Club Cobra - Csx2080

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Shelby Cobra Lost for Three Decades Expected to Fetch Nearly a Half-Million at Auction

http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/ju...nd_auction.php

http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/ju...bra%20side.jpg

Interesting story. I wonder why the new Cobra registry has different information for CSX 2080. Lost for 3 decades? Really?

More than likely because the Cobra registry was out dated when it went into print especially the way cobras exchange hands these days. For the latest up dates you need to read the pages of Club Cobra.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old Phart (Post 1109251)

Interesting story. I wonder why the new Cobra registry has different information for CSX 2080. Lost for 3 decades? Really?

Interesting story is an understatement.

Guy paid $30,000 for the car in gold coins from his dad, 30 years ago, drove it once and pinched his arm in the door so he parked it in a trailer for 30 years.

Just doesn't add up.........but I guess a lot of "barn finds" have crazy stories like this attached to it.

I wonder how long it will be until someone crawls out of the woodwork and puts a claim to the car for an equally crazy story of their own......much like the lost Daytona Coupe

Cool car! Story on these cars, expecially the proverbial "Barn Find", always seem to have a bit of hmmm about them. 350lb guy? I have a co-worker at 350lb+ that tried to get into my CCX once and it nearly required a helo rescue...:LOL:
The unrestored car is now a concept that has become desirable. Didn't these cars come with sealed Lucas lights?

Early registry has the car starting in PA then to WA, was a red car with black interior.

Cool car none the less. :p

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old Phart (Post 1109251)

Interesting story. I wonder why the new Cobra registry has different information for CSX 2080. Lost for 3 decades? Really?

Let's see.... (balances one hand against the other)...
...believe the SAAC Cobra Registrar...believe a used car dealer...believe the Registrar...believe the dealer.

hmmm...tough call. :rolleyes:

So just how many of the original cobras are still unaccounted for according to Cobra registry?

I'm scratching my head, wondering how a car that has been documented as having been in various storage garages in Florida for the past 30 years, is described as "unaccounted for." :confused:

The owner's name was wrong in the registry because Windham didn't want people looking at the car in the 90's to be able to locate him. So he gave them a pseudonym, Bill Thagard, which is what ended up in the book. But we have photos of the car and a good description of it as well, which - curiously enough - exactly matches what is now being said about 2080.

Unaccounted for? I don't think so.

One of the pictures in the two articles shows the car with a 1963 WA plate. The plate also looks like it has a few different color stickers on it, similar to newer registration/inspection stickers.

Story does not sound right. How and when did the car move from WA to FL?

30 years in a trailer. I'd like to see the condition of the trailer after all that time.

George

I see no problem with the history. The original owner, from WA, sold the car to a dealer in GA in 1978. He sold it to the owner from FL, Carl Windham.

The car wasn't 30 years in a trailer. Two people who were looking for a 289 Cobra in the mid 90's and placed "wanted - 289 Cobra" ads were contacted by Windham, claiming his name was Thagard. The car was in a garage in south Florida. Or maybe more than one, as the owner seemed to like to move it around, possibly for fear someone might steal it. Both potential buyers gave us the heads-up about the car, noting that it was tatty and had mouse droppings in the interior. For some people, "barn find" is often just another way of describing a car that has simply been neglected for a number of years.

I just viewed CSX2080 at the Concours d’ Elegance in Boca Raton on Sunday February 27, 2011. The 1963 Shelby Cobra is owned by Donnie Gould of Fort Lauderdale, Fl. it is a 289-271 HP matching numbers car. The car has been parked since 1981 and has just completed a mechanical restoration with close attention paid to preserving original condition. This is the first time CSX 2080 has been shown publicly in over 30 years. Give me restored.

Donnie Gould owner of CSX2080

http://www.rmauctions.com/images/magazine/91_1.jpg

Donnie Gould learned the trade, built a reputation and developed his career following in the footsteps of one of the pioneers of the classic car industry – his father.
Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Gould grew up surrounded by his father’s passion for cars and the classic car industry. “It was 24/7 at my house,” said Gould. His father, Tiny Gould, was one of the first full time antique classic car dealers in the business, really beginning an entire new industry of collecting as early as 1955. “As far as dealers, my father, Bob Adams, Leo Gephart and Tom Barrett are considered pioneers of the industry.” Gould said the knowledge gained through his father was invaluable. “My father taught me a lot of things. Not only that, we worked together well and bonded excellently.”
Gould, now of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has since taken his skills and joined RM Auctions in the role of Southeast Car Specialist and Partner. Beginning at RM in 2002, Gould was not only familiar with the industry, but a familiar face to many. Gould had restored cars for over 20 years and had been active on the auction scene working with Kruse. When Kruse was bought by eBay in May of 1999 Gould’s auction was eliminated from the schedule, but he was not discouraged. Gould said he knew offers were going to come along to pick up his auction, but he wanted to be sure he chose the right company. “I got offers from several companies that I considered to be second rate, and I turned them down. I knew when I was approached by Rob Myers that RM was the perfect fit.”
Myers and Gould began discussing possibilities for their partnership, and they both anticipated renewing Gould’s auction in the Southern Florida region. Gould’s first RM Auction as an employee and partner was Vintage Motor Cars in Arizona 2002 and things began to fall into place following that. “Rob came down to South Florida and we spent a couple weeks selecting sale sites, buying cars and working out the fine details.”
The inaugural Boca Raton Collector Car Auction in February 2003 was a huge success, with attendance soaring over 10,000 and the auction of 500 cars producing sales of almost $8 million.
Since coming on board Gould has developed RM Florida and continued to generate auction fever on Florida’s gold coast. “Our Boca event, now in its third year, keeps getting stronger and stronger.”
After more than 20 years in the restoration business Gould said the opportunity to join RM and leave restoration was a blessing in disguise. “Restoration is tough. . . I love my work with RM and I love the people in the car business. I couldn’t see myself doing anything else now.”
Although he may not still be actively involved in the restoration business Gould said he still enjoys taking collector cars and “dukin’ them up.” His personal favorites include Shelby Mustangs and Ford Performance Products.
If money was no object Gould said he would buy back the only car he regrets selling – a 1976 Wood Brothers Mercury Stock Car. “I found the Mercury Montego in a junkyard and restored it myself, and sold it reluctantly several years later. I even know where it is now, but I strongly doubt it will ever, ever be for sale,” explains Gould.
His personal collection includes a 1966 Hertz Shelby Rent-a-Racer, which was the first car he bought out of high school and was his daily driver for a number of years. The third of only 85 built as a four-speed Gould said he can remember “burning up the town” in that racer. Gould also “burned up the town” racing Vintage Cup race cars for over five years.
Gould retired from racing when he met his wife Renee, who was also in the car business, and started a family. Now the father of three boys, Jeremy, eight; Justin, five; and Jacob, four; Gould admits they keep him very busy and have taken on their father’s adventurous spirit. “My eight year old recently fell out of a tree, and ended up with a concussion and a broken wrist!”
It is too early to tell if his sons will follow in their father’s footsteps, much like Gould did his, but Gould has the feverish collector car industry in his blood and has surely passed that passion onto his own boys.

Pictures from Boca Raton Concours d' Elegance

Heard from long-time owner Carl Lee Windham: He said Bill Thaygard had offered to act as an agent for him in the early 90's to sell the car. That's why 2 people updated us on the car at that time and said the owner was Thaygard. He didn't tell them he was just an agent. But he didn't bring Windham any acceptable offers, so Windham held on to the car until just recently.

I looked at all the photos. "Vintage", "patina", both are OK, but at least they could have polished the top of the chrome air cleaner, couldn't they?

Take a look at the closeup of the fender vent....very nicely sculpted into the body. Nothing in the replica industry comes close, not even the Shelby replicas (although the Shelby replicas do have a nicely finished cutout where the sidepipes exit the body on the 427 models).

The 289 model is most assuredly my favorite of all the Cobras, but I think.....no, I KNOW...the FIA model is my clear favorite. Slab-sides look cool, but the FIA is HOT!

Cheers from Dugly :cool:

More pictures of Boca Raton Concours d' Elegance

The side vents look a little different than others. My memory is that the side vents were not on the early cars, leading me to think these may have been added at a later time. I don't remember at which serial number they were added in production, but someone on CC probably does........

The car's original owner added the side vents and hood scoop (purchased through Shelby American) in 1968, following which he also repainted it. The standard side vents did not appear until CSX 2157, although the Le Mans Replica race cars with earlier chassis numbers had larger versions of them.