I just received an email from a friend who was on vacation in Alaska. He stumbled upon these Cobras at the Exit Glacier Lodge in Seward, Alaska and asked if I might know the red one as it had NC plates. I informed him that it was owned by Tom Cotter, a well known member of SAAC. I guess they are touring Alaska. How amazing is that? So for all you Shelby owners who are afraid to drive your cars to the next cars and coffee, take some advice from these guys.
As someone told once, "they're a car damn it, drive it, it won't melt"
That is awesome, thanks for sharing!
For the longest time I had a hard time understanding why someone wouldn't drive their car (I drive all of mine). I finally came to accept the fact that for some people, cars are more like art. You wouldn't take an expensive painting to a family outing or to a restaurant to show your friends. A friend of mine that has a lot of rare cars keeps them all covered and they never see the light. I questioned him why, he said that it caused him stress to get them dirty or dusty so he just doesn't take them out but enjoyed "owning" them.
The key word is stress, driving the cars wasn't his idea of fun, finding, restoring and owning them and keeping them "perfect" made him happy. Although that is not me, it was at that time I said "to each his own".
Quote from: Steve McDonald Formally known as Mcdonas on July 27, 2018, 07:03:15 AM
As someone told once, "they're a car damn it, drive it, it won't melt"
Steve love your style! 8)
https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2018/07/26/289-shelby-cobra-bear-tom-cotter#
(https://d32c3oe4bky4k6.cloudfront.net/articles-videos/-/media/uscamediasite/images/story-images/2018/07/26/1965-shelby-cobra-289-tom-cotter-bear.ashx?modified=20180726183936&mw=1920&hash=104E43F8B40CD92829E729BF132E97EEC3B01037) (https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2018/07/26/289-shelby-cobra-bear-tom-cotter#)
That is so cool! To be in Alaska would cool enough but to stumble on 3 cobras while there would be icing on the cake.
I definitely fall into the drive it camp. Not nearly as much as my neighbor Steve but he is training me. But I can understand on some level the beauty of keeping a car pristine. I have just enough OCD to appreciate that for sure. I imagine if I hit the $500M jackpot I would own a trailer queen to set in my living room to admire on a daily basis but I would have to have nice drivers as well.
Quote from: Brant on July 27, 2018, 08:48:46 AM
https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2018/07/26/289-shelby-cobra-bear-tom-cotter#
(https://d32c3oe4bky4k6.cloudfront.net/articles-videos/-/media/uscamediasite/images/story-images/2018/07/26/1965-shelby-cobra-289-tom-cotter-bear.ashx?modified=20180726183936&mw=1920&hash=104E43F8B40CD92829E729BF132E97EEC3B01037) (https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2018/07/26/289-shelby-cobra-bear-tom-cotter#)
Is that like the "Dan Gurney bubble" on the GT 40's? Allow for some extra head room? :D
QSS
Quote from: QuickSilverShelby on July 27, 2018, 08:58:32 AM
Quote from: Brant on July 27, 2018, 08:48:46 AM
Is that like the "Dan Gurney bubble" on the GT 40's? Allow for some extra head room? :D
QSS
A bear ripped open the top during the night time. He smelled some Fig Newtons that were behind the seat.
Quote from: Steve McDonald Formally known as Mcdonas on July 27, 2018, 07:03:15 AM
As someone told once, "they're a car damn it, drive it, it won't melt"
LOVE it!!!
When I finally got my 67 back from restoration (I had only test driven it once prior to buying and having it restored) I decided to drive it to work the next day. As luck would have it, it was raining / misting. I couldn't help myself - I drove it to work anyway.
I'll never forget that drive!
Quote from: BGlover67 on July 27, 2018, 04:24:11 AM
I just received an email from a friend who was on vacation in Alaska. He stumbled upon these Cobras at the Exit Glacier Lodge in Seward, Alaska and asked if I might know the red one as it had NC plates. I informed him that it was owned by Tom Cotter, a well known member of SAAC. I guess they are touring Alaska. How amazing is that? So for all you Shelby owners who are afraid to drive your cars to the next cars and coffee, take some advice from these guys.
+ 1 love it
Tom said he's there with Woody (no. 145, an early '67 GT350) and he left some fig Newtons on the seat. I guess Woody has to foot the bill.
3 words' "I am Jealous" ::)
Very lucky it wasn't a larger (or hungrier) bear. Would hate to see what damage it could do to the car if sufficiently motivated.
Quote from: QuickSilverShelby on July 27, 2018, 08:58:32 AM
Quote from: Brant on July 27, 2018, 08:48:46 AM
https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2018/07/26/289-shelby-cobra-bear-tom-cotter#
(https://d32c3oe4bky4k6.cloudfront.net/articles-videos/-/media/uscamediasite/images/story-images/2018/07/26/1965-shelby-cobra-289-tom-cotter-bear.ashx?modified=20180726183936&mw=1920&hash=104E43F8B40CD92829E729BF132E97EEC3B01037) (https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2018/07/26/289-shelby-cobra-bear-tom-cotter#)
. Non factory A/C.... ;D
Is that like the "Dan Gurney bubble" on the GT 40's? Allow for some extra head room? :D
QSS
Just think if a squirrel had been trapped inside
Apparently, Ranger Smith has lost track of Yogi & BooBoo.
Quote from: silverton_ford on July 27, 2018, 10:01:02 AM
Quote from: QuickSilverShelby on July 27, 2018, 08:58:32 AM
Quote from: Brant on July 27, 2018, 08:48:46 AM
Is that like the "Dan Gurney bubble" on the GT 40's? Allow for some extra head room? :D
QSS
A bear ripped open the top during the night time. He smelled some Fig Newtons that were behind the seat.
Not to many Cobra Owners can say that an Alaskan Bear attacked their Cobra.
You don't get stories like this chasing a trophy in the ball room . 8)
Just to correct an earlier post, there are four not three Cobras touring Alaska. All are 289's
Quote from: gt350shelb on July 27, 2018, 08:44:23 PM
You don't get stories like this chasing a trophy in the ball room . 8)
++++++++++++++++1
There is a group of Cobra owners that get together every year for a road trip. Exclusive/mysterious I bet they all get a phone call in the middle of the night - gumball.
It's actually very well organized 😎When dealing with 15 to 20 cars and 30 or 40 people
Choosing routes that include gas stations to serve that many cars in a timely manner becomes important.
Geez. That'll be fun explaining to the insurance company! ;D
To add some color to this, I was up there for a few weeks last month and the scenery is incredible. It would make for a great summer road trip even in a Pinto but in a Cobra...wow!
This is where they would have stopped to put their tops on (cruise ship side) as it is routine to only let 1 lane of cars or a train through at a time due to how narrow the tunnel is.
The only bear I saw in 2 weeks including Denali was off in the distance from the train somewhere around where these guys appeared to stay, go figure.
Made the news;
http://www.foxnews.com/auto/2018/07/27/grizzly-attacks-cobra-in-alaska-shelby-cobra-that-is.html
Quote from: tesgt350 on July 27, 2018, 08:27:52 PM
Quote from: silverton_ford on July 27, 2018, 10:01:02 AM
Quote from: QuickSilverShelby on July 27, 2018, 08:58:32 AM
Quote from: Brant on July 27, 2018, 08:48:46 AM
Is that like the "Dan Gurney bubble" on the GT 40's? Allow for some extra head room? :D
QSS
A bear ripped open the top during the night time. He smelled some Fig Newtons that were behind the seat.
Not to many Cobra Owners can say that an Alaskan Bear attacked their Cobra.
Not to many Cobra owners want to say that!
Instead of the animal eating the car , this one is the car eating the animal, a Kangaroo.
Not uncommon here in OZ, the son in law seems to clean one up every shift change on his trips in and out to the mine.
The Cobra and bear story even got mention on CBC radio (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) on my local station in Toronto.
Mike
Pretty sure President Trump brought it up in one of his tweets:
Donald J. Trump
Tweeter >realDonaldTrump
The Fake News Media is going CRAZY! They are totally unhinged and in many ways, after witnessing first hand the damage they do to so many innocent and decent people, I enjoy watching. In 7 years, when I am no longer in office, their ratings will dry up and they will be gone! Did you check out the Shelby torn open by a bear? #Shelby#Bear
You know a story has come full circle when it shows up as a link at the bottom of one of those click bait websites. Gotta love the title on it though:
https://95octane.com/2018/07/30/1965-shelby-cobra-bear-attack/
1965 Shelby Cobra Mauled by Asshole Bear
Bears. As cool as they are, they can be complete assholes. They regularly eat post offices and Outbacks here in Colorado. They go through the trash, and generally make a nuisance of themselves. Despite being cute, they will eat you too if cornered. Killing Subarus is one thing. They are literally everywhere in Colorado. Killing a 1965 Shelby Cobra, on the other hand, is well... over the line.
Sadly, that's exactly what happened to Tom Cotter, the host of a show on Hagerty called Barn Find Hunter. He was taking an epic Alaskan road trip in his 1965 Shelby Cobra. Cotter had the top up because they had to drive through an area where rocks were known to fall. But when he went to park the car with the roof up, he apparently had forgotten about some Fig Newtons he had in the car.
The only thing between the Grizzly bear and those Fig Newtons was the Shelby's original 1965 convertible top. The bear wasted no time opening that old vinyl to get at the yummy cookies inside. The car was mostly fine other than the top.
"The car's top had survived 53 years unscathed, but couldn't make it 11 days in Alaska," Cotter says. "I've got bigger problems, anyway. My clutch hydraulics went out, so I've convinced a guy to let me borrow his airplane hangar for a bit to fix things. I've got work to do."
I wonder if the bear had insurance. What a story! MAd props for Tom and the other guys for actually driving their cars. Of course Old Shel would be smiling!
Quote from: BGlover67 on August 05, 2018, 09:16:34 PM
You know a story has come full circle when it shows up as a link at the bottom of one of those click bait websites. Gotta love the title on it though:
https://95octane.com/2018/07/30/1965-shelby-cobra-bear-attack/
1965 Shelby Cobra Mauled by Asshole Bear
Bears. As cool as they are, they can be complete assholes. They regularly eat post offices and Outbacks here in Colorado. They go through the trash, and generally make a nuisance of themselves. Despite being cute, they will eat you too if cornered. Killing Subarus is one thing. They are literally everywhere in Colorado. Killing a 1965 Shelby Cobra, on the other hand, is well... over the line.
Sadly, that's exactly what happened to Tom Cotter, the host of a show on Hagerty called Barn Find Hunter. He was taking an epic Alaskan road trip in his 1965 Shelby Cobra. Cotter had the top up because they had to drive through an area where rocks were known to fall. But when he went to park the car with the roof up, he apparently had forgotten about some Fig Newtons he had in the car.
The only thing between the Grizzly bear and those Fig Newtons was the Shelby's original 1965 convertible top. The bear wasted no time opening that old vinyl to get at the yummy cookies inside. The car was mostly fine other than the top.
"The car's top had survived 53 years unscathed, but couldn't make it 11 days in Alaska," Cotter says. "I've got bigger problems, anyway. My clutch hydraulics went out, so I've convinced a guy to let me borrow his airplane hangar for a bit to fix things. I've got work to do."
Loving the title, indeed. At least they were honest! ;D
I was just saying this.
People got to drive their old stuff.
I was picking up my BBQ in my 55 after a whole day in my 65.
Going the other way at 8pm were a couple in a blue Dino.
Go drive them!