Sold for $925,000 – Monterey

• Engine

  289 CI
 

• Trans

  4-Speed
 

• Color

  Blue
 

• Interior

  Black
 

• VIN/Serial

  CSX2487

ESTIMATE

Call for estimate

HIGHLIGHTS

• Billed to Shelby American on July 9, 1964
• Shipped to Los Angeles on September 17, 1964
• Invoiced to Hayward Ford Motors in California on September 30, 1964
• Purchased by L.G. Sullivan and traded back to Haywood Ford a few months later because it was too much car to handle
• Acquired by Dick Pichinino in December 1964 and immediately modified for competition
• Successfully campaigned on the autocross circuit in 1965 and 1966
• Configured for road racing in 1966 and competed in A/Sports Racing from 1967-1969
• Driven by Al Norman to 1st in Class and 4th overall at Laguna Seca in 1967
• Driven by the owner Pichinino to 1st in Class and 4th overall at Sears Point in 1969
• Pichinino retired the car from racing and began a restoration in 1971 before placing the car in storage
• Restored by the third owner for vintage racing while maintaining the original body and integrity of the car
• Vintage raced at Road America, Black Hawk and the Milwaukee Mile by the fourth owner from 1991-1996
• SAAC Concourse judged to Gold Standard in 1997 scoring 438.5 of 450 points
• Acquired by the fifth owner in 2002 and placed in his private collection
• Documentation includes period racing photos, copy of Shelby invoice, vintage 16mm footage of the car in action at Laguna Seca and correspondence with Ned Scudder of the Shelby Registry confirming CSX2487 as an independent competition car
• Weber 48 IDM carbs, T-10 4-speed manual
• Halibrand knock-off wheels, specially built Ken Miles magnesium wheels included
• Guardsman Blue with White stripes, competition windshield

The Shelby Registry historically has made a distinction between official Shelby team racers and Cobras campaigned in competition by privateer owners, referring to the latter as Independent Competition Cobras. This 1964 Shelby Cobra 289, s/n CSX2487, began its well-documented independent racing career after its first owner returned it to the dealer within a couple of months as being “too much to handle.”

CSX2487 was invoiced to Shelby American on July 9, 1964 and shipped aboard the SS Loch Gowan to Los Angeles, where it was ordered by Hayward Ford Motors with Class A accessories (minus Whitewall tires) a luggage rack, antifreeze and freight for a total of $5,501.55. It was purchased by L.G. Sullivan and registered with the Black plate “MKE 868.” After Sullivan returned the car in late 1964 it was purchased by Dick Pichinino, who arranged financing through the Lockheed Credit Union after convincing management – with considerable difficulty – that the Cobra was indeed a “bona fide automobile.” After painting the car White, Pichinino modified it for autocrossing, a hobby both he and his wife pursued enthusiastically for the next two years. During that time CSX2487 acquired its first important modification when Pichinino, searching for heavy duty competition wheels, learned of a set of American Racing 5-spoke wheels custom made for the late Shelby driver Ken Miles, who unfortunately never picked them up. Pichinino bought the wheels and mounted them on 2487 using custom adapters.

Consistent success on the autocross circuit led Pichinino to turn his eye to the more challenging and competitive road racing arena. The 289 was balanced and blueprinted and fitted with roller rockers, oversized valves, Weber downdraft carburetors and Nassau headers with straight-through side pipes. Shot-peened and balanced halfshafts were installed and 3.77 and 4.10 gearsets procured; larger brake cylinders, Koni shocks, sway bars and other mods were added and the car was lowered. Finished in White with a wide Blue stripe, the newly prepared Cobra was completed with flared fenders, a hood scoop, racing windscreen and driver’s roll bar. Beginning in late 1967 and continuing through 1969, Pichinino raced the car mostly at Cotati, Laguna Seca and Sears Point, always with the then-popular phrase “Here Come Da Judge” splashed across the rear fenders.

CSX2487 compiled an admirable record as an independent racer. It won first place in A/Sports Racing at Laguna Seca with Al Norman at the wheel, showed well against professional competition in the inaugural Sears Point event in April 1969. Later that season again at Sears Point, Pichinino drove the car to 1st in class and 4th overall after starting 12th on the grid; at Cotati he took 2487 to a documented 165 MPH. Throughout that time he also used it for the commute to the office, later declaring in a 2004 interview that he would “drive it to work on Thursday and win races with it on the weekends.” A close encounter with a Porsche at Sears Point put 2487 in the wall, injuring driver Al Norman and prompting Pichinino to retire the car from competition.

After a period of storage, Pichinino began restoring the car, which he had stripped down to its component parts. In 1989 it was purchased in its unassembled state by Scott McCluskey of Dubuque, Iowa, through Stauffer Classics of Wisconsin, then by Johnson Autohaus of Minnesota, who sold it to collector and vintage racer Robert Bodin of Wayzata, Minnesota. Bodin completed a comprehensive and fully documented restoration, during which time SAAC board member Rand E. Bailey convinced him to retain the Cobra’s original aluminum body – complete with evidence of its altercation with the Porsche at Sears Point – to maintain the car’s integrity.