DragonSnake Cobra: CSX2416

[Hal Heindel]

Originally Posted by Nedsel

... the factory records indicate that there were 6 small block Cobras built and sold as drag cars, i.e. Dragon Snakes, along with 1 427 example.

Ned, on what page in the nice new leatherbound 1,618-page World Registry might I find that?

Thanks,
Hal

[Nedsel]

Originally Posted by Hal Heindel

Ned, on what page in the nice new leatherbound 1,618-page World Registry might I find that?

Thanks,
Hal

That is not in the registry; it is based on the various pieces of factory paperwork I discussed earlier.

As for the paperwork on 2019 you illustrate, I agree the car was sold by Coventry as a drag car - which we knew it was - however the factory build sheet does not make any reference to it as such, nor was there an invoice from Shelby American to Coventry Motors that we have found that calls out exactly what equipment was on the car when it was first sold.

[Hal Heindel]

Originally Posted by Nedsel

That is not in the registry; it is based on the various pieces of factory paperwork I discussed earlier. As for the paperwork on 2019 you illustrate, I agree the car was sold by Coventry as a drag car - which we knew it was - however the factory build sheet does not make any reference to it as such, nor was there an invoice from Shelby American to Coventry Motors that we have found that calls out exactly what equipment was on the car when it was first sold.

CSX2019 has been well documented as to its history. Because the car began life as a PR car and was eventually converted by Shelby so they could race it as their first factory Dragon Snake, it had to be sold to Randy Berry as a used race car. How many build sheets would you say get produced for used race cars?

The car had to be sold through a Shelby dealer (Coventry) but was negotiated for, and air freighted directly, to Randy Berry. I have no idea what Coventry sold the car as. All I know is that it was "invoiced by Shelby to Coventry as a drag car." And I do have documentation from Randy (and the handwritten note from Leonard Parsons, Shelby's Production Manager at the time) of the drag mods.

But this isn't about CSX2019. It's about yet another barn find. I'm not stepping ahead of SAAC on this. Until the Registry is officially updated, the shelbyford.com website will continue to reflect what is spelled out on page 385 of the current World Registry:

"In the final analysis, there were five small block factory Dragonsnakes built. Two were Shelby's team cars, CSX2019 and CSX2357. The rest (CSX2248, CSX2427 and CSX2472) were the result of buyers taking Shelby up on their offer to build and sell complete, turnkey drag cars."

[Nedsel]

Hal, the website is yours to handle in any way you choose. All I am suggesting is that there is more information known about 2416 today than we published in the last SAAC registry, and we have no real indication when an updated version will appear. If you prefer to wait until the data is revised in the next registry, that is your call.

[Hal Heindel]

Originally Posted by Nedsel

Hal, the website is yours to handle in any way you choose. If you prefer to wait until the data is revised in the next registry, that is your call.

Fair enough, Ned. That revision may take a while, and I'm not convinced we'll ever see another Shelby World Registry. Having assisted in the publication of the last one, I know first-hand how much work you and the other registrars have to put into this thing before it can be published.

For what it's worth, here are my criteria for including a car in the shelbyford.com website, starting with how the factory defined a Dragon Snake (quoting from their advertising):

"The Dragracing Division of Shelby American's famous Competition Department has been working for months on the strips of Southern California developing the fastest production sports car to ever hit the quarter mile lights. These special new Dragon Snakes are now in limited production and available to qualified serious competitors. These special lightweight roadsters are equipped with a specially built 289 Ford dragracing engine, slicks, wide base wheels, hardtop, and specially set up suspension."

SAAC, on page 385 of the World Registry, defines Dragon Snakes as "the result of buyers taking Shelby up on their offer to build and sell complete, turnkey drag cars."

Shelby and SAAC both describe Dragon Snakes as complete race cars set up by the factory for sanctioned quarter-mile events, not for stoplight drags down Main Street. The way I see it, the distinguishing feature of these cars is not the type and horsepower of the engine installed at the factory, but the slicks and wheels and suspension that made them suitable for the strip, and unsuitable for the street. The things that defined them unequivocally as a factory-built drag race car.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

[Nedsel]

Agreed, however the above criteria would exclude 2093, probably the winningest "Dragon Snake" of the bunch. What to do?

[Hal Heindel]

Originally Posted by Nedsel

Agreed, however the above criteria would exclude 2093, probably the winningest "Dragon Snake" of the bunch. What to do?

That's easy, Ned, not call CSX2093 a Dragon Snake. On the shelbyford.com website, I categorize "The Fuchsia One" as an Independent drag car. As it happens, I've known Ed Hedrick for more than 40 years, and it was Ed and Jerry Mayo who were responsible for me acquiring CSX2019. Ed even contributed a short history for use on the website:

Ed Hedrick - Ford Drag Racing

Ed had bought the car from Costilow & Larson, and Jerry wrenched it when I got my first look at a drag racing Cobra: CSX2093 in all her metallic purple glory parked in Ed's garage. There was no going back. A few months later, Jerry, who's still a business partner, called me in Florida, telling me had found a drag race Cobra for sale in Indianapolis. A few weeks after that, 2019 was sitting in my driveway. I will always be in their debt for that.

As an aside, I still have two rear wheels, wide Halibrand magnesium pin drive, from CSX2093 that I bought from Ed after he sold "The Fuchsia One." Along with the soft top and heater from that car.

There's no doubt that between Bruce Larson and Ed Hedrick, CSX2093 was driven to more wins in 1/4-mile competition than any other Cobra. But the car left the factory as a street car, was in fact bought off a used car lot by Jim Costilow. And that keeps her from being a Dragon Snake.

I treat competition drag cars the same way SAAC treats competition street cars. Take FIA or USRRC Cobras. On page 368 of the Registry, you make a distinction between "Factory-prepared Comp Cars" and "Independently-prepared Race Cars." On the shelbyford.com website I make the same distinction between "Factory-prepared Dragon Snakes" and "Independently-prepared Drag Race Cars." My only additional test for including Independents is that they've actually seen action on a 1/4-mile strip, something I don't consider a requirement for Dragon Snakes. Once a car left the factory as a Dragon Snake, it had established its credentials.

Here is another way to look at it. Say someone goes out and buys a real but plain vanilla street Cobra, then gets and installs all the pieces that make up an FIA car, including the "FIA Suitcase" trunk lid. That's no longer possible, of course, but say it would be. Could that car then be advertised and sold as a legitimate FIA Cobra? Not without consequences. My feeling is, why should Dragon Snakes be any different?

Dragonsnake - Independent Comp Cars