63 / 110
gressman, and see if he can run a bill
by Congress this year.
About this time, Rod Leach re-en-
ters the picture. “
I forgot all about the
Cobra until 2011 when someone con-
tacted me to ask what I knew of a 289
that he was considering buying and
sent me a photo. I was amazed that it
was the same car that I had inspected
twenty-five years earlier. The person
decided against proceeding with the
purchase, which ended up as my good
fortune
.”
So, Rod Leach was finally able to
acquire the Cobra. He then sent
COB6034 back to Hall and Hall (for-
merly Hall and Fowler) for remedial
mechanical work and then on to Hawk
Cars for weather equipment and fur-
ther cosmetic internal panel refurbish-
ment. The last shop for work on the
British Cobra was Thunder Road, for
chassis and suspension preparation.
Leach did some engine compartment
detailing to complete the restoration.
Jolly good show, if I do say so myself.
The AC Cobra 289 has since been
a Salon Prive Concours d’Elegance en-
trant, outright winner of the “Peoples’
Choice” at the Goodwood Revival
Earls Court Motorshow, and finished
3rd Overall in the inaugural London
Excel Classic Car Show Concours.
Leach’s ride has also been featured in
several classic car magazines.
The mileage is amazing, only 11,900
since new, but it’s not surprising con-
sidering its time spent locked up and
out of sight.When Leach first laid eyes
on the Cobra in the mid 1980s, the
odometer only showed 10,700 miles.
The car was practically brand new.
When asked why he thought the car
wasn’t driven in Monaco – only 1,200
miles in twenty-five years, he replied,
“
I don’t know why Woodford hardly
used the car, but Monaco is very small
and perhaps he didn’t want to ‘show
off’ his ownership. He had kept its
original England license plates, and
probably didn’t register it in Monaco.”
What was Leach’s most memo-
rable experience in his Cobra?
“
Shortly after acquiring COB6034 I
was on holiday with my wife in the
English Lake District. We had ven-
tured into Bowness-on-Windermere
and I idly glanced in the window of an
Art Shop where various ‘chocolate-box’
pictures were displayed. One was of a
British sports car and closer inspec-
tion showed it to be an AC Cobra. I
then jumped back in astonishment, ut-
tering various expletives (which scat-
tered passers-by!) as the painting was
of my actual car (see the slightly
blurred but clearly identifiable Eng-
lish license plate in the photo) - albeit
painted red. Needless to say my wife
bought me the painting (it was my
birthday weekend) and it now hangs
in my office. But what are the chances
of me being at that shop at that time
with that picture in the window?
”
As with most British Cobras, doc-
umentation has a good habit of follow-
ing the car. Leach has a substantial
file folder that contains the original
(green) log book from 1964 and the fac-
tory sales leaflet for the model. While
he loves this rare ride and has enjoyed
showing it at some impressive car
shows, a recent stroke that he’s pretty
much recovered from has convinced
him to part with COB6034. It was a
fantastic six year run.
I’ve always coveted a Cobra, but
can’t afford one, so I’m going to locate
six guys like myself in the Houston
area, and make a group offer, to allow
each of us ‘one day a week’ ownership.
You can converse with Rod at
info@rodleach.com
The SHELBY AMERICAN
Summer 2017 63