Got $15 million to spare? The 1965 Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe CSX2601 is about to be auctioned off in Britain, and the auctioneers predict that the original Shelby will sell for more than $15 million– and could possibly unseat the most expensive car in history, the 1961 Ferrari 250 G. If it does top $11 million, the American flagship will be the priciest ride in human history. The month of May is looking to be a historic one, with not one but two cars having the potential to smash record prices at auctions on the very same weekend. A Ferrari 250 TR that will be sold at RM's Maranello auction, and now Mecum has announced the sale of a legendary 1965 Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe at their 22nd annual Spring Classic auction in Indianapolis. The auction will be shown live on Discovery's HD theatre, with the Daytona Coupe selling at 8:00pm on Friday, May 18. Mecum fully expects the car to exceed the highest amount paid at a public auction for an American automobile, which is, to our knowledge, the Shelby Cobra Super Snake sold at Barrett-Jackson in 2007 for a total of $5.5 million. The auction house even hopes to reach the eight figure mark. The current record holder for any car is a 1961 Ferrari California Spyder that sold for $10.89 million at RM's auction last year. The Daytona Coupe being sold, chassis CSX2601, is the fourth of just six built, winning three of eight FIA races it competed in. One of those victories was at Reims in France that earned the points needed for Shelby to clinch the World Manufacturers Championship in the GT III class. The car has been fully restored to its original condition and sports its Reims livery. Bob Bondurant, who piloted the Daytona Coupe to its wins back in 1965 and also owned it shortly thereafter, was reunited with the car at his high performance driving school in Chandler, AZ this weekend. He was joined by Peter Brock, who designed the Coupe, and the two shared stories of the development and racing of the car. Afterwards, Bondurant even put the car through its paces on the track, the first time he had driven it in more than twenty years.
Click on the pic below for a nice slideshow.... 
Zach and I installed the rear in the Chevelle this morning, although we almost forgot the rear springs! It was a snap, so then I installed the rear brakes, lines and parking brake cables. While I was at it, I figured the driveshaft needed to go back in. I noticed the front calipers needed paint, so I pulled them and gave them a quick shot with the cast blast.
I pulled the axles today in order to remove the drum brake backing plates. I could have just cut the backing plates off with the sawzall... but where is the fun in that? The "C" clips were a piece of cake. I cleaned up the axles, painted the ends, and wire wheeled the rest of the differential and entire rear frame and suspension. Hopefully tomorrow I"ll get up early and paint it all with POR-15.
The brake assembly was test fit, and looks great. I cant wait to get the rear back in with the new disk.
I saw a quote on a Chevelle site that I liked. "Don't tell me what your going to do, show me what you've done." I should apply that to this blog! Another one I liked was "If it doesn't fit, force it. If it brakes, it probably needed to be replaced anyway." That one is funny, but not so true...at least not for me.
Zach gave me a hand this morning, and we pulled out the rear on the Chevelle in order to prep it up for the rear disk brakes. He said, "Man, I'm gonna be sore tomorrow." It was pretty easy though, just remove the e-brake cables, brake lines, 4 bolts and the shocks.
Speaking of shocks, check out these bad boys....air shocks! The trick zip-tie brake line brackets were NOT my work. We figured out that the rear was probably out of another vehicle, I'll run the numbers when I get a chance. It is a 3.08 posi though! I scrapped off about 3 pounds of dirt from the center section, and then pulled the brakes and backing plates off.
You can see where the previous owner ran out of POR-15, just before the rear on the frame. As soon as I get a chance, I'll finish the frame.
You could say that the Spring 2009 Englishtown swap meet was a sucess! I was able to accomplish much with very little cash, and even had time to throw it all on the car. The weather this weekend has been great (so far), and I ran down to Raceway Park with Jimmy on Friday to pick up all I could on my list....some chrome, an alternator bracket, Cast Blast paint, an electric fan, hoses etc. Unfortunately, Ausley's Chevelle parts sold me a big block alternator spacer, so I had to return on Saturday morning and get my $$$ back. It was a good thing though, because I found the correct part used for only $2, and then also found the transmission linkage spring I needed for $5 (including the arm, which I don't need). That's the best part about the swap meet....sorting through boxes and tarps of strewn old rusty, greasy parts, looking for that impossible to buy new item. Then trying to get it away from the seller without paying a fortune for that piece of "unobtainium".
Tom, Tom L. and John all stopped by this afternoon while I was putting some more attention to the trans lines and water pump brackets. Tom L. offered me some interior pieces, because his '72 is going from green to black on the interior. Thanks Tom! I haven't really given much thought to the interior, other than removing the stereo & auxiliary heater, and making sure my throttle and brake pedals are working properly.
The throttle cable and return spring required a bit of fabrication and modification to the brackets and air cleaner base, nothing that an hour with the cut off wheel, vice and hammer couldn't handle. I also cut down the water pump pulley bolts, as we now don't need the spacer or flex fan. Most of the engine is ready, with the exception of the wiring, distributor, hoses and radiator. We will see how things go tomorrow.
The engine and trans were installed today in the Chevelle. Tommy, Jimmy and Tommy L. (also a Chevelle owner) all stopped by to lend a hand. With the front clip removed, it was VERY easy to slide it all in and bolt it up. I also cleaned up and painted the trans cross member, and replaced a bunch of incorrect hardware with the right stuff.
While we were at it, I took the 283 off the engine stand, put it on the small engine dolly, and tucked it away in the corner of the garage for another project. I welded some nuts to the engine hoist for the bolts used for the load-leveler, and a tab to the upright frame to hold the jack handle. None of that work was pretty enough to photograph. Then the hoist and engine stand were broken down and put away.
I hope to button up most of the engine tomorrow...intake, water pump, starter, headers and accessories. After that, I can start taking the rear end out to prep it for the new disk brakes.
I installed the brake booster and prepped the front lines yesterday. All easy stuff, except the return spring under the dash for the brake pedal....what a pain that was! It probably took me 30-40 minutes, so I figured while I was under there, I'd remove the stereo and auxiliary heater. The new aluminum radiator came in, and it looks great!
I also removed the trunk battery cables and started cleaning up the wiring mess. I noticed that the yellow wire running to the "R" post on the starter was still hooked to the ignition circuit, although it was burned to a crisp and exposed nearly the entire length! You don't need that with HEI ignition! I also don't know why the external voltage regulator is still there, as the previous owner had a newer alternator installed. I'll run the wire bypass as described here. I don't trust anything from the previous owners, so I'm most likely going to pick up a new alternator this week too.
I think I'm ready to slap the motor and trans together, now that I have all the bolts needed, and slide it in to the car. Once they are in, I car pull the rear end, and finish the brakes.
Today I finished tearing off the old drum brakes, and installed the new disk brakes. Mr. King stopped by and provided some welcome company as I bolted on the new system, and was surprised on how nice the brake kit was. It took three hours to casually do the first side, and about an hour to do the second. Despite what the instructions say, it is much easier to break down the old drum brakes and remove the steering arms while they are on the car. I'll start on the power booster and master cylinder next while waiting for the brake lines to arrive.
I even had enough time today to paint the engine block Chevy Orange.
I found some videos on the web for disk brake conversions for the front here, and the rear. They are not the exact same kits as mine, but close enough.
Check out that rotor! I've got three more where that came from, and have started tearing down the old drum brakes to install the new drilled/slotted disk system. The master cylinder and all the from line have been taken off, as well as the proportioning valve. I greased the new inner and outer bearings, installed the seals, and test fit everything to make sure I wouldn't have any problems. So far it all looks good.... I'm just waiting for the new brake line kit.
Now what's wrong with this picture? The fan that the previous owner had installed, was backwards. Combined with the tiny single core, six cylinder radiator, this car had to overheat....or at least run very hot. 
