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Thanks Shay. I appreciate your comments Mike and certainly many international events particularly Le Mans asked competitors to run their national colors. If you look at the black and white photos you can see the Cobra is a similar shade to the Ferrari '64 GTO beside it. The Cobra is also much darker than the Dayton Coupe (parked on the opposite side) which was painted Princess (Viking) Blue. Therefore I am fairly confident it was still in its original factory color - red.

Love the wheels, Campagnolos if I am not mistatken

Thanks Maxx. I have found no color pictures of the TdF car yet but 2001 came from AC painted red with black interior. The colors offered on the early cars included red, white or black only. So unless I find otherwise red is the color I will go with.

Thanks Dann. I enjoy your builds as well. Air extractor cut into the hood and the hardtop permanently installed.

Great build.

Thanks for you comments Michael. According to the Shelby American World Registry CSX2001 was the first production Cobra. It was delivered to Ed Hugas (Shelby's east coast dealer) who sold it to Dr. Richard Milo. It was later converted to the race car I am attempting to replicate. That conversion included enlarging the fenders to fit 6.5" and 7.5 Halibrand wheels. It also included adding a one off hardtop. Here is a picture of CSX2001 in parc ferme just before the start of the TdF. CSX2002 was the first Shelby factory race car. CSX2196 was the Cobra that had the 390 installed for the '64 Nassau Speed weeks. It also had an air extractor opening in the hood. CSX2196 was also the first Cobra to have a 427 installed when it competed at the '64 Sebring 12-hour. In it's final iteration CSX2196 became the Flip-Top Cobra.

This car ran a bulge in the hood with an air extractor similar to the Cobra Daytona Coupes. After cutting out the hood scoop I cut and shaped the bulge from .030 sheet. I'll hold off cutting out the air extractor until after I have completed the blending on the bulge.

Nice. I love AMT's Cobra kit.

The Mini Exotics BDA is a resin copy of the engine that came in the ESCI Ford Escort kit.

Very nice Erik.

Here is what I managed with the BDA with some scratch building and kit bashing.

Nice work Mike.

Nice work Bob. This and the Blue Beetle may be my all time favorite kits.

Very nice Erik. What engine did you use?

Very impressive project Eric.

Clean build Ron.

Some useless Cobra trivia: When the Shelby contract expired is 1966 AC Cars continued to produce 427 bodies and chassis. However instead of installing the heavy 427 AC installed the lighter 289. They of course couldn’t use the name “Shelby” or “Cobra” so they simply named it the “AC 289” Only 27 cars were built and only 6 cars were exported (1-Sweden and 5-USA) they rest were sold in the UK. That's why Academy refers to their kit as an "AC 289"

Thanks Randy, really appreciate you checking out my projects. Maxx, The white plastic in the brake ducts and along the bottom of the radiator opening is Evergreen solid square rod. I added some of my special putty (styrene bits liquefied in plastic cement) inside the upper corners of the radiator opening then sanded it to shape.

Welcome Nola. I look forward to seeing your projects.

Converting the 427 body to the 289 requires reshaping the radiator mouth and filling of the brake duct scopes. Here is a comparison to demonstrate the modifications.

Looks like Bottas is going to Mercedes. Massa agrees 2017 Williams deal, according to reports Felipe Massa has signed a deal to come out of retirement and return to Williams as Valtteri Bottas' replacement, according to multiple reports. Massa had planned to retire from Formula One following this year's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and received an emotional send off at his home race in Brazil last month. However, a surprise return in 2017 would answer the biggest question hanging over F1 today by paving the way for former teammate Bottas to replace retiring world champion Nico Rosberg at Mercedes. Bottas currently tops Mercedes' wishlist, but his 2017 Williams contract has so far prevented a straight switch to the world champions. Williams has been reluctant to let him go amid fears it will destabilise the team under next year's new regulations, but Massa's return would provide the continuity the technical side of the team is looking for. A report on Brazil's Grande Premio website said Massa signed a contract on Monday that gives Williams an option on his services if Mercedes goes ahead with the Bottas deal. Massa would partner 18-year-old rookie Lance Stroll, who joins the team off the back of championship success in Formula 3. Last week deputy team principal Claire Williams said she would only let Bottas go if a credible replacement can be found in time. That sparked rumours that Massa could return, with the Brazilian driver posting a cryptic tweet ahead of a family holiday on Friday. If Massa does return next year it will be his 15th season in Formula One and his fourth consecutive year racing for Williams.

Great project Misha.

When CSX2001 was converted into a race car the fenders were enlarged (similar to what you find on the FIA roadster or the 427 Cobra) to fit the bigger Halibrand racing wheels. For this reason the Sunny/Academy/ Minicraft 427 was a better starting point than the stock AMT body. However like all the early cars 2001 didn’t yet have the side cooling vents. Therefore the vent opening as well as those for the through the fender side pipes had to be filled.

Sunny, Academy and Minicraft all issued versions of this kit. Its the AMT Cobra kit with the body modified to represent a 427.

Great project.