1963 Shelby Cobra 289 Roadster

The first V-8 Carroll Shelby fitted into the AC chassis was a 221 cubic-inch unit. This was followed by a 260 cubic-inch engine, then a 289 CID, and finally the 427 CID. The 289 CID V8 offered 306 brake horsepower resulting in the perfect balance of handling and raw power.

This particular example was originally invoiced to Broad Motors Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 16th of 1963. It was painted white with a red interior, and equipped with aluminum rocker covers and rode on whitewall tires. In the back was a luggage rack. The original owner was Jay Hughes who purchased it from Broad Motors. Mr. Hughes, a used car dealer based in York, Pennsylvania, was also the sub-distributor for Cobras for Broad Motors at the time. It is believed that he did not re-sell the car but rather kept it for his personal use. It was later sold to Tim Grumbacher who kept the car for about a year before trading it back to Hughes who once again sold it, this time to Byron Wilt. It remained in Pennsylvania for the following decade. During that time, it was used at one point as a drag-racer by John Caruso. To keep it competitive, it was given minor modifications including an aftermarket roll bar, Weber carburetors, Belanger Drag headers, a Hurst shifter, and drag radials on custom rear wheels. Mr. Caruso sold the car in 1971 to Christopher B. Klein, who painted the car maroon and had it returned to its original street configuration by 1975. The car passed through Bill Collins of Harrisburg in 1979.

Interestingly, while the car was offered for sale, several parts were stolen. A friend of Mr. Collins later found the parts at a swap meet, still wearing the maroon color with the original white paint underneath. Mr. Collins purchased all the parts back, including the original grille, seats, hood, doors, and rear deck lid. Soon after acquiring the parts, Collins began a restoration, but was unable to finish the project. It was later sold to Dave Wagner of Detroit, Michigan, who finished the restoration.

The car is currently finished in black-over-red leather with matching red Wilton wool carpeting. It has chrome wire wheels with Michelin X radials, sun visors, wind wings, its original top, a tonneau cover, side curtains, a proper grease gun, a jack, and a spare wheel in the trunk. The interior features correct Smiths gauges, a correct Rotunda tachometer, a rare original clock, and an original AC wood-rimmed steering wheel and optional heater.

By Daniel Vaughan | May 2016