1966 Shelby Cobra 427 Roadster

This Shelby Cobra 427 was invoiced to Shelby American on June 10, 1966, and to Total Performance dealer Larsen Ford of White Plains, New York, on August 31, 1966. After it was air-freighted to White Plants, the carburetor was replaced and the car was then delivered to Manhasset Ford of New York state. It is believed that the car was used for promotional purposes by the Ford District Sales Office, and to have been drag-raced by Larsen Ford employee William Trifari at Dover Plains and Westhampton. Perhaps due to these vigorous exercises, the car's upper and lower A-arms were straightened and a new driveshaft assembly was fitted under warranty by Pennsylvania Cobra repair mechanic Ray Heppenstall in August 1967. At the time, the car remained in the care of Manhasset Ford and had 3,250 miles on the odometer.

A short time later, the car was sold new to Stuart Hayim of New York City who kept it for approximately two years before offering it for sale. Tyler Somas of Queens took it for a test drive and then proceeded to pull a gun on the owner and drove away. Mr. Hayim filed an insurance claim. When the Cobra arrived at Somas' place of business, Queens Auto Wrecking, the 'new owner' removed the car's chassis number from the right front shock mount and added numbers to the left front shock mount which coincided with the data tag from CSX 3041 (a wrecked 427 S/C Cobra previously owned by Somas).

Around 1969, 'CSX 3041' was sold to David Bythewood of Hempstead, New York. Mr. Richard Brostek later discovered the VIN stamping had been ground away, while others in the Shelby Owners Association noted that the Cobra had stock street-going components rather than S/C guise. It was quickly discovered that the chassis number was '3242' as it was still present on all the latches.

Near the close of 1977, the car with its mistaken identity was sold to Bruce Clemmons of Kansas. At the time, it was finished in red over tan with black under-car exhaust pipes. The following year, the car was sold to Andrew Robinson of Kansas, by which time a fresh 427 with two four-barrel carburetors was mounted along with stainless steel inner panels.

Didier Pironi purchased the car in the early 1980s and had it exported to Italy. While it was Pironi's ownership, a California court deemed that the true identity of chassis no. CSX 3041 belonged to another owner. Following several other European owners, it was finally properly returned to its correct identity of CSX 3242. In addition, it was refinished in blue, as original, with white stripes.

Ron Huber of Arizona acquired the Cobra in the summer of 1995 and treated it to a complete mechanical restoration by Don Roberts and prepared it for vintage racing. It was given a Halon fire system, a fuel cell, a competition fuel filler, racing brakes, and various safety equipment. The 427 side-oiler V8 engine was built by Roberts and given a dual-plane, dual-quad, tunnel-port intake system.

The current caretaker acquired the Cobra in 1999 where it has remained for over two decades. In 2013, the car was refinished in its original paint scheme including the white stripes.

By Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2021