Dean Jeffries, pinstriper and custom car bulder, Oakland Roadster Show winner

I was just reading an article about Dean and the Mantaray, and learned that he travelled to Indy for the 500, and on year, pinstriped 2/3rds of the race cars

James Dean was one of his early customers, and Jeffries painted "Little Bastard" on the Porsche 550 Spyder that Dean owned.

Agajanian took Jeffries to the 1952 Indy 500, Mobil Oil, noticing his unusual painting and pin striping style, hired him in the following years to paint any of the Indy race cars. It was free to the teams and Mobil got their logo somewhere on the car. Jeffries would paint and pin stripe the cars and helmets of race car drivers like Jim Rathmann, Parnelli Jones, and A. J. Foyt, and become Foyt's paint and body man.

After that, in 1962, he worked for famous race car designer and builder Carroll Shelby on the Cobra.

Dean's show car, Mantaray, first appeared at the 1964 Oakland Roadster Show where it won the Tournament of Fame First Prize. The smallblock Ford engine & 4-speed trans came directly from Shelby as partial payment for work Jeffries had done and to this day that Cobra engine has just a few miles on it.

For more about Dean Jeffries, mostly photos of his pinstriping, Krazy Shirts, and his magazine advertisements: http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/search/label/Dean%20Jeffries

Barnfind Shelby AC Cobra, and a one owner, less than 7.4 thou miles '62 Benz 300SL roadster getting auctioned by Gooding Jan 21st

Said to be the only unrestored Cobra in blue and red livery, the '64 AAC Cobra spent 33 years in "storage" yet comes off as surprisingly lustworthy in spite of that. It began life as Carroll Shelby's promo car at SoCal racing venues, was pulled from the deeep barn sleep to do the 2010 Pebble Beach

from http://www.autoblog.com/2010/12/15/gooding-unloads-its-time-capsule-cars-for-its-2011-scottsdale/

Home built Shelby Cobra Daytona was made when Shelby sold chassis CSX2130 to an independant racer. I wonder if it was the only one

learned about this at http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5870067&postcount=13861

but the story is at http://www.imca-slotracing.com/1964-Le%20Mans%2024-5.htm

September 26, 1964 - The annual Autosport Three Hours, at the Snetterton track is the tenth and last round of the British Championship and the fifth time that Ford and Cobra stay eye into eye.
Eventually there are only two Cobras (a Willment Coupe and the HEM-6) at the start and two Ferraris - two LMs: Maranello's for Graham Hill and Piper's.

At the start, with Graham Hill on the pole, it's raining the proverbial cats and dogs.

As the track becomes less like a lake, Jack Sears is able to use some of the power of his Willment Cobra Roadster, passing Roger Mac and taking the lead.

The Willment Cobra Daytona Coupe places 1st

October 21, 1964 - This is the third year that British drivers show at the Daily Rand Nine Hours of Kyalami. Willment Cobra Daytona Coupe places 5th

Hear that screaming? Hear the cry of outrage? Yup, they just looked at this GT500 Shelby Mustang Cobra on a junkyard heap of junk cars. The point is

that this should get us fired up, like when Car Craft once had a photo of a Camaro that was being eaten by the jungle slowly... and the submission was accompanied by the phrase "we lost one, but let it be remembered by saving others" (Adam Rosenbaum, Portland Maine)

from http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=428585&page=561

it reminded me of

that I posted a couple years ago http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2008/12/no-one-will-likely-ever-know-what.html

Carroll Shelby prototype Cobra #1. The progenitor of the Shelby AC Cobra and Shelby 427 AC, it is CSX0001

read all about it: http://www.supercars.net/cars/5132.html