Download pdf - COBRA TURBO PROTOTYPE FOUND · scribed it as a replica, but not a kit car. Got that? It is powered by a 352 FE. Obviously a lightweight model that could have been a prototype for

The SHELBY AMERICAN Spring 2014 1

Notes from the SAAC Mail Room.There’s something that’s been

bugging us for quite a while, and thisis probably as good a time as any to getit off our chest. It seems that some peo-ple think the terms “engine” and“motor” are interchangeable. They’renot. An engine converts chemical en-ergy into mechanical energy. A motorconverts electric energy into mechani-cal energy. They are not the samething, and it shouldn’t be that difficultto make the distinction. But every timewe see someone say “427 motor” wecringe.

We suspect this may have gottenstarted back in the 1950s when hot rodmagazines first became popular. Thewriters of these magazines wereyounger and tended to have morehands-on experience in the hot roddingworld than did older, more formally-trained writers. Being younger andmore in touch with rodding scene, theystarted using various terms like “mill”to describe an engine. We distinctly re-call reading that although we rarelyheard anyone use that term in spokenlanguage, unless it was by someonewho was desperately trying to be hip.

All this was probably understand-able; writers in these magazines weretrying to keep their articles fresh andwould often insert slang terms to makethings more interesting. They werespeaking to youngsters, not Englishmajors or mechanical engineers. Theywould call a supercharger a “blower” or“puffer.” Pistons were called “slugs”and two-barrel carburetors were“jugs.” Engines were bored andstroked, cylinders were “punched out”and automatic transmissions werecalled “slush boxes.” Cars were “rods”or “shorts” and they were nosed anddecked, chopped and channeled,frames were “Z-ed” and front axleswere dropped. They were “raked” andheadlights and taillights were“frenched.” Calling an engine a motorwas, to them, no big deal. It was justanother color on their palette. And thistype of automotive shorthand is stillwith us today. Unfortunately.

COBRA TURBO PROTOTYPE FOUND !

We didn’t even know it was missing. [Rimshot.] Do we really need to comment onthis car? It was spotted recently at a swapmeet in Phoenix, Arizona by Colin Comerwho only got close enough to take thesepictures before he took off like a castratedchimpanzee. The sign taped to the door de-scribed it as a replica, but not a kit car. Gotthat? It is powered by a 352 FE. Obviouslya lightweight model that could have beena prototype for the 390 CID engine used inthe original Flip Top. “Restore to your de-sires” covers a lot of ground. The $15,000OBO price is too good to believe. We espe-cially like the rear exhaust treatment.


What’s the beef? It’s a matter of accu-racy. We try hard to maintain high ed-itorial standards and in a world of140-character texts, no capitals orpunctuation and trendy acronyms itsometimes seems like we’re drivingsouth in the northbound lane.

Making History. It all startedwhen a video link was forwarded to usfrom Gary Goeringer, who stays on topof stuff like this so we don’t have to. If“crashes at a hot corner” raises yourcuriosity factor, here’s the link: www.motorsport.com/vintage/video/main-gallery/highlights-tour-auto-2014-crashes-at-a-hot-corner

It wasn’t an especially long video;it was taken by an amateur who wasstanding on the inside of a corner of arally stage in France, catching some ofthe cars as they approached a blindcorner in a heavily-wooded section.Car after car locked its brakes and afew skidded off the outside of the roadinto the dirt and bushes. They were agood mix of typical vintage racers: Fer-raris, Porsches, Alfas, Jaguars, Mus-tangs and, yes, Cobras.

After two or three small block Co-bras attempted the decreasing radiuscurve (some with more success thanothers) a light went off over our head.All of the Cobras had LeMans hard-tops. What’s going on here?

We don’t know for certain, but wethink we have an idea. Let’s see howthis plays. These cars are all brandnew (or they were, fairly recently).They were Kirkhams, newer ACs orCSX7000s. They had alloy bodies andmost were finished to Cobra race spec-ifications (cutback doors, FIA fenders,hood and oil cooler scoops and wideHalibrand wheels). And they had Le-Mans style hardtops which are appar-ently popular in European vintagecircles. But the cars had no history.

It would be insane to expect theowner of an original Cobra to drivetheir car as hard as this, what withprices for street cars beginning toreach into the $750K to $900K range,and higher than that for legitimatecompetition cars. Current reproduc-tions will cost you between $100K and$150K. What’s the difference? History.Current cars have nothing to do withCarroll Shelby and Shelby Americanor Shelby’s 1960s sales network.

1300 KM THROUGH FRANCE IN 5 DAYS

The French Tour Auto Optic 2000 isreminiscent of the original Tour de Franceduring the Cobra Ferrari Wars of the mid1960s. This is a vintage version. This year’sevent ran for five days in early April andsaw 236 entries in two classes: competitionand “regularity” (stock street cars). Therules allow replicas as long as they con-form to original specifications, and there isno shortage of those. With more availableevery day.

The route began in Paris and led thecompetitors to four overnights, four racecircuits and nine special rally stages beforefinishing in Marseilles on the Mediter-ranean. The smaller back roads woundthrough the French countryside. A quicklook at the entry list revealed eight Co-bras, two GT40s, four Panteras, a ‘63Galaxie and eight Mustangs. The winningcar was a Cobra, driven by the Britishteam of Shaun Lynn and Kevin Kivlochan.

These pictures were taken from the websitevideo and because they were shot with a hand-held camera they are not in focus,


No one can go back into the past,but time for these reproduction carsbegan when they were purchased bytheir original owners. And whateverhappens to them or with them repre-sents their history. And it is open-ended. Granted, participating in avintage race or one-week road rallylike the French Tour Auto doesn’tbegin to compare with winning at theNürburgring or LeMans. But it issomething if that’s all you have. Andyou can always build on it.

MUSTANG RADIO SUPRESSORS

Sooner or later if there’s a largeenough demand, it will be supplied. Vir-ginia Mustang’s Brant Halterman deter-mined that concours quality used or NOSMustang (and Ford and Mercury) radio su-pressors, also called capacitors and used onall cars with radios, were impossible tofind anywhere. They are mounted near thevoltage regulator. His answer: have exactduplicates reproduced. The cost is $29.95.For more details: www.virginiaclassic-mustang.com

Although the supressors, themselves, are all the same internally, the different yearshave different part numbers: 1965 [left], 1966 {center] and 1967-1971 [right]. They are,of course, licensed by Ford.

1 CHANCE in 4000 TO WIN THIS GT500

The Shelby American Collection museum in Boulder, Colorado has announced it’s 2014Raffle fundraiser. For a $50 ticket you could own this new, black and red GT500 con-vertible (MSRP a touch over $68K) with a 662 horsepower 5.8 liter DOHC 32-valve su-percharged and intercooled engine backed by a TREMAC 6-speed. The drawing will beheld during the museum’s annual fundraising party on Saturday, August 30 at 6 p.m.and you don’t have to be present to win. Only 4,000 tickets will be sold. Check theirwebsite: www.shelbymustangraffle.com for the raffle details. It includes a counterwhich will tell you the number of tickets currently sold.

CAUSES OF

INSOMNIA #42

We did a double-take when we saw this ‘74Fiat on eBay Motors. Is it our imaginationor when you see it does your brain scream“BRE”? And speaking of a screamingbrain, is this the kind of thing that makesPeter Brock jerk straight up in bed at 4a.m., start hyperventilating and break outin a cold sweat? There is, obviously, adownside to fame and notoriety.


GLOBE-TROTTING COBRA

When SAAC member Dr. Ernie Naga-matsu showed up at the Melbourne, Aus-tralia Grand Prix with CSX2203 and MaxBalchowsky’s Old Yeller 2, AustralianSAAC Rep Nez Demaj had him coveredlike a black Stetson. Nagamatsu has racedhis Cobra virtually everywhere they havevintage races (forgive us if the list is toolong to include here). We’d be willing to betthat everywhere he goes SAAC membersfind him. Like Nez did.

DON’T LET YOUR KID SEE THIS !

Spotted on the Internet: Portuguese engi-neer and designer Ernesto Freitas builtthis Cobra for his son. Scratch-built andhand-crafted from fiberglass and poweredby a 50cc/7hp engine, it reportedly does 25mph. He said it took him 1,600 hours tocomplete. Having finished it, he is now con-sidering a production version, with a turn-key price of $21,000. Unassembled kitsmay also be available. All we can say is,“Quick, Billy, behind you! Look at thepuppy!”


will the FORD GT tally

someday GO INTO NEGATIVE NUMBERS ?Burgy s

Ford GT Corner

Another Ford GT accident was splashedacross the tabloids in February, not be-cause of the car (more about that in aminute) but because it was driven by thebrother of Hollywood actress SalmaHayek. Sami Hayek’s passenger, Ian Cut-ter Sala, was killed when the TungstenFord GT Hayek was driving crossed thecenterline and collided with a Toyota pick-up. Sala was a Grammy Award-winningart director and photographer. It isthought the car belonged to someone else.Hayek, described as a furniture designer,was hospitalized for several broken ribsand a cut to his head.

The accident happened on SunsetBoulevard in the tony Beverly Crest areaof Los Angeles. Heading west, the roadpasses North Whittier Drive and turnsinto a wide, ninety-degree curve which hasproven deceptive at high speeds, especiallyfor drivers of exotic cars. It was the subjectof the 1964 hit song, “Dead Man’s Curve”by Jan and Dean (written by Brian Wil-son, Roger Christian and Jan Berry). Asone of the iconic teenage tragedy songs ofthe 1960s, it described a street race be-tween a Jaguar XKE and a CorvetteStingray. The Stingray’s driver relates thestory to a doctor as he is dying. The crashtook place on Dead Man’s Curve. The songreached number eight on the Billboard Hot100 singles chart that year.

Two years later, Jan Berry crashed hisCorvette into a parked truck a short dis-tance from Dead Man’s Curve, receivingsevere head injuries that put him into acoma for nearly two months. He sufferedbrain damage and partial paralysis whichleft him with minimal use of his right arm.He was forced to learn to write with his lefthand. Although he was eventually able totake the stage again with his partner DeanTorrence, he was never the same after theaccident. [In a side note, in 1977 Jan Berryand Dean Torrence purchased CSX3264and kept the red, 428-powered Cobra until1983.] Jan Berry died in 2004 after suffer-ing a seizure. Torrence still does concertsand serves as the spokesman for the Cityof Huntington Beach which is nationallyrecognized as “Surf City USA” due to Janand Dean’s 1963 hit song.

With Ford GTs regularly commandingat least double their original list price of$140K, they have become like Cobras: nocar is too damaged to be repaired. Deter-mining what percentage of the originalbuild (4038) has been wrecked or severely

damaged is proving to be impossible forthe Ford GT Registrar. You would think itwould be easy because of the computer-generated reports body shops are requiredto submit. Anyone with access to a com-puter can research the history of a car onCarFax. The problem is that this databaseonly includes a line item in the report not-ing that the car was involved in an acci-dent. No details are provided. Also, whensome Ford GTs are wrecked they are re-paired without paperwork (spelled “cash”)or by specialty shops such as The GT Guysin Flat Rock, Michigan, X2 Rebuilders inGranite City, Illinois or Andy’s House ofPerformance in Lufkin, Texas. They haveall realized the value of doing work onthese cars under the radar. The GT Guysare estimated to have rebuilt more than300 cars by themselves. And don’t forgetthat Mayfair Vehicle Systems in Norwalk,Ohio built a number of extra “body-in-white” cars after production ended, for usein repairing future wrecks.

The wrecked GT situation has “1970sCobras” written all over it. With shellsturning up at one dismantler, engines atanother and transmissions at a third, itwon’t be long before cars are rebuilt usingoriginal VINs built around these compo-nents. It won’t be a pretty sight when twoor three owners step forward to argue thateach of them has the right to a VIN basedon the original parts used in the rebuild.

Jeff Burgy takes his job as Ford GT Reg-istrar seriously. He has, at last count, 132GTs in his database which have beentagged as “wrecks.” He figures that’s prob-ably about ten percent of the actual num-ber of cars that have suffered significant

damage. Probably ten to fifteen percent ofthem are running around on salvage titles.

The problem with wrecked and rebuiltcars is something that SAAC has becomeacquainted with as the values of Cobras,and then Shelbys, have continued to esca-late. Ford GTs are new to the party. Mostpublic crash reports do not provide anyVIN identification. The owner of theFordGTForum has finally recognized thisis an issue and has taken steps to try tokeep track of seriously damaged GTs. Theforum has a strict policy of not allowingpictures of crashed GTs to be posted unlessthey are submitted by the car’s owner.

We don’t recall original Cobras havingsuch a high destruction rate. And we thinkwe’ve figured out why. When a driver getsbehind the wheel of a Cobra (even someonewho has never driven one before, whichwould describe all first-time owners at onetime) and gets on the gas, a lot starts tohappen—all at once. There is the exhaustnoise, the carburetor sucking air and fuel,valve train noise, vibration through thesteering wheel and the wind buffeting yourface. Behind the wheel of a Ford GT youget none of that. First of all, it’s a coupe.It’s well insulated and quiet. Accelerationis more like a rheostat than an explosion.It accelerates smoothly and rapidly, to thepoint where you are going faster, muchfaster, that you think. Nothing about thehandling or steering sends the messagethat you are going fast—even at over 100mph. Insulated in that cocoon, you justdon’t realize you are traveling at thatspeed. Note: We doubt this is likely to besuccessful in explaining away the infrac-tion to the arresting officer, or to the judge.


$7,000,000 GT40 : P/104 GOES TO UTAH

A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE ?

Winning bids at auctions are a matterof public record. The top bidder is oftenshrouded in secrecy. Auction companies donot divulge buyers’ names as a matter ofpolicy. Some buyers desire privacy, prefer-ring to let the word out on their own time-line. Sometimes it is a matter of desiringfinancial confidentiality. Ford GT40 P/104was the fourth GT40 prototype made andthe first with a lightweight chassis. Assoon as it was completed it was sent to Le-Mans where it qualified second but wentout with an engine fire. It was one of thetwo racers sent to Shelby American whenthey took over the program and modifiedand campaigned at Daytona in 1965 whereit qualified and finished third.

The car was owned for over thirty years by SAAC member, the late Greg Lonberger of Lombard, Illinois. He was in the processof restoring it to 1965 Daytona specifications when, after a long battle with multiple sclerosis he became incapacitated and unableto finish the car. The MS was a result of his contact with Agent Orange when he was serving as a ranger specializing in long rangereconnaissance patrols in Vietnam.

The car was recently completed and went across the block at the Mecum auction in Houston, Texas on April 12. The history ofthis car is unimpeachable and the $7M price set a record for a Mecum auction. A press release from the Larry H. Miller Total Per-formance Museum at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah announced that they had purchased the car and it was on display attheir museum. It joins P/103 (P/104’s sister car which finished first at Daytona in 1965), MK II P/1015 (the light blue Ken Milescar) which finished second at LeMans in 1966, the yellow MK IV J-4 which finished first at Sebring in 1967 and P/1074, one of thethree Gulf Team GT40s that raced in 1968-1969. If you are going within 1,000 miles of Salt Lake City, Utah you owe it yourself tovisit this museum.

Bob Perkins of Juneau, Wisconsin isfamous for his collection of low-mileageMustangs and his perfect concoursrestorations. But after the Mustang 50thAnniversary at Charlotte, North Carolina,he will probably become famous for hissee-through enclosed trailer. We got thisphoto from someone who saw it on SAACmember Brant Halterman’s Virginia Clas-sic Mustang website. Both sides of thetrailer appear to be made up of panels ofclear plexiglass, allowing the car to beviewed without exposing it to the ele-ments.

When we were vintage racing we sawa lot of enclosed trailers on the road, espe-cially as we got closer and closer to thetrack. We often wondered what was insideas we scoured the trailer for some stickeror decal that might give it away. Of course,some owners used the trailer’s sides andrear to advertise what was inside but mostremained “plain wrappers.” This can leadto conflicting emotions. On one hand, theowner is proud of their race car and wantsto tell the world what they have inside.This isn’t something that those with opentrailers ever have to deal with. On theother hand, they like the privacy and secu-rity of not drawing attention to their car.

For those experiencing a much greaterpull from the “Hey-Look-At-Me” gene thanfrom the stealth gene, Perkins’ trailer isdefinitely the answer. Whether you’rehauling down the Interstate or parked atthe event, there’s no question what yourcargo is. This, of course, brings to mind twothoughts. One is how well you’ll sleep atnight in a motel on trips that are morethan one day’s drive. The other is how tightall of those joints and panels will be afterfive years of bumps and potholes.

And here’s one more thing to thinkabout. Fast-forward 20 years. Imaginegoing to a convention or car show whereeveryone has one of these see-throughtrailers. Cars are never rolled out; peoplejust walk between rows of trailers, lookingat the cars inside of them. Think that isn’tlikely? Twenty years ago no one could haveimagined a Shelby selling for $100K.What’s going to happen when they are$1M? Think they will get driven around?Even in a parking lot?


FIREBALL 500

CALIFORNIA BLACK-AND-YELLOW PLATES

ABOUT TO BECOME PLENTIFUL

We spotted these pictures on the Internet,where we see a lot of things which we feelare worth including in this magazine. InSan Angelo, in west-central Texas, awoman driving a new GT500 apparentlylost control while trying to change lanes.The rear end lost traction, she over-cor-rected and looped the car several times before hitting a metal boundary wire and posts separating the eastbound and westboundlanes of the Houston-Harte Expressway. According to eyewitnesses, the car was already on fire after it spun out of control. The driverwas initially trapped in the car and after attempts to open both doors failed, she rolled down the driver’s window and bailed outbefore the entire car was engulfed in flames. She was not injured and passed a field sobriety test. After seeing these pictures, we’lladmit that she was one lucky cowgirl to escape unharmed. But we’re left wondering why, with so many of these cars sold (more than60,000 GT500s since 2007) why have so few been reported as being wrecked or destroyed? We’re betting that like Ford GTs, a fairnumber have succumbed to being over-driven by owners who have short high performance car resumes. With the name “Shelby”acting like a publicity magnet, why haven’t we seen more reports of GT500 catastrophes? Are we just not looking in the right places?

California State recently passed a lawmaking it possible for vehicle owners topurchase replicas of the black and yellowlicense plates originally issued between1963 and 1969. For a $50 fee a resident canget standardized sequential plates or van-ity plates for all vehicles, including trucksand motorcycles. And it is possible to get acurrent plate reproduced in black and yel-low. This change in the law will make orig-inal black-and-yellow plates much lessrare. The DMV advises that all plates arereviewed for acceptability. Their websiteadvises, “The department must insure thatthe meaning of the plate configuration willnot be construed as offensive to goodtaste.” The new plates will not look exactlylike the originals because current law re-quires license plates to be reflectorized andmodern manufacturing processes do notallow for exact duplication. In addition tothe black and yellow plates from the 1960s,1950s style black-on-yellow plates and1970s yellow-on-blue plates are also avail-able. It’s a good revenue generator for astate operating in the red.


CSSHPD SUPPORT VEHICLES

A surprising number of Shelby enthusiastscontinue to be as interested in the ShelbyAmerican support vehicles as the cars,themselves. And there were a lot morethan most people think. When the CarrollShelby School of High Performance Driv-ing began, Peter Brock was using his ‘55Chevy panel delivery as a support vehicle.It was white with twin blue stripes, ofcourse. He was partial to that color combi-nation ever since seeing Briggs Cunning-ham’s race cars in magazines. When hechanneled his ‘46 Ford to build a canyonracer in high school, those were the colorshe chose. It wouldn’t be the last time.

Once Brock accepted Shelby’s offer to run the driving school, one of his first projects was to build a mobile classroom which could betowed to various places around the Riverside track. When the school was up and running the ‘55 Chevy was replaced with a ‘63Falcon panel delivery. It was white and immediately received a pair of blue stripes. It was powered by a small block V8 and it wasn’tlong before it began sprouting Cobra dress-up and go-fast parts.


The driving school also got an Econoline van. John Timanus drove it, mostly, and both vehicles were common sights at Riverside in1964 and 1965 before the school was moved to Willow Springs. In 1966 Shelby American got a new Econoline. At the same time theschool was winding down, Shelby American’s race assistance program was spooling up. Timanus was in charge of the day-to-day op-eration and he often attended west coast races and brought with him parts that racers might need during “emergencies.” Note:there was, apparently, no shortage of 14-inch ten-spoke aluminum wheels.


FORMULA 1 CHAMPION DRIVES A COBRA

We’ll file this one in the “Leave It ToPardee” annals and just say it doesn’t sur-prise us. We won’t even hazard a guesswhy he was reading the UK Daily Mail on-line but he found these photos of FormulaOne driver Lewis Hamilton, the 2008World Champion, with his on-again, off-again and presently on-again girlfriend,singer Nicole Scherzinger of the PussycatDolls pop group (since disbanded, accord-ing to retired professional musicianPardee). He recently bought a pair of Co-bras: CSX3282, a red one and this one,CSX3244, a low-mileage former SAAC con-cours winner. It was fresh from a full-boatMcCluskey restoration when the pa-parazzi caught up with them in Malibuand snapped these pictures. Hamilton’ssqueeze was reportedly not too enthusias-tic about riding in the open car with a bigblock on an 85° day. Both Cobras are storedin Los Angeles while he’s off racing.