An interesting article written by Colin Comer in the May 2013 Sports Car Market magazine about CSX 3301 (1966 427 Roadster) which sold at the Mecum Auction in Kissimee, FL on January 26, 2013. Sale price was $779,100 including the buyer's premium. Apparently, this car, along with two others (CSX 3217 and 3222,) were built by AC Cars in their entirety and were never sent to Shelby's shop here in the U.S. for completion and are thought to have worn the "AC" badge vs. the Cobra badge, though CSX 3301 now has Cobra badges on it. CSX 3301 was delivered to Ford Advanced Vehicles in Slough, England to be sold, likely with the other two cars. This car eventually found its way to the U.S. after 10 years in Europe and was originally equipped (per the Shelby registry) with a factory hard top, 428 engine and sunburst wheels. The car now has a 427, side pipes, roll bar and Halibrand wheels. It is white with blue stripes. The question posed in the article is whether CSX 3301 is considered to be an AC Cobra or a Shelby Cobra and what the impact is on the car's value. Ned Scudder of SAAC was conferred with for this article as is of the opinion that the car (and the other two mentioned) is an AC Cobra as the car was not assembled by Shelby American. Comer asks if 3301 can be called a Shelby or an AC and is the car's value based on a sum of its parts or which factory it rolled out of? Apparently also, there is a second car that exists that has this same chassis number that was constructed in the late 1970's. The auction car however is the real deal.
Comer opines that the new owner should hunt down the imposter car and demand that the unlawful VIN be removed (makes sense to me) and that 3301 should be restored to its original specification as it rolled out of the AC factory (also makes sense) and says that the value of this car at auction falls square in the range of what similar spec 428 big block cars have sold for recently at auction. He thinks the price is discounted from what a 427 Los Angeles built Shelby would sell for. IMO, if this car was fully restored to its AC factory built specification, inclusive of its AC badges, it would be a very rare car indeed.....one of three AC's built with a 428 engine. How would these three cars compare value wise with the 32 AC 289's built with the 427 leaf spring chassis and body I wonder?
Anyway, thought I would mention this article as it was very interesting. I have scanned it and can email a copy to anyone who is interested in reading it in its entirety vs. my very short summary....just let me know.