As original as it gets
There cannot be too many car enthusiasts who have not seen a 1962-1967 Cobra on the road or at car shows. That is a remarkable occurrence considering just under 1,000 were ever built by Shelby American in cooperation with AC Cars in England and Ford, which supplied the V8 engines.
The other tens of thousands of Cobras slithering along the roads are replicas, kit cars, and continuation models. Most are patterned on the mighty 427 Cobra model built from 1965-1967 and featuring a wider chassis, bulging fenders, and a Ford big-block V8.
The Mecum Kissimmee auction this month is offering a 427 Cobra certified to be one of the top-five most original in existence. The auction company said the seller did not offer a pre-sale estimate, but this car last sold at the Gooding & Company Amelia Island auction in 2018 for $1.045 million after it had been retrieved from a 30-year, dry-barn storage.
Birth of A Legend
While the car world has long venerated the Cobra and its remarkable backstory, millions more got the gist of it from watching “Ford v Ferrari.” The 2019 hit movie centered on Carroll Shelby’s role in Ford winning the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans, humbling Ferrari, and also showed how that relationship sprang from the Cobra.
Texas-born racer Shelby, who with Roy Salvadori won Le Mans in 1959 in an Aston Martin DBR1, followed an entrepreneurship path after retirement due to a heart condition. A Goodyear tire distributorship kept him in the auto arena, but it was his plan to install an American Ford V8 in the British AC Ace roadster that brought a brighter spotlight.
The Ace used an inline six-cylinder engine. The new, lightweight V8 Ford used in its new-for-1961 Fairlane midsize car was just what Shelby was looking for to replace the inline six used in the Ace. The 260 cu-in. V8 (4.2-liter) engine gave the 2,000-pound car startling performance. Shelby named his concoction “Cobra.”
After the first 75 cars, Shelby switched to the High-Performance 289 cu.-in. version of the Ford engine (4.7-liter), giving it further modifications to boost output from 271 horsepower to 306. The Cobra’s success on the track, especially in races that included Ferraris, got Ford’s attention. In 1964, the automaker contracted with Shelby to build a high-performance version of its new Mustang, and the resulting car, the GT350, likewise became a racing success.
A More Venomous Cobra
Shelby would turn just about 655 AC Ace sports cars into ferocious Cobras by 1965. Demand for a Cobra to compete in higher road racing classes gave rise to a heavily reworked model. Shelby’s operation designed its own wider, stronger chassis that used coil-spring suspension (replacing leaf springs) for better handling. The body used only the original AC-built car’s doors, windshield, hood, and trunk lid. Much wider fenders accommodated larger wheels and tires, which were needed to harness a big jump in power.
That jump came from Ford’s 427 cu.-in. (7.0-liter) V8, which was the high-performance version of the automaker’s “FE” engine family. The 427 was built for high-rpm engine performance, and a street version was offered for the full-size Ford Galaxie in the early and mid-1960s to homologate the engine for NASCAR and various drag-racing classes. A wide-bore, short-stroke cylinder configuration facilitated high-rpm running. This is the engine that powered the Ford GT40 Mk. II to a 1-2-3 finish at Le Mans in 1966.
– Photo credit: Mecum
427 or 428? Blindingly Fast Either Way
The first 100 Cobra 427 models had the 427 engine, while the next 100 had the 428 and then a final smaller group got the 427. What’s the difference? The 428 was also from the FE engine family but used a narrower bore and longer stroke than the 427 to provide lower-revving durability in Ford and Mercury passenger cars. For the Cobra, Shelby used the Police Interceptor version, which featured some heavy-duty parts and a four-barrel carburetor. Ford rated the engine at 355 horsepower.
The 428 reportedly cost Ford half as much to build as the more performance-specialized 427. Rest assured, the “milder” 428 was a beast in the 2,300-pound Cobra, and it really was more suitable for street performance than the 427. Acceleration in the 428-powered machine will absolutely challenge your neck muscles.
Meet CSX3278
The 427 Cobra offered by Mecum is CSX3278, per Shelby’s numbering scheme for this limited-production car. That confirms this as a model powered by the 428. Regardless of the engine, all wore “427” identification. In total, Shelby made 260 Cobra 427s designated as “Street” models. Another 80 or so included competition cars, S/C models (racers adapted as street versions for retail sale), prototypes, and other specials.
The Mecum car was sold new by Ron’s Ford Sales in Bristol, Tennessee with a retail price of $6,145. A collector, Allan Craig Shelton, acquired the Cobra around 1981 for $55,000 when it had 13,000 miles. He added 5,000 more. After Shelton’s trusted mechanic died in 1991, his cars sat in storage for nearly 30 years.
This Cobra retains its original chassis, engine, transmission, centerlock alloy wheels, drivetrain, body, and interior. Numerous original tools and other details likewise remain. In judging at a Shelby American Automobile Club national convention, this 427 Cobra garnered “SAAC Gold” in the survivor class, which is limited to original-paint, unrestored cars.
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