Building the Lost Cobra CSX2287

Building the "Lost" Cobra - CSX2287
- or "Old Dog, New Tricks"
By Ye Old Editor

Hot on the heels of the success of his first Cobra Roadsters, Carroll Shelby decided he needed something better if he was going to take on Ferrari in International racing. So in 1963, they started building a streamlined coupe body at their California facility.

The body was custom designed by Pete Brock, and painstakingly hand fabricated out of aluminum, over wooden cross-section templates, much like what you see in some 3-view plans.The design featured a chopped off Kamm-back tail with no spoiler, which was the hot design of it's day.

First raced at Daytona in 1964, they led the GT class until a pit fire put the car out of the race.
A few weeks later, they won GT at Sebring, and were 3rd overall.

Five other copies of the car were eventually built, but the bodies of these were made in Italy.

In 1965, the prototype car (CSX 2287) was taken to the Bonneville Salt Flats, where Craig Breedlove used it to set some land speed records. Immediately after this, the car was sold to Oscar Koveleski of AutoWorld, then to Jim Russell of Russkit, who converted the car to street use, then sold it to record producer Phil Spector. Over the years, Spector apparently racked up a number of traffic tickets, and sold it to his bodyguard for $1000. The bodyguard gave it to his daughter, who eventually stashed the car away, and wouldn't even admit she had it. The whereabouts of the car became a mystery to Shelby enthusiasts, although they kept tracing it back to the last person that they knew had it….

Fast forward to 2001. The woman who had been storing it for all those years gives the car to a friend, and then commits suicide. The parents of the woman take an offer to sell the car car to a California dealer for $3 million, who turns around breaks a deal to sell it for 3.75 million, and sells it to a Philadelphia physician for $4 million. The friend who was given the car (he has the title) gets wind of this, and takes them to court, claiming the car is rightfully his. And now Spector claims he never sold the car!!!! The case is still pending….

Here is a great link to info on the Daytona Coupes, including photos of the prototype as it was unearthed in 2000:

http://www.thecarsource.com /shelby / cobra / daytona / csx287.html

As you may know, the Daytona Coupe was a popular subject for slots in the 60's. In 1/32 scale, the AutoHobbies version is the one everyone still wants. In 1/24, K&B's was probably the best. There were also vacformed versions, including Monogram's prepainted 1966 427 SuperCoupe (which was a totally different car than the original six 289 powered cars - this will be the subject of another article at some time in the future).

To assist your decision in what version of the car to make, I've done a side story showing the configuration of the Prototype in it's10 different appearances. Check out " Race by Race Detailing of the Cobra Daytona Coupe Prototype CSX 2287" elsewhere in this issue.

Over the years, Lindberg has issued a 1/32 static kit several different times. In the early 90's I acquired one, and eventually built and painted the body, intending that I would put a chassis under it, and do an article for the old printed version of VSRN. Surprise, surprise - I never quite got "aroundtuit", and there it sat until this spring. When I got interested in reviving my track, I spotted it, and again figured it would make a good article. Then the story of the real one hit the fan….

Rummaging around in my parts boxes, I came up with a set of 1/32 Cox Ford GT wheels. Since the real car had a bunch of power, the "Old Dog" in me figured on a 16D in an inline frame would do the trick. But then I heard about Patto's trick new Lil' Ripper, and before you know it, I had one of those, a set of his vac-formed wheel inserts, and a nice decal sheet for the car. Jack Stinson made some "silly cones" for the Cox mags, and then the rest was up to me.

One of the problems with building a "scale" car (or at least a "scale appearing" car -which is definitely what I've done!) is the guide flag. Its enough of a problem in 1/24, where you have more room to work with. In 1/32, it's tough, even with smaller guides like the original Dynamic Jet flag. I’ve heard that there were a few guides made that had a front pivot, like the Cox one used in the Super Cucaracha. Rooting around in the junk I’ve collected over the ears, I came across a guide that was set up to be used either way:

I have no idea who made this, but in keeping with my theme song, I decided to incorporate the concept as another one of my "new tricks" in this car.

I'll start by taking a Russkit 22 style motor mount, and prepping it. This is an old original style mount that was intended for 5/32 tubing as rear axle bearings. Ream the holes out to 3/16, and put in small flanged oilites, as used on the Revell aluminum ladder chassis. With an oiled axle inserted through both bearings, solder in place, then wash thoroughly. The "Lil Ripper" has 3 mounting holes in the can that match the bracket.
Here a photo of the not quite completed car. Stay tuned next time for the finished product

I need to mention the paint. MCW Automotive Finishes sells authentic paint colors, in either airbrush ready bottles, or convenient aerosol spray cans, and I can honestly say, this is the best paint I’ve ever used! This is ‘62/’63 Ford Viking Blue, and it’s even lacquer, like the original, but you can get it in acrylic enamel, also. There isn’t any model paint this color, so I was thrilled when I saw it come out of the can. Not cheap, but well worth it. Search them out on the web to see what they offer. Their selection is amazing!

While in the process of working on the 1/32 version, I stumbled across a box from old friend John Bacon, famed 'glass body man. Inside was one of his 1/24 Daytona Coupe bodies, which he had cleaned up and even painted for me - a LOOOOOOOOOONG time ago!!!!! Skeptics might think that perhaps I had forgotten about it. Instead, I prefer to think of it as having stored it in a safe, yet unknown location, until such time that I was ready to finish it !!!!!!! Safe to say that the only person more surprised than me to see the finished car, will be John…..

I decided to go strictly "Old Dog" on this one - using the plentiful Cox Ford GT frame and running gear. Those aren't Cox "tires" on the rear- they are actually Down Under "tyres" from Australia, courtesy of Bill Hollingworth. He too will be quite surprised to see them, as I've also had them a looooong time!

Body mounting is again by my typical Velcro arrangement. In this case, I bolted a brass plate to the front of the chassis using the same screw that holds on the front suspension. Again, see the finished product next time.

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