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Cobra (Thames Ditton) Forum / A 427 with an interesting history!
« on: June 29, 2012, 17:43:13 »
Recently on sale for £395,000 was this 427 which was present at Cholmondeley last week (and apparently on sale again).
The car was described in the earlier advert as 'A genuine CSX numbered 427 Mk III, damaged and then totally rebuilt and converted to 'S/C' spec. by Cobra specialists in the USA in the 1970s, retaining its original chassis and the majority of its original panel-work, ancillaries and fittings..... An exceptionally rare opportunity to own an absolutely genuine 1966 '427' Cobra, priced to reflect that in the 1970s the original chassis plate was removed from this car in its damaged/pre-restored state, and transferred to a new replacement body/chassis unit (as stated in the Cobra Registries) with substantial accompanying documentation of the full history.'
http://www.classicdriver.com/uk/find/4100_results.asp?sorderby=dtSubmitDate&fc=13&action=simple_search&lmanufacturer=*&next=4100_results.asp&bsubmit=true&lmostrecent=200&lCarID=1851584
The ACOC Coil Spring Replica Register records that the car was built by Lynn Park in the US in 1979 using some parts from the original CSX 3272 when that car was rebuilt. Originally given chassis number CSX 3140 in 1979 but renumbered CSX 3272 in 2005, according to the Register.
According to the Coil Spring Register, the car that has legal title to CSX 3272 is now in Indiana being rebuilt by Brian Angliss with a new body and chassis in the mid '70s after damage.
Ned Scudder provided a recent insight into the car's background on the SAAC Forum website:
'The car in the US was constructed with the title of 3272 but used a new Angliss chassis/ body composite. It alone has the legal chain of title for CSX 3272, even though it is not the original vehicle from the 1960s. The damaged chassis and body of 3272 was used in the construction of another car, but a car that did not have a identity until this car appeared and claimed a VIN that was actually someone else's. It was sold to Europe and existed there until the legal title for the VIN it was using was granted in the northeastern US, at which point the dealer who had the car did the right thing and removed the improper VIN. The car was then sold as a legitimate Cobra, but absent a VIN. A buyer was told that (a) the former VIN could not be proven, and (b) the former VIN could not be claimed by that car again. Apparently, however, the smell of cash has again warped people's perceptions if the car in Europe is attempting to call itself 3272. It has no claim to that number.' (Not suggested in the advert)
Ned Scudder continues:
'...the original 3272 was sideswiped. It owner at the time was given the choice of repairing it, or reconstructing it with a new chassis & body built by Autokraft (Brian Angliss). He chose the latter. (It is important to note that this was legal in CA at the time, but is not in most states.) This is the car that ended up in IL and, later, IN. The restoration shop became the owner of the wrecked car, and a customer decided to use it as the basis for a project. We believe, but can not prove, that the wrecked remains of 3272 were used as the basis for a car that appeared claiming to be 3140. But it wasn't a narrow-hip car, as 3140 should have been, and it had the hallmarks of a 32xx car. Further, it was unclear how 3140 had popped up in CA, as the history provided did not match at all what was known about the car in the northeast, where it had originated. This car, with the 3140 VIN, was sold to Europe. That was fine until the actual remains of 3140 surfaced in the northeast and it became clear that the "3140" sold to Europe had no viable claim on the chassis number. Once the current owner of the real remains of 3140 was granted legal title to them, the car in Europe became an "air-car" i.e. a car with a title created from thin air. Or. more clearly stated, an illegal title with no continuity in its chain of ownership. The dealer in Europe who had possession of the car was convinced that the car there was NOT the legitimate 3140. But nor could it be proven that it had once been 3272. So that car became what is, following great efforts at discovery, an original AC/ Shelby-built 427 Cobra, but with no chassis number that could be ascertained or legally proven. And given those circumstances, it is hard to fathom how the car in Europe can legitimately claim to be the one and only 3272 with a valid claim to the VIN. While we may not like the scenario, the law prevails, and we can't adjust it to fit the ideal outcome we might like to see.'
I believe this is the car featured in 'Cobra, the First 40 Years'. It certainly has an interesting history!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/19634747@N00/7428018430/in/pool-705968@N20/
The car was described in the earlier advert as 'A genuine CSX numbered 427 Mk III, damaged and then totally rebuilt and converted to 'S/C' spec. by Cobra specialists in the USA in the 1970s, retaining its original chassis and the majority of its original panel-work, ancillaries and fittings..... An exceptionally rare opportunity to own an absolutely genuine 1966 '427' Cobra, priced to reflect that in the 1970s the original chassis plate was removed from this car in its damaged/pre-restored state, and transferred to a new replacement body/chassis unit (as stated in the Cobra Registries) with substantial accompanying documentation of the full history.'
http://www.classicdriver.com/uk/find/4100_results.asp?sorderby=dtSubmitDate&fc=13&action=simple_search&lmanufacturer=*&next=4100_results.asp&bsubmit=true&lmostrecent=200&lCarID=1851584
The ACOC Coil Spring Replica Register records that the car was built by Lynn Park in the US in 1979 using some parts from the original CSX 3272 when that car was rebuilt. Originally given chassis number CSX 3140 in 1979 but renumbered CSX 3272 in 2005, according to the Register.
According to the Coil Spring Register, the car that has legal title to CSX 3272 is now in Indiana being rebuilt by Brian Angliss with a new body and chassis in the mid '70s after damage.
Ned Scudder provided a recent insight into the car's background on the SAAC Forum website:
'The car in the US was constructed with the title of 3272 but used a new Angliss chassis/ body composite. It alone has the legal chain of title for CSX 3272, even though it is not the original vehicle from the 1960s. The damaged chassis and body of 3272 was used in the construction of another car, but a car that did not have a identity until this car appeared and claimed a VIN that was actually someone else's. It was sold to Europe and existed there until the legal title for the VIN it was using was granted in the northeastern US, at which point the dealer who had the car did the right thing and removed the improper VIN. The car was then sold as a legitimate Cobra, but absent a VIN. A buyer was told that (a) the former VIN could not be proven, and (b) the former VIN could not be claimed by that car again. Apparently, however, the smell of cash has again warped people's perceptions if the car in Europe is attempting to call itself 3272. It has no claim to that number.' (Not suggested in the advert)
Ned Scudder continues:
'...the original 3272 was sideswiped. It owner at the time was given the choice of repairing it, or reconstructing it with a new chassis & body built by Autokraft (Brian Angliss). He chose the latter. (It is important to note that this was legal in CA at the time, but is not in most states.) This is the car that ended up in IL and, later, IN. The restoration shop became the owner of the wrecked car, and a customer decided to use it as the basis for a project. We believe, but can not prove, that the wrecked remains of 3272 were used as the basis for a car that appeared claiming to be 3140. But it wasn't a narrow-hip car, as 3140 should have been, and it had the hallmarks of a 32xx car. Further, it was unclear how 3140 had popped up in CA, as the history provided did not match at all what was known about the car in the northeast, where it had originated. This car, with the 3140 VIN, was sold to Europe. That was fine until the actual remains of 3140 surfaced in the northeast and it became clear that the "3140" sold to Europe had no viable claim on the chassis number. Once the current owner of the real remains of 3140 was granted legal title to them, the car in Europe became an "air-car" i.e. a car with a title created from thin air. Or. more clearly stated, an illegal title with no continuity in its chain of ownership. The dealer in Europe who had possession of the car was convinced that the car there was NOT the legitimate 3140. But nor could it be proven that it had once been 3272. So that car became what is, following great efforts at discovery, an original AC/ Shelby-built 427 Cobra, but with no chassis number that could be ascertained or legally proven. And given those circumstances, it is hard to fathom how the car in Europe can legitimately claim to be the one and only 3272 with a valid claim to the VIN. While we may not like the scenario, the law prevails, and we can't adjust it to fit the ideal outcome we might like to see.'
I believe this is the car featured in 'Cobra, the First 40 Years'. It certainly has an interesting history!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/19634747@N00/7428018430/in/pool-705968@N20/
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