Great Quick-Jack Debate

[Russ Dickey]

Guys, I know you've gone over this topic before, and I've researched the threads, but I still would like to get to the bottom of this mystery.

I was recently told that the quick-jacks on my 289FIA are "backwards" (see my gallery for pics). I looked at all the other Cobras at the show (all 427's), and thought "Wow...how could I have missed that?". Just to be sure, I went home and got out my copies of "Carroll Shelby's Racing Cobras" by Dave Friedman and "The Shelby American Guide" by Rick Kopec. And boy was I surprised.

I closely examined all of the photos in both of those books, and all of the 289FIA Cobras have the quick-jacks in the position that mine are in (facing inward, or toward the car if you will), except for one, which was a privately raced car. By the way it looks in all of these photos, every single factory team car that Shelby campaigned had them facing inward, and even the 427 S/C car that they used in the first Shelby press shots had them facing inward.

I've read a lot of you guys says "It doesn't really matter, they've been put on both ways....do it however you like", and I understand that, but I really want mine to be as close to the factory cars as possible. Check out this photo in Computerworks gallery:

http://www.clubcobra.com/photopost/s...t=1&thecat=500

I guess my question is, which position did Shelby put the quick-jacks in? Did private owners start reversing them at some point, and that has become the "accepted" way to install them??

Thanks,

Russ