
12-18-2021, 10:15 PM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: ABQ, New Mexico
Posts: 36,633
Thanks: 3,506
Thanked 136,542 Times in 22,784 Posts
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390 Big Block Flip-Top (1964)
The 390 Big Block was the first dabble with larger engines for the Cobra. However, this 390ci (6.4-liter) motor was no normal V8. It was an all-aluminium engine borrowed from Ford’s NASCAR program and had flip-open bodywork to make it easier to get at the mechanical components front and back. This earned it the nickname ‘Flip-Top’.
It made its debut at Sebring with Ken Miles at the wheel. The talented British driver declared the car almost undriveable. This didn’t stop Shelby from improving on the idea and Ken Sutton was enlisted to relocate the exhaust, brakes, suspension and engine. In this form, it left the competition trailing at its next outing at Nassau, but it retired soon after with brake problems.
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