Bart Carter]

Sad that R and T did not do more research to find out the whole scam the Shelby was doing. I guess he was lucky not to be arrested.

[Bud Man]

These early, McCluskey-built cars were exquisite, befitting their 1/2 million dollar asking price. Bodies hand formed as the original, with the power train fairly faithful to the original 1965 configuration, with iron block and heads, toploader, et al. I have had the opportunity of seeing several over the years, and the workmanship and attention to detail is superb. What you would expect from McCluskey. However, I have never fully appreciated their raison d'etre, given the fact that originals could, and still can, be had at that price, and less.

I remember vividly the excitement generated when the rumors began surfacing about the so-called lost chassis's. When Shelby announced that he would begin production, AC Cars categorically denied that any such chassis's - if they existed - were manufactured by AC Cars. A legal battle ensued, and a compromise of sorts was reached with Shelby releasing a statement that all of the CSX 3000 continuation cars were and would be, of "wholly North American construction".

Also in that statement is the disclaimer that these cars were being sold as "off-highway race cars"" only. I believe this may have been the punishment from the Peoples Republik of Kalifornia, as any CSX 3000 continuation cars sold today must carry the warning that they are NOT licensible for street use in that state.

All things considered, pretty light.

Yours in Significantly Cheaper (but licensible) AluMINium Polish Replicas,

Bud

[snakeeyes]

Bud, I'm with you. You can't license 'em, so they can't legally be street-driven, and most sanctioning bodies won't accept them as a vintage racing car, so you can't use 'em for that, either. Seems to me you've either got the world's prettiest paperweight or the world's most expensive trackday car...

[Cal Metal]

You still see them come forth at auctions on occasion. They still get some serious money, although I am at a loss as to why. As Snakeeyes so deftly stated, a very expensive paperweight or trailer queen, and, at best, just another replica.

[Excaliber]

I've always wondered just what Kalif's problem was not allowing them to be licensed. All though difficult, you can license other models.

,,,,,hmmmmmm, except for some SPF's I guess. Again, not sure what the details are concerning them.

Ernie

[computerworks]

Originally posted by Excaliber


I've always wondered just what Kalif's problem was not allowing them to be licensed. All though difficult, you can license other models.

Ernie... here's the short story (the 'long' one is ugly)..
In 1993, the LA Times (Paul Dean) ran an investigative piece questioning the saga of the completion cars, revealing they were just 'pipes at McCluskey's shop', rather than finished frames and bodies left over from 1965. It seems the cars were titled as 1965 models with duplicate titles issued by CA DMV in 1991-92. Statements made to their authenticity were made under penalty of perjury.

The settlement of the case resulted in the revocation of the paperwork for the 43 cars and the agreement that they would NEVER be titled or registered in the state of California.

[Excaliber]

Thanks Ron, the short version cleared that up nicely!

Heres an interesting thread about one of these cars for sale right now!

http://www.clubcobra.com/forums/show...563#post411563

Ernie