How important was Dean Moon to Shelby American

[FL SAAC Team Leader]

Assembling the First Shelby Cobra at Dean Moon's Hot Rod Shop in Santa Fe Springs, California, February 1962 - The Henry Ford
https://www.thehenryford.org/collections-and-research/digital-collections/artifact/453182

[rhjanes]

I always want to show the first photo to the people telling me "This car had the XXX Cubic Inch special engine installed by Carroll Shelby HIMSELF", yeah...look at this photo of the first Cobra being assembled.  Shelby was an idea man, an assembler of TEAMS to accomplish his visions.  He's wearing dress slacks watching the first Cobra get a 260 installed. 

[FL SAAC Team Leader]

I always want to show the first photo to the people telling me "This car had the XXX Cubic Inch special engine installed by Carroll Shelby HIMSELF", yeah...look at this photo of the first Cobra being assembled.  Shelby was an idea man, an assembler of TEAMS to accomplish his visions.  He's wearing dress slacks watching the first Cobra get a 260 installed. 

You mean CSX 2000, that was built in 1962 by Carroll Shelby and a group of Southern California hot rodders.

The car was originally painted pearlescent (probably a Dean Moon special) yellow, but was repainted several times to convince customers and the press that the production line was running smoothly

That one

[98SVT - was 06GT]

This is a worthy post by the troll so I will chime in.
Dean Moon was Shelby's landlord. CS rented space to sell his Goodyear race tires from. Dean Moon had the Firestone race tire franchise. At some point once CS started getting more ink the tire companies realized they and their competitors tires were being sold from the same address. CS was forced to move out.
They were acquainted and Dean's shop probably helped out with molds and maybe getting CS in the door at Buddy Bar (although Ford was also using them).
I can't see them being bosom buddies. By the mid 70s Dean was a fairly grumpy old dude and not real pleasant to be around. They also traveled in different circles. Moon was a hot rod land speed drag race guy and CS hobnobbed with elitist sporty car crowd. Think coat & tie vs Tshirts.
I don't know if anyone ever sat down with Dean and did an interview of his CS/SA connection. I never thought to ask him about it. A friend was dating his daughter and there always seemed to be tension when he went to pick her up. Dean would offer you fresh popcorn if he had made a batch for his evening TV watching. He had one of those old fashioned popcorn machines you see at Disneyland. All restored and of course Moon Yellow.

[propayne]

I think the multiple paint jobs to fool the press has been disproven.

Dean Jeffries sprayed the pearl yellow paint and Shelby "payed" him with a Weber-equipped hi-po 289 and a four speed gearbox that Jeffries put in the Mantaray.

This is all according to Tom Cotter's book "Dean Jeffries".

- Phillip

[98SVT - was 06GT]

Dean Jeffries spayed the pearl yellow paint and Shelby "payed" him with a Weber-equipped hi-po 289 and a four speed gearbox that Jeffries put in the Mantaray.

Sounds like Shelby - got car painted in early 1962 and didn't pay the bill until 6-12 months later when the 289 HiPo came out.

Dean Jefferies was the goto guy for show quality paint and pin stripe work. He was a Hollywood custom car builder who could produce results quickly and with no BS. That is probably why Phil Remington took him along to Ford's wind tunnel when he had to redo the J car. Phil & Dean developed and produced the first production MkIV body in less than 2 weeks. This is also the timeframe Dean saw an unused Ford GT parked in the corner and bought it for $1. It's too bad that it has been restored back to day 1 rather than with the small cleanup changes that Dean did to it.
I also suspect when Jim Russell bought the first Daytona Coupe Shelby sent him to Jefferies for the show quality paint and bodywork it received. It also went to the custom car world's best upholster Tony Nancy for a whole new leather interior. 

[FL SAAC Team Leader]

This is a worthy post by the troll so I will chime in.
Dean Moon was Shelby's landlord. CS rented space to sell his Goodyear race tires from. Dean Moon had the Firestone race tire franchise. At some point once CS started getting more ink the tire companies realized they and their competitors tires were being sold from the same address. CS was forced to move out.
They were acquainted and Dean's shop probably helped out with molds and maybe getting CS in the door at Buddy Bar (although Ford was also using them).
I can't see them being bosom buddies. By the mid 70s Dean was a fairly grumpy old dude and not real pleasant to be around. They also traveled in different circles. Moon was a hot rod land speed drag race guy and CS hobnobbed with elitist sporty car crowd. Think coat & tie vs Tshirts.
I don't know if anyone ever sat down with Dean and did an interview of his CS/SA connection. I never thought to ask him about it. A friend was dating his daughter and there always seemed to be tension when he went to pick her up. Dean would offer you fresh popcorn if he had made a batch for his evening TV watching. He had one of those old fashioned popcorn machines you see at Disneyland. All restored and of course Moon Yellow.

good morning glad to hear that you approve  of this "most worthy post"

Back to the topic at hand, thank you Dean Moon for ushering in the S.A. legacy

[Bob Gaines]

I think the multiple paint jobs to fool the press has been disproven.

Dean Jeffries sprayed the pearl yellow paint and Shelby "payed" him with a Weber-equipped hi-po 289 and a four speed gearbox that Jeffries put in the Mantaray.

This is all according to Tom Cotter's book "Dean Jeffries".

- Phillip

You could clearly see the different color layers of paint jobs at various paint chip points that looked like the layers of a jaw breaker candy in the chip. First time inspecting CSX2000 was at the chili factory back in the 90's during a SCAT (Shelby Cobra Association of Texas) show and in later years at the Boulder museum. Maybe disproved to fool the press but the car was painted multiple times including YELLOW. Now the car resides at the Shelby American Museum in Boulder CO on loan from the Miller Family Automobile Foundation.

[tesgt350]

I think the multiple paint jobs to fool the press has been disproven.

Dean Jeffries sprayed the pearl yellow paint and Shelby "payed" him with a Weber-equipped hi-po 289 and a four speed gearbox that Jeffries put in the Mantaray.

This is all according to Tom Cotter's book "Dean Jeffries".

- Phillip

You could clearly see the different color layers of paint jobs at various paint chip points that looked like the layers of a jaw breaker candy in the chip. First time inspecting CSX2000 was at the chili factory back in the 90's during a SCAT (Shelby Cobra Association of Texas) show and in later years at the Boulder museum. Maybe disproved to fool the press but the car was painted multiple times including YELLOW. Now the car resides at the Shelby American Museum in Boulder CO on loan from the Miller Family Automobile Foundation.

How many Colors and WHAT Colors was it Painted?  Any Photos of the Cobra in those Colors?

[Bob Gaines]

I think the multiple paint jobs to fool the press has been disproven.

Dean Jeffries sprayed the pearl yellow paint and Shelby "payed" him with a Weber-equipped hi-po 289 and a four speed gearbox that Jeffries put in the Mantaray.

This is all according to Tom Cotter's book "Dean Jeffries".

- Phillip

You could clearly see the different color layers of paint jobs at various paint chip points that looked like the layers of a jaw breaker candy in the chip. First time inspecting CSX2000 was at the chili factory back in the 90's during a SCAT (Shelby Cobra Association of Texas) show and in later years at the Boulder museum. Maybe disproved to fool the press but the car was painted multiple times including YELLOW. Now the car resides at the Shelby American Museum in Boulder CO on loan from the Miller Family Automobile Foundation.

How many Colors and WHAT Colors was it Painted?  Any Photos of the Cobra in those Colors?

If I remember right there was at least 3 not including the current blue. I had a "will you look at that" moment when I distinguished the yellow in the layers given the press story but the other colors are lost in my memory.   

[propayne]

My understanding was two shades of yellow and then the blue.

- Phillip

[kranky]

Don't forget the in the buff (unpainted-raw in aluminum) as first introduced to the public, early Christy test articles, etc.

[FL SAAC Team Leader]

February 1962 by a band of volunteers at the "Carroll Shelby Enterprises" Goodyear tire distributorship shop at 10820 South Norwalk Boulevard in Santa Fe Springs, California.

When CSX 2000 had arrived, the aluminum body had been left unpainted and was first brightened and polished with steel wool.

In preparation for the 1962 International Automobile Show held at the New York Coliseum on April 21-29, CSX 2000 received its first paint job in a fluorescent yellow color.

Exaggerations over the years have claimed that CSX 2000 had been repainted numerous times in the mid-months of 1962 with the hope of convincing auto magazine staff reviewers that Cobras were already in full production.

That is a good story, but the only color reported to be showing through CSX 2000's present cracked (medium-dark metallic blue) paint is the original fluorescent yellow.

How CSX 2000 Laid the Foundation for the Shelby Cobra Legend
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/how-csx-2000-laid-the-foundation-for-the-shelby-cobra-legend/

[Bob Gaines]

February 1962 by a band of volunteers at the "Carroll Shelby Enterprises" Goodyear tire distributorship shop at 10820 South Norwalk Boulevard in Santa Fe Springs, California.

When CSX 2000 had arrived, the aluminum body had been left unpainted and was first brightened and polished with steel wool.

In preparation for the 1962 International Automobile Show held at the New York Coliseum on April 21-29, CSX 2000 received its first paint job in a fluorescent yellow color.

Exaggerations over the years have claimed that CSX 2000 had been repainted numerous times in the mid-months of 1962 with the hope of convincing auto magazine staff reviewers that Cobras were already in full production.

That is a good story, but the only color reported to be showing through CSX 2000's present cracked (medium-dark metallic blue) paint is the original fluorescent yellow.

How CSX 2000 Laid the Foundation for the Shelby Cobra Legend
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/how-csx-2000-laid-the-foundation-for-the-shelby-cobra-legend/

Seeing is believing. The chips in the paint on CSX2000 that I saw and the different colors paint layers within them indicated more then one repaint.

[FL SAAC Team Leader]

So the first A.C. Shelby Cobra was natural metal, yellow and then blue

But Dean was essential to the S.A. take off