Hook lock pins and wires are are de rigueur on a classic muscle car. Luckily, the Cobra had them.( far left)
The hood scoop shares looks with the hood scoop on the 1969 Mach 1. However, the Mach 1’ s scoop was non-functional. This channels outside air to the top of the engine via a flapper assembly and seal.( left)
From the rear, the Sportsroof body style gave the fastback Fairlane a very different look from the rest of the Ford lineup.( right)
What’ s in a name? Shelby’ s original Cobra topped $ 6,000 with a small block in the early 1960s. In the late 1960s, the base price on this Cobra was a hundred dollars or so over three grand, or about half the cost of a new Cobra in 1963. Going down in price did not help the prestige of the Cobra nameplate. The Cobra name did not fit the economy muscle car theme.( below)
1969 Cobra
Model * Series Body Code **
63B Fairlane 500 46( Sportsroof with bench seat) 63E Fairlane 500 46( Sportsroof with bucket seats) 65A Fairlane 500 45( Formal hardtop with bench seats) 65E Fairlane 500 45( Formal hardtop with bucket seats)
* Body code, as revealed on the trim tag. ** Body code as revealed in the third and fourth digits of the VIN.
As the chart shows, Ford built the 1969 Cobra in the Fairlane 500 series in both the Sportsroof( Ford’ s marketing name for the fastback) and the formal roof hardtop. Each body style came with either bench or bucket seats. The Torino and Torino GT were slightly upscale in trim and did not fit the economy muscle car theme upon which Ford built the 1969 Cobra. Interestingly enough, the name Fairlane 500 did not appear on the body.“ FORD” is spelled out on the leading edge of the hood and on the rear tail light board.
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