1965 Cobra Factory Five MK-IV
The first Cobra Daytona coupe, CSX 2287, was painted Viking Blue, a light metallic shade that still looks extremely good on this basic shape and is still preferred by many who saw the car take its first win at Sebring in March of 1964. That success encouraged Ford Motor Company to back a program to quickly build five more coupes to go to Europe and challenge Ferrari. The tiny team of Shelby mechanics that went to Europe with those cars in '64 came tantalizingly close to winning the championship in that year. One of the coupes, CSX 2299, with Dan Gurney and Bob Bondurant did in fact win the GT class at Le Mans and the livery of that car, Viking Blue with thinner Wimbledon White racing stripes added on for easier recognition at speed, is most memorable for that year. In my opinion, the whole effort for '64 was probably that team's greatest achievement, even though it fell short by a few points because of Ferrari's questionable manipulation of the points for the final race at Monza.
For the power and style enthusiast, everyone knows that having both in an original is way out of most people's reach. In particular those all originals can be finicky and require lots of garaging and trailering, and little driving, unless you are pulling your personal wrencher in a motorhome with that classic! As the saying goes there is more than one way to skin a cat, or you can have your cake and eat it too! The solution lies in this replica from Factory Five Racing. This car is all wrapped up for you. Just get in and drive. It has a 347ci Ford based Blueprint stroker engine with a 4-barrel Holley carb, and a Tremec 5-speed manual transmission. Throw in some ceramic coated headers and side pipes snaking across the rockers, and we have a car that is unbelievable on just about every front.
Exterior
Featuring shades of the original cars that went across the pond to take on the Ferraris, a Charcoal Gray body we can see its ultra-magnificent sheen, as it is very thick, with no stress marks or fracture lines. This bathing in charcoal is topped off with silver stripes with red thin pinstripe highlighting is a stunner and does not get any more classic and sexy looking. With the look of the classic Cobra, we note shiny ceramic coated side pipes with mesh guards, (still watch yourself on those pipes getting in and out!), which offer up a very distinctive exhaust note. Nicely polished chrome full roll bars are behind the driver and passenger, pristine chrome brite-work and full bumpers adorn this racer. 17-inch Halibrand style faux knockoff style wheels are wrapped by virtually new blackwall 245/45zZR17 in front and 315/35ZR17's on the rear.
Interior
Nicely aged black leather covered bomber buckets complete with wide racing latch style belts and red piping and stitching sits in a sea of like new black carpet. A beautiful birdseye maple dash houses a large polished centrally located black face Factory Five gauge cluster sporting various gauges and knobs. A straight arm shift lever is well within reach of the pilot as is a rally style Shelby badged wood rimmed steering wheel. Shiny charcoal fiberglass covers the doors on both doors and does a wonderful job of reflecting those side pipes when they are open. A shout out to the trunk where the black covering theme persists in black all-weather carpeting, and all buttoned up back here.
Drivetrain
Under the hood we are greeted with a Blueprint Racing 347ci V8 stroker. Dressing things up are the black crinkle finish and ribbed Cobra air cleaner and valve coverings and upon closer inspection we note a highly polished Edelbrock intake manifold. Feeding this modified mill is a Holley 4-barrel carburetor. A Tremec TKO600 5-speed manual top loader transmission is on back, and this pushes power rearward to a Moser built Ford 8.8" rear axle with 3.55 gearing.
Undercarriage
Round tube framing with reinforcing cross members and outrigger supports provides the backbone for this racer and we now have a very rigid chassis with minimal torque steer and chassis flex. All this in near perfect condition with only very slight surface rust and road dirt. Also seen underneath is the independent coil over front suspension that works in harmony with the 3 link rear suspension that has been fitted with coil overs and a panhard bar. Wilwood disc brakes are on all 4 corners and it's time to take this dream come true to the test track.
Drive-Ability
What a pleasure! A good stiff ride, plenty of power, and beautiful melodious exhaust tone is worth the price of admission alone. With the addition of power steering getting in and out of tight spaces is a breeze. The black leather bomber seats are super comfy and all the while you are turning plenty of heads and it is due in part to the unique sound. The classic color scheme does not hurt either!
Like the artists of the original Delft China, this build was meticulously and artistically performed utilizing a stout 347ci with added inside goodies, perfectly machined and polished, and looking fab. A comfy interior mostly for going fast, and those faux knockoffs are to die for!
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special interest automobile showroom, featuring over 850 vehicles for sale with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle barn find collection is on display. This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914. Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the vehicle in person.
