1965 Shelby Cobra 289 Dragonsnake CSX2427

CSX2427 Vehicle Information and History:

• 1 of 5 factory-built 289 Cobra Dragonsnakes
• The only Stage III factory-built customer Dragonsnake
• Ordered new by Don Reimer of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
• Painted in a special yellow that matched the color of his Thunderbird tow car
• Raced successfully through the summer of 1965 and parked
• Stage III 289 engine with Weber carbs
• 4-speed transmission
• Highly documented with known ownership history since new
• Purchased by Steven Juliano in 2007
• Meticulously restored by Steven Juliano and Dave Riley using only NOS and original parts throughout down to tires and service items
• Premier Award at SAAC-27 in 2009
• Featured by Ford during the 50th Anniversary Cobra celebration at the 2012 Monterey Motorsports Reunion
• Featured in numerous books and magazines
• Unquestionably the finest and most correct factory-built Dragonsnake in existence
• Division 1 Premiere Award at SAAC-34 in August 2009
• CSX2427 attained the highest points score in SAAC judging history to that point

One of just five original factory Dragonsnake Cobras ever built by Shelby American, CSX2427 is literally one of just a handful of these much-storied factory Competition Cobras. CSX2427 is also the only factory Stage III, quadruple Weber-carbureted Dragonsnake Cobra produced. CSX2427 was ordered new by Don Reimer of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, who with his younger brother Mike took delivery of the car from Adams County Motors Corp. Invoiced to that Gettysburg Ford dealer on August 3, 1964, at $8,695 plus a $305 freight charge for a total of $9,000, the car arrived wearing special-order yellow paint to match the color of the Reimer brothers’ Thunderbird tow vehicle.

After a few shakedown runs at a local airfield, the Reimer brothers began racing at the now legendary York U.S. 30 Drag-O-Way, with Mike at the controls and Don managing the team, competing in both A/Modified and AA/Modified Production racing with great success, as well as running at the Indianapolis Nationals that year. It was a serious effort involving a small crew with matching yellow uniforms and a sharp aluminum car hauler complete with Cobra signage.

But at the end of the season, Mike decided to return to school the following year and his father decided the car had to be sold. Even the ad placed in the December 1965 issue of “Car and Driver” magazine had a professional ring to it, reading, “SELL – 1965 Cobra – built by Shelby American especially for drags, complete with special suspension system, drag shocks, modified springs, dyno tuned headers, mag wheels, chrome roll bar, Hurst shifter, M&H Racemaster slicks, 4.56 rear. $4650.00 firm. Also will sell many extras: mag wheel and tire, new clutch and pressure plate, aluminum oil pan, Webers including many jets, trailer. Reason for selling, son returned to college.”

It is not known if the second owner, Doug Casey of Chesterton, Indiana, continued to race CSX2427, but its third owner, Dodge Olmsted of Arlington, Virginia, purchased it on July 14, 1966, and modified the car for road racing, competing in several SCCA events. Olmsted later repainted CSX2427 Candy Apple Red after repairing it from an on-track shunt. Harold Hammond of Ohio became the next owner of CSX2427 in May 1969 and later sold it to Howard Heath of Columbus, Ohio; at that time, the car was painted yellow again and had spline-drive wire wheels installed. After moving to Canada, Heath repainted the car silver.

Peter Klutt of the Shelby Shop (later renamed Legendary Motor Cars) near Toronto, Ontario, purchased CSX2427 in 1988 after learning of it at a car show. After showing the bare body and chassis at SAAC-18 at Watkins Glen, New York, in July 1993, Klutt brought the completed Cobra to SAAC-20 in Atlanta, Georgia, in July 1995, where it appeared in yellow with a black interior. In addition to sporting 5-spoke American Racing wheels, a hood scoop and a chromed roll bar, the car’s rear wheel wells were shorn of their sides in correct Dragonsnake form.

CSX2427 was awarded Silver in the Cobra Concours class at SAAC-20, after which Legendary Motor Cars advertised it for sale with this description: “One of two factory 289 Dragonsnake Cobras built [sic]. Custom ordered yellow in color … 3,596 original miles, complete documented history since new … Factory stage III with Webers … NHRA and SCCA race history … Perhaps the finest, rarest Cobra in the world.”

Offered by Legendary in tandem with a Ford Thunderbolt, CSX2427’s subsequent owner history reads like a who’s who of the high-end car collecting world. It was first purchased in 1996 by Chris Cox (Prova International) from Raleigh, North Carolina, who later sold it to Richard Scaife of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Scaife offered it at auction in January 2001, and it sold for $190,000 to Harry Yeagey of Ohio, who traded it to Rich Mason of Carson City, Nevada, in April 2004. Mason converted CSX2427 back to road-racing configuration and ran it on the vintage racing circuit before selling it to Steven Juliano in February 2007.

Juliano and Dave Riley soon embarked on their typical concours-level restoration that returned CSX2427 to its precise original Dragonsnake configuration, during which Juliano consulted with 2427’s original driver Mike Reimer to assure maximum authenticity. The completed CSX2427 was awarded the coveted Division 1 Premiere Award at SAAC-34 in August 2009 in Wampum, Pennsylvania. It should also be noted that CSX2427 attained the highest points score in SAAC judging history to that point, an accomplishment that reflects the late Juliano’s passion for perfection and absolute historical accuracy down to the smallest detail. In addition to that honor, this unique Dragonsnake Cobra has appeared in numerous publications and books, and it was selected by Ford to be featured in Ford’s tent during the Cobra 50th Anniversary celebration at the 2012 Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Laguna Seca. It’s all very fitting for what is unquestionably one of the finest-quality restored Competition Cobras in existence, and justification for the tireless efforts of its late caretaker Steven Juliano who wouldn’t have it any other way.

For more information, visit: Mecum