The Story of the Shelby Cobra

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Classic cars are very popular in the United States and around the world. One model that has stood out over time is the Shelby Cobra. People all over the world build their own using Shelby Cobra kits.

What is a Shelby Cobra?

Carroll Shelby was a race driver and car designer. He started out racing in borrowed cars but after he won a few races, Aston Martin, the British car company, signed him to race in their cars. When he was forced to quit racing due to a heart condition, he turned his energy to designing cars.

In 1961, the British car company, AC Cars, announced they were no longer going to produce the AC Ace. Shelby saw an opportunity in this decision. The rationale the company gave was that the Bristol six cylinder engine was not going to be made available anymore. This was a direct precursor to the Shelby Cobra kit. Shelby thought that if you took a Ford V8 engine and put it in the AC Ace frame, you would have a fantastic new kind of car. It would be lightweight and have a lot of power. He persuaded the car manufacturer to send him one of their cars without an engine. He had Ford put a 260 engine in it and the Shelby Cobra car was born.

Shelby was not satisfied with his creation. He wanted to get more power into the light cars. He started working on the Shelby Cobra 427 in 1964. For this version, he used a Ford big block 7 liter engine. People told him that he was crazy to even consider putting so much power into such a light frame. His response was to say that there was no such thing as “too much power.” To get the results he wanted, he had to make changes to the frame. It had to be widened and stretched. The chassis and suspension were altered to accommodate the engine.

The result of Shelby’s work was a car that was incredibly fast. This is one reason the Shelby Cobra kits are so popular. People love fast cars. The Cobra 427 was able to get from zero to 60 miles per hour in under four seconds. It could get from zero to 100 miles per hour in 10.8 seconds. The problem was that many drivers were not able to control the power in the car and many people were in accidents.

The Cobra 427 was only manufactured from 1965 through 1967. During that time, 348 were made. Most of these cars that are around today are made from the Shelby Cobra kit. This is considered to be one of the most legendary cars every built. The remaining, factory built versions of the car are all in the hands of collectors. It is considered to be the most successful British-American vehicle. No one has made a custom roadster like it since. In 1964, an AC Cobra coupe made it to 186 miles per hour on a British motorway.

Many people buy Shelby Cobra kits and personalize them. They can put in the engine they prefer as well as the right transmission, suspension and brake system. Some Ford purists look down on the practice but many Shelby Cobra enthusiasts use the Chevy block engine instead of the Ford. This is because the Chevy block engines are less expensive and easy to get. By some estimates, at least 60,000 replica cars have been built by car enthusiasts around the world. The great thing about these kits is that they allow people who love fast cars to build their own.

While it is probably not a good idea to have a lot of Shelby Cobra cars on the road, they are amazing vehicles that can be a lot of fun to build at home. There are few things that are as much fun for anyone who loves fast cars like the the Shelby Cobra kit. When Carroll Shelby got into racing and then into car designing, he could not possibly have known what he was starting.

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History Lesson The 5 Most Powerful Muscle Cars Ever Made

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The term muscle car is of American origin, and refers to any American-made two-door vehicle designed for high performance and high speed driving. However, not all muscle cars are equal.

Some muscle cars were so famous that car enthusiasts buy replica car kits just to have something similar. Others didn’t do so well, but typically the faster and more powerful, the more popular the car. Here’s a list of the five most powerful muscle cars of all time.

1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429
This car is what happens when standard car makers feel the need to meet NASCAR regulations in a casual vehicle. Fewer than 1,400 were built between 1969 and 1970, which makes this one of the rarest muscle cars out there as well.
1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
This is not only the rarest Chevrolet in history, it’s the most powerful. Only 40 of these cars were ever built, and their speed on the road and track gave them a huge reputation. Today’s Camaros are named after this model, although they may not carry as much horsepower.
1970 Buick GSX Stage 1
Even back when Buick entered the muscle car scene, it was still a luxury brand. These cares were not only some of the most powerful, they were among the most expensive and spacious of all.
1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454
Countless car enthusiasts consider the Chevelle one of the peak cars of the muscle era. This car quite literally blew the competition away, and even looked fast when it wasn’t, thanks to its curved roof giving off the illusion of speed, even at a standstill.
Shelby AC Cobra 427
This car was certainly ahead of its time. One of the absolute fastest and rarest on the market, it’s still highly coveted among car enthusiasts today. A Shelby Cobra kit is priceless, although true enthusiasts could most likely tell the difference. This car was certainly one of the single most powerful in the muscle era.
Whether it was Buick or Chevrolet, the era of these cars was all about faster and more powerful. Some cars even exceeded 900 horsepower, something almost unheard of today.