'Cobra' 289 Mk III AE 1138 YXN 506

[ACOCArch]

quote:Originally posted by Chafford
   
Makes an interesting comparison with Hexagon's genuine LHD 289 Sports on sale at £399,000
   
   http://www.hexagonclassics.com/car_sales/AC-Cobra-289-MK111/3286.htm
   

   
   Use of the 'Cobra' model name and Mk Numbers has become confused over the years, non more so than for Thames Ditton made coil-spring cars.
   
   In their 1960s publicity, AC Cars made a very clear differentiation between coil-spring cars they manufactured for Shelby, and those for AC Cars.
   
   For the record, to my best understanding the facts from the 1960s can be summarised as follows:
   
   a. The coil-spring chassis was the Mk II chassis;
   b. There was no known formal MkIII designation by the factory;
   c. 315 coil spring cars were made by AC Cars under contract for Shelby, who marketed the cars as the 'Shelby Cobra ...';
   d. 27 coil spring cars were made by AC Cars for their own purposes. These cars were marketed as the 'AC 289 Sports'.
   e. In period, there was no coil-spring car marketed as an 'AC Cobra 289 MkIII'.
   
   John

[A-Snake]

quote:Originally posted by jrlucke
   
   The 1968 COX car at Hexigon (for $620,000 US)sounds a little high considering that true CSX 289 Cobras have been going for $500-700,000 US at auction recently.
   
   

   
   I'm curious about your comment about the price of a AC 289 Sport. Are you suggesting that the market on those is below the market of a leaf spring Cobra? (comparable cars of course)

[Chafford]

quote:Originally posted by ACOCArch
   

quote:Originally posted by Chafford
   
Makes an interesting comparison with Hexagon's genuine LHD 289 Sports on sale at £399,000
   
   http://www.hexagonclassics.com/car_sales/AC-Cobra-289-MK111/3286.htm
   

   
   Use of the 'Cobra' model name and Mk Numbers has become confused over the years, non more so than for Thames Ditton made coil-spring cars.
   
   In their 1960s publicity, AC Cars made a very clear differentiation between coil-spring cars they manufactured for Shelby, and those for AC Cars.
   
   For the record, to my best understanding the facts from the 1960s can be summarised as follows:
   
   a. The coil-spring chassis was the Mk II chassis;
   b. There was no known formal MkIII designation by the factory;
   c. 315 coil spring cars were made by AC Cars under contract for Shelby, who marketed the cars as the 'Shelby Cobra ...';
   d. 27 coil spring cars were made by AC Cars for their own purposes. These cars were marketed as the 'AC 289 Sports'.
   e. In period, there was no coil-spring car marketed as an 'AC Cobra 289 MkIII'.
   
   John
   
   
   

   
   However the use of Mk I, II and III is now well established, not least by Brian Angliss with the MkIV which logically follows the MkIII.

[jrlucke]

[/quote]
   
   I'm curious about your comment about the price of a AC 289 Sport. Are you suggesting that the market on those is below the market of a leaf spring Cobra? (comparable cars of course)
   [/quote]
   
   While the later COX cars may be improved and make better drivers/track cars, I believe the 1963-1967 Shelby cars will always sell at a premium.
   
   Even barnfinds in need of restoration (i.e. CSX2289 selling for $610,000 in January by Gooding) seem to bring premium prices.
   
   As someone indicated, it all depends on the buyer and their desires, needs and ability to pay.

[aaron]

quote:Originally posted by Chafford
   
Makes an interesting comparison with Hexagon's genuine LHD 289 Sports on sale at £399,000
   
   http://www.hexagonclassics.com/car_sales/AC-Cobra-289-MK111/3286.htm
   

   
   Is £399,000 over priced for a very orignal 289 Sports over priced being 1 of 27 cars built , I would not think so,it seems to be priced inline with a leaf spring 289 Cobra.Also alot more desirable .

[aaron]

quote:Originally posted by ACOCArch
   

quote:Originally posted by Chafford
   
Makes an interesting comparison with Hexagon's genuine LHD 289 Sports on sale at £399,000
   
   http://www.hexagonclassics.com/car_sales/AC-Cobra-289-MK111/3286.htm
   

   
   Use of the 'Cobra' model name and Mk Numbers has become confused over the years, non more so than for Thames Ditton made coil-spring cars.
   
   In their 1960s publicity, AC Cars made a very clear differentiation between coil-spring cars they manufactured for Shelby, and those for AC Cars.
   
   For the record, to my best understanding the facts from the 1960s can be summarised as follows:
   
   a. The coil-spring chassis was the Mk II chassis;
   b. There was no known formal MkIII designation by the factory;
   c. 315 coil spring cars were made by AC Cars under contract for Shelby, who marketed the cars as the 'Shelby Cobra ...';
   d. 27 coil spring cars were made by AC Cars for their own purposes. These cars were marketed as the 'AC 289 Sports'.
   e. In period, there was no coil-spring car marketed as an 'AC Cobra 289 MkIII'.
   
   John
   
   
   

   
   I totally agree, these cars were never marketed as the MK1,2,3.
   
   "However the use of Mk I, II and III is now well established, not least by Brian Angliss with the MkIV which logically follows the MkIII."
   
   These cars are not well established as mk1,2,3 they are well established as AC /Shelby Cobra 260,289 & 427`s

[A-Snake]

quote:Originally posted by jrlucke
   

   
   While the later COX cars may be improved and make better drivers/track cars, I believe the 1963-1967 Shelby cars will always sell at a premium.
   
   
   As someone indicated, it all depends on the buyer and their desires, needs and ability to pay.
   

   
   I can understand that a leaf spring COX/COB car might trade for less than a CSX leaf spring car due to the Shelby connection. Perhaps a COX/COB coil spring car will trade for less than a 427 CSX car, however the attributes of a AC 289 Sport, IMO, make it more desirable than a leaf spring CSX car. I think only 8 were produced in LHD and a number of those have been converted to 427's. So there are only a couple remaining left hand drive AC 289 Sports.

[aaron]

A-Snake , I think you have hot the nail on the head,this is a very desirable car.

[AKL1405]

I'm a bit late to this thread but am newly signed up to the Forum so please bear with me. I had a careful look through the "history file" of AE1138. In fact this consisted only of old race entry programmes, results sheets, photos, etc and nothing by way of documentation to substantiate the story of it having a new AC chassis or other components. The typed up sheets summarising the car's claimed history say that it was crashed heavily at the 1966 Silverstone 6hr relay race. After that accident it was supposedly laid up for an unspecified number of years then converted into a "Cobra"; however the race entry programmes show a different story with the car still being entered in competitions into the 1970s with a Triumph 2500 engine. At this point I decided to walk away.

[Chafford]

quote:Originally posted by AKL1405
   
I'm a bit late to this thread but am newly signed up to the Forum so please bear with me. I had a careful look through the "history file" of AE1138. In fact this consisted only of old race entry programmes, results sheets, photos, etc and nothing by way of documentation to substantiate the story of it having a new AC chassis or other components. The typed up sheets summarising the car's claimed history say that it was crashed heavily at the 1966 Silverstone 6hr relay race. After that accident it was supposedly laid up for an unspecified number of years then converted into a "Cobra"; however the race entry programmes show a different story with the car still being entered in competitions into the 1970s with a Triumph 2500 engine. At this point I decided to walk away.
   

   
   The latest advert states that the V8 engine and gearbox were fitted in the 1970s - you'd hope the dealer might know when in the decade they were fitted.
   
   http://dealerservices.autotrader.co.uk/281674/used-cars.htm

[AKL1405]

The dealer seems to know very little. They were apparently selling the car for a customer, Mark Reece. He has an interesting background:
   http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/7505871.stm

[nikbj68]

Well, I finally got to see the AceBra at the NEC on the Runnymede Motor Company`s stand at the NEC Classic Show in Birmingham recently. Funny, it was £125,000 at the show, but it`s not on their website, has gone from the Brooklands of Exeter site, and is now on the Sussex Sports Cars site for £135,000!
   
   
   
   
   (Click pics for more in my gallery.)

[3.8Jaguar]

OHH the murky waters of Identity!
   My feeling is that if a car is modified for the enjoyment of the owner that is up to them and I see no reason that they should do what they like to their property.
   Where I do have a problem is when cars are advertised or published as some thing that they are not or to have history that they do not warrant  for the sake of profit.
   In this case the car in question has an Identity of a production Weller engined Ace, as such it should be described as a modified Ace.
   To describe it as a Factory Cobra could potentially miss lead a future purchaser of the car who may not be as knowledgeable as many of the members on this Forum.
   The moral of the story is 'Do your research and make your own judgement before you buy any high value car. Don't just rely on a description in a sales catalogue because at the end of the day they are only as good as the person researching that car'