1966 Shelby Cobra replica by Shel Valley

Description for Shelby A/C Cobra 1966

The story:

I bought and built this car as a kit brand new from Shell Valley located up in Columbus, ebraska. I have done all the building and work on the car except the paint, ody work and building of the short block. I originally built it with a SB Chevy in it and ran it a year or so in the gel coat as I wanted to work out all the bugs before having the car painted. Once it was ready for paint, took the car back up to Columbus, E to have it painted. If you were to buy a rolling chassis from Shell Valley and have it painted, hey would use the local Chrysler dealership who has a large body shop to do all their work for them. At the time, hey had painted close to 100 Cobras from Shell Valley. I liked this because they know exactly how the cars come out of the mold and how to make them look the best. They are also experts on how best to align the doors, ood and truck.

After running the car for a couple years with the SB Chevy in it, decided it was time to make it right and put a Ford power plant in it. After some research, decided to go with a small block rather than a big block to keep a better front to rear balance. I started with a new block from Ford and had a southern California speed shop build up the short block. Because it was a new block, t didn't need to be bored but I did want it to be stroked. Most SB Ford stroker motors are either 331 or 347 cubic inches. A 347 is a .030 over block with a 4.00" stroke. Like I said before, his new block didn't need to be bored so the cubic inch comes out to be 342.

I did some more research (SEMA show in Las Vegas) and decided on several things. TKO 600 over a TKO 500, dual disc clutch, ortech and Acell DFI with a wide band controller. The Acell DFI works very well and is fairly straight forward to program. The wide band O2 sensor really helps with the tuning and I am fortunate to have a friend that owns a dyno shop. I would take the car to the dyno and just drive on the dyno. This made tuning much easier than driving on the street with the computer in your lap. After tuning and driving the car with the blower on, ou quickly realize 500+ horse power in a 2100lb. car can be quite the handful and sometimes nerve racking on the street. I decided this past year to try it for a while without the blower and I have to say I enjoy driving it more. Maybe the responsibility of two kids makes me like the toned down version a little more. So as it sits today, he blower is on the workbench and the car has both tunes in the computer. The blower can be bolted on in an hour or two and the program can be switch in the computer in a few minutes and you can be back to blowing the rear tires off it.

The good:

The car is mechanically sorted out and looks great. The paint looks very deep and wet, he stance including the wheel and tire fitment are perfect. The car itself with its style and classic looks demand attention so I decided to go with a deep pewter color, ather than a bright red or blue. I work for Toyota Motor Sales and we use to have a gorgeous color on the 4Runners that came out in the early 2000s called Thunder Cloud. So the paint code is for a 2001 Toyota 4Runner in Thunder Cloud. The black stripes are a Chrysler color with no pearl.

I spent a lot of time with donor wheels and tires getting the backspacing and tire size just right as I hate to see a nice car and then the wheels don't fit. Too much fender well or tires sticking out of the fender can kill a look and I didn't want that.

The fitted car cover that it sits under when not in use comes with it and provides great protection.

I keep a battery tender on it, o you can go down to the garage anytime, nhook it and take it out for a spin. Little road trips and overnighters are no problem.

The glove box being autographed by Carrol Shelby can sometimes get more attention than the car.

I have a clean Kansas title in hand. If you are considering a kit, his is a major time saver as you don't have to mess with inspections, ighway patrol or the DMV. I did all that and you won't have to with this car.

It's stupid fast, ou will need to exercise control and responsibility each time you take it out.

The not so good:

I believe in being completely honest and transparent with all things including the stuff that I sell. The new owner of this car will be making a substantial investment and I want you to fill comfortable with what you are getting. If someone is selling you a hotrod and tells you it needs nothing and is perfect, hen you better really go over it with a fine tooth comb. If you are interested, e can set up a time to ‘facetime' and I can show you everything on the car including starting it up and taking it for a spin. With that being said, ere is what you need to know:

Even though the car only has 1,250 miles on it, t is close to 14 years old. So it has a couple rock chips and a tiny stress crack in the fiberglass by the windshield frame. It also has a couple very small scratches by the gas cap. These are shown in the photos and I can point them out if we facetime.

The tires have great tread left on them and look great but they are as old as the car. If you plan to hit the track with it right away, ou might want some new stickies for it. If you plan to cruise it around town and hit some car shows, hen the tires are fine.

The brakes on the car work fine for your everyday use and the occasional autocross. They are Ford Granada disks up front and Ford drums out back. Like the tires or if you want the looks, ou will want to upgrade to some nice Willwoods or other brand of your choice.

I didn't finish installing the shift light, t needs the relay to be functional. The computer for the EFI will control it.

I didn't do a horn, f you need it for your registration, here is wiring and a fuse block for it.

The starter is a stock Ford unit for a Mustang. It works fine but gets week when it is hot and turns the motor over slower than I like. I have gotten use to it but it could annoy a new owner.

The tune in the car for when the blower is on is about 98% done and really needs nothing. The tune in it now with no blower on is about 90% done. Either way, t is totally drivable, ou could just squeeze a few more horse power out of it with some more dyno time.

Don't forget that it is a hotrod with no top, o a/c, o heater, o windshield wipers and no radio. I say this because you have to work on hotrods from time to time and you need to be somewhat mechanically inclined otherwise you will be spending a hefty penny at your local shop having this and that done on the car. You also have to think of it like a motorcycle, ou drive it when the weather is nice and no chance of rain. The BFGs are the KD version which means dry payment only.

The details, pecs and numbers:

Wheels and Tires

Front - 17x8 Team III Wheels with BF Goodwrench KDs (Dry pavement only) 245/45 17s

Rear - 17x11 Team II Wheels with BF Goodwrench KDs (Dry pavement only) 315/35 17s, hese bad boys are fat!

Rear End

Ford 9"with limited slip and 3.90 gears. It is a small bearing rear end and was built with new drum brakes, earings and gears when the car was built.

Transmission

TKO 600 - The TKO 600 is rated at 600 ft. lbs. of torque vs. the KO 500 rated at 500 ft. lbs. of torque.

Engine

342 ci SB Ford HO (HO denotes firing order which is different than a non HO)

It was a new Ford Motorsports block with all forged internals, ncluding H beam rods. 3.4" stroked crank and internally balanced at 28 oz.

The block is plumbed for a remote oil filter, ses ARP head studs and a main girdle.

The heads are 220cc, NC ported aluminum Prolines. The intake valves are 2.05s and exhaust are 1.60s with Comp full roller rockers. The ports are huge and matched to the intake and headers. See the pictures.

The clutch is a Zoom dual disc with an aluminum flywheel and hydraulic throw-out bearing.

The intake is an Edlebrock Victor Jr. that has been polished and had fuel injector bungs welded in it. It has Acell 50lb. injectors in it. The throttle body elbow is a piece that I fabbed up and then had chromed. I made it to do several things, ne it fits under the hood and two, hid the sensors under it to give it a clean look. The throttle body is an Acufab 75mm polished throttle body.

Water pump and starter are stock Ford parts for a Mustang.

Alternator is a Promaster 1 wire putting out 100 amps.

The blower is a polished Vortech VSi which is the more recent version from Vortech. I spec'd it and the mounts out for a 5.0 Mustang as Vortech has done thousands over 5.0 Mustangs. I modified the mount to move the blower down 3 inches and in towards the motor 2 inches. This was done to keep it all under the hood and out of the fender well. It works very well the way it is set up with the blow off valve and plumbing. It makes right at 8 lbs. of boost.