Hot Rods Hot Rod Sports Cars

https://silodrome.com/original-shelby-cobra/


Lance Reventlow is a name that will be immediately familiar to many of you, especially if you’re a fan of mid-20th Century racing. In short, Reventlow was the heir to the Woolworth fortune, as well as an entrepreneur, and an accomplished racing driver.
He is probably most famous as the owner of Scarab, a company that produced all-American open-wheel racing cars in the late ’50s and early ’60s. The cars were designed and built by Tom Barnes and Dick Troutman, they won numerous races even besting Ferrari at one point – there was also a short-lived foray into Formula 1 with Reventlow and his chief mechanic Chuck Daigh driving for the team.

Carroll Shelby drove for the team in the late ’50s and won for them at the Continental Divide Raceway in Castle Rock Colorado, setting a new record in the process. Shelby and Reventlow remained friends for years afterwards, and many think this is why Reventlow ordered one of the early Shelby Cobras with an almost obscene list of optional extras – extras that significantly increased the price and would have been hugely helpful to Shelby with his fledgling new business.

It was one of the first 73 cars built, and originally had the 260 cubic inch engine, although this was later swapped for a higher-performance 289 cubic inch HiPo unit. It still sports its original chassis and aluminium body, a chrome roll bar and side pipes, aluminum rocker covers and intake manifold, a racing oil pan, sway bars, a competition ignition system, and tach drive.

 

Troutman & Barnes was a great shop. Augie Pabst's "Meister Brauser" Scarab is my favorite. T&B also built the first Chaparral race car for Jim Hall.



Chaparral 1

 

What is this Edelbrock 525 engine you speak of?

 

Here’s one of my Dad’s 1954 100-4 Healeys. A bit of an interesting history. Was reported to have been customized in LA around 1955 or 1956. Before my Dad passed, he told me there were a couple articles written about it.

Notice anything funny about it?


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Hood Scoop?

 

Studebaker Hawk grille?

Pat

 

Hard to tell from the second pic but it was turned into a 4-seater.


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

LS376/525 Chevrolet crate engine reworked by Edelbrock.
https://www.chevrolet.com/performance/crate-engines/ls376-525
If Cyd Czekaj was still around he would have Franz Weis do the work. Franz Weis, the best Chevrolet engine man this world ever saw.

 

The factory made them in that configuration

 

Three cars built from Cooper Monacos in 1964

Shelby King Cobra - 289 power - 8 built


Shelby Super King Cobra built 1964 for Dave McDonald to drive - 1 built and the car that indirectly led to the Cobra Daytona Coupe - Dave McDonald died at 1964 Indianapolis in the Eddie Sachs-Salt Walther crash while driving Mickey Thompson's vicious handling Sears Allstate Special and he never got to race the car - Holbert crashed this car


Mecom Hussein - 426 Hemi powered - named for King Hussein of Jordan where the Mecom family had oil holdings

 

Salt Walther had nothing to do with the Sachs/McDonald crash in 64. He didn't qualify for his 1st 500 until 1972.

 

You are correct - my faulty memory.
AND you scored the 1,000th post in the thread!

 

Roger Denney

 

Funny I saw another story abut this on another site yesterday and it's a beauty.

 

Sport Automotive Parts of N.S.

 

Gary Southern at Irwindale in the Atkins and Hardcastle Stinger that briefly ran as a funny car until the opposition complained about its non production car body and it was relegated to the altered and dragster ranks.

Roo

 

Are those cars "Cheetahs" ? Are the aluminum bodied? I thought Cheetahs were fiberglass.

Pat

 

How about the Gran Turismo Omologato…...

 

"note the large alternator pulley"..

I use them all the time..

 

first 2 Cheetahs were aluminum, the rest were fiberglass, ( 17 or 26 depending on who you believe) so the story goes, then there are fakes, I built around 8 replicas, but they are not very Hamb friendly

 

Thanks Cheetahman, I looked at a fiberglass body that I think was a Cheetah when I first moved here around 85-86. It was just a body nothing else I passed on it, the guy that owned it was going to build it but didn't have the capability to do it. I don't know whatever happened to it.

Pat

 

Bad ass tow rig pulling a bad ass track car..

 

Ak Miller (driving) And Doug Harrison Testing The New Caballo II In The Parking Lot By Ak’s Shop In 1957.



Ak’s Friendship With The HOT ROD Staff Led To Several Articles Covering The Build And A HOT ROD Special Designation On The Car. Shaughnessy Even Reproduced Those Jackets.



Ak Miller hemi powered Caballo II burned in garage fire


The Caballo Is A Hand Formed Aluminum Skin Over A Beefed Up Kurtis Race Car Chassis. You Can See Ak’s Original Caballo De Hierro Parked Next To The Frame.



Ak Miller hemi powered Caballo II