Cobra Caravan pictures in NYC Dec 2, 1965

[Szabo]

Hello,

nice to read that you have good memorys from the place ...

i found the source from the crappy articel, it is Newspaper.com
and was in the Bristol Daily Courier, Pennsylvania

there are 45 of Newspaper articel from the hole Country who anoucend the Cobra Caravan,
i can not get a free access because i am from Germany, but when someone will do this it would be very good job.



For me personal i am now on fire with this hole Cobra Caravan Theme, it is a good Shelby history thing.

i have collect several Pics and Information, maybe we can make a nice thread here and collect more nice stuff.

[Richstang]

Thanks for the newspaper article source. The article is difficult to read. I'll have to check out that website.

Besides the December 14th stop at the Moorestown Mall in NJ...
They appear to have stopped earlier that day at the 'FRANCIS for FORDS' dealer in Harrisburg, PA.
5R213 is pictured, parked in front of the dealership, with other GT350s in this attached photo.
There's no sign of the other cars or the Transporter, but they might be parked next to the camera view point...
or
it was a quick stop for a photo opportunity with the R model. (less likely)

[Szabo]

I see that Photo befor but never bring it in contact to the Cobra Caravan ...

is this bulletproofed that 5R213 was there thruw the Cobra Caravan Tour,
or can it be that another Event was happend for the visit of the R Model?

Meanwhile i have made a google map Route for the 12 Stops of the Caravan Backside

for me, who isn´t confirmed with cities and dimensions of the USA it brings a very
good overlook about the very big route the Cobra Caravan does...

i will ad the other points of interest and pics we found and even the dates to bring
to together as best as we and i can.

I found a articel from 2 Dec from the Daily Reporter Dover, Ohio for the Cleveland Stop, 4 Dec 1965

[Richstang]

Nice Stephan,
l like the map with added photos of each stop. I made one myself a while back, but only pinpointed the planned stops noted on the transporter.

Here's a couple of photos to add.
1st stop is in LA at Hi-Performance Motors 11/17 on South La Brea.
9th stop is in Charlotte, North Carolina at 'Young Ford' on 12/10.

There's nothing to confirm the 'Francis for Fords' stop, but the timing works for 5r213 that was on the tour.
It was noted as completed just before the tour started in November and shipped to Peru in 1966.

[KR500]

I see that Photo befor but never bring it in contact to the Cobra Caravan ...

is this bulletproofed that 5R213 was there thruw the Cobra Caravan Tour,
or can it be that another Event was happend for the visit of the R Model?

Meanwhile i have made a google map Route for the 12 Stops of the Caravan Backside

for me, who isn´t confirmed with cities and dimensions of the USA it brings a very
good overlook about the very big route the Cobra Caravan does...

i will ad the other points of interest and pics we found and even the dates to bring
to together as best as we and i can.

I found a articel from 2 Dec from the Daily Reporter Dover, Ohio for the Cleveland Stop, 4 Dec 1965

Szabo
Nice work. Keep it up. Just a note on the map you used. It appears to be a modern map of the USA with the yellow roads being our interstate highway system. Many of these interstate highways didn't exist in 1965 or were not as complete as they are now. That being said our interstate highways did replace and or follow the same routes of a lot of the main highways of the day.
Rodney

[Bill Collins]

Thanks for the newspaper article source. The article is difficult to read. I'll have to check out that website.

Besides the December 14th stop at the Moorestown Mall in NJ...
They appear to have stopped earlier that day at the 'FRANCIS for FORDS' dealer in Harrisburg, PA.
5R213 is pictured, parked in front of the dealership, with other GT350s in this attached photo.
There's no sign of the other cars or the Transporter, but they might be parked next to the camera view point...
or
it was a quick stop for a photo opportunity with the R model. (less likely)

I was in high school in 1965 and lived about a half hours' walk from Francis For Fords. I often haunted the place on weekends, since they had the Shelby franchise and there were always interesting cars to look at.

I saw 5R213 purely by chance during one of these visits. It was on a Saturday and it was unceremoniously parked inside in the service department, which did not operate on weekends. I could hardly believe my eyes! Unfortunately, I was not carrying a camera, unlike the month previous when a friend and I trekked to FFF one weekday evening to see 6S101 in the showroom and shot photos of each other sitting in it (see attachment).

December 14, 1965 was a Tuesday, so my visit was likely on the previous Saturday, December 11th. Neither the transporter or any of the other cars were on site - believe me I would have noticed if they were! Given the note in reply #33 that the Caravan was at Young Ford in Charlotte, North Carolina on December 10th, the FFF photo was likely taken during the weekend that I saw it or on the following Monday. The distance from Harrisburg to its next reported stop in Moorestown, NJ is about 120 miles, so it would have taken the better part of a day to get to that destination and set the car up for display on the 14th.

I do not recall seeing any announcements or press coverage of the Caravan being in town, so I believe the Harrisburg stop may have been among several serendipitous visits it made along the tour. This could have been the result of some lobbying by the dealer, since as you can see from the photo, they had several GT350's in stock. And/or it could have been an opportunity to service the transporter at the dealer. Perhaps more details will emerge as we go along.

[Richstang]

Thanks for sharing your story with us Bill. (It must have been neat to have a Shelby franchised dealer within walking distance)

You seem to be certain it was Saturday. Could it have been a day or two later, other than Saturday December 11, 1965?
According to the Caravan tour schedule those 4 touring vehicles were between Charlotte, NC (12/10) and Washington, DC (12/13).
I don't doubt you saw 5r213 in person, (that's very cool), but maybe it was a different day.

Thinking further about that location as a tour stop, maybe they stopped at the FFF dealer after the DC stop, later on the 13th, instead of the 14th for the Moorestown Mall day in southern NJ. (We currently know nothing about the DC location stop.)


Other possible dealership tour stops could be;
2nd stop; maybe 'S&C Motors' in San Francisco
4th stop; maybe 'Horn Williams' in Dallas, Texas
5th stop; maybe 'Milo Brooks Inc.' in Chicago, Illinois
8th stop; maybe Carey Paul Ford; in Decator, Georgia
12th stop; maybe 'Tasca Ford' in Providence, Rhode Island

[Szabo]

Hello All,

thank you for the answers and new Pics and information

@Bill Collins

super nice explation from your Point to the "Francis for Fords"

on my seek i read the story befor, and your famous Pics, but now explained at a actual Point is very cool,
thanks a lot

I hope we find a little bit more, but this Dealer and other Pics are very hard to find.

@KR500

i now that fact but i have no other historic correct card for use, it is the same problem like on my other
thread form the 65 GT350 travel in europe

When anybody have such a nice, interactiv, card from 1965 - 1970 from USA in High Resolution send
a link, i will make again a better card for correkt time period route of the Cobra Caravan

@Richstang

thank you very much for the new Pics and Infos

i am very on fire to get more and more information, i hope you have also fun

best Point for getting "Bulletproof" Info ist that Newspaper.com site with a 7 Day for free trail
... i would hack the 45 articel in one night :-D

the "Young Ford" Pic i had also but with a "Do Not Copy" script all over the Pic, so cool to have in clean for the Card
and the archiv

the "Cobra Daytona at Hi-Performance" Pic is very stunning, becaue i have a lot of unamed, unsorted, undated
Pics collected and sometimes i get a new input and can create Time, Location and Backround Information

i have to more Pics from that, looks like the same Point and Data,
1 is from another Thread from you here in the Forum in beautyfull color and sharpness


the other one have



a little bit of side story, but is that all the same Daytona Coupe we have on the Cobra Caravan CSX2286




New Card is added

[Szabo]

Thanks for sharing your story with us Bill. (It must have been neat to have a Shelby franchised dealer within walking distance)

You seem to be certain it was Saturday. Could it have been a day or two later, other than Saturday December 11, 1965?
According to the Caravan tour schedule those 4 touring vehicles were between Charlotte, NC (12/10) and Washington, DC (12/13).
I don't doubt you saw 5r213 in person, (that's very cool), but maybe it was a different day.

Thinking further about that location as a tour stop, maybe they stopped at the FFF dealer after the DC stop, later on the 13th, instead of the 14th for the Moorestown Mall day in southern NJ. (We currently know nothing about the DC location stop.)




Other possible dealership tour stops could be;
2nd stop; maybe 'S&C Motors' in San Francisco
4th stop; maybe 'Horn Williams' in Dallas, Texas
5th stop; maybe 'Milo Brooks Inc.' in Chicago, Illinois
8th stop; maybe Carey Paul Ford; in Decator, Georgia
12th stop; maybe 'Tasca Ford' in Providence, Rhode Island

i read again the "Moorestown Articel" and we must correct the Data of the Visit

The Articel was printed on the 14 Dec but inside the Articel stand clearly

"...I went shopping at the Moorestown Mall yesterday and ... "
and
"He and his Cobra Caravan breezed into the Delaware Valley aera for a one-day stand yesterday at the Moorestown Mall.
Altough the Cars were on Disply all day long, Shelby had only a hour and a half for lunch with the press before flying back to Detroit"


So the Moorestown Event must be on 13th Dec 65.
but that is on trouble for the Washington Date ...

Edith:

I found another "Preview" Articel where confirmed the "Moorestown Event" was on 13th Dec ...

[Bill Collins]

Thanks for sharing your story with us Bill. (It must have been neat to have a Shelby franchised dealer within walking distance)

You seem to be certain it was Saturday. Could it have been a day or two later, other than Saturday December 11, 1965?
According to the Caravan tour schedule those 4 touring vehicles were between Charlotte, NC (12/10) and Washington, DC (12/13).
I don't doubt you saw 5r213 in person, (that's very cool), but maybe it was a different day.

Thinking further about that location as a tour stop, maybe they stopped at the FFF dealer after the DC stop, later on the 13th, instead of the 14th for the Moorestown Mall day in southern NJ. (We currently know nothing about the DC location stop.)

Other possible dealership tour stops could be;
2nd stop; maybe 'S&C Motors' in San Francisco
4th stop; maybe 'Horn Williams' in Dallas, Texas
5th stop; maybe 'Milo Brooks Inc.' in Chicago, Illinois
8th stop; maybe Carey Paul Ford; in Decator, Georgia
12th stop; maybe 'Tasca Ford' in Providence, Rhode Island

Well, I am at an age where memory and reality sometimes do not align!    However, while it is possible I was there on other than a Saturday, I do recall it being during the day and the service department being closed, as there was no one around when I saw it.

At that time Pennsylvania had what were known as "blue laws" which prohibited many types of businesses from being open on Sundays, including car dealers, so we can definitely eliminate the 12th. It could have been on the 13th, but that being a weekday, I would have been in school. And being December, it would have been dark by the time I made the return walk home from FFF, so I consider that possibility unlikely.

There was a set of double doors in the back of the FFF showroom that led directly into the service area and 213 was parked in the bay nearest the doors. I attached another photo from 1970 - this is a snapshot taken inside the showroom by a FFF employee showing astronaut Frank Borman during his visit to the dealership. He is on the far right. FFF general manager Dave Roth is beside him. Harold Gross, who along with his brother Jack owned the dealership at the time, is on the left. The open doors can be seen between Gross and Roth.

While not entirely on topic, I have two other photos of Borman posing with employees during that visit. The first one shows Borman flanked by the Gross brothers, Harold on our left and Jack to the right. Roth is next to Jack. The distinctive framing and angle of the showroom windows is visible behind them. This is just inside where the Shelby lineup was photographed in 1965.

The second was taken at the exterior entrance to the showroom, facing the street. Note the corner of a '68 Shelby in the lower right with a Francis For Fords sticker on the deck lid.

I am acquainted with a few FFF employees from that time. It is a long shot, but I can ask them if they recall any of the circumstances regarding 213's stop at the dealership.

[Szabo]

Other possible dealership tour stops could be;
2nd stop; maybe 'S&C Motors' in San Francisco --- Confirmed via Newspaper Articel --- "Emporium" Market Street, ca. 2 Miles from S&C Motors
4th stop; maybe 'Horn Williams' in Dallas, Texas
5th stop; maybe 'Milo Brooks Inc.' in Chicago, Illinois
8th stop; maybe Carey Paul Ford; in Decator, Georgia
12th stop; maybe 'Tasca Ford' in Providence, Rhode Island

[Richstang]

Stephan's snippet on the San Francisco article is a great find! 'The Emporium' was based in San Francisco and was the original store location. (Also known as 'The Big E'.) Since it was in the city, there really is no space for the Cobra Caravan at the front entrance. The 4 cars might have been displayed inside, in the front & center foyer. Maybe there was an alternative parking area in the back. It's a shame there are no photos.

Bill,
Your memory sounds very sharp to me. I had completely forgotten about the 'Blue Laws'. I believe they are still in effect in Bergen County, NJ. If I recall, no clothing sales or car sales were/are allowed on Sundays, Yes, dealerships were/are closed. Most auto service departments are also closed on Saturdays, Your timing fits. Perhaps this Caravan WAS stopped there on December 11th. And as you said, maybe some service work was needed, or it was simply a safe place to park overnight on route to the next stop.


Stephan,
The article, noting the Moorestown stop on Dec 13th, might suggest this was a 'revised' stop location. Maybe the Washington DC stop was scrubbed off the list.

I checked the 'newpapers.com' website. They require a login with an email address for the 'FREE' access. I'm always leery of these types of marketing ploys as I get enough spam. The site also notes some states without a tour stop, such as Florida and Arizona. Australia...huh???

[SunDude]

guaranteed this is CSX2287; the door cutline is unique to this car

...a little bit of side story, but is that all the same Daytona Coupe we have on the Cobra Caravan CSX2286

[Szabo]

Thanks for the answer,

i create a limited newspaper.com access where i can seek better but only get snipped articel...
so now we can see where in the USA Articel was in newspaper shown ...

i will try to find new input and points of interest


Meanwhile i found a nice advertisment from S&C Motors for the Cobra Caravan Tour,
shown in "Autoweek" 11 Dec 1965


on another Autoweek Issue it is spoken from a Performance Show on 10 Oct 1965,
what make me struggeling was the pic showed with a GT40 number 7 on the side and
white stripe on the front, looks like P1004 was on visit befor the Caravan tour

Of course, the distance between Los Angeles and San Francisco was not so high, so P/1004
will not stay the hole time between 10 Oct and 18 Nov





the other thing i found was a glimpse of the Young Ford North Carolina Stop 10 Dec
too bad i get no higher resolution of that advertisment at the moment



@SunDude

thanks for explained the Daytona as CSX2287

@Richstang

Thanks for compliment, i thank you for the Pic of the Emporium, very nice to see ...

[Richstang]

You are braver researcher than I am Stephan. I was not willing to go that extra mile for the newspaper website access.

It seems the San Francisco "Emporium' stop (835 Market Street) was several blocks away from S&C Motors (2001 Market Street)

Here's a better copy of the Charlotte Young Ford ad. This version is nice and clear.


The Winter Sports Fair at the 'Cow Palace' is a new event for my files. P/1004 seems to be displayed in many USA locations throughout 1965. Maybe, it's going to need its own thread too...like GT/108. (for another day)