Another dream unfulfilled - Moving right across the board | Eastern NC Now

   I have posted before a couple of joke articles about hitting the lottery.  I never really thought much about how I would spend the money if I did hit it big.  But that is not to say that I don't have a simmering wish list in the back of my mind. Generally, these wish list include some very grand items.  In my case it is just a few things that really impressed me as a youngster and have been embedded deep in my subconscious ever since.   This is a work in progress so my wish list may not be in order of importance or order of occurrence.  It is just a dream list of possible things that would help me complete my nostalgic tour of life.

   In 1962, I was impressed by a sports car that was introduced by a veteran race car driver. It was a hybrid English car with an American made V8 stuffed under the hood. It was true California blend of fast car and sports car looks.

   It was the AC Shelby Cobra. Carroll Shelby brought the car in from England and convinced Ford to loan him a couple of their new 260 cubic Inch V8 engines.  Ford and Chevrolet had had a rivalry going back many years in the classic Corvette vs Thunderbird.  Ford took the volume route when it went to four seats in 1958 while the Corvette kept the two seat Corvette.  The rivalry died until the introduction of the Cobra which Ford quickly branded as a Ford AC Cobra.  Henry II wanted a car to beat the Corvette.  That was back when the  personal egos rules the auto industry.

   Here is the original Cobra as it appeared recently when it went on the auction block. Carroll Shelby died in 2012 and he left instructions to sell the 1^st Cobra with the proceeds going to his estate for his charitable and other interest.

   It recently (August 2016) sold for $13.8 Million.    Cobra sales for record price

   There are many kit cars and replica Cobras for sale in the $25-30K range and I almost bought a kit car for my son and I to build but I decided it would not be the same as having an original.  Currently original Cobras without the rarity of  being Carroll Shelby's personal car go for over $250K. 

   My good high school friend Reggie sent me a text this morning (8/20/016) advising me about the sale of the Cobra. I had already written this article but decided to include our text messages in it.  Back in the day we had a saying every time we hit bottom and had to start over again (and there were quite a few of those). Here is the text from my IPhone.

IPhone text message:

•          From: Reggie
•          [ Sunday, August 21, 2016 7:24:16 AM ]Reggie :Jaguar and Shelby Cobra set world records at auction - CNN https://apple.news/AxOLTM0f6SFqYRQrqH_7Kcg
•          [ Sunday, August 21, 2016 7:29:47 AM ] Me:   Could have bought a Cobra in 1963 for $6000 new.   Jim Downing had one on show room floor on Spring Street in 1965. . I rode in it with his son from Varsity headed down Spring Street.  Fell in love with it then.
•          [ Sunday, August 21, 2016 7:31:39 AM ]Reggie : That would of been a gooood investment!!!
•          [ Sunday, August 21, 2016 7:32:47 AM ] Me:   Didn't have $6000 then ain't got $13 Million now
•          [ Sunday, August 21, 2016 7:32:57 AM ] Me:   Moving Right across the board