[bitzman]

These are questions of historical interest, because as the first 427 Cobras approach 40 years of age, it is getting a little hazy to remember how they were originally. I am making a list so I can modify my car when I decide which one I want so it looks like a Full Comp car. Here is my guesstimate as to what the cars had so far, and would welcome any opinion.

Talked to a 427 Cobra owner Friday who said he thought only the Competition cars had two batteries somewhere in the back.In the famous picture taken at the LAX factory, the carin the foreground, bodyless ,has two batteries but I thought that was the fliptop so it is a one off car,not representative.

dry sump, I have heard the figure 3 Comp cars had it. (the filler cap for the dry sump was on right front fender, small gas cap from 289)

aluminumheads, all Comp cars

Aluminum intake manifold all Comp cars

Medium riser heads, all Comp cars

Holley 715 cfm center pivot float, one four barrel /air box all Comp cars

Wheel width--I heard there were extra wide wheels, but not sure what size
or how many cars had them

Reverse reading speedometer (I missed the reason for this and don't buy that by reading it backwards it is closer to the driver's view as you're only talking 2" closer to the driver's line of sight)

Was the tach made to read backwards too?

No glove compartment--all comp cars

On the pictures of the brushed aluminum prototype there is a emblem on the side of theprototype 427 Cobra, the picture is too fuzzy to read that emblem or even tell if it is a decal.

The hood scoop on the prototype was black fiberglass pop riveted on, any opinions on whether production cars had aluminum scoops welded on. One reason I would favor the fiberglass choice is that there are pictures of dozens of unsold 427 Cobras in the LAX lot with holes in the hood, meaning by the timethey arrived at LAX they still didn't have sccops

Outside side pipes.One factory picture I have shows black but the picture of KenMiles in 3002 racing in Australia, the car has white side pipes and I had a ride in one in '65 or '66 factory demonstrator, white side pipes

First prototype had front mounted oil cooler without oil cooler scoop added yet but I would go with the scoop as the radiator looks silly sticking downwithout the scoop in front

Rearview mirror inside the car. I think in the front 3/4 factory shot on the tarmax at LAX the mirror is the spun aluminum short fat mirror. Or was this only added after a team chose a car and started to set it up the way they wanted? I don't think the chrome mirror was used inside the car on the dash

Radiator divider, horizontal. Note sure how far back this divider went, only a few inches or did it divide the radiator totally? Don't think it was in Comp cars

Front cooling fans. Seen them in lots of Cobras, don't know if Comp cars came standard with them or not?

Incidentally I have seen one of the two supercharged 427 Cobras (Shelby said in one interview he made three) When I saw it it was owned by Jimmy Webb who wrote the 11th best selling song in history "
By the Time I get to Phoenix." Jimmy had it hid up in sylmar but the IRS found it and put it up for sale in a full page ad in Hemmings.I never got to look under the hood. Is there any book with a picture of how the superchargers were set up--I am guessing two four barrels with a Thunderbolt like hose going to each. His car had a wierd hood scoop, not straight across the front, kind of wavy

Looking forward to opinions