Best day at the RTA
 

The most fun I’ve ever had at the RTA.
A very pleasantly surprising thing happened to me on Friday afternoon (21/08/09)……. Not something that you would really expect standing in an RTA office situated on the NSW Central Coast. I was being served with my daughter getting her ‘L plates’ and the glass windows and doors of the building started shaking. I thought ‘hmmm that sounds interesting’, by now everyone in the building was either looking for cover due to the impending earthquake or looking outside to see what the hell was happening. The nice RTA lady pointed outside and asked my daughter politely if that was what she was going to drive on her L plates while probably thinking what’s wrong with your father? I was mesmerized and in a state of shock… staring out the door…. not 10 metres away was a left hand drive, silver with black stripes, Cobra, running live black side pipes with NSW plates on it being parked metres from an RTA building … I rubbed my eyes and yep it was still there! WTF this is NSW Australia!!! Now I thought to myself, this car is either the real deal or this bloke’s got real big ones and is brain dead for coming within 10 kms of the RTA let alone parking outside the front door. He came in with a bundle of paper work and took a seat while I was stuck at the counter. There I was torn between wanting to go and have a good look at the car and supporting my daughter…..bugga. He then left after having some difficulty in starting the cobra amidst clouds of black smoke. About half an hour later I was sitting waiting for my daughter to complete her test when the cobra owner walks back in minus the Cobra, so I asked him would he mind talking about his car so he sits down and introduces himself as Enzo (I kid you not) and very briefly spoke to him before his number was called (imagine that, fast service in an RTA office) he told me it was registered in NSW and was chassis number 48 and he bought it from a collector in Whitehall New York at the start of the GFC. Now standing in the middle of the RTA with the RTA lady who’s just called out your number giving you the evil eye is probably not the time to spill your guts and tell the honest truth about the car within earshot of the RTA lady and to a total stranger who is dribbling. I’m not sure what the car was but I did see that it had a CSX number with Shelby’s signature on the dash, I couldn’t read the CSX series number but would CSX 3048 be written on the dash? Does anyone know the car or of its existence in Australia? I mean it may be well known amongst members I’ve just never seen it mentioned anywhere so I thought I’d mention it. Not being an expert on all things Cobra I’d like some help in identifying what I was looking at, thanks in advance. I gather CSX 3048 was one of the original 30 427SC cars and not a completion car so that would explain how he got it registered. Oh and I asked him if he was taking it to the Nationals and he said no he doesn’t drive it much…..err I can think of a few reasons why he doesn’t drive it much depending on what the car is and if it really is legally registered, it certainly made my day.

Cheers
Paul

G'day Paul.

Cool story.

I this the one? Appears to be CSX 4048.

http://www.piccola.com.au/documents/SHELBYCOBRA.pdf

http://www.piccola.com.au/sa-sales_listings.htm

Cobras built in the 60's and a handful of continuation Cobras from the 90's (I believe) had the CSX 3*** designations.

I'm surprised he managed to get it registered. You know what they say, where there's a will there's a way and a loophole of course!

For sale at $580,000 Aus however is somewhat rich though!!!! You'd think he'd have built the interior/dash with far more authenticity, especially for the money he's asking for.

Absolutely stunning none the less.

Regards.

Steve.

It actually looks like a replica of Stefanog's Cobra! :D

http://www.clubcobra.com/photopost/s...at=500&thumb=1

Good detective work Stephen! Nice looking car and a real beast it seems. I though NSW was tough to get registered in?

Merv

Hi Merv.

Can't say I've been in a position to build and register a Cobra in NSW.

Theoretically if a LHD Cobra was built and registered/tilled as a 60's Cobra within the USA, then a LHD vehicle of thirty years or older is registrable within NSW.

It must be the same loophole that a lot of car dealers use in order to sell the LHD Porsche Speedster replicas here.

These guys have had a handful for sale over recent years (they don't currently have any right now)

http://www.autostyle.com.au/default.asp

Makes you wonder why a quality LHD Cobra replica is taboo whilst a LHD Speedster appears to be acceptable by our authorities?

Regards.

Steve.

Here's an example of one of Autostyles Speedster advertisements.

What do they know that we don't know?

http://porshads.com.au/index.php?opt...id=17&Itemid=3

Steve.

It has the original VIN perhaps and is registered as the donor car?

Good point.

Perhaps there's enough Beetle DNA for it to be considered a re-body?

Origins
 

My Cobra was first registered in England, where the replica takes on the donors title. The car is registered as a 1974 Daimler Soverign first registered in 1974.
Cheers,
Bryan

Great Detective work
 

Wow, thanks for the responses. That sure is a great piece of detective work Stephen because I've done a heap of searching the net and never turned that advertisment up once. That's the car I'm 99% sure and it makes more sense that it would be semi on the road than csx 3048, the bloke seemed like a car dealer. I've been a cobra fan for a fair while and don't own one at the moment but have looked into importing one. I sort of doubt it's legally registered unless he has somehow managed to convince the authorities it was never road registered in the US and hence never presented for rego so they have to go to something else for reference. That may be the loop hole, because in NSW the date of manufacture is taken as the date when the car is first presented for rego, so legally I don't think a continuation car would be registerable in NSW. It doesn't take on the date of the engine block, donor, chassis or anything else unfortunately from what I've read. With your car Bryan, when was it first presented for rego?

thanks for your help

Paul

Ooops
 

I meant to say as a left hand drive a continuation series car wouldn't be registerable in NSW.

cheers

There has been precedent(s?) set where a US car titled as a 1965 over there has been bought in as such and registered here. I assume this is the case with this one? Either way they are dreaming o the price. Even jumping through all the hoops with import etc at that price they would have to be doubling there money?

Yeah it's tempting to think that a car titled as 1965 would be accepted but I'm afraid that's not the case in NSW. The date is when it is first presented for rego - sad but true. Yeah the price certainly looks steep, there was a bit of a bubble a few years back and I think it was 'Mr Mustang' that said a few people that bought continuation cars at the inflated prices would get their fingres burnt.
I just noticed Bryan is in Victoria so that might explain that one.

There has been a few cases of modern Cobras in the US coming over here titled as a 60's car and obtaining registration on that basis.

Good luck to them, I would hate to see what happens if they get caught though.

Ben

Exactly that was the case last year in NSW with an imported LHD Superformance wasn't it?

It was at the Brad Garlick Open Day,

You have to be determined....

I almost hesitate to post these links because I'd rather avoid loud commentary - thus stuffing up someones plans - but in the interests of general knowledge:

http://rvcs-prodweb.dot.gov.au/sevs/sevsindex.htm

http://rvcs-prodweb.dot.gov.au/sevs/530-00.htm

LoBelly

Know the car well
 

Hi Paul,

I know the dealer, his name is Rudolf Masi. I know the car well and I had a good look at it some time ago. To be honest, if you placed mine beside the CSX, it would put it to shame, no offence, it lacks a little presentation, especially when you are asking such a high price. Rudolf claims the car has one of the original CSX chassis numbers of the 60's, what he doesn't realise is that if this was the case, it would be a CSX 3.... . Good luck if he sells it at that price, it will only make ours more valuable! :D.

Paul, you can buy mine at half that price! :LOL:

http://www.clubcobra.com/photopost/d...6994_1_1_1.JPG

Hi Stefanog
Yours is a truly magnificent beast and Stephen was right, that CSX was just a poor imitation! LOL

regards
Paul

Do you take Amex Stef? :)