hat we have here is the most perfectCobra in the world. Stringing these

words together in the same sentence is al-most guaranteed to cause disagreementbetween Cobra cognoscenti. They are theequivalent of fighting words in a bar or ata sporting event. Having thrown thisskunk into the garden party, let’s step backand parse the statement to make whatwe’re talking about a little clearer. Makeno mistake: what we are not describing,here, is a concours-perfect Cobra. This caris from another solar system.

CSX3133 just might be the longest on-going restoration project in Cobra history.It was disassembled in 1975 and was onlyrecently final-buffed and detailed. We’vehad an eye on this project almost since thebeginning, having first met Bob Gingold,the car’s owner, some 38 years ago. Attimes the restoration saga has remindedus of the movie “Groundhog Day.”

Gingold purchased the car in 1973but his plan to own a 427 Cobra actuallybegan in the mid-1960s, before he was inthe position to actually buy a car. At thattime, his girlfriend described him as, “thesickest of the sick—a car guy who is col-lecting parts for the restoration of a car hedoesn’t even own yet.” He knew he wouldown a car eventually, and he knew hewould be restoring it, so why wait for thecar before assembling the parts?

For example, Gingold began purchas-ing interior components—vinyl, carpet,trim pieces and hardware—in the late1960s directly from AC Cars in England orthe manufacturers subcontracted to pro-duce them. His brother was working forthe U.S. State Department at one of itsconsulates in Spain and he would travel toEngland frequently on business. He wouldreturn on an ocean liner because baggagewas unlimited, so he could bring back allof the parts his brother asked for. He oncefound a used car dealer in England whohad several 289 Cobras on display and in-quired about 427s, which were extremelyrare in Europe at that time. The dealer hadno cars but did have some spare parts, likecarpeting and a 42-gallon competition fueltank which had never been used. It allwent back and was deposited in Gingold’sbasement, awaiting the day it might beneeded.

It was never Gingold’s intention to geta 427 Cobra and craft it into a perfect con-cours example. In fact, concours, as it isknown today, did not exist back in the mid-1970s. Back then the top of the Cobra heapwas the low mileage original: a car withunder 5,000 miles that had been main-tained in perfect, showroom condition. In1974, a 427 Cobra would have only beenseven or eight years old, so it wouldn’thave been any kind of a stretch to find one

fitting that description. There still a fewaround. It was also possible to find a well-maintained race car, in outstanding condi-tion, with only 1,200 miles on it—asGingold was to discover.

This project actually started out asjust a re-paint. The car, CSX3133, was orig-inally owned by a B-52 Strategic Air Com-mand pilot and bombing instructor. He hadraced it in SCCA regional events in North-ern California and when he sold it, the sec-ond owner also raced it. One of the firstthings third owner Gingold did was take itto Bridgehampton in 1974, where he droveit in an open track event. He got the fulldose of a 427 competition Cobra that day,and things just sort of spun out of controlfrom there.

He had driven other performance carsbefore and, in fact, had a pristine Ferrari275 GTB-4 sitting in his garage. The Cobrawas a worthy garage-mate. In fact, Gingoldeven toyed with adding a Corvette to thestable. When racer George Wintersteen ad-vertised his Grand Sport roadster for$15,000, Gingold made an appointment to

The SHELBY AMERICAN Spring 2013 22

W

Perfection is its own Reward— Rick Kopec

see it. Wintersteen was firm on his priceand rejected Gingold’s top offer of $14,300.

Every story has a starting point, andfor this one we need to go back to Tuesday,January 28, 1964. Bob Gingold was in highschool, with the lofty goal of going to med-ical school. His father owned an electricalsupply company and a real estate develop-ment company in New York City and likemost parents of that era, he wanted his sonto be successful; maybe even more success-ful than he had become. Young Bob hit thebooks assiduously, knowing that the roadto becoming a doctor was long and hard.His father hung a meaty carrot in front ofhim: “Become a doctor and I’ll buy youwhatever car you want.”

It was a classic example of deferredgratification, but at that point Gingold hadno clear idea of exactly what kind of car hisefforts would yield. All that changed as hewas leaving school one day with an arm-load of text books, reference books andmedical journals. Parked in front of thebuilding was a sleek, black Galaxie 500XLSports Hardtop with an R-code 427 engine.Its idle was more of a low rumble. Afterwalking past it he heard the engine pitchbegin to rise behind him. The next thing hesaw—and felt—was the car hurtling pasthim in a cloud of blue tire smoke as onetire clawed at the asphalt, leaving a single,300-foot long black stripe down the street.This was immediately followed by a chorusof appreciative cheers and screams from adozen girls who had witnessed the display.

That was all it took. Gingold beganreading everything he could get his handson about Ford 427s. Like most school li-braries in the 1960s, the one at his schoolhad subscriptions to just about everymajor monthly automotive magazineprinted. What he couldn’t find in the li-brary he got on the newsstand. When the427 Cobra came out, a year later, as soonas he saw it he knew this was the car hewanted.

By 1966 Gingold was in college. Whenthe summer rolled around and he neededwheels, his father suggested renting a carfor nine weeks instead of buying one andthen trying to sell it in the fall. He likelyhad in mind a typical rental like a PontiacLeMans or a Chevy Impala. What turnedout to be an excellent idea was probablynot what his father had in mind. Gingoldshowed up at Gotham Ford, in Manhattan,and negotiated the long-term rental of a1966 GT350 4-speed Hertz car. Needless tosay, the car saw hard use—especially onweekends as Gingold and his buddies usedthe car at local drag strips trying to bettereach other’s times. More than once the carwas towed to Gotham on a Sunday night,

locked up and left outside of their servicedoor. The keys were dropped into the after-hours key slot along with a note saying“clutch slipping” or “rear end makingnoise.”

Four years of college had been com-pleted by 1974, along with four years ofmedical school, and he was working on hisinternship and was trying to decide on amedical specialty. Gingold realized hewanted to be a surgeon and concentratingon that specialty consumed another fiveyears as a general surgeon and then twomore years as a plastic surgeon. He wouldthen go on to specialize in hand surgery,which took another two years.

In 1973 he began looking for a 427Cobra. There were a few advertised forsale on Long Island at that time. His fa-ther went with him and the Cobras helooked at were in pretty rough shape. Theelder Gingold convinced his son to hold outfor a car in better condition. The neighboracross the street happened to own a Ford-Lincoln-Mercury dealership and broughtover a new, Grabber Blue Pantera L. Hisfather bought it for him. However, it justdidn’t ring his bell and he ended up usingit to travel around to look at 427 Cobrasthat were for sale in the northeast. He sawfive of them, all in the $7000 range. Thefirst one he found was a clapped-out 427street car with side pipes, which his fathertalked him out of because it was too loud.He would, after all, be writing the check sohis opinion carried a great deal of weight.

While the hunt for a Cobra was ongo-ing, Gingold was also collecting 427 Cobraparts. In the mid-1970s he had purchasedmajor collections of parts and spares fromtwo race teams after they stopped racing427 Cobras in SCCA competition.

An ad in Autoweek captured Gingold’sinterest. The car was described as a fullcompetition 427 Cobra roadster with manyspares for $12,500. The car was in Fresno,

California and Gingold was on the otherside of the country. He flew out to the WestCoast, unencumbered by his father andthe better judgement that accompaniedhim. He took a cab from the airport to seethe car. After a test drive, he sealed thedeal. All that was left was to get the carand a tractor trailer full of spare parts thatwent with it across the country.

Of particular interest was the factthat the original owner had pulled the en-gine that came in the car, a ‘65 C5AE-Hmedium-riser that only had about 300miles on, and replaced it with a race en-gine. The production engine was checked,leaked, dynoed and then pickled for long-term storage. The original transmission, acast iron case top-loader, was also put onthe shelf. The second owner passed boththe original engine and transmission on toGingold when he bought the car.

As it turned out, Gingold’s father hada wealth of experience in logistics. Two 55-foot long Ryder semis were loaded with theparts which included seven complete 427side-oilers (three new and still in theircrates), ten rear ends (two of each gearratio available), 6 new transmissions,dozens of Halibrand wheels, race tires andstacks of cardboard boxes of all sizes. TheCobra was loaded onto an open trailer andthe small convoy headed south to Los An-geles and the rail yard. An empty boxcarwas waiting and the contents of the trail-ers were off-loaded. The Cobra had to bedrained of gas before it could go into theboxcar and Gingold easily solved thatproblem by giving everyone in the rail yardrides until the car ran dry. The 40 gallonsin the car’s fuel tank were gone in lessthan an hour.

The boxcar eventually arrived inStaten Island, about 40 miles from Gin-gold’s house, with New York City in be-tween them. The senior Gingold’s electricalsupply business had a fleet of large box

The SHELBY AMERICAN Spring 2013 23

trucks with power tailgates and a coupleof them were pressed into service. Tenround trips later, Gingold’s 3,000 square-foot basement and a couple of garageswere filled with enough 427 Cobra parts tostart a restoration business.

What do you do with an ex-race car?You take it to a race track, of course. Theclosest one was Bridgehampton, out nearthe end of Long Island. By 1974 theBridge’s better days were behind it, thelast professional race having been theTrans-Am, held in June 1970. After thatthe track began a slow decline. Hurricaneshad devastated the property and the man-agement was too cash-strapped to makethe necessary maintenance and safety im-provements to the circuit. New homesbegan creeping closer and closer as real es-tate values increased. This soon resultedin an anti-noise ordinance which made un-muffled racing a thing of the past and am-ateur club events filled the track’sschedule. They were necessary to pay thebills and there was enough interest to keepit busy on every weekend. This, of course,only increased the noise complaints. Even-tually the local property owners won andBridehampton was closed. The propertywas used to build an upscale golf course.

In 1974, however, it was possible to geton the famous 2.85-mile track, describedas “the most challenging road course inAmerica.” Gingold bought an open trailerwith the idea of bringing the Cobra out toBridgehampton once a month, wheneverhe could get away from his hospital train-ing. He spent that day having the time ofhis life. On the track, the Cobra was every-thing he imagined it would be. Maybemore. The experience cemented his love af-fair with this car.

CSX3133 was a handful on the street,especially with race tires, so it was usedsparingly. In 1975 he decided to repaint it,and Gingold completely disassembled thecar, tagging and bagging every part. Therolling chassis and body were brought to apainter who had enjoyed an excellent rep-utation among Cobra enthusiasts. Theoriginal $2000 estimate eventually swelledto $8,500, still unassembled, by the time itwas completed. Gingold didn’t have a lot ofexperience with automotive paint shops,but he nevertheless had the feeling he wasbeing taken advantage of. His only re-course was a legal one. To pry the car awayfrom the hooligan with a paint gun prior towhat had the earmarks of becoming a longand unsavory trial, he was required to posta bond of three-times the bill’s total. Withthe car back in his garage, the trial pro-gressed. Based on the time spent on prepand paint, the judge ultimately ordered

Gingold to pay the painter $1,500.The episode proved to be just one of

many speed bumps along the road of Cobraownership. Gingold was now convincedthat the car deserved a first-class paint job(having witnessed what a less that first-class job looked like up close). The car wasnow more than ten years old and thethought of putting old parts back on afreshly painted car was unthinkable. Itwas obvious that many of the necessarypieces needed would not likely be easier tofind in the future. So the search for origi-nal or NOS parts accelerated. And thereinwas revealed another complication.

As a medical doctor with an under-standing of psychological disorders, Gin-gold recognized that he had one. He was anobsessive compulsive. His self-diagnosiswas accurate but it was not a debilitatingaffliction. In fact, it was actually some-thing of a positive attribute for a surgeoninvolved in intricate microsurgical opera-tions which required nothing short of per-fection. However, when it came tocollecting Cobra parts, many of which hadbecome obsolete, the compulsion, whilemanageable, was at times awkward. Thequestion of “how much is enough,” couldnever quite be answered.

By the 1980s, CSX3133 was stillapart. There was no rush to complete itand no deadline. The need to accumulateparts was the stronger pull. On a surgeon’sincome, price was rarely a considerationunless someone’s asking price made it ob-vious that they really did not want to sella particular part. It was during this timethat the philosophy in finishing the projectbegan to take shape. Simply put, hewanted every component and part, everynut, bolt and washer, to be prepared theway the best fabricator at Shelby Ameri-can could have done on his best day, usingonly the tools and equipment available tocraftsmen in the 1960s when the car hadbeen originally finished. Better compo-nents, manufacturing techniques, electron-ics—state of the art stuff—was availableand was all rejected. The parameters werethat everything would be original and pe-riod-correct as to the way the cars were ac-tually delivered, right down to theworkmanship.

Gingold prowled swap meets and carshows. He became extremely knowledge-able on the subject of Cobra parts, and ashis detailed comprehension of the intraca-cies continued to expand, he was called onto become one of the concours judges at theearly conventions he attended. He tried touse this to deseminate some of his encyclo-pediatic knowledge of parts but was soondismissed after a few years because his

standards were too high and his zero-tol-erance criterion left no wiggle-room forcompetitors whose cars were in this grayarea. Gingold was simply speaking a lan-guage of details that no one else spoke.

Hisknowledge was so well developedthat he knew who manufactured each orig-inal part and even subtle variations in pro-duction. When he found a bearing, bushingor fastener that was the original one sup-plied to Shelby American or AC, he boughtit immediately, in whatever quantity wasavailable. He became well known to theCobra restorers of the day, like Mike Mc-Cluskey, Bill Kemper, Geoff Howard andCarter Gette. Most were willing to sell hima couple of what he was looking for butthey realized they also needed to maintainan inventory for their own customers.

Gingold went a step farther. Once hefound an original manufacturer he con-tacted them to see if they had any partsleft. Rear upright bearings, for example,were made by Timken in England. Therewere distributors who had warehouse in-ventories and Gingold contacted each oneof them (many Cobra parts had applica-tions for other cars which were depletinginventories, so the supplies were not lim-itless). He found the correct bearings at aparts supplier in Paris, France. This bear-ing did not exist in the U.S. But he didn’tstop there. He went to the original factoryin England and bought whatever inven-tory they still had.

Another strategy was looking at Co-bras that were for sale. Gingold had no in-tention of purchasing another car, but veryoften these owners had spare parts in theirgarage or basement. Having decided to selltheir car, many were happy to unload theirspare parts, which would be of no use tothem once the car was gone. A lot of ownershad extra wheels, engine parts or variouscomponents. Some were brand new andhad not yet been installed on the car. Theywere happy to sell these parts separatelyinstead of having to include them as partof a package deal with the car, using themas a bargaining chip, as in, “Ok, I’ll throwin the wheels and the extra intake.” Theseowners were not normally thought of asparts sources. But, in fact, that’s exactlywhat they were.

Gingold didn’t stop at parts. His com-pulsion also found its way into Cobra liter-ature. One of his great enjoyments wasreading everything he could find on thesecars. If he saw something relating to themin his travels, he was unable to resist pur-chasing it. His collection of books, maga-zines, factory brochures and posters grewaccordingly. Among the things he zeroed-in on were some of the original documents,

The SHELBY AMERICAN Spring 2013 24

The SHELBY AMERICAN

AN OBSESSION LEAVES NO ROOM FOR COINCINCIDE

Step quickly beyond your first impression of the superior quality of workmanship and overall cleanliness and note that everynut, bolt, screw and fastener on this car are perfectly aligned on some imaginary axis. Maybe, in reassembly, that might happenon its own once in a great while, but not often. So, how does it happen every time? Start with intention, add in some patience andperseverance and marinate it in unlimited time. When the competition fuel filler is installed, for example, six bolts attach thecollar on top of the aluminum fender to another collar underneath it, with nuts that cannot be seen. The two collars essentiallypinch the fuel neck flange leading into the tank and the body skin between the collars. To get each bolt’s flats aligned, the nutsmust be tightened while the bolts are held in place. In the case of threaded holes for bolts or screws, to end with them not onlytight but in alignment, requires use of stainless steel or nylon washers or shims which are just the right thickness under the boltor screw head. Likely no two will be the perfect thickness so a lot of trial and error will result. Note that patience and perseverancewere not tossed into the equation without reason. Now imagine repeating this process with every nut, bolt and screw on the car.

The slots in the screws which hold the windscreen molding to the body [below] allfollow the radius of the windscreen. The small, black powder-coated Allenhead cap-screws which attach the plexiglass screen to the molding are also perfectly aligned.

Spring 2013 25

dealer paperwork, invoices, windowsticker, and the like. The two previous own-ers had each passed the car on without let-ting go of these things and luckily they hadnot been thrown away. When Gingold con-tacted them he was able to convince themthey should accompany the car as part ofits historical record. He also got an S&CMotors plastic license plate frame and theoriginal black-and-yellow California dealertag from S&C that was put on the car toroad test it before it was purchased by theoriginal owner.

The parts collection continued to ex-pand. When he located correct originalSmiths gauges, the dealer had five com-plete sets, still in the original green boxeswith tissue paper packaging. He boughtthem all. When asked by a friend why buyfive sets, he simply stated, “Because theydidn’t have six sets.” It made perfect senseto him.

Kensington Products in New Jerseydistributed Koni shock absorbers and bythe time Gingold was finished with themthey had sold him not only every 427Cobra shock absorber they had in inven-tory but all of the spare pieces they usedto rebuild them. A lot of these items wereslated to be discontinued. After having thisstuff sit on their shelves for more than fif-teen years they were more than happy tosell it all at once, as a package deal, in-stead of waiting for an order to trickle inevery year or two.

When opportunities to purchase com-petition parts became available, things likea dry sump system or parts, bronze sus-pension bushings or original Ford 427 com-petition engine parts, they were also addedto the treasure trove. Engines for 427 com-petition Cobras were often built in ShelbyAmerican’s race shop using the same partsthat went into the Ford GT MK IIs.

Every ten years or so there would bea spurt of progress on the restoration. Theframe was stripped of paint and the metalwas finished, removing every tiny imper-fection before it was repainted. The caronly had 1,200 miles when Gingold got it.For a car, that’s not very “old.” At the timeof disassembly the parts were also only1,200 miles old. After that they ceased toage. Thirty-five years later what had beenlike new was still like new. Gingold me-thodically removed each part from theplastic bag it had been stored in andsoaked it in mineral spirits for months.Then, wearing thin cotton gloves, hecleaned it with q-tips, toothbrushes and, ifabsolutely necessary, the finest gaugebronze wool. Someone looking through thewindow might have thought it was a treas-ure hunter cleaning 500 years of barnacles

The SHELBY AMERICAN

STEWART WARNER 240A  as told by Dr. Seuss

When Shelby American needed anelectric fuel pump for their competitioncars, they didn’t have very far to look.Stewart Warner already had one, model240A. Originally an aftermarket item,these pumps were used on everythingfrom drag cars to road race cars to circle-track racers as well as inboard/outboardracing boats from the late 1950s to themid-1970s. Shelby American chose themfor small block comp cars, 427 CobraS/Cs, GT40 MK IIs and R-Models.

These fuel pumps were fairly com-mon in the racing world and they turnedup at swap meets in the late 1970s andearly 1980s where they were quicklysnatched up by anyone who recognizedthem from their usage on Shelby compe-tition vehicles. They were commonlypriced anywhere between $5 and $25.The reason why they didn’t sit on any-one’s table very long at swap meets is be-cause they had been discontinued andrecalled from dealers in the early 1970s.

The model 240A was a diaphragmtype pump with a set of contact pointswhich alternately opened and closedwhen power to the pump was activated.And that was the problem. They werecommonly used in inboard/outboard rac-ing boats which were powered by one ortwo V8 engines. The pump was mountedin the engine compartment which wassealed to keep the everything dry. Appar-ently, on several occasions fuel vaporsbuilt up in the compartment and the con-tact points ignited it, causing an explo-sion. Stewart Warner could not insurethat the pumps would only be used inwell-ventilated areas, so they simplystopped making and selling them.

A year or two after the 240A pumpswere discontinued Bob Gingold showedup at Stewart Warner’s Northeast Re-gional Service and Distributor Center inNew Jersey with the four 240As thatcame with CSX3133 and asked if theycould be rebuilt. An older guy in chargeof the service department looked at themand said that, unfortunately, he could notreplace them because the pumps were nolonger available. But he said, yes, theycould be refinished and all gaskets andfittings replaced. Then he said that hehad enough parts to “build” new pumps.Gingold alerted like a retriever in thetall grass and, without missing a beat,said he would like some. “How many doyou want?” the guy asked. “How manycan I get? asked Gingold. You can seewhere this was going.

“Do you have enough parts to make40?” asked Gingold, pulling a numberout of the air. That was possible. Ordi-narily $29 each, in quantity Gingold’scash-and-carry price was $20 a piece. “Ieven have brand new boxes,” was thetopper. Two months later 40 new pumpswere waiting for him, along with hisoriginal four. He was excited by the sightof the trunk of his daily-driver, a BuickRiviera, filled with bright red and yellowStewart Warner boxes. Never too shy togo back to the well, he asked, “Can I get40 more?” He was told to come back intwo months.

Two months later he was back topick the second batch of pumps. It oc-curred to him that this was like some-thing out of a Dr. Suess book. Ratherthan going back again and again andgetting 40 more each time, he asked howmany pumps could be made from theparts available? “Probably about 100 orso,” was the answer. The limiting factorwas the main housing castings. Tired ofmaking the five-hour round trip, Gingoldsaid, “Ok, I’ll take all you can make. Seeyou in a couple of months.” For that lasttrip he took the passenger and rear seatout of his car and filled it with 120 com-plete pumps in the original boxes. Healso got whatever odd parts were leftover, plus two unique chromed pumpsthat were assembled for display at tradeshows.

Fast forward ten years to HowardPardee, hearing someone say that theSW 240 fuel pumps were still being usedas original equipment on InternationalHarvester farm combines. Pardee foundan IH parts dealer who was willing tosearch his computer, which was linked toother IH dealers, to see how many hecould turn up. Imagining himself as theDiamond Jim Brady of fuel pumps, heinstructed the parts man to order everyone available. He had to pay whateverthe individual dealers wanted ($40 to$200) but he scored 14 of them. As thesupply suddenly dwindled and theycould no longer be obtained from SW,they were obsoleted by InternationalHarvester. But not before Pardee got thevery last two in their system.

Spring 2013 26

off a priceless gold Spanish doubloon. Or asurgeon preparing for an intricate opera-tion, come to think of it...

It turned out that almost everythingthat came off the car was able to go backon. Having quantities of spares turned out,in many cases, to be little more than a se-curity blanket. But back-up is always psy-chologically beneficial. Almost every singlenut, bolt or washer that was used in re-assembling the car was authentic and inthe cases where there were small imper-fections, they were replaced with pieces ascorrect as the ones originally used whenthe car was built. This went far beyond thedesire to “get it right” — it was a compul-sion.

In the 1990s the Cobra replica trendpicked up when Carroll Shelby beganbuilding “completion” 427 S/Cs. He com-missioned 44 chassis to be built, intendingto give them serial numbers betweenCSX3056 and 3100 (with the exception of3063 which had been used in 1965). Shelbycontracted Mike McCluskey to do some re-search, locating the original manufacturerfor every 427 S/C part needed to build acar. When original parts were out of stock,a new production run was ordered. When

parts couldn’t be made by original manu-facturers, other manufacturers were sub-contracted. By 1994 McCluskey hadaccumulated 44 of every part necessary tocomplete a 427 S/C to original specifica-tions, with the exception of engines andtransmissions. The shortage of engineswould later lead Shelby to manufacturehis own blocks, heads and other necessarycomponents.

Only eight “Completion 427s” wouldeventually be sold by 1998, and duringthat time the 427 “Component Cobra” proj-ect was well underway. These cars wouldcome to be called CSX4000 cars and whilenot exact duplicates of the original Cobras,they were very, very close. Carroll Shelbydid not have the time to run around andseek out NOS or perfect used parts withwhich to build these cars. Instead he hadparts reproduced and since he was CarrollShelby, he could determine how close tooriginal was acceptable. If his name was onthe car, it would be acceptable to almosteveryone else.

Shelby faced a problem common toanyone who undertakes the reproductionof a part that is no longer available. It hasbeen referred to as “The 90% Rule.” Simply

stated, a reproduction part which is 90%accurately manufactured will satisfy 90%of the people interested in buying it. Thislevel of accuracy allows the piece to be soldfor a reasonable price and is acceptable tomost buyers. To make the piece 100% ac-curate would increase the cost to the pointwhere it would be so expensive that lessthan 10% of the potential buyers would bewilling to pay that price. Hence, it wouldnever be reproduced.

Gingold’s belief, back in the 1970swhen he started searching for Cobra parts,was that at some point they would cease toexist. He was both right and wrong. Theoriginal parts did cease to exist when thesupply ran out (in some cases he was theone responsible for the vanishing supply).But the replica Cobra market fueled theneed for “replacement” parts which did notrequire that they be manufactured with100% accuracy. Only a small percentage ofCobra owners demanded parts that were100% correct. As time went on, fewer andfewer original parts were avaliable andrather than do without, owners wereforced to lower their standards.

Bob Gingold eventually became wellknown among Cobra owners, mostly by

The SHELBY AMERICAN

All of the aluminum inner panels were polished to a mirrorsheen.There was fear that opening the trunk in bright sunlightcould cause temporary retina damage to spectators not wearingsunglasses. The multiple reflections produced a funhouse “Hallof Mirrors” affect with the Stewart Warner 240A fuel pumps,making them look like they were marching off into infinity.

Spring 2013 26

reputation. Those who didn’t know himsuspected that he was stockpiling originalCobra parts and would, at some point,begin selling them for outrageous “profits.”Why else stock up on these parts?

This was not the case, of course, but itwas difficult for anyone not familiar withan obsessive compulsion disorder to imag-ine. Collecting Cobra parts for Gingold wasan end in itself. He wanted to restore hiscar with its original parts and if he didn’thave then he wanted the very next bestthing. In order to recognize perfection itwas necessary to have multiple examplesso they could be compared, and the bestones chosen for use on the car when thetime for reassembly came.

By the late 1990s CSX3133 was stillapart and had been painted several times.Each time, he judged it not good enoughand he pushed it back into his garage. Inthe meantime, he continued obsessing overevery individual piece or part. He foundthat adding to his collection of originalparts had slowed to a trickle, because mostof the things he was looking for were, quitesimply, no longer available anywhere be-cause he had already bought all of them.He had become his own worst enemy.

When he finally decided to reassemblethe car he chose to use as many originalcompetition parts as possible, knowing fullwell that things like a Weber carburetorsor a dry sump system had never been on

this car originally. Unlike undertaking aconcours restoration which straight-jack-ets the owner into completing the car ex-actly the way it left the factory, Gingoldrelied on his own guidelines. His car hadbeen slightly modified when it was origi-nally raced because it had narrow-hippedrear fenders. Race rubber on wider wheelswould not fit so the fender openings weremassaged to accommodate them. Yearslater, when the body was prepared forpaint, he had the rear fenders configuredto original competition specifications.

The only thing that mattered was thateach and every detail was perfect in itsown respect. To this end, he began seekingout experts. For example, the transmission

The SHELBY AMERICAN Spring 2013 27

was an NOS Ford-numbered, Alcoa alu-minum-case top-loader with a Ford XEmagnesium tailshaft. Gingold brought it toJerico in Charlotte, North Carolina alongwith brand new bushings, synchros andbearings—all NOS and in their originalFord boxes—so it could be blue-printedand assembled by the best transmissionman in the country. He got original, NOSshort-track GT40 gears still in the boxesfrom Dan Gurney’s All American Racers.

Over the years he had gathered up alarge assortment of period-correct, exoticbig block engine parts. The engine he builtfor CSX3133 was the equivalent of a“dream team.” The block was identical tothe one used in the Ford GT40 MK II-B.The heads were XE high-rise and he founda special Ford XE Weber intake of the typethat Holman-Moody had used. The goal forthe engine was to put together the ulti-

mate combination of racing parts whichmight have been used in 1965. The com-pleted engine was then dynoed on four sep-arate occasions, over a twenty-yearstretch, using a single 4V Holley, a set of48mm Webers and finally 58 IDA Webers.It was finally tweaked to yield 760 horse-power @ 7000 rpm.

For wheels, Gingold had accumulatedmore than four dozen Halibrands and hechose the four most perfect. Some had beenin their original Halibrand boxes since the1960s. Dozens of race tires had come withthe car when he bought it but he had pur-chased a new set of Goodyear Bluestreakracing tires more than 35 years ago andthey were still wrapped in heavy brownpaper with the original size stickers andmailing labels from Penske Racing in Con-shohocken, Pennsylvania to Shelby Amer-ican in Los Angeles. Gingold had

vacuum-sealed them and kept in a cedar-lined, humidity-controlled basement furcloset since the 1970s. They were in perfectcondition with no cracks, discoloration orsigns of dry rot.

The first time the car was unveiled tothe public was at the Concours d’Eleganceof America at St. John’s (formerly theMeadowbrook Concours) in Plymouth,Michigan in July, 2012. It was awarded aGold Ribbon for the Most Desirable Car inthe Show and a huge Silver Cup award,the Best Driving Award for the car thejudges would most like to take home. Fatchance, that.

The car has been out of the public eyefor the past 37 years. Aside from chanceencounters at one of the shops it has beenin during that time, few people have actu-ally seen it until the concours in Michigan.In fact, this is the first time that Gingold

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Anyone who has spent any time with a tube of SimiChrome and a soft cloth will appre-ciate the chrome-like shine on these magnesium Halibrands. It only takes about a weekfor them to tarnish and make you feel like a character in “Groundhog Day.”

has actually discussed the CSX3133’s de-tails. Prior to this, references to the car—including the footnote in the lastregistry—were based on hearsay or casualconversation by people who had not actu-ally seen the car. It was a lot like the gameof “telephone.” Something is passed fromone person to the next and by the time thelast person receives it, it bears little resem-blance to what was first told, but it has thering of truth.

Why so secretive? Gingold admittedthat when he runs into other Cobra ownersconversations it invariably leads to discus-sions of parts availability, followed by des-perate pleas for help in obtaining someimpossible-to-find part. “I have no desireto sell anything, so the requests just getold,” said Gingold. “I get tired of explainingthat nothing I have is for sale.” No one hasever, by the way, seen the entire stock ofspares he has collected over the years. Bet-ter that it remains one of the enigmas inCobra history.

The past thirty-nine years have given thisproject some perspective. It is not likelyanyone with the desire to create NOS per-fection in a 427 Cobra, starting right now,could ever duplicate this car. And maybe,in this universe, there isn’t the need for an-other one. No matter; the parts simply donot exist. It was difficult enough for BobGingold to fill his shopping cart in the1970s and 1980s. Today, the only way to getall the parts necessary would be to con-vince Gingold to let go of some of hisspares. And if you know anything about ob-sessive compulsives, the chances of thathappening are Slim and None. And Slimjust left town.

In thirty years it might be possible forsomeone to collect enough NOS parts to re-store a CSX4000 or Kirkham Cobra totheir original specifications—or some in-terpretation thereof—but that begs thequestion: why bother? There have been somany of these cars produced that they arejust not very likely to rise in value at any-thing close to the same rate as an original427 Cobra. Only about 260 original streetcars were made and they sold for about$7,000. Today, they have appreciated toabout $850,000. That’s a rate approaching1250%. More than 1,000 CSX4000s and1,000 Kirkhams have been built to date. Ata basic price of somewhere around$100,000 today, if they maintained thesame rate of appreciation in the next thirtyyears, each one would be worth $10M (notincluding three decade’s worth of infla-tion). If you think that’s possible then youshould start buying CSX4000 or Kirkhamspare parts now!

Finally, every Cobra owner is used tothe two questions that virtually everyonewho sees the car can’t help asking: howfast will it go and how much is it worth?They don’t have much relevance to Cobraowners but for the great unwashed theyare a yardstick they can grasp. Unless

you’re going to Bonneville, the top speed isjust an educated guess. And the value?Gingold has a standing offer from a long-time Cobra enthusiast for $3.2M should hecome to his senses and decide to sell it.That’s probably as close to ascertaining thecar’s value as you’re going to get.

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Now that CSX3133 is finally finished,we can already hear the undercurrent ofvoices asking, “What about all those un-used original parts?” No immediateplans have been made but after one ofeach part is put on the shelf as a spare,what remains could eventually findtheir way onto eBay or be sold as a pack-age deal. But first there would have tobe some sensitivity training. “It’s time tolet go, Doc.” As with everything else sur-rounding this project, there is no sched-ule or deadline planned.

There are two times when Dr. Bob Gingold is “in the zone.” One is in the operating room,saving someone’s fingers or hand. The other is, of course, operating on his long-time pa-tient, CSX3133.

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58mm WEBERS: THE ULTIMATE INDUCTION

The Weber induction system is considered the ultimatecarburetor set-up for the Cobra, This is likely because, almostfrom the very beginning, they were the signature of the smallblock competition cars, first as 48 IDM models and shortlythereafter 48 IDAs. If things had gone a little differently, a 427-powered Cobra Daytona Coupe might have led to a big blockCobra competition car with 58mm Webers (a prototype light-weight had been constructed), but history took an unexpectedtwist when not enough big-block cars could be built by theFIA’s April 1965 deadline. The result was that Shelby Ameri-can was forced to compete with the previous year’s small blockCobras and interest in a big block Super Coupe as well as anyFIA big block roadsters basically fell off of the cliff.

In the mix there, somewhere, Carroll Shelby had negoti-ated an exclusive contract with Eduardo Weber to create andmanufacture a larger carburetor, the 58mm model, whichwould provide increased horsepower for Ford’s 325-cubic-inchIndy small-block and FE big block engines. It would soon finda home on 427 medium-risers in both front-to-back and side-by-side configurations.

The 58mm project did not last very long, because as soonas Shelby realized the big block cars would not be competingin Europe, production was cancelled. His exclusive agreementsomehow remained in force. The 58mm, nevertheless, acquiredlegend status in the Cobra enthusiast world because of its ex-treme rarity. When each carburetor was built it was given asmall brass plate, smaller than your thumbnail, with the pro-duction number stamped on it. The plate was riveted to theside of the main casting. An estimate of only twelve sets weremade (48 carburetors) based on the fact that no 58mm carbu-retors with a number higher than 48 has turned up in almost50 years.

In his continual search for Ford big block performanceparts, Bob Gingold happened across several sets of 58mm We-bers in his travels because not only did Carroll Shelby receivethem but Ford also passed them around to various drag racers.About the time the 58mm were disappearing, General Motors’sresearch and development department was working on a big-block Grand Sport and they wanted 58mms but Shelby’s con-tract remained in affect. GM was desperate and short of time.Engineer Jim Kinsler oversaw three sets of 58mm carburetorsthat were cast in magnesium and used to show the GM higher-ups. They were also used testing engines and when the GrandSport project was terminated they found their way onto big-block Chevy-powered Can-Am Lolas and McLarens. The mag

nesium castings were softer and tended to get beat up. Eightof these carburetors eventually found their was into the handsof Al Maynard who was a big supplier of nuts, bolts and hard-ware to General Motors. Racer Craig Olsen bought two setsbut was never able to make them work.

The third set survived in a custom-made wooden case,something you would expect from Louis Vutton. It was discov-ered and purchased by, surprise, Bob Gingold. It still had air-line shipping tags on the handle from Italy.

As anyone who has ever restored a carknows, it never looks better than the dayit is finished. If you’re going to have specialphotography done or enter the car in ashow, there is no better time. The longeryou wait, the more work will be requiredto bring the car back up to that ideal yousaw when it rolled out of the shop. ForCSX3133, this article formed the impetusfor studio photography and Gingold wasable to assemble two of the best studioshooters in the business to put the car intotheir viewfinders. Both showed up at the

studio in Syosset, New York expectingyet one more “been there/done that”yawn-inducing automotive experience.

Despite years of photographingsome of the most stunning cars in theworld, they were mesmerized byCSX3133. One likened it to a siren, outof Greek mythology. “You can’t take youreyes off of it. It draws you in and thenkills you.” The other noted that the closeryou look, the more you see. Photos usedhere are the work of Scott Nidermaierand Dimitris Kolyvas.