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Cobras built in Pittsburgh?
The latest issue of "Classic and Sports Car" has an article on CSX2153, including a little background on the car. In the article, Joan Sherman, identified as Shelby's girlfriend and first employee, is cited as saying that many of the first customer Cobras were built by Ed Hugus of Continental Motors in Pittsburgh. The name of Ed Hugus is familiar, but I had not heard that any of the early cars were built anywhere but Venice.
Can anyone enlighten me? Thanks, |
Dick:
Ed Hugus was a race car driver and foreign car dealer who had picked up a Shelby dealership in '62 (perhaps one of the only non Ford franchisees). He campaigned a car (independently at Nassau) and also took a car, I believe, to Le Mans in '63. He was a regular on that circuit. I believe he campaigned one of the Le Mans Hardtop cars. The Hugus car expired after 10 hours on that occasion. AC also entered a car that year with Ninian Sanderson and Peter Bolton and it finished seventh behind six Ferraris. A good start for the young Cobra. If memory serves, Hugus professionally built a number of cars. I will have to check the archives to get a better sense of his role in the build process. |
Cal,
Thanks for the info on Ed Hugus. I'm still wondering about the claim of cars being built in Pittsburgh. Do you think the article could be referring to Hugus modifying Cobras for track use rather than doing the actual assembly? |
Cal is correct re: Hugus and Le Mans in '63. Hugus/Jopp drove the white Cobra which dnf'd, while Bolton/Sanderson (with Stirling Moss as team manager) did impressively well for a car that was largely stock save the wheels, side vents, hardtop, and fuel filler arrangement.
I have never heard or read that cars were actually completed in Pittsburgh. Perhaps it is a reference to Hugus' preparation of the Le Mans car, although memory seems to suggest that both '63 LM cars were prepped by AC. I also seem to recall that Cobras incoming from England were shipped to the Port of Los Angeles; it wouldn't seem to make much sense to then ship them 2/3 of the way across the country for completion when Shelby was right there in L.A. Ed did have one of the first Cobras on the track; at Nassau 1962, which Cal mentioned, I think the Cobra entry consisted of the very first Cobra made (entered by Shelby) and Hugus' car. Perhaps that is what the article was suggesting-- Bob |
Quote:
daytonacobra@hotmail.com |
Aaron....
the thread is 5 years old...the originator hasn't been online for 3 years. You might get a better response if you e-mail him. :o Then again...maybe someone else can help with the article in question. :D |
Even if the originator is loooong gone, maybe others would be interested to know...
I've been reading some old Cobra books lately and came across this info. Apparently there were four Mk I Cobras that were completed by Ed Hugus in Pittsburgh: CSX2001, CSX2003, CSX2004 and CSX2005. In addition final assembly on five other Mk I Cobras was carried out by Tasca Ford in Providence, Rhode Island: CSX2006, CSX2024, CSX2028, CSX2029 and CSX2034. Of course the balance of Mk I Cobras were completed in Shelby's Sante Fe Springs and Venice locations. I don't have a SAAC registry, so maybe someone else can confirm if this info is accurate. |
Yes,
Several early CSX 260 cars were shipped to the East Coast and sent to Hugas to finish, therefor not ALL Cobras went through Shelby! I would think this makes the Hugas cars rarer and somewhat moe unusual!:eek: The AC records state which cars went to Hugas. I wonder what detail differences there are from Pittsburgh vs. Venice cars? Nuts, bolts and brackets? And what of the cars Bob Tasca finished? Surely there was no "Cobra assembly manual" to follow..................:confused: |
Cobras built in Pittsburgh?
No, none of the Cobras were ever built in Pittsburgh. My Dad bought the first production car (CSX2001) from Ed Hugas, who was a personal friend in Pittsburgh. I just converted a few home home movies to youtube, so have a look:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Wf9u4kBoYws&feature=user http://youtube.com/watch?v=hj_WH-Y3puA&feature=user http://youtube.com/watch?v=C8IhwInXjpM&feature=user These are literally home movies, with my Dad (Dr. Richard A. Milo) driving the car, that I simply captured with my digital camera and uploaded. I was 9 years old at the time, and I was the kid on the bike. Cheers, Dave Milo |
Ed Hugus told me he took the first few cars
because Shelby didn't have the money to pay for them. Hugus did.
Hugus was a key contact for Shelby because he was a veteran of Normandy , and had raced several times at LeMans and was well respected by the French who told him "whatever you want, you got" so when Shelby wanted Cobras entered at LeMans in '63 but not under the Shelby name, it was done. I lean toward "prepared by Hugus" rather than built by Hugus but it makes sense to ship cars from England to PA rather than to the West Coast and back. After all the cars arrived from the UK painted, trimmed, wired and all they needed was the engine and gearbox. Hugus lived in Pebble Beach and Savannah, GA and only recently died. |
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