Photo History for Zippo Cobra R #47

tomshep

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I was moving some photos from an old machine to a new machine and ran across some old photos of the Zippo #47. This car is chassis #69 of the 250 built. When I purchased it the car had 32,xxx miles. Keep in mind, this car and another R (destroyed in a race) were picked up directly from MascoTech, the final assembly point for the 95 Cobra Rs. It was driven directly to Bradford, PA and completely disassembled and acid dipped and then built into a race car. From that point on it lived on a race track running everything from short sprint races to 24 hour endurance races and hours of testing and practice. It has 4 Professional Victories and many other podium finishes. It has a stronger pedigree than any other Cobra R. It was retired at the end of 2001 since the cars were only eligible to race for 7 years. I bought it in 2002. It was always raced in the purple/white livery from 1997 on under the numbers of 47, 17 and 74.

Photos from 1995.

95-12-1-32A.jpg
95-12-6-1A.jpg


1996 Livery

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96-10-7-29A.jpg

R47A.jpg

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1997-2001
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One of the coolest things is being at an event and someone walks up to me and proceeds to tell me a story of a race they attended and they watched my car run. The car raced all over the US, from North to South and East Coast to West Coast including some street venues. It also competed in Canada. It has had a wonderful life and I am doing my best to keep adding to it!

Tom
 

CobraBob

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What a great story, Tom. You're very fortunate to own it. I love the purple, orange and white paint. Enjoy it!!
 

brianz426

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Great history and thanks for sharing Tom. The '97-2001 livery is my favorite. Watching the Cobra R's racing on SpeedVision in the mid to late 90's created my desire for one of these cars and led me to the purchase of #86. How about a current picture if you have one?
 

tomshep

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When I found out the car was actually for sale in 2002 I couldn't believe it. I was familiar with it due to the coverage in Tom Shreiner's SVT Recognition Guide. Honestly, I couldn't believe such a historic car was for sale and actually available for purchase. It didn't take me long to pull the trigger.

Here are a few pictures under my ownership.

Tulsa 2007

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P-061.jpg


Barber Motorsports Park for the Mustang's 45th Anniversary 2009

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Tom_&_Ron_Show_at_Barber.jpg


Texas World Speedway 2007 in the pits

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Tom
 

tomshep

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Here is a little 351 Windsor Motor Love. I went through the motor back in 2006 and freshened up the bearings. Everything else was good. This is a 2001 Grand Am Cup specification motor build.

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eskyseal281

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I was moving some photos from an old machine to a new machine and ran across some old photos of the Zippo #47. This car is chassis #69 of the 250 built. When I purchased it the car had 32,xxx miles. Keep in mind, this car and another R (destroyed in a race) were picked up directly from MascoTech, the final assembly point for the 95 Cobra Rs. It was driven directly to Bradford, PA and completely disassembled and acid dipped and then built into a race car. From that point on it lived on a race track running everything from short sprint races to 24 hour endurance races and hours of testing and practice. It has 4 Professional Victories and many other podium finishes. It has a stronger pedigree than any other Cobra R. It was retired at the end of 2001 since the cars were only eligible to race for 7 years. I bought it in 2002. It was always raced in the purple/white livery from 1997 on under the numbers of 47, 17 and 74.

Photos from 1995.

View attachment 1596159 View attachment 1596160

1996 Livery

View attachment 1596161 View attachment 1596162
View attachment 1596163
View attachment 1596168

1997-2001View attachment 1596164 View attachment 1596165 View attachment 1596166 View attachment 1596167

One of the coolest things is being at an event and someone walks up to me and proceeds to tell me a story of a race they attended and they watched my car run. The car raced all over the US, from North to South and East Coast to West Coast including some street venues. It also competed in Canada. It has had a wonderful life and I am doing my best to keep adding to it!

Tom
I can’t express how happy I feel to have found this thread. When I was a kid my parents would take me to Sears Point (Sonoma Raceway) or Laguna Seca for my birthday. I grew up with a strong love for Ford, especially the Mustangs. Either 96-98 summer I remember one of the Cobra Rs was my absolute favorite. That 47 was “my “ car I wanted to win. Unfortunately one race I attended I’m pretty sure it was the 47 car (pretty darn sure it was a black 95 R ) ran out of gas on the last stretch on last lap. My walls were decorated with SN95 pictures and posters. Anytime a 95 R was in a magazine I cut it out and put on my wall lol. I just wanted to say how special seeing “that 47” car again in pictures means to me. I used to hang on the fence to get as close as I could to the Cobras. Years and years later I still have some of those pictures and magazines. I will never ever forget that car. I was on eBay last week and actually found the 1996 Zippo 47 Cobra R lighter! I bought it and it proudly sits on my desk. I would love to see that car in person again! After owning a handed down Mercury Sable during high school I finally got a Mustang! It was a black 96 GT that brought all those memories back. At one time I owned a black 97 Cobra coupe but sold it along with my 96 GT. Again I can’t express how happy I am to come across your post! My biggest dream (currently 37 years old) is owning my first home which should be finished in end of may or beginning of June. The next biggest dream is to own a 95 R! I have been extremely lucky to have the privilege to see those cars race and even sit in a few. Once many years after those cars raced I got to meet the owner of a often tracked 95 R at the Fabulous Fords Forever show. He showed me all the photos he had of the car and even let me sit in it. I still remember the tears of joy. Someday i hope to own one. Please please please keep these cars going! Thanks again and sorry for how long this reply is.
 

tomshep

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I can’t express how happy I feel to have found this thread. When I was a kid my parents would take me to Sears Point (Sonoma Raceway) or Laguna Seca for my birthday. I grew up with a strong love for Ford, especially the Mustangs. Either 96-98 summer I remember one of the Cobra Rs was my absolute favorite. That 47 was “my “ car I wanted to win. Unfortunately one race I attended I’m pretty sure it was the 47 car (pretty darn sure it was a black 95 R ) ran out of gas on the last stretch on last lap. My walls were decorated with SN95 pictures and posters. Anytime a 95 R was in a magazine I cut it out and put on my wall lol. I just wanted to say how special seeing “that 47” car again in pictures means to me. I used to hang on the fence to get as close as I could to the Cobras. Years and years later I still have some of those pictures and magazines. I will never ever forget that car. I was on eBay last week and actually found the 1996 Zippo 47 Cobra R lighter! I bought it and it proudly sits on my desk. I would love to see that car in person again! After owning a handed down Mercury Sable during high school I finally got a Mustang! It was a black 96 GT that brought all those memories back. At one time I owned a black 97 Cobra coupe but sold it along with my 96 GT. Again I can’t express how happy I am to come across your post! My biggest dream (currently 37 years old) is owning my first home which should be finished in end of may or beginning of June. The next biggest dream is to own a 95 R! I have been extremely lucky to have the privilege to see those cars race and even sit in a few. Once many years after those cars raced I got to meet the owner of a often tracked 95 R at the Fabulous Fords Forever show. He showed me all the photos he had of the car and even let me sit in it. I still remember the tears of joy. Someday i hope to own one. Please please please keep these cars going! Thanks again and sorry for how long this reply is.

WOW! And thank you for this post. It is encouraging to hear how others feel about Zippo and the other Rs of this era. To me, they are extra special since this whole production run of 250 cars actually fulfilled their intention of being successful race cars. Whether raced professionally, amateur, enthusiast or even collectors they share the same pedigree. Good luck on getting your R one day and keep pursuing the dream!

Tom
 

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