'Cobra in the barn' goes to auction

Without its former racoon resident, mind

There’s nothing like a barn find to get the heart beating: the mystery; the opportunity; the restoration bill.

Not prepared to spend your readies on bringing a dusty garage classic back to life? Get the glory of a barn find without the hassle of overhauling it with this stunning Shelby Cobra 289 – yours for a cool $1m or so.

Unearthed in an Indianapolis barn in 1993, it’s subsequently been brought to back to glory by barn-find champion Tom Cotter – and now it’s up for sale at RM Sotheby’s Amelia Island auction on Friday (9 March).

Click on for the story of this restored icon.

Special relationship

The Cobra concept was the result of a very special Anglo-American relationship: in 1961, Carroll Shelby took a modified AC body, fitted it with a Ford V8 and the Ace 3.6 was born.

Ford power

When it entered production proper in 1962, the Mark 1 Cobra carried a 260 cubic inch 4.3-litre Ford V8 engine.

Better V8

Two years later, the block received an upgrade in the form of a 289 cubic inch 4.7-litre Ford V8. This was fitted to the last 51 Mark 1 Cobras and all of the Mark 2 models.

British body, American muscle

A stunning combination of British aluminium body design and US V8 grunt made the Cobra an almost instant classic across America and Europe.

Early model

The 1963 example up for auction – chassis number CSX 2149 – was the 149th Cobra to be completed by Shelby. 

Starting out

Carrying the bigger 289 4.7-litre V8, it was initially shipped to a Ford sales office in Iowa.

Good chemistry

In 1969, CSX 2149 was bought by one Dr Bryan Molloy – a chemist born in Scotland, residing in Indianapolis and working on developing the anti-depressant drug Prozac.

Bronzed up

Molloy made his purchase through a newspaper advert and promptly had the Cobra repainted bronze.

Stabled on the farm

Following a few years of usage, he then committed the Cobra to a shed in a field on his farm.

Mystery package

Here the Cobra rested for some 24 years, kept company by cattle – until it was unearthed in 1993 by an unsuspecting delivery man. 

Sold to the postman

Still in decent condition, the courier persuaded Molloy’s wife to part with the car – but not before he had to contend with a raccoon that had made its home in the sports car. 

Good investment

Raccoon removed, the Cobra was sold on again in 1994 to a friend of the delivery man – for twice the price.

Narrow escape

Bizarrely, some 30 days after the Cobra was rescued from the barn, its former home reportedly burned down.

From collection to collection

After a stint with Cobra collector Billy Weaver, the Shelby machine ended up in the hands of barn-find mogul Tom Cotter. 

In good hands

A prolific writer, presenter of Hagerty’s Barn Find Hunter on YouTube and former motorsport PR, Cotter is no stranger to rescuing neglected classics.

Cover star

In fact, this very Cobra went on to feature on the cover of Cotter’s book, The Cobra In The Barn.

Back to white

Cotter committed to meticulously restoring the Cobra – including returning it to its original white colour scheme.

Still good to growl

He noted in his book that the Cobra’s V8 engine, despite having sat static for a quarter of a century, was up and running in a quarter of an hour.

Original parts

Much of the car remained original and as many parts as possible were maintained during the restoration, making it a highly authentic example today.

Low numbers

Restoration complete, CSX 2149 was sold again in 2005 with just 21,000 miles to its name. Since then, it’s been stabled with and maintained by the same owner for 13 years.

Snake for sale

A Cobra with quite the past, this stunning, highly original example could be yours for an estimated $1 million - $1.2 million (£720,000 - £860,000).

Just don’t keep it in the barn, eh?