1964 Shelby Cobra 289-Muscle Car Of The Week Video Episode  

I did'nt have a million bucks to spare so I got a very nice reproduction. I've had it ,or it has had me for twenty five years . I never tire of it.still gives goose bumps every day.

Just to be nerdy, it was the 427 chassis and suspension that was designed by Ford to handle the extra power. The 289 was redesigned by AC and then tweaked on the fly by Shelby's crew.

Things do indeed change. Another thing that changed on this car is the steering wheel and the horn button. While the current wood steering wheel looks original at first glance, the real ones didn't have those round metal screws in them. Also, Cobras never came from the factory with snake emblems, per most kit cars. They all had the AC logo. Starting in 1965 Moto Lita Steering Wheels in England started making snake horn emblems for the Mustang GT 350. As they were interchangeable with the AC horn on Cobras, some of these snake emblems started to make their way onto big block Cobras when the originals started to fade and get scratched. Thus a snake horn emblem on a 1964 Shelby AC Cobra is incorrect, as it didn't even exist yet in 1964. The correct steering wheel and horn button are available from Moto Lita. One other little point: Shelby didn't "ditch" the six cylinder Bristol engine. That had nothing to do with him. The Bristol company announced it was ceasing production of its BMW-derived Bristol motor. AC thus needed another engine for its Ace sports car. It tried the English Ford Zephyr 2.6, but after only 37 cars with this powerplant, AC ditched it...as its bottom end didn't respond well to tuning...and it was considered too ordinary an engine by customers. This is why AC boss Charles Hurlock responded in the affirmative, when contacted by Carroll Shelby about making a deal.

I like the Red and Transformation back to Green, its part of the cars History. NICE : )

Shelby didn't go to Ford for help developing the original 289 Cobras. He went to Phil Remington who was largely responsible for the changes made to the AC chassis, suspension, and brakes.

in 1979 my dad bought a used car lot, a fellow had one of these stored in the back. My dad wanted to turn the room into a shop, the guy that owned the car. had no place to store it, he wanted my dad to buy it for $3000, but of course he didn't. If only we knew.

Exceptionally well put on the driving experience. Its a snotty little beast to drive but its a real blast at the same time. subscribed.

While my Sunbeam Tiger isn’t as curvy, it sings the same beautiful song! Oh and it has roll up windows, adjustable steering wheel, 5 speed overdrive and a folding roof…gotta Love torque!

What an awesome introduction; Changing the paint to make me think you had another car. Who would have ever thought about doing that?!

Exact voice twin to Nick Offerman. Great vid!

Great amount of information on how these cars evolved Kevin.

Amazing cars

Those are beautiful roadster.

Shelby was a distributor for Goodyear racing tires.

Green was of course, the correct choice.

Do the Brother's have a Sunbeam Tiger? I would like to see it if they got one. Thanks.

They got it back to the correct color, are they going to correct everything under the hood too? If you do another Cobra I'd like to see more information on the drive train and suspension. What did Shelby do to the AC to make it work with the V8?

IIRC, the very first Cobra was fitted with a 221, because the 260s were not yet available......

Anyone looking for the song its by The Rip Cords: Hey Little Cobra.

My favorite Cobra ever. Slab sided 289👍

To get it right the Mk1 was a 260 v8 and the mk2 had a 289........ both cars were AC Cobras!! part of the early deal with AC was that the "AC" stays on the cars!! which is why you see all original cars with AC on the front, on the steering wheel and back (though i bet not many have still got the AC badges on).......... it was only when Shelby renegotiated the contract did the snake appear instead of the "AC" and that was when the body was widened etc (mk3). If you ever look at a Mk1 or mk2 Cobra you will see how little was actually changed!! it still had the leaf spring suspension etc from the AC Ace but with Ford Engine, Gearbox and Diff..... It was the Mk3 that was radically redesigned with Coil overs etc but ironically still built by AC. This is what an original Cobra should look like ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-pvsyllnw6LY.html

i have always wondered how they get these tires again are they old tires like 30+ years or a reproduction and if they were that old how can anyone use them?

I could have bought one of these in England in 1969, for 1300 pounds! I had a Lotus Cortina to trade, and with that I would have had to pay 14 pounds per month on terms! You can laugh, or cry! But back then the insurance premiums and the running costs of the V8 gas guzzler engine made these cars undesirable for most, impossible for me! 20 years later I started building a replica of the 427 version with a 302 V8. and drove that until 2002 when I sold it.

The trick is to leave your left foot on the clutch. Use the left foot to guide the right foot on the brake. Roll the right foot off the transmission cover on to the accelerator. Put your right foot in it and stay in it. Don't pull out quickly because it creates a lurching motion. Roll in and out of accelerator off the transmission cover

IMHO the 289 is the Cobra to have. The 427 is essentially overkill with power almost impossible to use on the street. But a 289 can do just about everything the 427 did, and do it with sanity.

It is a shame someone modified the motor and paint, but it is a beautiful car in the original green.

The 327 had 100 more hp then the 289 in racing trim, but the cobra was lighter and in the hands of Kim Miles...

The reason Shelby used the ford engines is because the distrubitor is at the front of the engine. The chevy smallblock and chrysler smallblock engines the distrubitor is in the back and would not fit without major surgury to the firewall.

First time I've heard the story that Shelby spearheaded the plan to ditch the BMW ( Bristol) six and put a Ford in it...I always thought Bristol wasn't going to supply engines anymore and Shelby heard about it and arranged it with Ford to supply the 260 v8 , never heard this other story before.

You have to wear driving shoes. You can mill the edge off the driving shoe. Ask somebody how to get in and out of that car. When you downshift you get muzzle blast from the side exhaust. The first time I drove one for 45 minutes I felt like I'd been beat up. Don't expect to get into that car and be a great driver right off the bat. Take a couple months. Iron American Dream on RU-vid Share it. Take a ride across the promised land. Ride a Harley.

Now show us how you get in and out of it... 1st

you look like you are in a Tonka car

Are you there, Kevin? Do you "recognize" me, at this point in time?

so...if i were a midget, i could drive this thing to walmart?