Posted on 08/22/2017 4:58:02 PM PDT by MtnClimber
Shelby American will build six aluminum continuation big-block Daytona Coupes to the original specifications of the car that could have dominated Le Mans.
In 1964, Carroll Shelby and his crew built a one-off Daytona Coupe powered by a big-block V8, with the sole purpose of beating Ferrari at Le Mans. That car, CSX2286, promised great things, but it was damaged on the way to France, taking it out of the race before it began. Afterward, CSX2286 was converted back to its original 289 small-block configuration, like the rest of the Daytona Coupe fleet. For decades, there were no official big-block Daytona Coupes in existence. At least, not until now.
Shelby American has announced plans to build six Daytona Coupes with 427-cubic-inch big block engines as part of an official continuation series. The company brought the first of six, CSX2603, to the Rolex Motorsports Reunion at Monterey this past weekend, where it made its public debut.
The first new big-block Daytona Coupe wears bare aluminum bodywork with white stripes and the number four, just like the original that never made it to Le Mans. Shelby will paint your big-block Daytona in any racing livery you want, though.
(Excerpt) Read more at roadandtrack.com ...
Too bad the original car got damaged before it made it to Le Mans. Had to wait a few more years for Ford to beat Ferrari.
There will never be anything like the American big block V-8s of the 60s.
I had a 65 Olds Delta 88 with a 425. Best car and engine I ever owned and by a big margin.
I almost bought a ‘72 Delta 88 with a 455 Rocket in it, but the car was so heavy, it couldn’t get out of it’s own way until it hit 50........
This week’s edition of Jay Leno’s Garage had three of Shelby’s grandsons in a segment with Leno. Very cool!
My 65 was surprisingly agile tho it had to have been heavy.
I had reversed the lid on the air cleaner which allowed more air in. It had the coolest roar when you floored it and heard that rocket V-8 sucking in the air.
Good stuff.
I need one of those, a GT-40, a Boss 429 Mustang, Boss 351 Mustang, a 68 Camaro with 427, a 71 Corvette with 454, 72 Pantera, a 69 Firebird, a 70 Charger 440, a Challenger with 440 6 pack, a Hemi Cuda, some Shelby Mustangs and...
Oh yeah, no money.
Oh, hell yeah. The sound of that 455 was awesome. Did you ever look at the suspension on that thing?
That car seems to have a very long nose with the hood vents for radiator air even with the front wheels. That puts the engine entirely behind the front wheels, almost mid engine. I bet the car had incredible handling for 1964.
I’d love another 67 Cougar.
It had to be sacrificed to solve some problems and keep the peace back in the early 00s.
Maybe one day.
If that car were a woman I’d marry her.
One guy I knew had a perfect 289 Cougar - 67 - white with black interior - haven’t talked to him in almost 40 years.
Another friend had a 68 Cougar with a 428 and a 4-speed.
Another friend had a 67 Fastback (me too) except his was 428 and 4-speed.
Good times.
Friend of mine in high school, his dad made him sell his 440 Magnum Challenger, perfect with white vinyl top and buy a 318 Challenger after a burnout session at high school.
Huge mistake, of course.
Yeah. Money was a mitigating factor back in those days. I could have picked up a blue ‘67 GTO with a 326, hood scoop, factory duals and gauges, factory chrome air filter and valve covers, and Hurst dual gate shifter, and all it needed was the Rochester Q-Jet rebuilt, for $125. Unfortunately at the time, I was 17 and had no job, so the price was about $120 out of my range. To this day, I wish I’d have robbed a bank to get that car. It was sweetness inside and out.
I never paid much attention to that suspension tho it survived an interesting wreck.
In the Summer of 73, I was working at a Summer retreat. One of the members of my rec crew hit the left rear of the Olds spinning it completely around. The rear slid along a stone wall and the only thing which protected the gas tank was a trailer hitch.
The stone wall ground off nearly the entire bottom of a heavy duty bolt. Then the rear fell from the wall onto the street. The suspension absorbed the fall. Around six months later I had new tire put on and the guy noticed the wheel had a crack around 10 inches long. The tire covered it and I had driven a few thousand miles, many of them at high speed, on that wheel.
My friend’s pickup suffered major damage but the Olds just had a bent fender, except for that hidden crack in the wheel.
My Father bought the car new, then my Brother had it, then I bought it from him for $250. I drove it for maybe another 50,000 miles and sold it with well over 200,000 on the odometer. It still ran great.
No major work was ever done on it. Just oil and filter changes. I did have to replace the seal on the AC compressor and the water pump probably had to be replaced 3 times in the life of the engine. Nothing else that I can remember.
A great, comfortable and fast car.
I have a ‘69 Mustang, curb weight around 2800lbs and sporting 400 ponies (4:11 Detroit Locker rear). It is scarey fast! I haven’t taken it out on rainy days yet because it’s too hard to keep the wheels from spinning. Plus the front end is loosey-goosey.
The Daytona would be one wild ride!
Sniff, so beautiful.
The long nose gives better high-speed aerodynamics which would help at a track like Le Mans. They did the same long nose with the NASCAR Superbird for the same reason.
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