1964 Shelby Cobra 289 Roadster

Shelby's 289 Cobra remains a highly sought automobile for collectors and investors. The fire-breathing 427 MkIII was on the way. The 289 was drawing to an end. Only a few more would be produced by 1964. Each was special, pieces of automotive history to hold onto. As a result, no stone or barn could be left untouched. Otherwise, one of these priceless pieces of Shelby history could be missed.

Documented as CSX 2436, this particular Cobra would be completed in May of 1964 and would be adorned with a Rouge Iris finish and beige upholstery. Embarking on its first journey aboard SS Diemerdyk, the car would soon arrive in Greenwich, Connecticut and would soon be delivered to Town & Country Motors, Inc.

Little expense would be spared for CSX 2436. Besides being air freighted to Connecticut aboard a TWA aircraft, the Cobra would come with some of the best features there were. This would include WSW tires, a radio, luggage rack and even antifreeze. All told, the sum would total nearly $6,000.

Timothy Crowley was the reason why the Shelby was on its first epic trip. After taking delivery of the car, Crowley would keep the Shelby in his possession for more than a couple of years. Then, the car would pass to James Wallerstein, who happened to live in White Plains, New York. Wallerstein would have the car for only a short period of time before it moved on to Vintage Car Store and Ed Jurist. Based in Nyack, New York, Jurist's Vintage Car Store would take delivery of the Cobra in July of 1971 and would quickly turn around and resell the car to Peter DeSilva of Massachusetts.

By this point in time, CSX 2436 would no longer bare its Rouge Iris finish. Instead, the car would be finished in black. But this would not be the end of the changes from the original. Other changes would include painted wire wheels and a Raydyot rearview mirror. Having accumulated some 30,000 since new, the 289 Cobra was again about to change hands.

Traded to Sy Allen, the car would make its way to Vermont. It would be at this point in time that if one wanted to find CSX 2436 he or she needed to be careful to turn over every stone, or, look in every possible barn.

Allen was not interested in parting with the Cobra. Instead, the car would be placed on jacks and hidden away in DeSilva's barn and workshop for some 40 years.

Rediscovered decades later, CSX 2436 was a virtual time capsule baring to the onlookers its beginnings and what it became. Stored away as it was some 40 years ago, the 289 Cobra remains highly original; even its Rouge Iris finish makes appearances here and there where the black paint has flaked off.

In spite of its need for restoration, the car could not have gifted its next owner any more after 40 years and 34,000 miles. Many restorers of Cobras would do just about anything to get their hands on the original parts that remain on this barn find making 2436 a possible gem within the Cobra family.

Offered as part of Gooding & Company's Arizona auction in 2015, CSX 2436 would draw pre-auction estimates from between $1,000,000 and $1,400,000. It was clear the potential the existed behind the chipped and dust-covered paint.

When the bidding came to an end, the 1964 Shelby 289 Cobra earned a sale price of a very respectable $979,000.

By Jeremy McMullen