USRRC 289 FIA Cobra

1965 Replica/Kit Makes USRRC / 289 FIA

USRRC Cobra Replica

1st Place winner 2016 Portland Roadster Show

1st place winner 2017 Forest Grove Oregon Concours D’ Elegance

This is not just another Cobra replica. This is a 3 year build, using only the highest quality parts, hardware, paint materials, and over the top attention to detail. My goal was to build an absolutely sanitary, period correct, USRRC/289 FIA Cobra. I built this car from scratch, this IS NOT a Factory Five USRRC kit, but it did start as an FFR MK3.1 frame and body before extensive period correct modifications, prior to FFR introducing their version. I have over $50K in parts receipts alone, not including any labor or body & paint work. The estimated value of this car is $85K conservatively.

I’m totally anal with everything I do, from spacing every rivet on the car exactly the same distance apart, and the same distance from the panel edges, to black powder coating every hand fabricated bracket, to making certain all hardware is either stainless, chrome or ARP, and sourcing pieces from specialty suppliers to get “just the right” bolt, nut, etc. I show chromed the panhard bar, used stainless fuel tank straps, fabricated the polished Aluminum fuel filler splash shield and filler neck, fabricated the velvet black ceramic coated headers and side-pipes, fabricated the 1.75" diameter forward braced powder-coated roll bar, had a custom fabricated FIA oil cooler built, fabricated the aluminum racing seat mount, correct slanted back FIA windshield, fabricated original style gas pedal and stainless rod end linkage assembly, and the list goes on and on.

The bottom line is I would put this up against any Replica factory supplied or home built. The second place car to mine at the Concours D’Elegance was a $130K Shelby American 289 Continuation car.

This car is garage kept in an immaculate shop, with only 824 miles since completion. I’m selling, as I’ve been commissioned to build another show quality replica.

The Details:

Engine- Balanced 5.0 roller motor, AFR 165 heads with ARP studs, Weber 48 IDA Carburetion with Stainless filters and 1/2" phenolic heat spacers, Comp Cams roller rockers, Comp Cams Weber specific .571./.565 camshaft, Comp Cams pushrods, Ford Racing timing chain, Melling high volume oil pump, Professional Products harmonic balancer, original style Aviaid 289 Cobra oil pan, original 1965 289 Hi-po timing cover with dipstick, professionally restored 1965 289 Hi-po centrifugal advance distributor with Pertronix electronic conversion, professionally restored 1965Autolite Alternator, original style Shelby American extended breather valve covers, original 289 Hi-po pulleys, Black Aeroquip fuel lines and satin nickel fittings throughout, Black Polyurethane motor mounts, ARP hardware, Percy’s header hardware. Dynoed at 352 FWHP, 375 FWTQ. I designed this set-up of Weber carbs, 1.75” header primaries and AFR 165 heads to work well together, snappy and full of torque. Dyno sheet included, with Dyno video as well.

Transmission- Hanlon Motorsports built Tremec 3550 with upgraded main case, Carbon coated blocker rings, Fortes Hydraulic clutch kit with King Cobra pressure plate & disc, Quick Time steel bellhousing, mid-shift modification with original style reverse lock-out short shifter, removable driveshaft loop, Polyurethane mount, Spicer universal joints, ARP hardware.

Cooling System- Custom built AFCO “double pass” radiator with inlet/outlet on driver’s side, original style 1965 Harrison Tank, Canton aluminum overflow tank, ceramic coated lower coolant pipe, aluminum upper coolant pipe,Spal electric fan with custom Aluminum shroud, custom fabricated 289 FIA style oil cooler with Aeroquip lines and satin nickel fittings.

Steering/Suspension- Quick-ratio rack & pinion(3.7 turns), solid billet rack bushings, stainless steering shaft, pin-drive length adjustable upper and lower control arms with upgraded 4130 steel bushings, 3 Link rear suspension, Koni coil-overs, Spohn Performance adjustable rear control arms, custom built pin drive width 8.8 Ford differential with Ford racing 355:1 ring & pinion, Shelby Girdle, and Yukon axles.

Brakes- PBR 4 piston powder coated front calipers, Ford Cobra ceramic coated rear calipers, Hawk HPS pads, vented rotors, stainless flex lines. Cobra master cylinder with stainless remote brake and clutch reservoirs and all stainless flex lines, stainless hard lines front to rear.

Electrical- Correct 289 FIA style 2 5/8” Stewart-Warner mechanical gauges, 3 3/8” 160 MPH Speedometer, custom built tank sending unit specific to SW fuel gauge, high torque starter, Autolite voltage regulator, professionally restored Autolite regulator with amp upgrade, Optima Red battery hidden in trunk floor, Pertronix III high output coil, Pertronix III ignition with 6500 rev limit, hidden audio ipod/MP3 amp with hidden under-dash Kicker 3.5” 90 watt speakers, column mounted turn signal switch with polished arm and built-in dimmer. Hidden under-dash led lighting. All vehicle wiring wrapped in original 1960’s cloth electrical tape.

Exhaust- Hand fabricated 4 into 1 headers with 1.75” primary tubes, TIG welded inside and out with conical merge collectors and extra thick flanges at both ends, hand fabricated 289 FIA style 3” side pipes with custom ordered 24” Classic Chambered mufflers. Coated in "Velvet Black" flat Ceramic, and mounted in the correct location, partially under the body side as original, which also results in no burns to the legs and ankles!

Wheels & Tires- Trigo Pin-Drive 289 FIA “as cast” wheels, with BF Goodrich 295/50X15 radial TA’s in the rear and 245/60X15 fronts.

Interior- The entire interior is lined with Hush Mat sound/heat proofing. Black original style Roadster passenger seat, Kirkey Vintage low back aluminum driver’s seat with custom welded aluminum mounting, Simpson 5 point harnesses, Black powder coated forward braced 1.75” diameter roll bar with slant back main hoop and correct rubber body grommets, Chrome Halgard fire extinguisher, AC clutch and brake pedals, original style curved gas pedal assembly with all mechanical stainless rod end linkage system to Weber carbs, Original style Moto-Lita wood steering wheel, driver’s foot box left side wall modification, Black powder-coated door hinges, Russ Thompson turn signal switch, Competition dash layout with full under-dash panel, Vintage mechanical Stewart-Warner FIA gauges, 12V hidden power sockets, hidden under dash LED lighting, hidden ipod/mp3 amp system with Kicker speakers hidden under dash, original style aluminum hand brake handle, leather shift boot with reverse lock-out short shifter handle, brushed aluminum door opening trims, polished aluminum rear firewall seat belt trims, brushed aluminum Ray Dot mirror with aluminum mount and thumb screw adjustment, fully carpeted trunk. I sourced the dash vinyl at my local fabric store after searching for “just the right” grain and quality. I hid the headlight switch just above the driver’s knee to clean up the look of the dash.

Body & Paint- I spent 9 months on the bodywork, with the goal to make this as faithful of a USRRC car as possible. I painstakingly worked to insure that every gap matched, all the body openings for the radiator, oil cooler, trunk, hood, louvers, doors, dash, all have consistent dimensions all the way around. The wheel openings are also consistent all the way around (including where you can’t see “ because I know it’s there”).

I spent hours working on the door latch openings to finely match them to the shape of the strikers, so there’s not the huge gap you see on the door jambs of many replicas. I spent countless hours forming the hood scoop, giving it the curved front opening ramps and contours specific to the FIA cars. After glassing in the hidden trunk hinges I formed the same contour all the way around the inside of the lid, making it pleasing to the eye. I used stainless screws and nylon washers to mount the close-out panel. This anal attention to detail is what makes this car stand out. I used a Bruce Chervenak 289 FIA front section and hand-fabricated the aluminum front panels to include quick jack covers (so you don’t see them when looking through the radiator), closed the exhaust cutouts for FIA style under-body side exhaust, hidden body mounts, glassed-in Aluminum front body mounts, hidden hood and trunk hinges painted body color, original style hood and trunk prop rods, 289 FIA style rear deck mounted fuel filler with hand fabricated polished Aluminum splash shield and Aluminum filler neck, rectangular tail light lenses, lower front 289 FIA brake ducts, I upgraded the firewall to .090 thick Aluminum for rigidity, I used the Finishline side louvers correctly painted in body color, laid the windshield back for the correct 289 FIA “slant”. I had the latest paint protection film applied to the front of the body, behind the front wheel openings, in front of and after the rear wheel openings. I had the vinyl Roundels color matched to the Wimbledon White stripe. These are very high quality, professionally applied, not static cling.

Finally, the show quality paint work. After finessing the body over and over again, until it was absolutely perfect, I enlisted the amazing talent of my good friend, Peter Gherman from Autowerks NW. Peter works on only high end vehicles, such as Mercedes Benz, Jaguar, Ferrari, Mazerrati, Porsche, etc, as well as the collection of a prominent Historic racer. Peter did the paint work on my first Cobra, which resulted in “Best Paint” awards at show after show, and this car is even better. He applied the Glasurit Viking Blue with Wimbledon White FIA stripe so flawlessly that the car is breathtaking, with its "mile deep" clear coat. Peter is the only person that may be as anal as me and it shows in this curvy, sexy work of art.

The bottom line is, if you want the original sound and raw performance you can only get with Weber carbs, the head-turning look of a USRRC Race Car, and top show winning attention to detail then this is your car. It's cold blooded upon first start, fiercely mean within minutes, and it's the one that had the huge crowd around it at Cruise-in's, shows and in the pits at several track days. Lucky You!

I will throw in a full set of brand new, never mounted, Goodyear Billboard Tires, the brand new, never used, driver's side roadster seat that is set up to bolt directly in place of the Kirkey vintage seat, and several additional Roundels.

I have worked with Reliable Carriers numerous times, and will assist with getting this shipped to your location upon purchase. Buyer responsible for all shipping costs.

• Condition: Used
• Make: Replica/Kit Makes
• Model: USRRC / 289 FIA
• Type: Roadster
• Year: 1965
• Mileage: 824
• Color: Viking Blue / Wimbledon White
• Engine size: 5.0 Litre
• Number of cylinders: 8
• Fuel: Gasoline
• Transmission: Manual
• Drive type: RWD
• Interior color: Black
• Drive side: Left-hand drive
• Vehicle Title: Clear
Want to buy? Contact seller!