Please help identify the Salvadori King Cobra
#1
Posted 10 March 2012 - 12:30
Here is the story that is forming and what I need help with, based mostly on correspondence between FAV and Al Dowd.
Late in '64 Ford Advanced Vehicles contacted Shelby and asked for a King Cobra Cooper-Ford for Roy Salvadori to drive in the first few races in '65 before his Ford GT would have been available.
Shelby replies to the effect that we have a car for you, it's all ready to ship to you, oh by the way it doesn't have a body on it, you should get that from Cooper.
The car came in, evidently they did get a body from Cooper. They had some issues getting a full size spare tire to fit under the front bodywork (we have confirmed the wider wheels used on the king cobra will not fit, Shelby used narrow 5" wheels and tires for the required spares, the first space saver?). They also installed a ZF transaxle replacing the Colotti.
Roy drove the car in the Silverstone Senior Service 200 on 20 March 1965, the Lavant Cup Goodwood 19 April 1965, and possibly the Snetterton ABS Trophy race. He was on the entry list for the Tourist Trophy Oulton Park 1 May 1965 but did not appear.
I believe Shelby did get the car back sometime in '65 and sold it with another king cobra and a spare frame to Oscar Koveleski in '66
I really need to figure out which car / frame this was, the current owners of the cars are very interested as well. I would benefit from any pictures of this car from any of the races especially showing the frame or rear bodywork. If FAV has an archive at all, there may be correspondence that is useful, ordering the body etc.
Thanks for any ideas or help you all can provide. The fact that it was shipped without a body is puzzling and that makes identification more difficult because the body is new.
Chuck Brandt
#3
Posted 11 March 2012 - 19:35
Thank you Jean! That is a great picture of the car. It looks like they did a better job of covering the spare tire than I had read.
#4
Posted 12 March 2012 - 22:51
Does anyone know if there is any kind of a historical archive for Ford Advanced Vehicles?
Thanks, Chuck
#5
Posted 13 March 2012 - 05:30
Does anyone know if there is any kind of a historical archive for Ford Advanced Vehicles?
Thanks, Chuck
Don't know. Did John Wyer buy FAV? And did John Wyer eventually sell all his stuff to Harley Cluxton?
Vince H.
#6
Posted 13 March 2012 - 12:18
Don't know. Did John Wyer buy FAV? And did John Wyer eventually sell all his stuff to Harley Cluxton?
Vince H.
Yes definitely John Wyer, I'm not familiar with Harley Cluxton.
#7
Posted 13 March 2012 - 12:28
Chuck, the spare tire in the Salvadori Cooper was covered even more elegantly at some stage later in the season. There's a photo of it on p. 27 of "Racing Mechanic", which is the story of Ermanno Cuoghi by Jeremy Walton. The windscreen was stretched further towards the front, making it look a bit like the one in McLaren M1A, where the spare wheel could be seen underneath. The nose also seems to have been modified around the radiator intake. Very nice looking modifications, hope you find a good photo to do this car justice in your book.
#8
Posted 13 March 2012 - 14:11
Chuck, Harley Cluxton, of Grand Touring Cars in Phoenix, Ariz., bought the entire Mirage project from Wyer. Having said that, I suspect that purchase was just Mirage, and did not include other parts of Wyer's operations. I am sure others on this forum can elaborate on my suppositions.Yes definitely John Wyer, I'm not familiar with Harley Cluxton.
Tom
#9
Posted 13 March 2012 - 15:56
#10
Posted 14 March 2012 - 00:38
Chuck, the spare tire in the Salvadori Cooper was covered even more elegantly at some stage later in the season. There's a photo of it on p. 27 of "Racing Mechanic", which is the story of Ermanno Cuoghi by Jeremy Walton. The windscreen was stretched further towards the front, making it look a bit like the one in McLaren M1A, where the spare wheel could be seen underneath. The nose also seems to have been modified around the radiator intake. Very nice looking modifications, hope you find a good photo to do this car justice in your book.
Ah, thank you! That is exactly how Jack Deren described it. Very interesting. I'll try to find a copy of that book to see the image.
Chuck
#11
Posted 14 March 2012 - 08:22
Sorry I'm not able to scan the photo from "Racing Mechanic". It is not a very good picture, though, because you cannot see the whole car in it. I certainly hope you'll be able to find a better one for your Cooper Monaco book, because the unique styling deserves to be highlighted. Someone in UK should have a decent photo. Fingers crossed!
#12
Posted 14 March 2012 - 11:51
Sorry I'm not able to scan the photo from "Racing Mechanic". It is not a very good picture, though, because you cannot see the whole car in it. I certainly hope you'll be able to find a better one for your Cooper Monaco book, because the unique styling deserves to be highlighted. Someone in UK should have a decent photo. Fingers crossed!
Yes I'm hoping someone in England has good pictures of the car. If I had a picture from the back I could match it up with pictures from when it returned stateside and we'd have a solution.
I was able to find a used copy of Racing Mechanic on amazon, should be here next week.
Chuck
Edited by chuckbrandt, 14 March 2012 - 11:52.
#13
Posted 14 March 2012 - 16:29
That could very well be the case, David. Now that you mention it, I recall Cluxton bringing GT-40 #1075, the two time Le Mans winner, to Road America for a GT-40 reunion in 1994. I understand that car is now owned by Rob Walton.My memory - and I admit I'm not at all clear on this - is that Cluxton bought the entire Gulf collection - he ceratinly had one of their GT40s
Tom
#14
Posted 14 March 2012 - 16:36
#15
Posted 15 March 2012 - 02:25
Neil
#16
Posted 15 March 2012 - 06:31
This may be completely off topic, but I have one image from Monterey historics in 2003 that has been suggested is a King Cobra, but never really confirmed. So here it is for possible help, hindrance, identification or not.
I think probably the later 1967 car driven by Jerry Titus:
http://www.racingspo...7-10-29-055.jpg
Vince H.
#17
Posted 15 March 2012 - 14:09
Neil
#18
Posted 15 March 2012 - 14:41
This was the Shelby Can Am car. Not successful at all, to say the least. Check me on this, but I think it was designed by Len Terry. Shelby called it a King Cobra, thus setting up ongoing confusion over this car and the earlier Cooper-Fords which Shelby also dubbed King Cobra. So, yes, this is a King Cobra, but not the King Cobras that Chuck is researching for his book.This may be completely off topic, but I have one image from Monterey historics in 2003 that has been suggested is a King Cobra, but never really confirmed. So here it is for possible help, hindrance, identification or not.
Tom
#19
Posted 15 March 2012 - 15:09
Roger Lund
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#20
Posted 17 March 2012 - 13:25
This was the Shelby Can Am car. Not successful at all, to say the least. Check me on this, but I think it was designed by Len Terry. Shelby called it a King Cobra, thus setting up ongoing confusion over this car and the earlier Cooper-Fords which Shelby also dubbed King Cobra. So, yes, this is a King Cobra, but not the King Cobras that Chuck is researching for his book.
Tom
I think a member of the press called them king cobras, Shelby typically referred to them as Cooper-Fords. I should really track down the attribution of that name for my book huh?
Thanks, Chuck
#21
Posted 17 March 2012 - 13:45
I must say that I never, ever heard of the car being referred to as such.Tom, ISTR that it was also called the Shelby Cougar, or at least I think that is how Symbolic advertised it a few years back.
I went and read the pertinent chapter from Dave Friedman's book, Shelby American Racing History. Friedman, of course, was there as the chronicler of everything Shelby in the sixties. Friedman devotes several pages to this car and consistently refers to it as "King Cobra". He never uses any other term, let alone "Shelby Cougar". That must be the invention of some Symbolic copywriter who did not have a clue.
Tom
#22
Posted 17 March 2012 - 17:18
#23
Posted 20 March 2012 - 01:02
Chuck, the spare tire in the Salvadori Cooper was covered even more elegantly at some stage later in the season. There's a photo of it on p. 27 of "Racing Mechanic", which is the story of Ermanno Cuoghi by Jeremy Walton. The windscreen was stretched further towards the front, making it look a bit like the one in McLaren M1A, where the spare wheel could be seen underneath. The nose also seems to have been modified around the radiator intake. Very nice looking modifications, hope you find a good photo to do this car justice in your book.
Hey Proviz,
Got my copy of Racing Mechanic today. Thank you so much for pointing me towards this picture. I think connects this car with one that Oscar Koveleski bought from Shelby, so I'd say it must have made the trip back across to america sometime in '65 in time to be sold in shelby's garage sale in '66.
Chuck
#24
Posted 20 March 2012 - 08:16
Good to hear you're making sense out of it all, Chuck! Very much looking forward to your book on the subject.
"Racing Mechanic" is quite a good read too, so I trust it was money well spent.
#25
Posted 20 March 2012 - 13:05
I must say that I never, ever heard of the car being referred to as such. That must be the invention of some Symbolic copywriter who did not have a clue. Tom
Tom, I had never heard of it as such either, until I saw the car advertised by Symbolic a few years ago. I cannot locate their narrative, so might ask them, as I just downloaded relevant photos because of the Len Terry connection. There is no mention of such a name in the Victory Lane 12/97 article.Google throws up this; scroll down to Oct 1967
http://luukb.home.xs...nl/history.html
Roger Lund
edit
R&M Auction Aug 2010 Lot 141 narrative as Shelby Cougar and pictures. I am not trying to prove a point.....
http://www.rmauction...m?SaleCode=MO10.
RL
Edited by bradbury west, 20 March 2012 - 13:14.
#26
Posted 20 March 2012 - 14:00
Maybe I missed something, or my eyes are bad, but I read through the RM write up twice and never saw the word Cougar.
I still believe that the appellation Cougar was never used officially. It may have been applied by some over zealous or misinformed writer, but that does not make it official. Not arguing, just stating my opinion that there was no such thing as a "Shelby Cougar", "Cougar Cobra", or whatever other combination someone may have dreamed up.
Tom
#27
Posted 20 March 2012 - 21:51
"They are called 'Cougar-Cobras', and SCG's Editor (Jerry Titus) will be behind the wheel!"
#28
Posted 21 March 2012 - 12:50
Tom
#29
Posted 21 March 2012 - 22:42
Here is where I'm at. I think I know which car went to Salvadori but I need to see the frame to know for sure. Then I further believe that this same car went to Oscar Kovaleski because Jack Deren described one of the cars they bought as the Salvadori car and also that it had a big windscreen the covered the spare tire. I have pictures of the car that they sold that I believe is the same car but they put a more original '64 shelby style nose on it before they sold it. So what I really need is to see the Salvadori car from behind because I think the rear bodywork made it, and I also could stand to see parts of the rear frame to confirm which car I think it is.
Any ideas of where I could try next? It seems like there should be some team pictures from FAV showing all the work they did to the car, maybe some documents showing them ordering a body from Cooper.
Thanks, Chuck
#30
Posted 22 March 2012 - 20:59
ChuckSoo... steering this ship back in the direction of the Salvadori Cooper-Ford he drove in the first 3 races of '65 in England...
Here is where I'm at. I think I know which car went to Salvadori but I need to see the frame to know for sure. Then I further believe that this same car went to Oscar Kovaleski because Jack Deren described one of the cars they bought as the Salvadori car and also that it had a big windscreen the covered the spare tire. I have pictures of the car that they sold that I believe is the same car but they put a more original '64 shelby style nose on it before they sold it. So what I really need is to see the Salvadori car from behind because I think the rear bodywork made it, and I also could stand to see parts of the rear frame to confirm which car I think it is.
Any ideas of where I could try next? It seems like there should be some team pictures from FAV showing all the work they did to the car, maybe some documents showing them ordering a body from Cooper.
Thanks, Chuck
Have you tried the Ford photo library in the UK - assuming it still exists (as I haven't had contact since 2003!)?
#31
Posted 22 March 2012 - 22:00
Chuck
Have you tried the Ford photo library in the UK - assuming it still exists (as I haven't had contact since 2003!)?
Thank you Michael, I was not aware of that. Sounds like the perfect spot to check. Can you provide any kind of contact information?
Chuck
#32
Posted 22 March 2012 - 23:46
#33
Posted 23 March 2012 - 11:34
Possibly a contact via here, Chuck.
http://fordimages.co...er_service.html
Roger Lund
Thanks Roger,
I send them an e-mail in a form... we'll see.
Chuck
#34
Posted 15 April 2012 - 15:15
Below are some pictures of the car, it would be nice to know if it retained it's ZF transaxle and to see what the rear frame features look like. Has anyone seen this car before or know anything more about it? Note that the front bodywork is from a different car, I suspect the big windscreen bodywork was fragile and they replaced it at Oscar's shop. The car does have the Bondurant fuel tank on the right side in a picture down below.
Thanks, Chuck
(Photo credit to The Jack Deren photo collection)
Also - I've lost track of where these next 6 images came from - I would love to get them from the original source scanned at higher resolution.
(Photo Credit Randy McConnnell)
(Photo Credit Randy McConnnell)
Edited by chuckbrandt, 15 April 2012 - 15:32.
#35
Posted 16 April 2012 - 16:31
I don't know if it is where you got the photos from, but the Virginia Inter. Raceway website shows your car at the april 1967 event : http://www.virhistor...r/col-0467.html
That gives me the opportunity to congratulate you for your research. I will be a sure customer when the book is out.
#36
Posted 17 April 2012 - 11:35
Hello Chuck,
I don't know if it is where you got the photos from, but the Virginia Inter. Raceway website shows your car at the april 1967 event : http://www.virhistor...r/col-0467.html
That gives me the opportunity to congratulate you for your research. I will be a sure customer when the book is out.
Thank you, that is very helpful - another link in the chain. Very nice, I see a James E. Brown of Steel Cities had a DNF in the CSR race.
Chuck
Edited by chuckbrandt, 17 April 2012 - 12:04.
#37
Posted 19 April 2012 - 11:58
Chuck
#38
Posted 21 April 2012 - 20:32
So now I am attempting to contact the owner / driver of the white car with red wheels. His name is James E. Brown III from around Pittsburgh, PA. It is a surprisingly common name, but I have some leads. Hopefully I can reach him or his family and find some pictures of the car showing identifiable features of the frame.
Chuck
So I talked to the son of James E. Brown III last night. He remembered the car well and is going to send me prints of the poor scanned pictures above. Hopefully I can identify the frame configuration in them.
He doesn't remember who they sold the car to, but if I can match it up with an existing car maybe that is okay.
Chuck
#39
Posted 18 November 2012 - 18:25
Chuck, I have just joined this forum again after a time away. You might like to check out my web site www.photohistoric.com (it is just in process of a major update so hopefully it is working....). There are pictures of Cobras from the period you are looking at on the site (use tags Cobra or Goodwood and they should become evident). Hopefully that will help?! If you have any success/problems please contact me thru the site.
Regards
Peter Robinson
I just finished up two fascinating days at the Benson Ford Research Center in Dearborn, Michigan looking through the Dave Friedman photo collection. I was able to accomplish a lot but like most research, discoveries raised new questions.
Here is the story that is forming and what I need help with, based mostly on correspondence between FAV and Al Dowd.
Late in '64 Ford Advanced Vehicles contacted Shelby and asked for a King Cobra Cooper-Ford for Roy Salvadori to drive in the first few races in '65 before his Ford GT would have been available.
Shelby replies to the effect that we have a car for you, it's all ready to ship to you, oh by the way it doesn't have a body on it, you should get that from Cooper.
The car came in, evidently they did get a body from Cooper. They had some issues getting a full size spare tire to fit under the front bodywork (we have confirmed the wider wheels used on the king cobra will not fit, Shelby used narrow 5" wheels and tires for the required spares, the first space saver?). They also installed a ZF transaxle replacing the Colotti.
Roy drove the car in the Silverstone Senior Service 200 on 20 March 1965, the Lavant Cup Goodwood 19 April 1965, and possibly the Snetterton ABS Trophy race. He was on the entry list for the Tourist Trophy Oulton Park 1 May 1965 but did not appear.
I believe Shelby did get the car back sometime in '65 and sold it with another king cobra and a spare frame to Oscar Koveleski in '66
I really need to figure out which car / frame this was, the current owners of the cars are very interested as well. I would benefit from any pictures of this car from any of the races especially showing the frame or rear bodywork. If FAV has an archive at all, there may be correspondence that is useful, ordering the body etc.
Thanks for any ideas or help you all can provide. The fact that it was shipped without a body is puzzling and that makes identification more difficult because the body is new.
Chuck Brandt
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#40
Posted 07 February 2014 - 14:20
Chuck
I may have missed something here, but my recollection is that Salvadori raced the one-off Cooper Maserati V8, bodied as your comments suggest to accommodate a full-size spare wheel. If that is indeed the car under discussion here, it should be easy to identify, as the cutaway drawing by Theo Page in "Autosport" clearly shows a different rear suspension from the other cars. If memory serves, the Shelby cars, and all the others I recall, had upper and lower A-arms at the rear, loads being passed to a double hoop at the rear of the frame. The Salvadori car has a similar lower arm, but at the top is short upper lateral link, and a long radius arm pivoted on the cockpit bulkhead. This should ID that car clearly.
If it would help, I can e-mail you the two drawings--one is posted on the Autosport Tech Drawings page--I scanned the other--I think it was in Motoring News.
Blackcat21
#41
Posted 07 February 2014 - 20:31
#42
Posted 08 February 2014 - 05:44
Chuck
I may have missed something here, but my recollection is that Salvadori raced the one-off Cooper Maserati V8, bodied as your comments suggest to accommodate a full-size spare wheel. If that is indeed the car under discussion here, it should be easy to identify, as the cutaway drawing by Theo Page in "Autosport" clearly shows a different rear suspension from the other cars. If memory serves, the Shelby cars, and all the others I recall, had upper and lower A-arms at the rear, loads being passed to a double hoop at the rear of the frame. The Salvadori car has a similar lower arm, but at the top is short upper lateral link, and a long radius arm pivoted on the cockpit bulkhead. This should ID that car clearly.
If it would help, I can e-mail you the two drawings--one is posted on the Autosport Tech Drawings page--I scanned the other--I think it was in Motoring News.
Blackcat21
Thank you Black Cat 21
I'd enjoy seeing the drawings. The issue is that Salvadori drove a few different cooper monacos. The Maserati V8 car is a different one than the one I'm looking for.
I was able to find a great picture of the Bondurant / Salvadori King Cobra in a book called "Racing Mechanic: Ermanno Cuoghi Mechanic to a world champion" Ermanno worked on the car at FAV and fitted a new body. Salvadori raced it 3 times I believe in early '65 without much success. It was sent back to the U.S. and was eventually bought by Oscar Koveleski.
Thanks, Chuck
#43
Posted 08 February 2014 - 05:46
Thanks for this picture reference. It might be a Cooper Monaco but I don't recognize the engine cover on this car. That is a real head scratcher to me...
Chuck
#44
Posted 08 February 2014 - 12:53
Chuck, Have you contacted the Pennsylvania Hillclimb Association?
They have a historian called Ron Mann, top bloke, who may be able to help: http://pahillclimb.o...ntact/contacts/
RGDS RLT
#45
Posted 08 February 2014 - 15:19
Chuck, Have you contacted the Pennsylvania Hillclimb Association?
They have a historian called Ron Mann, top bloke, who may be able to help: http://pahillclimb.o...ntact/contacts/
RGDS RLT
Good idea! I have sent Ron an e-mail, he has been a huge help with the Bondurant / Salvadori car.
Chuck
#46
Posted 08 February 2014 - 19:34
According to the twelfth paragraph at this site, John Van Meyer won the 1967 Giant's Despair in a Cooper-Ford. Maybe him?
http://fantasyjuncti...ored to 339 c.i
Vince H.
#47
Posted 08 February 2014 - 19:58
Or, according to this link, Oscar Koveleski (1966) or Craig Smith (1973) ???
http://www.pahillcli...t=1968&start=20
Vince H.
#48
Posted 08 February 2014 - 20:05
Found this link with photo of Meyer in Cooper-Ford in 1966 at another hill climb. Same car?
http://newspaperarch...66-07-18/page-8
Vince H.
#49
Posted 10 February 2014 - 00:58
Chuck
Here's a start
Gerry-Blackcat21
#50
Posted 10 February 2014 - 01:08
Chuck
Bear with me--something is eluding me between Cut and Paste--I have a number of images, mostly from Mosport--Heimrath, Hudson, Moschenbacker, Wintersteen, Evenson,Adams and the cutaways.
I'll get it soon--haven't forgotten you!
Blackcat21-Gerry