OFFER FOR THREE CURRENT SHELBY / COBRA OWNERS...

[SFM66H]

And no, this is not an April Fool's Day joke!

After a few decades, I recently re-connected with a good friend of mine from the old Shelby days. He and I go way back to the 1970's in the Northwoods Region of the Shelby Club here in Wisconsin. He has owned a few Shelby American vehicles, a couple of which are of pretty significant note these days. During our conversations, we discussed the cars that he used to own and he told me of how he still has some mementos from their past that he would like to give to the current owners of the cars! How cool is that? That's an offer that I think quite a few of us will never experience in our tenure of Shelby/Cobra ownership. And just today I received photocopies of all the items that he has for the current owners.

I offered to post his amazing offer on the SAAC Forum to hopefully establish contact with the current owners of these cars. If successful, they can contact me and I will put them in touch with Ron Ressman, who will send the original items to them! I'll list the cars & items that he has in separate paragraphs:

CSX2032 260 COBRA. Yep, the Lance Reventlow Cobra. I can't believe I actually drove that car before I even knew the significance of its serial number. I have a photo of me in it or I still wouldn't believe it to this day. He has the 1977 Wisconsin DMV Registration card and several photos of it in New Berlin, Wis. (circa 1976). He also has a photo of it at SAAC 2 in Hershey, PA with Allen Grant standing next to it with his hand on the roll bar. And YES, Ron drove it there from Wisconsin! He said Allen was real excited to be with the car, and that he was a very gracious and pleasant man to spend time with. He said they spent about an hour together.

SFM6S037 CARRYOVER CAR. Yeah, and a double digit one at that. Those are hot today! He has a June 1972 photo of it as purchased (in Milwaukee) with 15" steel wheels. It looks tough. He has several May 1973 photos of it in a state of partial disassembly, and then a Feb 1975 photo of it with blackwalls and 14" Magnums. What did you do with those steel wheels Ron?? He has quite a way with words, and I had to laugh when he said 037 was "standing real tall" when he got it all freshened up and put back together.

6S815 HERTZ. Nice! A fairly early Hertz car too, with overrides and a steel hood. He has the 1976 Wisconsin DMV Registration Card and a couple photos of it on the day of purchase (March 1975) along with a few of the interior and the engine. He also has a list of the five owners of the car prior to him and the Shelby Owner's Association tag from its first car show at the Shelby meet in Wichita, Kansas (1975?) which is autographed by Carroll Shelby. 815 took 3rd place at that event and he has a photo of it there. My lust for that car motivated me to get my own Hertz on June 30, 1976.

So, if anyone here knows or can contact the current owners of these cars, please PM or email me so I can put you in touch with Ron. His offer to reunite these items with the cars is extraordinarily kind and generous and I hope we are able to complete the chain for him.

Thanks,

Kieth Champine
p51ace@sbcglobal.net

[Steve McDonald Formally known as Mcdonas]

Postings like this restore my faith in the hobby
It seems like a lot of people try to make a Killy on everything they sell or touch.
I gave a date coded 715 Holley for a 67 GT350 to a guy who needed it, I charged him a lunch. Was that too much?
Are you bringing your car to SAAC 44? It would be a show stopper for sure

[SFM66H]

Thanks for the kind words Steve, I agree with all of them!

Fostering good Shelby karma every chance you get is a great thing for the entire hobby.

And speaking of good deeds, I would expect some positive serendipity coming your way for the carb/lunch trade! Who does that??  There's no "thumbs up" or "beer" emoji here, but I was looking for them! Kudos to you.

Re: My car at SAAC 44? No, that'd be quite a haul. Your Hertz will fly the banner well there, as it does everywhere you take it.

[pmustang]

My gosh, you are both fine gents.

Lovely.

[Greg]

Postings like this restore my faith in the hobby
It seems like a lot of people try to make a Killy on everything they sell or touch.
I gave a date coded 715 Holley for a 67 GT350 to a guy who needed it, I charged him a lunch. Was that too much?
Are you bringing your car to SAAC 44? It would be a show stopper for sure

Steve, I agree with you.  It doesn't seem to be about the hobby, but more about the $ for some folks.  I am glad to see parts being duplicated and concours correct and people helping people without $.  That is the only way the hobby sustains itself.  Folks like Virginia Classic Mustang and others have my full support in their endeavors.  I love original parts but the prices are getting way out of hand IMO.

[JWH]

I can help with the Reventlow Cobra...it has been advertised on CL for a month or two now:
https://houston.craigslist.org/cto/d/pigeon-forge-1962-real-shelby-cobra/6845414575.html

      I must come clean, I was one of those hoping to profit from the Shelby hobby. My hope was that I would spread the word here on the SAAC website about this car being offered on CraigsList, someone would see my post and it would lead to them buying the Reventlow Cobra. And my "finders fee" would be a ride from the new owner in this fabulous looking car.
      I hope this helps you connect with the owner.
Jeff

[SFM66H]

Thanks Jeff!

I'll be passing this along to Ron...

[Steve McDonald Formally known as Mcdonas]

This one of the only times I wish I lived in Wisconsin a had purchased that winning lottery ticket. My car collection would epic