1964 Shelby Cobra 289 Roadster

Tom Payne placed an order for a red Shelby Cobra that was approved on June 18th of 1964 by Jacques Passino, vice president of Ford Motor Company Special Vehicle Division. That June, Shelby American Inc. (SAI) began to build CSX2430 into a factory-specification competition car. The modifications mirrored those of the team cars and included a hood scoop, a chrome roll bar, 6.5-inch Halibrand front wheels, 8.5-inch Halibrand rear wheels, flared fenders, modified wheel wells, Koni shock absorbers, front and rear sway bars, front and rear competition brakes with coil-air scoops, quick jack points, side pipes, dual long range fuel tanks, 3.5-inch Monza snap-open fuel cap, a racing seat, a Sun tachometer, a fuel pressure gauge (in place of a clock), a differential cooler and engine oil cooler, an electric Stewart Warner fuel pump, a cross-mounted aluminum Harrison header tank, and a full race-spec 289 with Webers, 12:1 compression, and a 9-quart oil pan.

On July 30th of 1964, the car was flown to Detroit for delivery. The Competition Roadster was billed to the Ford Motor Company for $9,250 plus delivery. It remained the property of Ford and was subsequently run as an SAI factory-sponsored car. Upon delivery to Payne, the new Cobra was put to immediate use and saw its first outing just two days later. Sadly, the car failed to finish that weekend at the Lynndale Farms SCCA Divisional.

The following weekend, the car took 3rd in the manufacturers' class at Meadowdale. This result was repeated at the USRRC event at Mid-Ohio on August 30th. Nearly a month later, Payne raced it at the Greenwood SCCA Divisional, taking home 1st in A Production.

During the 1964 Speed Week in the Bahamas, Payne raced the car as part of the SAI team. Payne finished 5th overall and 2nd in GT in the Tourist Trophy Race. He finished 9th overall in the Governor's Trophy Race; and finally, in the Trophy race, he finished 25th overall and 1st in their respective GT grouping.

The first race for the car during the 1965 season was at Mont Tremblant where Payne won 1st in GT. The following month, SAI team drivers Dan Gerber and Tom Yeager ran the Cobra at the USRRC Road America 500 earning 33rd overall and 5th in GT. At the Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport, Payne finished 11th overall. At Mont Tremblant, he finished 7th overall. From there, it raced at Nassau, where Bob Grossman drove the Cobra to 5th overall and 1st in GT in that year's Trophy race.

In 1966, Ford sold the Competition Cobra to John 'Scotty' Addison who raced the car that season in SCCA competition before selling it. For the 1967 season, Dan Schlames was the new owner and had it painted yellow. It was also fitted with a full-width roll-bar in red to match the now red side pipes. The car was raced in several local Michigan SCCA events. It would remain in Mr. Schlames care for over a decade before it was offered for sale. Around 1980 it was purchased by Ken Eber of Armonk, New York. It remained in Mr. Eber's care for two years before it was sold to Rick Nagel of Dallas for the sum of $70,000. Mr. Nagel returned the car to its original red appearance and raced the car with some success. In 1984, at the Texas vintage Challenge, he drove the car to an overall victory. Later that year, Carroll Shelby was given the Competition Roadster to drive at the Texas Can-Am Challenge, potentially marking the last time Shelby drove a race car in competition. It set a lap record at the vintage races in Kansas City and achieved three more wins at regional SCCA races in 1984 and 1985.

In 1985, Steven Volk purchased the car. Volk commissioned Bill Murray of Longmount, Colorado, to restore the Tom Payne Cobra. During the work, the car was finished with the intent that it could be vintage raced if desired. It was given a five-point harness, a more modern fuel delivery system, a fuel cell, an updated exhaust system, and adjustable A-arms. Upon completion of the work, the car was put on display at the Shelby American Collection where it stayed until 2010 when it was acquired by the current owner. Since that time it has seen limited use and has been properly maintained.

By Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2013