Vehicle Description
No car guy's bucket list is complete without a Shelby Cobra. You
could rattle off 50 other cars and you'd still get an incomplete
without one. It's the most recognizable sports car ever built, and
faithful copies can be found at every price point from DIY kits to
high-end builds like this awesome Cobalt Blue roadster, which packs
a thundering 428 cubic inch V8.
This fantastic-looking snake comes from Mid State (now Shell
Valley), and it's been professionally finished to give it a classic
Cobra look. The fiberglass bodywork is reinforced with Kevlar in
the important areas like the fenders and doors, and has the iconic
bits and pieces that make the Cobra a perennial favorite. Someone
who cared about getting it right laid down the PPG Cobalt Blue
paint and the white stripes, which do a fairly faithful job of
replicating the original look. A lone chrome roll hoop is classic,
as is the quick release fuel cap, plus chrome bumperettes front and
rear that look race-ready, and that trick Talbot-style mirror. Take
a look at the pictures again and try to convince yourself that you
don't want this car...we dare you.
Inside you've got a pair of black bucket seats in an all-business
cabin. Aggressive 4-point belts hold you in place while a
Shelby-style wood-rimmed steering wheel swiftly takes in all of
your commands. Full VDO instrumentation lets you know exactly
what's going on in the engine compartment. And taller drivers don't
have to worry, because the foot boxes were dropped a bit to
increase legroom and it really works, because this is one of the
more comfortable Cobras we've driven. We like the raw toggle
switches, the cowl-mounted mirror, and the forward-canted shifter,
which manages a 5-speed manual gearbox. No radio, no heater, but if
you need those things, you're probably better off in something
other than a Cobra, but there is a chrome fire extinguisher, just
in case. It's also got a good-sized trunk that's fully carpeted, so
this car doesn't look or feel like a home-built special.
Cobras were all about big block power, and nothing delivers a big
hit of torque like the 428 cubic inch Cobra Jet V8 installed up
front. Yanked from a Mustang Mach 1, it's plenty potent and was
rebuilt with upgrades like Edelbrock aluminum heads, a Lunati
camshaft, roller rockers, and a pair of Holley 600 CFM carburetors
up top. It's tuned right and runs great, and thanks to finned valve
covers, twin air cleaners, and even a Ford-style expansion tank, it
looks just like 1966 all over again. The chassis is another strong
point, with tubular control arms, rack-and-pinion steering, and
coil-overs up front, and a built 9-inch rear on a 4-link and
coil-overs lives out back. 3.50 gears on a Track-Lok limited slip
are plenty for the torquey big block and it just loafs along at
highway speeds thanks to the tall overdrive in the five-speed
manual transmission. And, of course, what Cobra would be complete
without a set of howling side pipes, with these sounding especially
luscious because they're being fed by a genuine big block, not some
facsimile. Gorgeous 15-inch Halibrands fill the wheel wells thanks
to 235/60/15 front and 295/50/15 rear white-letter radials.
You couldn't build this awesome Cobra for our asking price, and
even if you could you'd have to wait. This car is incredible, it's
beautifully built, it looks great, and you can drive it home today.
Call now!