I tried this in another post but had no reply so here we go again. Legendary Motorcar (DREAMCAR GARAGE) Ontario, Canada 1966 Shelby Cobra On August 18, 1965, a new red 427 Cobra with black interior was completed and consigned for shipment to Shelby American aboard the S.S. Risanger. Once in Los Angeles, according to the vendor, CSX 3162 became part of the Cobra Caravan, a traveling promotional tour that featured some of the finest and rarest cars Shelby American had to offer. When the caravan arrived at performance-focused Tasca Ford in East Providence, Rhode Island, in the spring of 1966, Edward Karedes was there waiting to receive the keys to his new Cobra from none other than Carroll Shelby. Karedes retained and cherished his 427 Cobra for years. Carefully serviced and maintained just as it was delivered, the Cobra remained in Karedes’ possession until August 1986, at which time he sold it to Allan D. Weiss. The new owner lived less than two miles away from Karedes and had known the man and his car for many years. Weiss kept the car for another 20 years until 2006 when he sold it to a noted muscle car collector. Although still finished in its factory correct red hue, the Cobra was repainted once approximately 20 years ago. Absolutely authentic, this well documented Cobra retains its original 427 engine with dual four-barrel carburetors. In the interest of safety, the car currently rides on new six-spoke Halibrand alloy wheels, although the original Cobra II wheels will be shipped to the new owner. Mechanically, the car is absolutely correct and in sound original condition. After a recent comprehensive inspection, the only attention required was a rebuilt steering rack. Unlike most 427 Cobras that were modified, raced and crashed, CSX 3162 has been coddled by only three discerning owners. It retains its original skin, frame, engine and all other components. As further proof that this is an original, low-mileage car, simply open the trunk. The original blue-dot spare remains, along with the factory grease gun and jack. Few Cobras are in such fine condition and come with a completely clean record. The lucky buyer will surely want to thank Ed Karedes and Allan Weiss for their fine custodianship of such an original milestone car. My question is: I thought that the cobra caravan consisted only of a comp 427, a GT350R, a GT40MKI, and a Daytona Coupe. I have never heard of any car being delivered by the caravan new to any dealership. (not even the mighty tasca ford) Is this story legit and are there any other interesting details about the caravan that are interesting. Best Regards, Vern
Can anyone who has a registry look up csx 3162 as i have a new one on order but do not have the 97 registry. Best Regards, Vern
Red & black, 6.5 Halibrands, 2x4 and wide rear fenders. Arrived via Cobra Caravan @ Tasca. Original owner was handed the keys directly from Carroll himself. Mike
Was that said in the registry or did you get that from the description? Were other cars delivered by the cobra caravan? Best Regards, Vern
You asked for info from the registry, so I just opened it up. The trailer itself could only hold 4 cars, so the dealers where it stopped would time the delivery of customers cars to when it rolled into town. Mike
So i guess the caravan didnt always have all four of the vehicles that i mentioned before in it. I dont see why as the daytonas were done racing by then, the gt350r was made specifically for the caravan(recently sold by Russo and Steele in Monterey), and i thought the gt40 and the comp 427 were both designated specifically for the caravan during its existance. Maybe they replaced the comp cobra with 3162 when they visited tasca at that time. Does anyone know of any other cars that were delivered by the cobra caravan? Best Regards, Vern
Well, I doubt if the Caravan was also told to drop off cars at dealers. On the other hand when I encountered the Cobra caravan in Detroit, which was either in '65 or '66 among the staffers was a young lady named Pat Merone who was driving a red 427 Cobra, white side pipes, black seats, no top (the car , not the lady). She was roaring about town and we met by chance and she took me to the Convention Center to meet the Head Snake, Phil Remington, Ak Miller, etc. Maybe in some other city that the entourage visited, a dealer saw the same car and said "leave that car." Hey, who knows, things were run pretty fast and loose in those days--and Shelby was not averse to making a deal...
Your story sounds really familiar. Did you recently write a book in the last couple of years maybe? BEst Regards, Vern
I just found this website and am I sure I will be having fun with it. The majority of the story on my father's Cobra CSX3162 listed is correct althought the dates are off slightly. The Cobra was delivery to Tasca Ford in East Providence, RI in December 2005 when Shelby's caravan rolled in. I was only 12 at the time, but I always thought that his Cobra was part of the caravan, but there were 4 other cars there: a Daytona Coupe, Shelby's personal Cobra (I think his twin paxton car), a GT350R and a GT-40. It was supposedly one of the first 1966 427 street Cobras to be delivered to the east coast. Carroll Shelby handed the keys to my father (I have the picture) and in typical Shelby fashion, told my father that if anything passed him that he didn't want to, Shelby would refund his money.
Wow!!!!Great story! Could you post a scan of that picture? I dont think the "SuperSnake" was ever on the caravan however, i think it was 3002 right? Best Regards, Vern
Hi Ed - If it's working as I intended, appended is a picture of the 427 car that went on the Cobra Caravan tour....it's believed to have been CSX3011 (not one of the paxton cars). It seems doubtful Shelby American switched cars around in the tour, as they would have to keep going back to California. Cars such as 3162 were probably timed to be delivered coinciding with the hoopla of the Caravan arrival (it worked, didn't it?). Ned would probably be able to confirm such details.
