Daphne, Alabama was definitely the place to be for a great combination of toe-tapping good bluegrass music and tricked-out autos on Sunday, October 21, 2007.
The bluegrass festival and 11th annual Cruisin’ The Coast show was held at the Civic Complex Plaza, and from what I hear it was a blow-out success with 3,800 cars registered and thousands of spectators on hand.
Bands like The Wayfarers, Delta Reign and The Dog River Boys filled the air with the sounds of bluegrass music as the crowds checked out the cool vehicles on display, ranging from classic pick-up trucks and vintage Mustangs to some of the best-looking kit cars around.
While a restored 1958 Chevy Impala won the “Best of Show” award, much of the attention was focused on a candy-apple red Cobra kit car being shown by owner Gary Peterson.
Like most of us, Gary said he fell in love with the look and power of the Cobra years ago. He went on to explain, “In 1966, I rode in a brand new Shelby Cobra and have wanted one ever since. I figured the only way I would get it is if I built it myself.”
Peterson’s Cobra replica is a Factory Five MK3 Roadster. He used a 1991 Mustang GT as his donor car for the drive train and suspension. Peterson told the crowd of admirers around his hot little MK3 that probably the biggest hurdle he had to overcome was the more modern ’91 Mustang’s wiring system compared to the much more simplified Cobra’s. Said Peterson, “There’s a lot on the harness that you don’t use on something like this,” referring to his Cobra replica.
Taking about a year and a half to get his MK3 into cherry condition, this was the debut appearance for Peterson’s car.
From the enthusiastic response he got, I’m predicting that it won’t be his last turn in the Cruisin’ The Coast spotlight.
For information on Cruisin’ The Coast show in 2008, visit http://www.cruisinthecoast.com/.
