Honey West Cobra 289

[spencer1984]

I've just started work on my next TV/movie car, the Shelby Cobra 289 driven by Anne Francis in Honey West.

The bulk of my work so far has been cleaning up flash, which is substantial on this old AMT tooling. There's also not much to go on as far as positive locators, which combined with the multi-part suspension makes for fiddly assembly. So far so good, though.

 

 

[Snake45]

That's still a pretty decent kit for its age. 

I remember watching the show but I don't remember the Cobra. I might not have been into cars yet at that point. Didn't she have some oddball cat as a pet, like an ocelot or something? I seem to remember she always wore black turtlenecks. 

[cobraman]

You have my interest . I did the same car a few moths ago or so . It’s on here somewhere . Good luck with your project . 

[Gramps46]

Looking forward to seeing more.  CSX2540

[afx]

I'll be following Bill.  I tackle the chassis in the same ways as you have, build it up with full suspension then paint it.  I also like to add a strip to the outside bar as can be seen here, it breaks easily, plus this gives it a bit more dimension.

 

[spencer1984]

Thanks, guys! Also, thanks for the tip JC - I thought those outer beams seemed a little thin.

[espo]

Nice looking chassis here. I also don't remember the TV show, but anything Anne Francis drove I'm in. 

[Dann Tier]

I know this is Rays line, but i always love seeing Cobras built too!!!

[cobraman]

I tried beefing up the frames once on these kits but I ran into a problem then fitting the frame into the body and the interior tub. I hope you do not. Perhaps I did something wrong with mine.

[spencer1984]

Thanks, guys! I did add a strip of .0.0" x .080" to the outer frame rails, and a dry test fit looked like everything still fits with no problem. Since that all looked good, I painted the chassis and installed the front shocks and rear axle. These are the spoked wheels from AMT's '65 Riviera with parts box tires (maybe from Revell's '67 Mustang?).

I also started in on the engine: Ford blue, silver for the bell housing and intake manifold, steel for the transmission. I decided to wire up the engine, so I drilled out the kit-supplied distributor and added the plug wires. Once everything has set overnight, I'll drill out the heads and plug the wires into their appropriate sockets.

[Snake45]

Yellow plug wires on a '60s car? 

[spencer1984]

35 minutes ago, Snake45 said:

Yellow plug wires on a '60s car? 

February '66 Hot Rod says it's OK

...though I was also thinking about going over them once the glue's dry, and aiming for something more like this:

[Snake45]

Ya got me! 

RED I've seen on '60s cars (rarely), but have never seen yellow or blue in the '60s before. I've been assuming they were a '70s Day Two thing. 

[keyser]

WOW-Webers on a Mopar, don't recall seeing that ever. And a Mercury SOHC with Webers. Loving that. Needsa home in a nice 64 S55 or a 67 Cougar. Not a 65-66 Cyclone fan, but it would go like stink. 

I remembered watching Honey flog that Cobra in that picture. She was hot, hotter still running that little car. Cool build.

Edited February 2, 2020 by keyser

[spencer1984]

1 hour ago, Snake45 said:

Ya got me! 

RED I've seen on '60s cars (rarely), but have never seen yellow or blue in the '60s before. I've been assuming they were a '70s Day Two thing. 

I appreciate your checking me on it - more than once I got a thought in my head and ran too far the wrong way before someone called me on it. Thanks for that!

[RancheroSteve]

4 hours ago, spencer1984 said:

I also started in on the engine: Ford blue, silver for the bell housing and intake manifold, steel for the transmission.

If you really wanna be correct, Ford Blue didn't come in until 1966.

[spencer1984]

6 hours ago, RancheroSteve said:

If you really wanna be correct, Ford Blue didn't come in until 1966.

Yeah, that was a goof on my part.

But since there's a few other factory-inaccurate details like the bright chrome valve covers and aforementioned aftermarket wiring, I can claim it's had some work done under the hood. I'm just trying to keep it to something that could have existed between September '65 and April '66.

[MeatMan]

Nice pick!

I wonder how many members actually saw a Honey West episode. ?

[Snake45]

2 hours ago, MeatMan said:

Nice pick!

I wonder how many members actually saw a Honey West episode. ?

I saw at least a few, but I don't remember much if anything about them. 

[spencer1984]

The engine is now installed, and I've started attaching the exhausts. I'm using the kit-supplied parts as far as the mufflers, then everything after that will be aluminum tubing.

I also started work on the interior tub. The inside was painted flat red, then the firewall was glued in place, the seam filled, and the outside was painted silver. The dash is semi-gloss black with Molotow chrome accents, and gauges will be done with decals.

 

 

[peteski]

Love the car, love Honey West!  Both timeless beauties!

Not often one sees w Cobras painted white either.

[Ron Hamilton]

Nice work. I saw what was supposed to be the actual car in a museum about 15 years ago. I would love to build a model of that car.

[Shambles]

On 1/31/2020 at 8:54 PM, Snake45 said:

That's still a pretty decent kit for its age. 

I remember watching the show but I don't remember the Cobra. I might not have been into cars yet at that point. Didn't she have some oddball cat as a pet, like an ocelot or something? I seem to remember she always wore black turtlenecks. 

Same here. I don't remember the cars, but I sho' remember her!  ?

[mrmike]

IMHO, no other actress had the sexiness that Anne Francis possessed.  There are actresses today that look sexy, but they just don't come near the attractiveness that Anne had.  May she rest in peace!  Bill, your AC Cobra is coming along!  Keep up the good work!

[afx]

Never saw the show but Youtube had an episode.

 

Edited February 4, 2020 by afx