Original Owners Talking About Original Stuff.

[Cobra #3170]

Originally Posted by patty442

I almost agree with Mr. Snake. I have seen many cars through the years with slotted screws, owner installed, not original they didn.t know.. I have never seen a very high point car before a mid to late 3200 series car that did not have phillips. I checked my concours SAAC judges sheets. I would take off for slotted screws at that position. I do have an asterik on that line indicating I would allow a slot screw after 3280 or so as I surveyed a car that was outstanding and had the slot screw boot. To 3170. I judged several concours cars , on both sides of your car. Within 10 numbers before and 15 after. All had phillips. I have a collection of reference photos from magazines back to 1962. If any car magazine, no matter how obscure, had the word Cobra, a picture, a race result an ad, it went into my library. Ask Howard Pardee about our magazine run off. His minor collection barely fills a 55 foot semi. Sorry Howard. My brother was also hauling home magazines from England for me in the sixties. New car road tests from England. My lunatic office manager also surfaced unpublished photographs from law suits at AC during there troubled years over valuation of assets, that show production line shots used as evidence of valuations. Finally to answer Mr. Snake, I have judged, or surveyed or just seen in auctions or photos most of the first 21 cars. Most of those cars have been restored many many times. I was nickel and diming cars in the sixties. I use to go into NYC to Gotham Ford everytime my Dad saw a Cobra in the showroom as he was traveling to work. There was a dealer in Washington DC went there if I was home from college if my brother said there was a 427 there. White Plains Ford the same. Taking notes and making mental pictures. Ready, I have seen 2 other phillips screws on 427s. They were there on over 75% of what I deemed uncrashed front hi point cars. The two that pass through the lower oil cooler valence. The area is painted. I assume that SA used a phillips screw for several reasons. First a screw rather than bolt would reduce damage to the paint from the flank of the wrench head. But more likely those fasteners installed at AC were tossed by SA for painting and replaced with phillips because they would be easier to install no slipping. Later 3100 seem to be a mix with no apparent sequencing . Enough tonight on 4 boot screws and two lower valence screws/ bolts. Good night.

The reason I remember what the car came with was because I was surprised that they were not Phillips when I removed the tunnel the first time in 1966.
I assumed that they were slotted because the other screws on the car were slotted IE windshield hood latches etc. even though the boots were US installed. Since we are into dropping names my uncle was president of the Phillips screw company when their patent ran out in the 1960's. As a result I had a huge stock of Phillips head screws of all configurations and finishes.
I did not replace the boot screws because the ones it came with worked fine.

I was never very interested in concours competition because the cars were designed for performance and were quite crude compared with other cars of the day. I understand that having the correct Witworth bolts and nuts in the correct locations is important to some folks but it is not my cup of tea.
I always pursued the performance side of the Cobra legend rather than
detailed appearance of the car. Sitting around for hours waiting for the judges to come by seems like a waist of a Sunday when you could be driving.
I do respect the effort that goes into a perfect restoration and think that it is wonderful that people are presenting a car that is just like it was when
delivered. Unfortunately a correct car will never be a fast car so that is
where I diverge from the collector class.