Race by Race Detailing of the Cobra Daytona Coupe Prototype CSX 2287
By Ye Olde Editor

Here are rough sketches of CSX2287 as it appeared in it's 10 race outings.The style of the numbers
are reasonably accurate - they were traced over scans of photographs, and scaled to fit. Eyeball scale
at it's best! The car numbers were hand painted at each track, were uneven, and all 4 places on the car
were often different! Keep this in mind before you think that I need new glasses…..There are inaccuracies
on many of the old slot car instruction sheets - most notably the fabled AutoHobbies car. They show the
Daytona car as #10 and the Sebring version as #14, although elsewhere on the sheet, they have it right.
The K&B 1/24 version is a farce, although the Aurora 1/32 at least has the number 14 shaped correctly.
The configuration of the car varied sequentially from race to race. That is, a change tended to stay on
the car once it was applied. I’ve attempted just to point out the changes for each race.

Race 1 - Daytona February 16, 1964

Front to back decals: Wynn's, Prestolite, Autolite, Pure.
Goodyear behind the side window.

You can use Patto's numbers from his 1/32 Daytona Coupe decal sheet.
I got a Wynn's from a K&B Modelrama 1/32 Indy car decal sheet.
The others are from the Monogram 1/32 Cooper Ford Sheet.

At all races in 1964, the coupes are painted '62/63 Ford Viking Blue
******************************************************************************
Race 2 - Sebring March 21,22 1964

2 additional cooling air intakes cut into the cowl on either side of the original center vent.
Scoop was cut into the roof during a pit stop, using a screwdriver!
Small aluminum deflectors at the front of the radiator vent in the hood for this race only.

Front to back decals: Unknown small round yellow, Autolite, Castrol.
Same Goodyear as Daytona. Patto decal sheet. Yep, the 0 is supposed to be smaller than the 1!
No 0's on the Patto sheet, but you can make them out of the other numbers
********************************************************************************
Race 3 - Lemans Test Day April 17,18 1964

Autolite is only decal, again from Patto. Don't know how they got away with that,
because sponsor decals were prohibited for the Lemans race. I imagine they heard about it…..
*******************************************************************************
Race 4 - Spa May 17, 1964

Pete Brock's prediction of high speed instability finally occurs here,
and a makeshift aluminum spoiler is added before qualifying.

Yes, the 1's on the front and sides are much smaller than on the rear.
Only race with a small white meatball & number on rear window.

No roof scoop, but one appears on the fender in front of the driver,
for foot/leg cooling. Clear bug deflector on hood in front of driver.

1st appearance of a license plate on the car - apparently a requirement
of the European rules.

Only the Autolite decal, as on the LeMans Test Day. Both are on Patto's decal sheet.
*******************************************************************************
Race 5 - Lemans June 20,21 1964

No sponsor decals. An open rectangular vent appears on each side. The spoiler is now body color.
In addition to the fender scoop, the 2 small vents on either side of the cowl now sport scoops also.

The fuel filler cap on the driver's side is gone. 2 funnels appear inside the grill opening,
to duct air for additional cooling.

An orange ID light is added to the quarter window on the passenger side. 2 thin white stripes,
stopping after going over the spoiler in the rear. To distinguish the prototype from the team car,
the prototype gets a white "mask" around the headlights
*******************************************************************************
Race 6 - Reims July 4,5

Same configuration as LeMans (including white mask), with number change from 6 to 14.
The 4's are big. On the front & side numbers, the 1's are straight, whereas on the rear,
the 1 has the little "flag" on the top.
******************************************************************************
Race 7 – Oulton Park TT (Goodwood) August 29, 1964

Same configuraton as Reims, with a number change from 14 to 22.
The nose number is angled 45 degrees, with the top of the numbers pointing towards the driver.
Black corrigated air cooling hoses into both side windows for cooling
***********************************************************************************
Race 8 - Tour de France September 11-20,1964

Same configuration as Goodwood, except no black cooling hoses, and driving lights are yellow.
Decals are unique to this race. Car number is 186. On the hood, it is the traditional black numbers
on a white meatball. A white meatball is on each side, but there is a large black rectangle that covers
most of the meatball, and the numbers are white. On the sides, in place of the Autolite decal, is
"Simon - Dupeyron Ecurie Ford France". On both the front and rear, there is a rectangular red
"Tour de France" event decal.
************************************************************************************
Race 9 - Lemans June 19,20 1965

Rebuilt for this race, the car now sports a new Ford '63/64 Guardsman Blue paint job
(what I think of as a typical metallic blue) and wide white stripes. Patto's sheet has these beautiful stripes!
The car number is 10. On the sides, the 0 is shorter than the 1, but on both the nose and tail, the numbers
are the same height. On the rear, the license plate is now low where the oil cooler was originally, and the
USA oval decal is above it - again, on Patto's sheet. Exhaust pipes are white, and the newer team cars
have white wheels, but the prototype's wheels remain natural color. No more white mask around the headlights
********************************************************************************************
Race 10 - Bonneville Salt Flats November 6, 1965

Essentially the same configuration as LeMans, with the exception that the 10 has been removed
from the hood, leaving the empty white meatball. 3 sponsor decals are used - Autolite, a larger Castrol,
and Goodyear, all on the side of the front fenders. Coat car liberally with salt…..
*******************************************************************************************
********************************************************************************************
[ Top Of Page ] [ Back To VSRN_106 ]

Please e-mail your comments and suggestions to:
greg@vsrnonline.com