1966 Shelby 427 Cobra Street Car Replica
I have put this fact sheet together to educate anyone who is interested in the 427 Shelby Cobra Street car that I have replicated. I choose to replicate CSX 3252 which is a British Racing Green 428 engined street car from the factory. I get a ton of questions on this car and I am more then happy to talk to anyone at length but I figured it would be nice to create something someone could take home with them.
My car was hand built in the USA by a company out of New Britain, CT called ERA (860.224.9445). Great people, great car!
Most Frequently Asked Question: Why doesn't your car have side pipes, I thought all Cobra's had side pipes?
Most people are only familiar with an S/C or Semi-Competion car that came with side pipes. Only 31 actual S/C's were ever built of the 343 real Cobra's - big block that is, built in the sixties. The S/C had the Ford 427 side oiler motor, traditional side pipes, roll bar, Hallibrand wheels, LeMans gas cap, no glove box, etc.
The Street car version of the Cobra is very different from the S/C. Depending on when you bought the Street car you either received a 427 side oiler or a 428 Police Interceptor engine. The first 200 cars and the last 50 cars all came with 427 side oilers. Towards the latter end of the run Shelby decided to install 428 engined Police Interceptor engines from CSX 3200 to CSX 3300 to save money and keep the production going.
There were 260 Street cars made compared to the 31 S/C cars that you see the most. Main differences are most of the street cars had Sunburst wheels, no side pipes, no roll bar, no hood scoup, etc. (See detailed listed below)
I've spent countless hours reading and researching about the Cobra street car variant. I've enjoyed the research as much as I have enjoyed building the car. I have taken every step to duplicate every nut, bolt, washer, etc. to the best of my financial means.
What makes the CSX 3200-3300 428 engined Street car different from the S/C car are as follows:
1. Rear exiting exhaust (no side pipes).
2. No roll bar.
3. No hood scoop.
4. Sunburst wheels. (Original ones on my car) Earlier 427 engined Street cars had Halibrand wheels.
5. Ford Blue colored overflow tank. (S/C cars were black)
6. Glove box with horizontal knob. (Original on my car)
7. 428 Police Interceptor engine. (Original in my car) Sub CSX 3200 and CSX 3300 and up had 427 engines.
8. Bumpers front and rear. Front bumper has license plate bracket. (Original on my car)
9. Oval shaped gas cap. (Original one on my car)
10. Trico washer tank and spray nozzles next to the wiper blades.
11. Round taillights and lower reflectors on the rear (Lucas RER31 - Original ones on my car) Sub CSX 3200 cars had rectangle tail lights.
12. Street dash instrument layout, cigarette lighter, washer pump button and ash tray on the transmission tunnel.
13. Door pockets and rear pocket behind seats for side curtains.
14. Black fiberglass trunk with spare sunburst wheel.
15. Engine compartment mounted battery. (Between passenger side footbox and wheel well)
Some History
There were 343 total coil spring Cobras (Big Block 427 & 428) cars produced. 2/3rd's of the original Cobra's were street cars just like my car. There were roughly 160 Street cars with 427 side oilers and roughly 100 Street cars with a 428 Police Interceptor. 428 engines were installed in these cars to save money by Shelby American most of the time without the new owners knowledge. Believe it or not Shelby had a hard time selling the Cobra's he had left over in 1967. Original Cobra's sold in the $5,500 to $7,500 price range. If you only knew then what you know now! Most original, well documented 427 Cobra's sell well north of 750k, some up in the 1 to 1.5+ million dollar mark and above!
Over the years many of the street cars were what they call "S/C'd" or turned into the more popular side piped cars, roll bars were installed, dash boards were changed and the Sunburst wheels were changed to Hallibrands. You can tell an "S/C'd" street car right away as some have retained the street gas cap. Some other give aways are rear flat reflectors on the back, washer nozzles by the wiper blades, glove box, ash tray on the trans tunnel, etc.
There were four main big block Cobra variations. They were as follows:
1. Competion (Comp Car) w/427 side oiler engine - All out, high compression race car
2. Semi-Competition (S/C) w/427 side oiler engine - This was a legal "race" car for the street
3. Street car w/427 side oiler (dual quad) - Most street cars had a 427 engine in them
4. Street car w/428 Police Interceptor (single quad) - Gentlemen's Cobra!
Actual 427 Cobra (Big Block 427 & 428) Production Numbers
1. 427 Street Cars - 260 (approximately 100 had 428 PI engines in them) - 75% !
2. 427 Prototype Competition Roadsters - 2
3. 427 Production Competition Roadsters - 19
4. 427 Semi-Competition Roadsters (S/C) - 31 - 9%!
5. 427 Daytona Super Coupe - 1
6. 427 Chassis only - 3
7. 289 COB/COX Cars - 27 (Delivered to or built in England)
8. (427 Paramount Film Cars - 5, have been removed from the original Cobra totals)
Total Coil Spring/Big Clock Cobra's Produced - 343
I hope you enjoyed reading this. If you have any other questions on the Cobra street car please email me @
fzabski@uptocode.net
