Weren't these the 289 CI powered beasties? Way more power than the 260CI Tiger at 164HP? Besides, it was the later model Cobras that grabbed most of the headlines and all of the nostlagia. These were the real beasts:
Here's my understanding of the AC story, might be missing a few bits - depending on faulty brain matter. AC was a British car company building the ACE with a straight six engine (can't remember which one) much like the TR6 and Austin Healey. Someone thought it would go faster with a 289 Ford - and it did. The bodywork on the original ACE and the 289 FIA racecar looks much the same. Then Shelby brought a couple to the US and fitted them with the 427 Ford and some nice wheel arches; they went like stink but handled like crap (too much weight in the front) so in Europe they raced the 289. Sunbeam was running a 4cyl in their Alpine like the TR2/3/4 and decided to fit the 427 to make it go link stink - and it did. Somewhere in-between all that Rover bought the rights to manufacture Buick's all-aluminium 3.5ltr V8 and it became the English v8 standard - as light as a cast iron 2ltr engine with twice the cylinders and torque. That went on to power the TR8, TVR everything, Dax cars, some race Capris etc. No replacement for displacement - as long as there isn't a weight penalty.
IIRC.....
Your close, but the first two "Cobras" were actually 260s, XP-260-1 and XP-260-2. Dean Moon and Carrol Shelby built the first one, and with the help of a bottle of whiskey,proved the lightweight AC "Bristol" ( AC car- Bristol motor) with the 260 Ford motor got around a Texas oil field very well! Shell being a old racer sidelined with a heart condition alway felt a small lightweight British car with the raw power of a US V8 would make a good combination. That combination fit his sediment perfectly..."If a lots good, too much is just right"!
The first car wasn't painted, the bare aluminum was polished with SOS pads for the first magazine photo shoot. Later, the two XP cars were painted various colors for the photos giving the impression ol "Shell" was spit'n the things out by the truckloads. As the article said, you could almost see Shell at his desk, a phone in each ear telling Ford "I have all these cars, but no motors" and telling AC, "I have all these motors and no cars"! Besides a racer, Shell was a businessman! By "real" production time the 289 CI motors were being used, but occasionally an early 260 powered car will show up.
The original cars were referred to as the "Leaf Spring" Cobras. As time went on, the 289 was pumped up to 385 HP using a better cam,heads and 4 Weber 48s. It was felt to be the maximum for that engine. Discussing where to go from there engine wise, Ken Miles commented a 427 could make that horsepower and not even break a sweat. Within a week, a prototype 427 car was built, chassis number 2186 IIRC. The 427 was rated at 425 hp, 480 ft/lb torque at 3700 rpms, most actually produced over 500! It was basically the same motor used in the drag cars,the "Thunderbolt" and "R" code Fairlanes with slightly milder cam. Those engines made in the neighborhood of 600hp.
AC cars made some changes to the chassis for the brute 427. 4" main tubes for the frame instead of the 3" and a coil spring suspension in place of the leaf springs,larger Girling disc brakes and 4" wider body. In reality, it was a totally new car.
Many of the "427" cars actually had 428 motors. A 427 cost $768, a 428, $385. Two versions were initially built, a "S" for street, a "C" for competition, the "C" having the 427s only. To legalize the cars for competition, a certain number of cars had to be built, so the versions were combined, or the "SC", street/Competition. Either way, the 427 was a handfull for the inexperienced driver. With the maximum torque at 3700 in a 2000 pound car, things happened real fast. I had the pleasure of driving one. It was the first car I could smoke the tires at will....in any gear!
In the end of production, sales weren't the best, the price was discounted from 7600 to as low as 5000-5500.
For a few years, a pristine 427 would fetch 750,000-1,000,000 dollars,but the prices have fallen somewhat. The highest price I heard was the car used to pattern the Monogram model kit,chassis number 3196, 1.2 Million.
The "427 Corbra" held the record for the 0-100-0 in 12.0 seconds...on a 6" wide tire!
Shelby also had a hand in developing the Sunbean Tiger. I forget the details exactly, but the son of Sir Roots was running the U.S. operations. With Carrol's help,built the car and demonstrated it for the elder in England. Pappy was impressed, so the Tiger was born. Many of those were later transplanted with the 271 hp K code 289 motors.
One other English car benefited from using the SBF, the Griffith.
That the best I can remember with out drag'n out the history books.
ah the memories!!!!!
Bill
Unlike a lot of my American counterparts, I confess to having no racing experience and probably considerably less skill....even though one of the first NASCAR tracks is less than 100 miles away
