Dearborn Steel Tubing Cobra (Ford Custom Car Caravan)

[TransamEd]

Found a pic in an online norwegian Photo archive thanks to a hint to other shots. Obviously photographer Ola J. Borge worked for a freight company and may have received or taken himself some shots at DST in the days of the 1964 Ford Custom Car caravan. Amongst them a rare picture of the Cobra on the transporter.


Here is a pic of it during the FCC caravan from my archive.
https://mustanginside.wordpress.com/2013/01/27/where-is-the-dst-cobra-today/

[TransamEd]

Obviously CSX2048 (if so).

[Tired Sheep]

Nice job 👍

[honker]

Some info here, this is CSX2048, not sure if the same car ? ? ?  But one that was part of the Ford Custom Caravan.

https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/mo12/monterey/lots/r116-1963-shelby-289-cobra/280690

[honker]

Some more I found, again not sure ? ? ? about the CSX on this one. One photo nose on, the logo above the door maybe says

Georgia Pacific Room ?  where was that ? These images are from Popular customs, summer 1963, found on line searching for Ford

Custom Caravan.

What else do I have to do    here in Ontario, Canada we are in another lock down, and stay at home order till the end of April,

maybe longer.

Mike

[TransamEd]

Interesting clippings, obviously show the early  Caravan Cobra during its yellow paint time.
It obviously also carried a hardtop for a period as seen in the above link.
Not sure which was the "pearlescent color" it was in for some time acc. to RM...
If it was red ex-factory, CSX2048 must have had at least 3 different paints.

The other Ford Custom Car Caravan Cobra:
Barris/Fetherston explain in their book that they got a brand new 427 Cobra and customised it with the headrest, rear fender shape and sidepipes plus painted it a organic blue/silver pearl called shade for the Custom Car Caravan.

[SunDude]

The other Ford Custom Car Caravan Cobra:
Barris/Fetherston explain in their book that they got a brand new 427 Cobra and customised it with the headrest, rear fender shape and sidepipes plus painted it a organic blue/silver pearl called shade for the Custom Car Caravan.

this looks to me like a 289 Cobra, not a 427

[TransamEd]

Just quoted what they wrote...I don't have Cobra related material on hand.

I understood CSX2042 and CSX2046 were demonstrator cars as was CSX2048 with similar dates of production.
Maybe the Barris car was build on CSX2048 and the red and yellow were the other ones used for some time during the Caravan only?

[gt350shelb]

and another

[Tired Sheep]

DST is a great mystery, there should be a lot more

[TransamEd]

Paging through the Barris books, I think the blue-silver one is the Cobra Bahman they had on the Caravan. Little else to find on the web. But it could be - since Passino was involved - and the other shots show lots of 427 engines, that Barris put one in, the hood scoop may indicate that? The caption says, everybody wanted to hear the engine at the Caravan tour, that's why the sidepipes were blueish after the tour.

[Dan Case]

A yellow car that I have it in my notes, it MIGHT BE CSX2048 but I have no proof.

An article about the car, with additional pictures in black and white, was on pages 30 and 31 in this magazine.

[Dan Case]

The other Ford Custom Car Caravan Cobra:
Barris/Fetherston explain in their book that they got a brand new 427 Cobra and customised it with the headrest, rear fender shape and sidepipes plus painted it a organic blue/silver pearl called shade for the Custom Car Caravan.

this looks to me like a 289 Cobra, not a 427

+1 A modified Cobra.

[TransamEd]

and another

Could be rather the prep work of the Barris Zebra in contrary to my first assumption on FB.
The DST Mustang III started this way.
https://www.vanderbiltcupraces.com/blog/article/vanderbiltcupraces.com_exclusive_63_photos_of_the_mustang_iii_being_built_a

[honker]

Great thread thanks for starting it, I knew a bit about DST, but didn't realize all the things they were involved in, 427 pick ups,

stock cars... drag cars.. show cars etc.  Ford's skunk works some body called them.

I agree with Tired Sheep in post #9 there should be a lot more, there needs to be a book.

Mike