Ken Miles and CSX3002 427 Competition Cobra at Lakeside 1965

[Steve Holmes]

An interesting piece from a forum discussion on Miles running CSX3002 at Lakeside. Wonder what this computer was all about, would they have had simplistic engine, shocker or suspension data recorders in 65?? How on earth they might have sent data back to the US in those days is intriguing, fax/phone link!?! pigeon maybe! Has anyone else heard of this "computer" run by Shelby American and know of what data it recorded or how it even worked.

He was there that day as a guest from a relevant sports car club and insists Ken Miles took him for a lap of Lakeside. It was an experience that frightened him and he maintains that car was by far the fastest thing he'd ever sat his bum in. One point he made was that this car has some sort of computer hooked up to it and they could actually deliver info to the US and wait for suggestions on what to "tweak" from either Shelby or Ford to make it a better thing to drive. There were other details also, but I can't recall them with enough accuracy.He did insist that Ken was an absolute gentleman and one hell of a driver

I know drivers and mechanics back then were renowned for playing practical jokes, especially on the media, it seems likely Miles was probably doing this. Consider how limited computers were back then compared with today. Mark Donohue relates in one of his books about how they took their '68 Penske Camaro to General Motors proving grounds so GM could gather info about it to pass on to privateer Camaro race teams in the Trans-Am.

The car had cables and wiring running all over the place, and there were a couple of guys sat nearby in a van full of computers that were gathering data about the car as it drove around. All pretty clumsy stuff, and certainly took a team of computer technicians to run it. And this was General-Motors, in 1968, so you know this would have been cutting edge stuff at the time.

[mid-year]

I was at Lakeside that weekend and can still recall the absolute thunder from the side exhauste as Miles out accelerated eveything down the straight. I believe it was a bit of a bonus for the QMSC to have the car there as it was also to run at Macqau and I think it was considered a bit of a holiday for the attending mechanic Ron Butler who was a New-Zealander. The Cobra was air-freighted out in a 707 and picked up at the Brisbane airport by one of the QMSC members with his Zephyr ute and rickety flat bed trailer!
l

[pallmall]

I was at Lakeside that weekend and can still recall the absolute thunder from the side exhauste as Miles out accelerated eveything down the straight. I believe it was a bit of a bonus for the QMSC to have the car there as it was also to run at Macqau and I think it was considered a bit of a holiday for the attending mechanic Ron Butler who was a New-Zealander. The Cobra was air-freighted out in a 707 and picked up at the Brisbane airport by one of the QMSC members with his Zephyr ute and rickety flat bed trailer!
l

Ken Miles went on to Macau to race a locally owned Cobra, the car he raced at Lakeside went back to the USA.
There seems to be some long running confusion about this, maybe because Ken was off to Macau straight after Lakeside and it was assumed that car and driver were going. It was also probably incorrectly reported in the Aussie press at the time.

[nick_tassie]

What is the story with the extra pair of goggles Miles has around his neck? Am I right in thinking they would be used if the other pair got dirty! Can't imagine how difficult it would of been to swap them over mid race, or was it done during pit stops??

[Steve Holmes]

What is the story with the extra pair of goggles Miles has around his neck? Am I right in thinking they would be used if the other pair got dirty! Can't imagine how difficult it would of been to swap them over mid race, or was it done during pit stops??

I think that was fairly normal practice at the time for open race cars. Wal would be able to give a more precise answer. I would say either if they got dirty or the lense got cracked.

[nick_tassie]

Ah yes, I didn't think about flying bits and pieces cracking the lenses.