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I've no connection to this. Spotted on Craigslist LA

Might be a fun toy to play games with the uniformed at cars & coffee. Not many got the R bucket swivel option.

I'm thinking of buying a 2020 GT350. I'm leaning toward the Heritage R edition. I want the lowest mileage possible - yes I know with less than 100 miles the ask is $140-170.
Is it worth it?
It will become an occasional driver/canyon runner and the only reason I want such low mileage is to assure it's broken in right and no one has banged a carbon fiber wheel off a curb (I plan on storing those with the original tires) and putting on some forged aluminum wheels and more sensible street tires.
Yes I know SA is offering a new GT350 but it pales in comparison to the ones SVT built. It would be under $125.

by Steve Holmes with Ken Miles & CSX3002 in Australia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cicqnQ_DQEs

First time I've seen this carb setup - looks like they used spark plug boots to relocate the vent tubes.

I'd always thought he was a Mopar guy.
Johnny Crawford's (the kid on Rifleman) 66 GT350 for sale on Racingjunk.com
https://www.racingjunk.com/shelby/184740932/1966-shelby-mustang.html?category_id=5013&np_offset=21#4

In the stars with cars section I posted a shot of Paul Petersen - from the Donna Reed Show. He was the first president of COCOA. I had never seen a membership list. There was mention of the other club officers.

I couldn't find anything on VP Buzz Matson - maybe with his real first name something will turn up.

Dr Al Ettinger the treasurer was a Corvette racer - 57 RPO 684 Corvette - In 1957, Jerry Austin drove the car for C.S. Mead Chevrolet, Pasadena CA. Burt Ruttman drove the car to victory at Pomona in 1958. Bob Bondurant bought the car in late 1958 and went on to win 18 of 20 races and was West Coast BP Champion in 1959. Bob sold the car to Gary Pickens who sold the car to Dr. Albert Ettinger. Bart Martin bought the car from Doc Ettinger in 1961.  I purchased the car from Bart in 1962 and raced it in the SF Region/SCCA from 1962 thru 1966.
The car was wrecked during a 4-hour endurance race at Cotati Raceway at the end of 1966.
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNLe5xULR4wiKWnFZo9f29yJuD94gWFBNwplt9_KlWl_9MxiUyI13NlbfW72D91CA?pli=1&key=ZG1WYl8xam9ZZ1k3Z1ZfVW5BZHhzRGRtRHFuVDJR

The secretary Jay Smith is probably Dr George "Jay" Smith who did drive racecars. This picture was sold on Wellpoint from his collection. It says Laguna Seca but the background isn't right. https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-1960s-photograph-california-4873479400

COCOA still exists. Lynn Park is the caretaker and it holds two meetings per year at Willow Springs. One chapter still exists in Orange County CA, It was chartered by COCOA about a year before SAAC started and also still exists. It was started by Jim & Cheryl Wallace. It met at the Pacific Stereo warehouse in Anaheim. Jim managed their Pasadena store and Cheryl was the bookkeeper at the Covina store.

This time Ford didn't even need to homologate the Mustang as a 2 seat GT350........
Mustang GTD = Fastest US car on the Ring.

https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/ford-mustang-gtd-2025-nurburgring-record-video/?hashed_email=b055dacad84ce128c3f07f992c216f1f9d01bacadb65c1da6127d006f6d3dd3a&dtm_em=b055dacad84ce128c3f07f992c216f1f9d01bacadb65c1da6127d006f6d3dd3a

    Ford has just filed a patent to bring back a classic driving experience - but only 18 percent of Americans would know how to use it.

    The automaker has submitted paperwork to bring stick shifts to electric vehicles.

    Manual transmissions have all but vanished from the American new car market. Last year, less than 1 percent of new vehicles sold in the U.S. had manual gearboxes.

    In 1990, that figure sat between 25 and 30 percent.

    The patent application, published on March 20, outlines a system designed to replicate the tactile experience of shifting through gears – even though there are no actual gears to shift.

    The setup includes a traditional-looking shift lever mounted in a raised console, similar to the ones found in gas-powered sports cars.

    But instead of mechanical linkages, the system uses electronic signals to adjust the EV's driving feedback based on how the driver moves the stick.

Fear not

I heard over the weekend that a Cobra was lost in the Palisades fire. It's supposed to be at McClusky's already for restoration.
No further info or CSX#. Anybody else heard the rumor?

June 1 - https://www.rpmnationals.com/hot-rod-event-calendar

OK it probably won't show up and run on the 1/8th mile track but it's a good vintage photo of Snake in the Super Snake.

Video by Rick Titus.
Tracy Robinson has a restoration service in TX. While mainly a Mopar guy his father in law is well known Vintage GT350 Racer Greg Reynolds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rlv1KYirtE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wk3Q9GzASA8

60th ANNIVERSARY SHELBY G.T.350

OPEN TRACK AND CAR SHOW

"BIG" WILLOW SPRINGS RACEWAY

February 14 & 15, 2025

https://www.lashelbyclub.com/events/g-t-350-anniversary?utm_campaign=18f8d03b-9306-4cf2-96db-5a9e8ab144ca&utm_source=so&utm_medium=mail&cid=bb284712-7750-49d3-9d19-ce6097f0bc88

or is it a dent test?

Someone needs to write the program and start producing steel hood scoops. You need to figure out how much to leave on the front edge to form it like the original - the machine can't do that step.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ou5wPy56B3I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD6zyEhrYfU

Came across this AC Ace in a 1954 Brock Yates book on sports cars.
It was snapped at the Santa Ana drag strip which was started in 1950 on the Orange County airport. It was the first US dragstrip and closed in 1959.
The book may also hold a clue as to why CS called them "sport cars".

I heard this morning that C Van Tune (Side-Oilers) had lost his battle with cancer.

https://www.backstage.com/u/c-van-tune/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE5cHlsAdw0

10:40 it's stated CS and Dean Moon went to LAX to pick up the first Cobra with this truck.

https://www.undiscoveredclassics.com/undiscovered-classics-archives/historical-archives/vintage-article-archive/undiscovered-classics-vintage-media-archive-2000-2005/2005-cobra-in-the-barn/

https://www.undiscoveredclassics.com/transporters/1959-cheetah-moon-transporter/

https://www.hagerty.com/media/videos/barn-find-hunter-cheetah-transporter/

[Car #3, originally for Shelby, was finished in red. This model was somewhat unique as though it used a similarly designed body to Car #2, it was the only model fitted with fuel-injection and a Borg-Warner 4-speed manual transmission. Unlike the other two members of the project, Shelby never took delivery of his car, citing that it was too expensive for his purposes for it.]

We all know that CS first approached GM for Corvette engines to drop into the AC. Is this the reason he went there first?

Scaglietti Corvette

In 1959, a Texan oil well drilling contractor named Gary Laughlin wondered if it would be possible to create a vehicle with Italian design characteristics using the chassis and engine components from an American car like the Corvette. To oversee this creation, he enlisted the help of car constructer Jim Hall and race car driver Carroll Shelby, whom he was good friends with, to assist with the engineering of the project and, after their efforts, each man was to receive their own Corvette custom made to their liking. Thus, the trio managed to get three rolling Corvette chassis off of the production line and arranged to have them shipped to Modena, Italy. There, with the help of Road & Track correspondent Pete Coltrin, they managed to get in touch with Italian coachbuilder Sergio Scaglietti, famous for his design work on Ferrari road cars at the time. Scaglietti agreed to create and fit a new lightweight aluminium body to each car in secret, as Enzo Ferrari reportedly threatened to cancel Scaglietti's partnership with him after learning of the project. The resulting Scaglietti Corvette ended up weighing roughly 400 lbs less than any other Corvette at the time.
Each of the three cars assembled were unique for each owner:
Car #1, originally for Laughlin, was finished in red. It used a slightly different body to accommodate for an existing Corvette front grille. It originally came with a 283 cu in V8 with 315 hp and a four-barrel carburetor, mated to a 2-speed automatic transmission.
Car #2, originally for Hall, was finished in blue. This version had a body more closely resembling the Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta LWB. It came with the same carbureted V8 and automatic transmission as Car #1.
Car #3, originally for Shelby, was finished in red. This model was somewhat unique as though it used a similarly designed body to Car #2, it was the only model fitted with fuel-injection and a Borg-Warner 4-speed manual transmission. Unlike the other two members of the project, Shelby never took delivery of his car, citing that it was too expensive for his purposes for it.
However, the Scaglietti Corvette was not without its issues. Though conceived in 1959, the final projects wouldn't be completed and shipped back to the US until 1961, by which time it became clear that the aluminum bodies, though much lighter, had caused dramatic effects to the Corvette's chassis, resulting in dangerous front end lift at high speeds. Coupled with legal pressure from General Motors and Enzo Ferrari to put an end to production, and the Scaglietti Corvette project would be forever cemented as only a concept. However, many ideas from the car would prove inspirational, leading Jim Hall to found his Chevrolet-powered Chaparral racing team and Carroll Shelby to revisit the idea of a European-American sports car with the AC Cobra.

CARS & COFFEE

Bring your awesome ride and join our Holiday Weekend Cars & Coffee! Open to all makes and models! Registration NOT required.
WHEN
Sunday, July 02, 07:30 AM - 09:30 AM
WHERE
Segerstrom Shelby Event Center
5 WHATNEY ST. IRVINE, CA

Some of you may remember that Pete Brock originally wanted the hood scoop on the 65 GT350 to face backwards taking advantage of the high pressure air at the base of the windshield. He also envisioned some exhaust vents. His idea was nixed but now with the production of the continuation R Models Pete has been able to produce the front apron, rear window and now the hood that he originally designed. As usual he was ahead of the times Cowl Induction didn't become a thing until 3-4 years later.