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itch again. I was making decent
money and I said to myself, “
These
cars are not getting any less expen-
sive. If I look around I could probably
put some kind of deal together.
”
SAAC: Let’s back up a second. This
was in 1976. In 1972 the Cobra Club
was started.
SCUDDER: I joined the Cobra Club
in the spring of 1972 when I bought
2306. I was one of the early members.
Bruce Jodar and Mark Buckheim were
running it. In 1973 I went up to a won-
derful little Cobra Cub gathering in
the spring at Lime Rock Park. It was
the Cobra Club’s first official gather-
ing in the northeast. There were ten
Cobras there and nobody had ever
seen such a thing.
SAAC: When did you become addicted
to Cobra serial numbers?
SCUDDER: I began collecting a few
serial numbers when I was in college,
knowing full well that I was going to
be looking for 289 Cobra at some
point. I saved all kinds of magazine
and newspaper ads, just so that if and
when I was seriously looking and the
time came, I knew where some cars
were and that would be a good place to
start looking.
SAAC: At that point, did the actual
Cobra serial numbers have any mean-
ing to you or was it just a way to de-
scribe a particular car?
SCUDDER: The only meaning they
had to me at the time was that I
wanted a car above CSX2200. By that
point I had at least learned that I
would prefer a rack-and-pinion car to
a worm-and-sector car. And I wanted
that half-inch wider lip on the wheels
because I thought they looked better. I
also wanted the side vents. I guess you
could just say I wanted a car with the
latest specs. From 2200 up they were
pretty much all the same. So I knew as
much is that. And I also knew that I
didn’t want a black interior. I wanted
something lighter because black gets
hot in the sun.
SAAC: So you started working on get-
ting your next Cobra?
SCUDDER: I started pestering my
dad in late 1976 because I knew I was
going to need a loan. I wrote him an
eight-page prospectus on what I
thought Cobras were going to do in the
market place; I was convinced that
they were going to increase in value. I
remember telling him that it would
not surprise me if within ten years
they would be worth $50,000. In fact,
that happened a lot quicker than in
ten years.
SAAC: At the time you wrote that, did
you have any intention of buying a car
and later selling it if the prices esca-
lated?
SCUDDER: My idea, at the time, was
that I wanted to have a Cobra to own
and keep and enjoy in perpetuity. I
was basically saying, “
Dad, I have so
much cash at the ready but these cars
are getting so much more expensive so
quickly that I worry that I’m going to
get priced out of the market
.” He read
the thing and he basically laughed. He
said, “
If you’re that passionate about
something I will certainly help you.
Just make sure it’s a good example
.” I
had seen a dark green 427 Cobra at
the New Hope Auto Show. It took First
Place in its class and it suddenly came
up for sale. It was just an hour away. I
was on it like a flash. In February of
1977, I ended up paying the owner
$24K to buy the car, CSX3227, which
turned out to be a 428 but that was no
problem.
SAAC: Would you consider this a fair
market price or something less?
SCUDDER: As Geoff Howard would
later say, “
You got the last good deal.
”
I was seeing similar cars advertised in
the $30K range. The seller of 3227
thought he had a Daytona Coupe on
the line that he was going to buy. He
wanted cash on the barrelhead more
than anything else. I happened to call
him to ask him if he knew of any cars
that were for sale before his ad in
Au-
toweek
even appeared. He said some-
thing like, “
Holy crap! This is amazing.
I only sent the ad to Autoweek two
days ago and I’m already getting a
phone call!
” I told him that wasn’t ac-
tually the case. “
I took down your
name when I saw your car at the New
Hope show last summer and I’m just
calling you to see if you know of any
Cobras that are available
.” He said,
“
Yeah – mine is!
” And I said, “
Whoa!
That’s a lucky break!
” And it was a
good deal.
SAAC: In 1976 SAAC published a
Cobra Registry which was unveiled at
the first convention in Oakland. Your
name was listed in the credits.
SCUDDER: I had contributed a num-
ber of names and serial numbers to
the first Cobra registry, the small,
white one published by Bill Kemper.
In the 1976 book it was the same deal.
I contributed all the names and serial
numbers I knew to that book and Bill
graciously thanked me and everyone
else who had helped him, in the open-
ing pages. I know that we call it “Bill
Kemper’s registry” but it was really
Royal Krieger who put that book to-
gether. He had been collecting infor-
mation on Cobras and gave all of it to
Bill who added it to his own informa-
tion, collated it and assembled it. But
The SHELBY AMERICAN
334 Fall 2015
SAAC’s first Cobra registry, printed in
1976, was preceeded by the smaller (
TV
Guide-sized
) 1973 registry which only con-
tained the serial numbers of Cobras whose
owners were known. The 1976 edition
listed all serial numbers, although many
cars were still “owner unknown.” Scudder
was listed as a contributor but was not one
of the editors, even though he had provided
all of his records. Within a year everyone
listed as an editor in the publication real-
ized that maintaining the Cobra registry
would be never-ending and chose not to
continue. That’s when Scudder was asked
by SAAC to take over. He decided to make
the commitment and has done a masterful
job ever since.