Sold 1963 Shelby Cobra 289 2146375176 Tweet

Click here to view high resolution photos 1st of 6 Total LeMans Spec Cars Produced by Shelby American Extensive Racing History Ground Up Restoration done by Bill Murray Le Mans Modifications Such As a 37-Gallon Fuel Tank, Rack & Pinion Steering, FIA Hood Scoop, Short Trunk Lid, and Side Cooling Vents Finished Third Overall and in Class at the 1965 ARRC National Championships in Daytona In 1963, AC Cars partnered with Carroll Shelby to race at Le Mans. They prepared two cars, adding magnesium wheels, larger fender flares, an FIA hood scoop, a 37-gallon fuel tank, and a moderately tuned 4.7-liter V8. The race was dominated that year by Ferrari, the first five places swept by the big red 250 and 330 V12s. While one of the AC/Shelby cars retired after 117 laps, the other went on to a credible seventh place finish overall, third in the GT class, and first in the 45-liter class. With this success, Shelby was off to the races. Six more Cobras were built to LeMans Specification. CSX2136 was the first. Arriving in America in June of 1963, it came equipped with the 37-gallon Le Mans tank, rack-and-pinion steering, side vents of the style that would appear on later production cars, a short trunk lid (hinged at the bottom), and the FIA scoop. At Shelby, the car was modified to compete in domestic SCCA/USRRC road racing events. It was outfitted with a high-output 289 V8, four 48 IDM Weber carburetors, a Nassau exhaust system, electric fuel pump, oil and differential coolers, front and rear sway bars, Konis, kidney-bean Halibrands, Goodyear racing tires, additional instrumentation, and more. Painted black, CSX2136 was completed in time to debut at a September 8 SCCA/USRRC event at Elkhart Lake. Piloted by team drivers by Bob Bondurant and Dave MacDonald, it finished fourth overall and won the GT class. The car was then shipped back to Southern California and repainted Light Metallic Blue. Its next outings were also notable: a third with Lew Spencer at the wheel at the L.A. Times GT race at Riverside in October and, later that same month, a second overall at the Hawaiian GP with Dave MacDonald again in the drivers seat. CSX2136s last appearance as a team car was in December at the1963 Nassau Speed Week. Frank Gardner drove the roadster to a GT win in the Nassau Trophy Race, finishing seventh overall. After Nassau, CSX2136 went back to Shelby American for refurbishing. It was sold in January of 1964 to Ed Leslie who repainted the car black, nicknamed it Snake, and cleaned house on the SCCA circuit. #2136 won its class in seven of the eleven races entered, including a major victory at the 1964 ARRC finale at Riverside. Leslie also drove the Cobra to overall and GT class wins at the May 8 USRRC event at Laguna Seca. At two other USRRC events that year, Riverside and Kent, Leslie finished second, bested only by Ken Miles in a Shelby Team car. After winning the 1964 SCCA National Championship, Leslie sold the Cobra to Foster Alexander. Campaigned throughout the northwest, it continued its winning ways. Foster piloted CSX2136 into the 1965 ARRC National Championships in Daytona where it finished third both overall and in its class. Stan Bennett was the next caretaker. He painted CSX2136 orange, raced it in the SCCA Southern Pacific Division, and finished third overall in the 1966 standings. #2136 suffered a blown engine and a damaged nose during that period, but after both were replaced, the car continued to race successfully in Production. In 1969 Canadian David Greenblatt purchased the car, imported it to Montreal, and campaigned it throughout Canada and the northeastern U.S. In late 1970 he flipped CSX2136 in a race at Circuit Mont-Tremblant in Quebec. Although the warhorse sustained heavy damage in the rollover, it was not life threatening. Furth