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Kirkham Motorsports

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  #1 (permalink)  
Old 03-25-2013, 05:37 PM
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Default The Cobra powered Ferrari Testa Rossa

Although I understand back when Shelby was in partnership with Dick Hall in Dallas selling cars that they had a Ferrari (maybe 750 Monza) with a Chevy V8 I more recently talked to a college professor who more recently bought a Ferrari Testa Rossa that he said had a 427 installed by Shelby American. The car had fire damage, but not from the engine, the owner st one point tossed into the interior a cigarette to collect the insurance payment. I am surprised Shelby American, being busy building production and race cars in the Sixties,would have the time to do engine conversions but then I don't know what year the conversion was done. Has anybody heard of this Ferrari-Ford before? I imagine the big block Ford outweighed the Ferrari engine by at least double so it must have been a bear in handling.

PS The Professors sold the car with a V-12 though not the right one, for a few million and when I last heard of it on the block, it was $16 million
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Old 05-07-2013, 12:57 AM
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I've seen a Ford Mustang with a Aston Martin motor before, it was a V12. Nothing really to do with the post though?
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Old 05-07-2013, 12:05 PM
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The professors would be Charles Betz and Fred Peters - a couple of very well known collectors. The car is supposed to be 250 TR 0666. This is the same car that Jon Shirley just sold for $16M.
I've read before that the car had an engine swap in 1964 or so, but that it was a small block Ford. I have not read anywhere that Shelby put it in. That sort of seems unlikely as it was just a beat up old race car back then and they probably would not have invested the kind of money someone like Shelby probably would have charged.
You could probably find more info doing a search on:
250 TR 0666 ford engine

Hope that helps.
Steve
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Old 05-07-2013, 12:33 PM
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Hmm... Did Scot Sanders or Doug Stokes work for Shelby?

The day the $16 million Ferrari got a Ford V-8 - is this the Pebble Beach Goodings Auction car ??? - The Vintage Racing League

And I stand corrected - a trusted Ferrari source says it did have a big block Ford, and a Corvette diff also.

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Old 05-07-2013, 02:06 PM
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Default Wow I was finally right about something...

Golly, of course it makes more sense it would have been a 289 which probably weighs at least 150-200 lbs. less than a FE 427. The Professor I talked to said the conversion was very professional but didn't mention the Corvette rear. I wonder how much Shelby charged for the conversion because he charged Rootes $10K to drop a 260 into the Sunbeam Alpine but that involved moving the firewall, etc.

Shelby was involved also in importing Listers already set up to take Chevy V8s. Conversions to American engines were common in Ferraris when they broke back then--a used Chevy cost less than one Ferrari piston!
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Old 05-07-2013, 02:14 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Historybuff View Post
Golly, of course it makes more sense it would have been a 289 which probably weighs at least 150-200 lbs. less than a FE 427. The Professor I talked to said the conversion was very professional but didn't mention the Corvette rear. I wonder how much Shelby charged for the conversion because he charged Rootes $10K to drop a 260 into the Sunbeam Alpine but that involved moving the firewall, etc.

Shelby was involved also in importing Listers already set up to take Chevy V8s. Conversions to American engines were common in Ferraris when they broke back then--a used Chevy cost less than one Ferrari piston!
They couldn't have charge a lot because it says the reason he did it was a cheap way to get a new engine, the car at the time was only worth $3500 and he didn't want to replace it with the a new Ferrari v-12 because it would have cost more than the value of the car...
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Old 05-07-2013, 08:29 PM
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Just a wild guess, but could Max Balchowsky have done engine swap?
He built and drove the famous Old Yeller cars. He was famous for engine swaps and transmissions, too. He put Chevrolet four speeds in exotic Italian sports cars during the 1950's.
The History of Old Yeller 2 - Famous Race Car. This is just a little bit of Max and his wife.

Carroll Shelby actually drove Old Yeller in a race and Max set up Hollywood cars for movies like "Bullitt."
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Old 05-08-2013, 09:59 AM
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The owner of Ol' Yeller 2 has a CSX Cobra he races. He is a dentist.
Dr. Ernie Nagamatsu has a factory hardtop on his car.
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Old 05-08-2013, 12:23 PM
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The owner of Old Yeller 2 races a CSX Cobra. He is a dentist.
Dr. Ernie Nagamstsu is a CSX owner who does vintage racing of Cobra roadster with a hardtop.

Max Bachowsky 1
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Old 05-27-2013, 10:56 AM
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Default It wasn't Max who did the swap; some guy in West Covina

Can't find his name but his son posted pictures of the car on the net, though not with the hood open. I was wonderiing if he was a former employee of Shelby , hence the expertise in the engine. I ran into the buyer of the car when it was burned (interior) and with this engine and he said he paid around $1500 for the car that at last report sold for $16 million.
I used to visit Max at his shop in Hollywood, he maintained a lot of Bizzarrinis for stuntman Carey Loftin and built specials to use in Disney movies with race car scenes. Max also had a thing for Buick Grand Sports.
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Old 05-27-2013, 12:25 PM
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I was hoping a movie could be made about Max. Dr. Ernie said there was some work done on that but it is on hold. Old Yeller 2 was in "The Killers" which was first (1964) made for TV movie. It was re-released in theaters and only movie that has President Reagan as a bad buy.
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