Cal...
 

..........like how my brother ordered a Boss'9 in 1969 but the district office did not process the order?

We did sell a disporportionetly large volume of Boss 302s in '70. My brother knew how to spec the cars to sell, many larger (at the time, many now gone) dealers loaded them up with "look-good" stuff rather than the real stuff-Close ratio top loaders, Drag-Pack and other "go, not show" options. One of the distrubution guys in the Buffalo district office told me of a local dealer who kept sending in vehicle order forms for "Mustang Boss 302" cars with the "automatic trans" box checked off.....not just wrong but really stupid!

A couple of his "buddies" bought Boss 302s from him and we had some good times with them. I remember installing a set of Doug Thorley headers with cutouts on one car. This friend of his was famous for driving up our street, a dead end, in the middle of the night, opening the dumps and letting the clutch go at about 6000 RPM knowing full well my mother would soon be on the phone to the Troopers reporting the "delinquent" out on our street!

Sadly, my brother suffered from a disability that kept him from driving any car with a somewhat stiff clutch and so he drove a 351 Mach 1 with an automatic. He could ocasionally drive a manual but not for long and it really tore him up not to be able to enjoy the cars he sold and ordered.

We lost him New Years Eve 1970 (from his Hemophilia, not DWI) and I drove his 1971 pewter Mach 1 back to the dealership for to be sold......

As I said before, the cars and people involved in this era have been made into heros....some were, but most were just doing their jobs and certainly never thought to note every chassis number and detail.

As I am able to I will scan whatever I have and post it.

Rick

I think the last remaining new 427 offered for sale was at S & C Ford in San Francisco in early '67. Can this be verified?

Rick

Hmmm,,,,I thought the last sell was in '68?

Ernie

3042 was sold in '79 from Grappone Motors.

CSX3042.......BUT it was sold as a used car I would suspect???

Ernie

Legend...
 

has always held the last new unsold Cobra was at S&C Ford Circa 1969. I have some old "Shelby Owners Newsletters" in which someone tells the story of calling Ford in 1969 looking for a 427 Cobra and being directed to two dealers who as I recall still had new cars in stock. Cal, what is the latest invoice date for a 427 from SAI? I would bet they had some still in stock in early 1968.

Rick

This may be a silly question, but...

What were the model years of these cars sold in '67 & '68 as new cars?

I've read in the Registry that, in some rare cases, the cars were "updated" if still unsold from the previous year.

The last CSX30xx car to leave the factory was in May of 1967.

I also think the S&C car was the last to leave a dealer.

At least 2 S/Cs had their serial numbers modified at the request of the dealer... the ID Plate had been replaced with one that said "67-CSX30xx"... so that the car was sold as a 1967 model.

Back in the Olden days..
 

....it was not uncommon for a manufacturer to "update" vehicles in stock. Ford did it with medium and heavy trucks. They would send us a new VIN plate and MSO making a 1971 C600 a 1972. This practice stopped in the early 70s. It could be done on a car where the VIN did not identify the year, like a CSX VIN doesn't.

The Cobras sold after 1967 were still "new" cars and were positively 1967 models as they did not meet any of the new for 68 model year federal requirements i.e side marker lamps, emissions, collaspable steering columns and more.

Rick:p

Rick:
I will try and run down that invoice date this weekend and post it up here.

Ford did the "new" #s on the 70 Shelby's...they were accually left over 69's...

Yep...
 

...I had forgotten about that. Many do not realize that there were NO 1970 Shelbys built. The cars in the pipeline were modified and became "1970" models. I understand that some in dealer stock were also done but I have never seen any of the factory paperwork authorizing or describing this process. I do not know how they got around the 1970 DOT requirement for the locking steering column. Ford released the Maverick as a 1970 model in April 1969 and by September they had phased in the locking column as it was required. It may be that cars built by CY end 1969 may have been exempt. Many times the standards take place on Jan 1 so that may be the trick.

Rick:D

CAL,
I DID ALOT OF BUSSINESS WITH S&C FORD BACK IN THE '60'S. I SEEM TO REMMEMBER THEY HAD A GREEN 427 (WAS ACTUALLY A 428) STREET CAR ,GREEN THAT THEY SAID WAS THE LAST NEW ONE AVAIABLE. WAS SURPRISED TO SEE THEY SOLD MORE COBRAS THAN HAYWARD FORD, AS HAYWARD FORD WAS REALLY BIG INTO RACING THEN. S & C ALSO SOLD THE COSBY PAXTON CAR AND BIT THE BULLET WHEN IT WAS WRECKED AS THEY HADN'T PUT THE INSURANCE ON THE CAR. IT SAT COVERED AT S&C FOR ALONG TIME. A FRIEND, GORDON GIMBLE FINALLY ENDED UP WITH THE REMAINS, AND SOLD IT. THERE IS NO WAY THAT CAR CAN EXIST TODAY EXCEPT FOR THE CSX#. I LOST A BET THAT I COULD FIND A SPOT FOR A SILVER DOLLAR ANYWHERE ON THE CAR THAT WAS NOT TWEAKED. I THINK YOU MET GORDON AT MONTEREY. HE RUNS A 289 COBRA WITH WEBERS. THIS WEEKEND RICH AND I ARE IN THE SAME RUN GROUP DOING AN OPEN TRACK. ILL GIVE THE FLIP ALOT OF ROOM!!!
TERRY

Interesting stuff!
 

Terry, if I'm not mistaken the Cosby car (CSX 3303??) is now in the UK. I think there is a fair amount of coverage of it in Trevor Legate's Cobra book. I haven't read that one in a long time so I'm not sure what detail is given about the rebuilding of the car, although I recall that in the book it looks nothing like the other twin-Paxton car (the "Shelby" car), which I saw a few years back. The Cosby car was redone to S/C specs by Brian Angliss, and as far as I can tell has no clues--other than the CSX #--that it was once the subject of the "200 mph!" record album. Your recollection of the condition of the car following the accident is fascinating; it makes me want to get that book off of the shelf tonight and see how much mention is made of the shape it was in pre-rebuilding...:MECOOL:

the car was destroyed. I remember when Gordon Gimble got it. dammmm I am old ....ok what does Gordon Gimble do now... I am sure I have a few of his price sheets around here somewhere for all the Cobra parts..

Dan

Doesn't his wife, Nancy, race that Lotus 23 that Dan Gurney ran, the one with the 289 Ford in it? I think it has "Pacesetter Ford" on the side...neat car...

DAN,
GORDONS WIFE DOES RACE THE DAN GURNEY CAR.THIS WEEKEND SHE WILL BE AT THUNDERHILL WITH RICH AND I.SHE IS RUNNING A WINSTON CUP CAR. BOTH SHE AND GORDON LIVE OUTSIDE OF SACRAMENTO, CALIF. GORDON IS A MERCHANT MARINE AND SPENDS ALOT OF TIME AT SEA. HE STILL RUNS HIS 289 COBRA IN VINTAGE. WHEN I WAS LOOKING FOR A GT350 I ALMOST BOUGHT ONE THEY HAD, THEY ALSO HAD A PAXTON GT350.IT WAS REALLY INTERESTING LOOKING THROUGH ALL THE SHELBY MARKS AS THEY BOTH HAVE BEEN ACTIVE FROM THE BEGINING. IN FACT THEY HAD A PARTS BUSSINESS FOR SOME TIME AND ADVERTISED IN THE OLD MARQUES. BY THE WAY, I HAVE A FRIEND WHO HAS A COMPLETE SET FOR SALE AS HE HAS 3 OF THEM. AS FOR THE TWIN PAXTON CAR, TRUST ME, THE ONLY THINK THAT WAS SALVAGABLE WAS THE CSX#. AM SURPRISED THAT IM THE ONLY "OLD FART" THAT REMEMBERS THAT. THE SIDE EXHAUST I ENDED UP WITH, BUT THATS PART OF MY PAST I NEED TO FORGET.WILL EXPLAIN IN PERSON AT THE HISTORICS!
TERRY

DAN,
ALSO REGUARDING THE PAXTON COBRA. I REMMEMBER A DIFFERENT STORY THAN IS IN THE REGISTRY. THE LINKAGE ON THE PAXTONS WAS ALWAYS A PROBLEM...IT HAD A TENDANCY TO STICK. THERE WAS A MECHANIC AT S&C FORD THAT DID MOONLIGHT WORK AT HIS HOME. HE DID SOME WORK ON MY WEBERED CAR, BUT ALOT ON THE "COSBY" CAR FOR TOM MAXIUM. ANYWAY, THE CAR DID NOT GO OFF ON THE COAST HIGHWAY, AS I REMMEMBER. TOM WAS STOPPED BY THE CHP NEAR THE DAM AT LAKE BERRESSIA, CALIF. AFTER THE CHP LEFT, HE STUFFED HIS FOOT IN IT AND THE PAXTONS STCK OPEN. HE SAILED OFF THE CLIFT, WAS THROWN FROM THE CAR AS HE WAS NOT WEARING A SEAT BELT. HE DID NOT DIE THERE, BUT AFEW DAYS LATTER IN THE HOSPITAL. THROUGH SOME SNAFU AT S&C THE CAR WAS NOT INSURED AND SAT COVERED UP ON THE SECOND FLOOR OF S&C USED CAR BUILDING. I THINK THIS IS WHERE GORDON AND NANCY STEPPED IN. ILL ASK HER THIS WEEKEND. I RELAID MY RECOLATION TO NED SCUTTER AT A COBRA PHOTO SHOOT AT THE PETERSON MUSUEM ABOUT A YEAR OR TWO. IM SURE HE WILL DO FUTHER RESEARCH.
TERRY

thanks Terry for the "update" sure do miss these car's... winter is taken a toll with us now... we need to get out an drive our cars !!!

take care...one of these days I will get out to the SAAC meet..