Some things are too good to let die...

lspencer534 · 05-23-2018, 6:34pm

As original 1962-67 Cobras still blaze across auction blocks at astounding prices, the Cobra lives on in almost innumerable (and far more affordable) modern permutations, up to and including Shelby authorized “continuation” cars which bear CSX chassis numbers and are constructed by a variety of companies. They supply all the sights and sounds of original Cobras, a Shelby stamp of approval, and varying degrees of modern upgrades.

Such a car is John Shultz’s aluminum-bodied Shelby Cobra 427 which comes from the 4000-block of CSX continuation cars and, but for age, pedigree, and sentimentality, might as well be a real Cobra that you can drive every day. Certainly, it’s a Cobra you can drive without worrying about risking an American historical treasure to the hazards of traffic.

Painted in solid Navy Blue, a subtle shade that forgoes the bang-flash of racing stripes, and fitted with black Halibrand-style pin-drive knock-off wheels, Shultz’s car looks the business and sounds authentic when its side pipes start barking. The cast-aluminum Ford 482 FE supplied by Craft Performance Engines is basically a 427 bored and stroked to 482 cubic inches. This one made 648 horsepower on the dyno, which is pretty, uh, adequate in a car that only weighs about 2300 pounds.