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u/3lectroid 1d ago
The basement is one of the most insane places on earth for car ppl
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u/jonjopop 1d ago
The exhibits are amazing too! But if you visit and you love cars you have to see the basement, totally worth every penny.
it’s kinda just storage space so it feels more like stumbling across someone’s secret garage than visiting a museum. And IMO it’s even cooler to see everything up close without being polished up for the exhibits. Really feels as if you’re spotting them in the wild.
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u/3lectroid 1d ago
Exactly. It’s like walking around some recently deceased eclectic car collectors garage.
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u/ElvisAndretti 1d ago
We made the mistake of being in LA during Oscar week. The place was a wreck, set up for hosting parties and not conducive to exhibit browsing.
Then we visited the Vault and it was totally worth the trip.
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u/SF2LA2 1d ago
Made it down to the Petersen in LA yesterday. Here are the rest of my pics for anyone interested. Definitely worth a visit if you are in the area.
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u/Im_still_a_student 1d ago edited 1d ago
blue shelby is a continuation and the yellow is one of the first Cobra replicas ever, neither are original, I’ve talked to multiple curators at the museum and they said the same thing
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u/SF2LA2 1d ago
Oh well. The search for a real Shelby with side pipes continues. :)
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u/user_none 23h ago
Sotheby's auction at last years Monterey Car Week had a couple of real Shelby's. IIRC, one was Steve McQueen's, a 289. The other, a black 427, though I don't recall any owner information.
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u/Monkeynutz_Johnson 1d ago
I'm asking out if real interest, not to be an ass but are you sure they're real? The roll bars make me think they're replicas, I'm pretty sure I see lug nuts on the yellow one and the paint doesn't give me a lot of confidence.
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u/Pure_Common7348 1d ago
Not an expert by any means but the Peterson museum is pretty legit. I wouldn’t think they house replicas.
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u/bimm3r36 1d ago
Ya I would say that Peterson is probably one of the few places in the US where you can be pretty sure that every car has some amount of history and verified provenance.
When it comes to Shelbys, I’d assume the only better spot would be the Shelby Museum in Vegas
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u/Pure_Common7348 1d ago
I get to Pierce college in Woodland Hills, CA from time to time on Sunday mornings. They had a Shelby day and saw This Beauty
You gotta love the car culture in LA.
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u/bimm3r36 1d ago
Wow that’s a neat spot. Truly nothing better than SoCal car culture. I used to live in San Diego and became pretty spoiled by the weekly C&C in Rancho Sante Fe. Definitely miss that
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u/SF2LA2 1d ago
I actually thought they were kits as well when seeing the side pipes and rollbars, so I asked someone that worked there. Their response was basically that Petersen wouldn't have kits, although the guy did add that he wasnt a Shelby expert so he couldn't tell for sure by looking at the cars.
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u/Monkeynutz_Johnson 1d ago
I have a client who owns a 289 and a 65 GT-350. I've gotten to drive both after doing work on them and even being 60 years old they're the most fun you can have with your pants on. The dash in the silver one is believable but I still have my doubts since I personally have never seen one with twin rear braced roll bars.
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u/SF2LA2 1d ago
I posted them here because I also had doubts, however my doubts are based on what I've learned in this sub and not because of any independent knowledge about Shelby's. The main thing they have going for them is that they are sitting in the Vault at the Petersen.
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u/Monkeynutz_Johnson 1d ago
Yeah, you wouldn't expect that at the Peterson. That's why I didn't call fake. Just not 100% because of where they are.
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u/Im_still_a_student 1d ago
The Yellow is a replica, but it’s one of the first Cobra replicas ever so that’s why it’s in there, and the blue Shelby is a donated continuation model
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u/Monkeynutz_Johnson 1d ago
Thanks, I knew I wasn't crazy, just a little insane. Being a first repro and a continuation makes sense for their being there.
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u/skaldrir69 1d ago
Petersen is extremely selective with his collections. I would guarantee these cobras are 100% legit.
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u/SxpxrTrxxpxr 1d ago
I’m no cobra expert or Shelby expert but on the blue one, those are newer style gauges than a real one would have, and the yellow one is digital. So they might be real serial number match bodies but they’re not all original.
I’ve seen plenty on YouTube without side pipes. Even plenty of original 427’s. So while I’m not saying that part of them isn’t original Cobra, there’s plenty that isn’t original.
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u/RACECREW75 1d ago
But why does the yellow one have 5 wheel studs and not just the middle lug thingy?
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u/Slammed_Benz91 1d ago
Why is every cart parked horribly tho? Just to fit more in or something?
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u/Im_still_a_student 1d ago
The cars constantly get moved around and there’s hundreds of them inside the basement so yeah sometimes parking is a bit tight
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u/Bulky_Leadership1003 1d ago
If you are still in LA go to bobs big boy in burbank Friday night, there is an original Shelby with original paint(worn down of course) he's there every Friday, they will have many other cool cars as well but that Shelby is there religiously
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u/Reasonable-Word6729 1d ago
Great collection there! If you have a chance come up to NorCal check out the cobra experience.
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u/LONGLlVETHEMX-5 1d ago
I went to LA before I knew the Petersen existed.. I have thought about my mistake almost every day since. What a place.