Shelby Cobra (AC Cobra) Traditional Cache
Mapachi: Cache has been burried or muggled....So Long little cobra!
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This is part of the Central Maine Power Run by the Power
Rangers.
A medium sized lock-n-lock containing a log book, pen, swag and a
collectable pathtag for the FTF.
Shelby Cobra (AC Cobra)
If I could own ANY car in the world….This would be it!
The AC Cobra, also known as the Shelby Cobra, is a British built
and designed sports car that was produced during the 1960s.
Like many British specialist manufacturers, AC Cars had been using
the smooth, refined Bristol straight-6 engine in its small-volume
production, including its AC Ace 2-seater roadster. This had a hand
built body with a steel tube frame, and aluminium body panels that
were made using English wheeling machines. The engine was a
pre-World War II design of BMW which by the 1960s was considered
dated. Bristol decided in 1961 to cease production of its engine
and instead to use Chrysler 331 cid (5.4 L) V8 engines. Although
untrue, it is commonly believed that AC was left without a future
source of power and that American ex-racing driver Carroll Shelby
saved the company from bankruptcy. AC started using the 2.6 litre
Ford Zephyr engine in its cars. In September 1961, Shelby airmailed
AC a letter asking them if they would build him a car modified to
accept a V8 engine. AC agreed, provided a suitable engine could be
found. He first went to Chevrolet to see if they would provide him
with engines, but not wanting to add competition to the Corvette
they said no. Ford however, wanted a car that could compete with
the Corvette and they happened to have a brand new thin-wall
small-block engine which could be used in this endeavor. It was
Ford's 260 in⊃3; HiPo (4.2 L) engine - a new lightweight,
thin-wall cast small-block V8 tuned for high performance. In
January 1962 mechanics at AC Cars in Thames Ditton, Surrey fitted
the prototype chassis CSX0001 with a 221ci Ford V8. After testing
and modification, the engine and transmission were removed and the
chassis was air-freighted to Shelby in Los Angeles on 2 February
1962. His team fitted it with an engine and transmission in less
than eight hours and began road-testing. Production proved to be
easy, since AC had already made most of the modifications needed
for the small-block V8 when they installed the 2.6 litre Ford
Zephyr engine, including the extensive rework of the AC Ace's front
end. The most important modification was the fitting of a stronger
rear differential to handle the increased engine power. A Salisbury
4HU unit with inboard disk brakes to reduce unsprung weight was
chosen instead of the old ENV unit. It was the same unit used on
the Jaguar E-Type. On the production version, the inboard brakes
were moved outboard to reduce cost. The only modification of the
front end of the first Cobra from that of the AC Ace 2.6 was the
steering box, which had to be moved outward to clear the wider V8
motor.
The first 75 Cobra Mark I (including the prototype) were fitted
with the 260 engine (4.2 L). The remaining 51 Mark I model were
fitted with a larger version of the Windsor Ford engine, the 289
in⊃3; (4.7 L) V8. In late 1962 Alan Turner, AC's chief engineer
completed a major design change of the car's front end and was able
to fit it with rack and pinion steering while still using
transverse leaf spring suspension. The new car entered production
in early 1963 and was designated Mark II. The steering rack was
borrowed from the MGB while the new steering column came from the
VW Beetle. About 528 Mark II Cobras were produced to the summer of
1965 (the last US-bound Mark II was produced in November
1964).
By 1963 the leaf-spring Cobra was losing its supremacy in racing.
Shelby tried fitting a larger Ford FE engine of 390 in⊃3;. Ken
Miles drove and raced the FE-powered Mark II and pronounced the car
was virtually undrivable, naming it "The Turd." A new chassis was
developed and designated Mark III. The new car was designed in
cooperation with Ford in Detroit. A new chassis was built using 4"
main chassis tubes (up from 3") and coil spring suspension all
around. The new car also had wide fenders and a larger radiator
opening. It was powered by the "side oiler" Ford 427 engine (7.0 L)
rated at 425 bhp (317 kW), which provided a top speed of 163 mph
(262 km/h) in the standard model and 485 bhp (362 kW) with a top
speed of 180 mph (290 km/h) in the competition model. Cobra Mark
III production began on 1 January 1965; two prototypes had been
sent to the United States in October 1964. Cars were sent to the US
as unpainted rolling chassis, and they were finished in Shelby's
workshop. Although an impressive automobile, the car was a
financial failure and did not sell well. In fact to save cost, most
AC Cobra 427's were actually fitted with Ford's 428 in⊃3; (7.0
L) engine, a long stroke, smaller bore, lower cost engine, intended
for road use rather than racing. It seems that a total of 300 Mark
III cars were sent to Shelby in the USA during the years 1965 and
1966, including the competition version. 27 small block narrow
fender version which were referred to as the AC 289 were sold in
Europe. Unfortunately, The MK III missed homologation for the 1965
racing season and was not raced by the Shelby team. However, it was
raced successfully by many privateers and went on to win races all
the way into the 70's. Interestingly, 31 unsold competition cars
were detuned and made road worthy and called S/C for
semi-competition. Today, these are the rarest and the most valuable
models and can sell for in excess of 1.5 million dollars.
AC Cobras had an extensive racing career. Shelby wanted it to be a
"Corvette-Beater" and at nearly 500 lb (227 kg) less than the
Chevrolet Corvette, the lightweight car did just that. The Cobra
was perhaps too successful as a performance car and reputedly
contributed to the implementation of national speed limits in the
United Kingdom. An AC Cobra Coupe was calculated to have done 185
mph (298 km/h) on the M1 motorway in 1964, driven by Jack Sears and
Peter Bolton during shakedown tests prior to that year's Le Mans
24h race.[3] However, government officials have cited the
increasing accident death rate in the early 1960s as the principal
motivation, with the exploits of the AC Cars team merely
highlighting the risk.
Although successful in racing, the AC Cobra was a financial
failure, which led Ford and Carroll Shelby to discontinue importing
cars from England in 1967. AC Cars kept producing the coil spring
AC Roadster with narrow fenders, a small block Ford 289 and called
the car the AC 289, it was built and sold in Europe until late
1969. This car with modifications would appear again in 1982 as the
Autokraft MkIV, basically an AC MkIII car with a 5.0L Ford V8 and
Borg Warner T5 Transmission. AC also produced the AC Frua until
1973. The AC Frua was built on a stretched Cobra 427 MK III coil
spring chassis using a very angular handsome steel body designed
and built by Pietro Frua. With the demise of the Frua, AC went on
building lesser cars and eventually fell into bankruptcy in the
late 1970s'. The company's tooling and eventually the right to use
the name, were licensed by Autocraft, a Cobra parts reseller and
replica car manufacturer owned by Brian A. Angliss. Autocraft was
manufacturing an AC 289 continuation car called the Mark IV.
Shortly thereafter, Carroll Shelby filed suit against AC Cars and
Brian A. Angliss, in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. The
ensuing settlement resulted in Shelby and AC Cars/Angliss releasing
a joint press release whereby AC/Angliss acknowledged that Carroll
Shelby was (and is) the manufacturer of record of all the 1960s AC
Cobra automobiles in the United States and that Shelby himself is
the sole person allowed to call his car a Cobra. Despite this there
is no doubt that every Cobra made in the '60s was manufactured by
AC Cars in England, shipped to Shelby for completion. Carroll
Shelby's company Shelby Automobiles, Inc. continues to manufacture
the Shelby Cobra FIA 289 and 427 S/C vehicles in various forms at
its facility in Las Vegas, Nevada. These cars retain the general
style and appearance of their original 1960s ancestors, but are
fitted with modern amenities. In 2006 Carol Shelby's own Shelby
Cobra sold at an auction in Arizona for £2.8million.
Coupes or Coupé
In an effort to improve top speed along the legendary Mulsanne
Straight at the 24 Hours of Le Mans race, a number of enclosed,
coupe variations were constructed using the leafspring chassis and
running gear of the AC/Shelby Cobra Mark II. The most famous and
numerous of these were the official works Shelby Daytona Cobra
Coupes. Six were constructed in total, each being subtly different
from the rest. AC also produced a Le Mans coupe. The car was a
one-off and was nearly destroyed after a high-speed tire blow-out
at the 1964 Le Mans race. It has now been completely rebuilt and
now sits in private hands in England. The third significant
Cobra-based coupe was the Willment Cobra Coupe built by the JWA
racing team. A road-going Shelby Daytona Cobra replica is being
manufactured by Superformance and Factory Five Racing, a well known
kit car company. These cars use Pete Brock's bodywork designs,
scaled up to increase room inside, and a newly designed spaceframe
chassis, they are powered by Roush-built Ford Windsor (Sportsman)
engines. The Superformance Shelby Daytona Coupe is the only
modern-day vehicle recognized by Shelby as a successor to the
original Coupes. Brock's Australian namesake, the race car driver,
was killed while driving a GM-powered replica of a Shelby Daytona
Coupe in competition in Australia in 2006.
Continuation cars
From the late 1980s onwards, Carroll Shelby and associated
companies have built what are known in the hobby as "Continuation
Cars", Shelby authorized continuations of the original AC bodied
Shelby Cobra series. Initially the car everyone wanted in a
Continuation was a 427 S/C model which was represented in the
CSX4000 series. This was meant to continue where the last 427 S/C
production left off, at approximately serial number CSX3560 in the
1960s. The initial CSX4000 series cars were completed from new old
stock as well as newly manufactured parts. Gradually as the vintage
parts supply ran low, newly constructed frames and body panels were
obtained from a variety of suppliers. The production of chassis
numbers CSX4001 to CSX4999 took roughly 20 years and many different
business relationships to complete.
All models of Cobra produced are available now as continuations. In
2009, CSX4999 was produced, concluding the 4000 series. Production
has continued with the CSX6000 serial numbers, featuring "coil
over" suspension. The 289 FIA "leaf spring" race version of the car
is reproduced as CSX7000, and the original "slab side" leaf spring
street car is the CSX8000 series.
To date most continuations are produced in fiberglass, with some
ordering cars with aluminum or carbon fibre bodywork.
Super Snake
Shelby Motors built 22 427 competition roadsters. In 1965, one was
selected and converted into a special model called the 427 "Cobra
to End All Cobras." The first one of these (number CSX3015) was
originally part of a European promotional tour before its
conversion. This conversion called for making the original racing
model street legal with mufflers, a windshield and bumpers amongst
other modifications. But some things were not modified, including
the racing rear end, brakes and headers. The most notable
modification is the addition of Twin Paxton Superchargers. This
gave the car an alleged 462 brake horsepower (bhp) and 800 Ft
pounds of torque at 3000 rpm. Officially rated at 0-to-60 at 4.5
seconds, legend and lore have it as doing that in a little over 3
seconds as one must lay off the throttle heavily just to get
traction off the line.
Another non-competition 427 roadster, CSX3303, was converted and
given to Shelby's close friend, Bill Cosby. Cosby attempted to
drive the super-fast Cobra, but had issues with keeping it under
control. This was humorously documented in Cosby's album titled
Bill Cosby, 200 M.P.H.. Cosby gave the car back to Shelby, who then
shipped it out to one of their dealers in San Francisco, S&C
Ford on Van Ness Avenue. S&C Ford then sold it to customer Tony
Maxey. Maxey, suffering the same issues as Cosby did with the car,
lost control and drove it off of a cliff, landing in the Pacific
Ocean waters. It is to be noted that Maxey's accident was largely
speculated as suicide. It was eventually recovered and the wreckage
was bought by Brian Angliss of AC/Autokraft. Since CSX3303 was so
badly damaged in the Maxey accident, it is doubtful that much of
the original car will surface in the restored version.
Shelby's original model, CSX3015, was kept by Carroll Shelby
himself over the years as a personal car, sometimes entering it
into local races like the Turismos Visitadores Cannonball-Run race
in Nevada, where he was "waking [up] whole towns, blowing out
windows, throwing belts and catching fire a couple of times, but
finishing." CSX3015 was auctioned off on 22 January 2007 at the
Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Event in Scottsdale, Arizona for $5
million plus commission (a record for Cobras, as well as for a
Barrett-Jackson sell price)..
Congratulations to LSD! for a
FTF!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Qba'g or fghzcrq, vg'f abg jvagre sevraqyl.
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