Ay Carobra! A Quiver Of Cobras At Katzs Marina. PLUS HUGE BREAKING NEWS IN COMMENT SECTION!
Two perfect Cobras waiting in the barn for spring
If you are into Chris Craft Cobras, you may want to head over to Lake Hopatcong this winter. Why? Is it that the last Cobra 21 ever made is there? Maybe cause there is a perfect 18 footer about to be finished after a full restoration… Or maybe its that there are also four others there.. Thats right, Six Cobras in one place all in various states of restoration. It’s amazing and might be the one time when this might happen. Add to that that Seth is one of the top Cobra experts in the World, you will be in Cobra heaven!
Its already a bit of an attraction there in Jersey. I love this shot. Its like they are all praying! No one wants to touch that thing! HA.. This Cobra has been completely restored. Its perfect!
So how did this happen. The perfect Cobra storm. Well, over time, Seth has been finding special Cobras amd folks from around the counrty who are serious about there Cobras have been finding him.. And well, rumor has it there is a big show next year that will be featuring them. So this is the time.. We are currently in the works to get all these in one shot once they are finished. So stay tuned.. You can visit Katz’s Marina in cyberspace by just clicking here.
In the showroom, that way you can drool in a nice room!
This Cobra came in a couple months ago, and now being dismantled and is set to become another show winner. Note 007 in the back there! Its like an all you can eat Cobra fest there.
One more shot of Cara Mia topless!
Today’s insane header. Just like a Cobra Factory. The one in the foreground came in for some special mechanical and electrical work. If you look closely its a custom job done by others. Inlay deck stripes and a urethane finish. Its beautiful for a restomod!
Stay tuned for the big news and announcement of the big show where you will be able to see Cobras Cobras Cobras!
For those of you not familiar with Cobras. Here is Vientiuno, a fully restored Cobra 21 with Cadillac Dual Quad engine in the water. These are extremely rare and very collectable and defiantly investment worthy.
Vientiuno on Lake Dora. Also a Katzs Marina Restoration. Sold to California
Our great friend and long time Woody Boater Terry Feist also one of the true Cobra Kings at the helm taking Vientiuno out for a good shakedown cruise.
Or for those of you that like sharing images on your facebook page. This image pulled in some HUGE likes.. Try it out.. Just give us credit please.
Is the hull design of a Cobra different from other Chris Craft hulls of the same era? Or is a Cobra essentially the same as others, but with a more sporty topside?
The 21 is based on the 19 racing runabout. More than likely the 18 is also based on a design existing at that time. Chris Craft tended to utilize proven hull shapes when designing new models.
Very classy! Are the motor and tail covers wood? BIG Smiles on Terry and the pilot.
I always find the fascination with these things to be fascinating.
Why oh why would a restorer of this level put the lifting rings on WRONG!
A few months ago WB showed a Chris Craft drawing of the Cobra and it CLEARLY shown the both front and rear lifting rings installed side to side.
Art
To answer some questions
The gold cover is painted Fibeglass. Chris Craft was trying all sorts of cool new stuff.
The Hull design is a little out of my leage. But I am sure someone will chime in.. From the Chris Craft book,
in 1955 51 18′ were made
And 55 21′ ones were built. Thats it. Some came with hemi’s and the Cadillac dual quad set up is insane. Also we know of some ordered without engines for guys that had there own ideas.. There are some out there customized like Shelby Cobras were.. VEry very cool stuff done to these. We also saw a very rare one from the factory in NY at the big ACBS show that was ordered with a red interior.
Holly Mother of Cobra! Six in one shop that is GREAT!
According to Jack Savage in “Chris-Craft of the 1950’s” the Cobra was based on the “19-foot Racer”.
We now have three Cobras in our group on Cobbossee, well one has to trailer in but is still part of the gang.
That pic of the guys “praying ” went on for quite some time, maybe another 20 min after the pic. I had to put the camera down so I could pay my respects 🙂 There was a time or two of quite, just looking. a puddle of drool was on the floor when we left.
I remember giving a talk on the 19′ Racer at a Chris Craft Symposium at Mariners Museum one day…and afterwards Ken Basset came and asked if he could use one of my slides the following day…When he showed it you could clearly see the supplimental drawings of the Cobra hull on the 19′ racer drawing.No question, the 21′ came from the 19′ Racer hull.
You talk about 6 here…I recall being at the 40th Annual Cobra Reunion at Cadillac in 1995…I think they had 40 + of them there then…One ( well part of it) even came Hawaii.
Somebody cally Terry Fiest he will remember because he ended up in charge of the show after the original organizer, Scott Callier, kinda stepped aside.
You must mean the bottom configuration from the waterline down is the same as a 19′ RR because everything above the w/l is different. 19′ does not equal 21′ so something got stretched. And the stem is totally different. RR’s had a near plumb stem and Cobra’s a radically raked and has a bull nose top. I don’t doubt Ken Bassett, he’s the man when it comes to line drawings and hull shapes, he’s copied or replicated enough of them to know. Just throwing out observations. So there’s a 2′ difference in length which is where? 2′ of rake in the bow of the Cobra? or something less and 6″ added somewhere else? Inquiring minds want to know.
The 21′ Cobra and the 19′ Racer are essentially identical from the waterline down. The Cobra’s transom has about 3″ of curve, plus a 3″ transom rail. The Racer transom is flat both ways. At the bow the Cobra’s stem rakes out 13″ to the tip of the bull nose. That is the 19″ of difference, the 21′ Cobra is actually 20’7″ LOA.
BREAKING NEWS!
Thanks Wilson.. Well, we just got permission to announce.. The Lake Dora Sunnyland Show this year will be the year of the Cobra celebrating 60 years of golden age! So you all have your chance to see more than 6 in march.. Book your rooms now. This is going to be a monster Show!
Great shop pix of all those snakes in one pit.
Do hope those gas cans in foreground are empty?
John in Va.
Might have to cancel my Tavares plans 🙂
Can we hear a little about the v-drive boat??
Were all Cobra’s V drives?
No Cobras were v-drives. That one has been modified and yes, it would be interesting to know some details although the caption implies possible restoration back to original (sort of). Wondering what the shaft angle is in the v-drive versus stock setup. Its interesting to see current hull “attitudes” at speed versus our woody’s. The woody’s always seem bow up compared to current boats and the difference is shaft angle in respect to the waterline or keel. Woodies have such a steep shaft angle that they pushed the bow up in the air unless you had flat water and the throttle to the firewall and proper trim.
Hmmm…that header headline sorta sounds like a 331hemi at a loping idle…”cobra, cobra, cobra…” Too smooth, though; time to add that more-radical cam and the dual-quad setup from a stock ’55 C-300….
^^^^^^ I’m with Jimmuh, someone has to tell us whats going on there. very intriguing.
Ten 21′ Cobra’s were MBL powered (003,008,016,023,031,036,045,047,053 & 054) two had Chris-O-Matic (003 & 053). Five MBL’s were converted to Cadillac power (008,016,045,053 & 054). Three are unknown whereabouts (023,036 & 047). Two are with listed owners (003 & 031). I have BR-21-003
George, just a shot in the dark here….do you have any relatives who would have lived in Chicago in 1949? Or would have been to the Muskoka lakes area in Canada?
No relatives in Chicago or Canada.
Thanks for the reply. I am still trying to find out the history of our Greavette, which was originally owned by W.H. Burgess of Chicago.
It is a shame that the 5 MBL s were converted to Cadillac I know the ACBS does not care… sorry if I were judging I would knock points… or if it was a case of a tie the boat with original engine would win…
If I had a 21 of the three available engines, I’d rather have the Chrysler .. Much stronger all around engine than the Cadillac…
Cobra Production was less than 12 months in 1955—A total of 108 were produced to include a prototype of each hull. The 21 Prototype is in France—the 18 has not been located.
56-21foot models were built—52-18 foot models;
21model—10 had MBL’s—-21 had Chrysler 331 Cu in Hemi’s—18 had 331 Cu In Cadillac’s and 7 came without engines. Jim Street bought his new and still has it.
18 Model—-6 had KLC’s and 46 had KBL’s—Both use the same fin and the hatch covers are different.
We will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Cobra at the 2015 Tavares Show in Florida. More information to follow
Many Cudo’s to Seth and his staff for the OUTSTANDING restorations they do to bring these coveted Cobras back to Life
Thanks Terry – Great information and exciting news for the Sunnyland event.
I may have located the Prototype 18 not sure yet .. I have to get more information from the guy.. It is in very bad shape.. I may get to see it sometime in the next few months… It is in the correct area.. I have also talked to the son of second owner of the 18 prototype. His family had it for about 10 years early 1960s through 1971.. They sold it for $1,000 at that time.. If the one recently found is it the guy who has it got it for the taking.. again needs a complete rebuild.. Still waiting on photos…
Terry –
Good Lord willin’ and the cricks don’t rise – Good Ole BR18-002 will be there from Indy – Jack