cobra oil pan

[allens shelby]

can anyone tell me if this is an original or a reproduction oil pan and what its for I was told when I purchased it that it was original 1966 shelby 289 pan and it also came with cobra buddy barr valve covers

[silverton_ford]

Looks like the Cobra roadster oil pan.   Nice looking pan.

[shelbydoug]

It looks like the one that I had which was an original but there are details of them that can only be seen in person.
In many cases the repros are better then the original ones are so I wouldn't worry too much about that.

The fact of the matter is that they are basically cosmetic items and offer very little if any performance benefits. For benefits you need to go to something like an Aviaid race pan.

[Dan Case]

In many cases the repros are better then the original ones are so I wouldn't worry too much about that.

I will add that the reproductions I have had in my hands had thicker walls which made them considerably heavier than any original I have picked up.

There was more than one version of original Cobra roadster pan. (There was also a TIGER lettered pan.) The earliest ones don't fit the rear main bearing cap correctly because their curvature more half oval than half round.  The fit was so poor that raising the front of the car would allow oil to pour out the rear of the pan. The solution was use lots of a non hardening sealer. Later pans didn't have the problem as far as I know.  I had to deal with an early leaking pan once.

A specific casting defect in the top side rib was also common in some original pans.

As far as I know all versions (different makers) of reproduction pans fit the rear main bearing cap correctly.


I don't know how common the problem was but there was a reproduction pan on our red car when we bought it and it leaked out one side wall of the sump. The casting was very porous. The leak was about a tea spoon worth every day even just sitting in storage.  With the engine hot and running the leakage was faster. The underside of the car was 'well oiled' from the engine back to the rear bumpers. I drove the car about fifty miles before ending that problem.