Colin Ellison was inspired by a 70s film to create his dream car
Colin Ellison was inspired by a 70s film to create his dream carTell us about yourself. I’m a 52-year-old cabinetmaker and kitchen fitter living in Blackpool.
What’s your passion? I’ve always been into cars, and I have had my fair share of Capris over the years, the last one a Mk 3 Capri 3.0 Ghia I owned for 14 years. But an AC Cobra was the dream car for me after I saw a film in the 70s called Gumball Rally. The shape, the performance and the noise just did it for me. A picture of a Cobra given to me 25 years ago by my sister decorated my wall for ages.
How driven are you? I’ve always preferred older cars and wanted a car purely for fun. I thought about a kit car, I had the time and the space, and then I saw a programme on the TV called A Car Is Born. It was about building a Cobra Replica. It had everything I was looking for in a car. The series finished by saying ‘stop dreaming about it, go and build one!’ That was all the encouragement I needed!
What’s in the log book? Though it looks like a 1966 AC Cobra 427 sc, It was registered in 2006 as an AK Cobra 427, the body and chassis were from AK Sportcars, the engine is a V8 Chevy 383 (6.3), main donor parts are from a 1980 Jaguar XJS and a Jaguar 5-speed manual box, hence the 1980 registration plates.
How long did it take? Over two years. I did most of the refurbishing of the axles, and made a lot of the small parts for it. The car was then subject to a rigorous DVLA test. I had very little mechanical knowledge to start with, but I soon learned.
Is it a head turner? Most definitely. I’m used to the car now, but it still amazes me how much people enjoy seeing it, and it always pulls in the crowds at shows. Whenever I leave it outside a shop, there are always people gathered round it, but the sound of the engine is what most people notice first!
Trips out. Mainly classic, sports, and American car shows, race meetings, cruise meets, kit car shows and even the occasional track day. I plan to go to Silverstone Classic again this year for the 50th anniversary of the Cobra, and possibly a trip over the channel for the Le-mans Classic. Bring on the summer!
Do you have a rare or unusual car you would like to be featured in Driving Passions? Drop a line to the editor at roger.borrell@lancashirelife.co.uk
The print version of this article appeared in the February 2012 issue of Lancashire Life
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