Why doesn't Shelby American???

[grumpy]

Tony,

I think the bumps on the trunk did not make the car an FIA, as memory serves this was a last ditch effort to qualify the cars for a particular set of races with the Shelby Team Mgr slamming the trunk onto the "FIA SUITCASE" that good old FERRARI had pushed them into doing since it fit in a Ferrari GTO with no problem, thus the creation of those "bumps".
The nose opening below the grille occurred right before Targa Florio and were rather crude with each a different dimension shape and were needed to fight the high heat in the cooler after bearing failure showed up with the light/screen hoops added to the fronts for rocks/debris. Neither of the two items above were never a part of the FIA package sold to the consumer as Competition cars that were built to FIA specifications as a crossover into the USRRC rules to be run stateside under the FIA sanction.
I have seen only two FIA Kirkhams to date , didn't measure the scoop, but looked right size and dimensions for the 64 Competition specd FIA cars. If you will note however, the same FIA rules under the USRRC banner stateside used another scoop that later was modified for the 427 Competition cars.
The things I guess I always note along with what you noted above that ID a 289/FIA;
1. The 289 style header/under body edge exhaust pipe, no side pipe.
2. The aluminum scoops on the front for the brake ducts.
3. The correct flares.
4. The correct roll bar painted or chrome.
5. The correct wheels and square ear knockoffs.
6. The correct dash and SW gauges.
7. The correct seats and belts.
8. The correct qwik jacks and direction.
9. The correct fuel tank location and cap.
10. Never mind under the hood, most get carried away.
11. Never mind the correct suspension, the comp 289 leaf spring set-up is more rare than the cars.
12. The white lens Lucas paring lights.

I could add another 31 items to this list not counting minor details. I have always found, if you replicated a particular car and date raced, then you have it nailed, otherwise, this is the car the Carroll was always commenting on that they did not have set of exact shop rules, parts, and no two matched, I won't finish his comment).

grumpy

ps: I want to add I'm not being critical in any way or trying to defend any car or any one, that's the novelty of these cars, and the more hysterical data we come across the more we find incorrect as to thise details.