1965 Shelby Cobra

1965 Shell Valley Cobra Shell Valley was founded in 1970 as Shell Valley Motors and Shell Valley Fiberglass by James Swoboda. In 1997, Rich Anderson purchased the companies as Shell Valley Companies, Inc. In '99, Rich acquired Midstates Classic Cars & Parts from Bob Kallio. By combining the best Cobra Replica Kit Car features and technologies of both companies, Shell Valley introduced the Generation II Cobra Replica Kit Car in 2007. In 2009, Travis Roth bought the company's assets and formed Shell Valley Classic Wheels, Inc. From their website. Shell Valley is based in Platte Center, Nebraska.  For consignment, a 1965 Shell Valley Cobra replica built in 2002 and showing 1,919 miles, but the true miles are unknown. Our consignor has owned it for 10 years during which time he redesigned the interior and had a Holley Sniper EFI system installed.   Exterior Looking very much like a ground hugging pit viper, this Cobra hunkers down over the 15-inch American Racing Daisy wheels like a sinister ambush predator, here coated in two stage Burgundy paint with painted tan metallic stripes. The widebody reflects light at every angle, and the panels are capped by a subtle hood scoop in front, a gas cap on the right rear pontoon fender, and epic, straked fender vents on the sides. Those vents are sandwiched between the Ford Racing emblems and the side pipes, while chrome makes an appearance on the roll bar behind the driver, headlight rings, and side mirrors. Wind wings accompany the windshield, and jacking hooks take their place in lieu of front and rear bumpers. Imperfections include dimples in the paint, rock chips, minor flaws on nearly every panel edge including where it wraps to the interior and a crack on the driver's fender as well as on the body in front of the trunk lid.  Interior Black vinyl door cards include the typically loose map pockets and both doors present clean and intact. The bomber style bucket seats wear stitched black vinyl and racing harnesses, all in excellent condition, separated by the typically wide and square transmission hump housing a billet shafted shifter with white ball handle. Riding that hump is a fire extinguished and the back wall has a speaker for the hidden Bluetooth audio system. A three arm Moto-Lita wood rimmed steering wheel fronts the black dash with an array of AutoMeter Procomp gauges and billet faced toggle switch panel with a rainbow of indicator lights. Inside the asymmetrical glove box is the Holley Sniper management touchscreen. Our floor is covered in nice black carpet with Cobra mats and the trunk is finished with carpet as well and houses the battery.  Drivetrain Under the hood, a 428ci V8 with a casting number indicating a 1967-1970 428 Police Interceptor/CJ block has been rebuilt, and now sports a Holley Sniper EFI for fuel delivery. This is mated to a Tremec 3550 5-speed manual transmission. Power is routed to a Ford 8.8 rear.  Undercarriage  The good looking underside remains clean with headers sending the exhaust to the side pipes and disc brakes occupying all four wheels. Suspension on the Cobra includes coil overs front and rear with a 4 link in back. Drive-Ability Fast, agile, and loud; just the way we like it!  And exactly what you'd expect from a nicely done replica. We're not flogging it today as we're on 30 year old tires, but the suggestion of potential is evident underfoot and with a new set of tires, our right foot would feel very, very heavy. All functions on board operate as they should and it's time to take this snake back to the den. While Classic Auto Mall represents that these functions were working at the time of our test drive, we cannot guarantee these functions will be working at the time of your purchase. Yes, it makes a great show car. But on your way to the show, be prepared for the staring masses. And those fingers you see are thumbs in the air, so don't get bent out of shape as even little kids will react to this burgund