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      07-27-2012, 07:11 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BBBluey View Post
The vision, idea and hard work behind the Cobra came from Shelby and his inspiration was to win Le Mans and beat Ferrari. Everything else is as you said. Shelby came across Ford in a hunt for a V8 motor and Ford provided it (which by the way was a pick up truck motor).
Just suppose Ford had turned him down, maybe Pontiac would've stepped up??
For the record, the Daytona whooped Ferrari and won Le Mans not the GT40. But you're right, they are two different vehicles, I just didn't put a "&" or a "/" between them.
BBC put out a cool CobraFerrariWars documentary ... definately worth a watch. Another cool video, not dealing with Cobras but the MadMax Falcon Coupe, is one called "Love the Beast".
I think we both safely say that Corvette and Ferrari were both in Shelbys/Ford II's sights.
The Daytona won won LeMans as did the GT40. The GT40 had a damn near monopoly on the race for a couple years there. The one iconic photo of GT40's crossing the finish line #1,2,3 comes to mind. Shelby and Ford gave Enzo many sleepless nights in those days.

Im familiar with the Cobra Ferrari Wars. Facinating stuff. The other work I havent heard of. Maybe I'll give it a look.
Both the 260 and 289 small blocks which found its way into the early Cobras were Fords performance engines of the time. The 289 plant was the one that was in the 65 Shelby GT350 Mustangs. It was a solid lifter screamer. Im pretty sure the 289 in the Cobra was the hi-po version also. I think youre thing of the 428 FE Ford engine. Not sure if any actually ended up in production Cobras. Maybe test mules, Im not sure?
The 427 'side oiler'(which was underhood of the most desireable Cobras) were FE plants also but they were Fords pure racing engine. Designed for competition on the high speed NASCAR tracks. Its still a highly desired racing engine. I was only a little tike at the time, wish I was old enough to really appreciate the wild heyday of Shelbys career.
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