(Photos by Charles Wickam) – Here’s our final installment of Keels and Wheels 2016 coverage and we saved the best for last. This gallery has the coolest boats and the coolest cars, including the legendary Costilow and Larson drag racing Shelby Cobra that is widely recognized as the most decorated of the drag racing cobras. While not officially a Dragon Snake because it was not built specifically for drag racing to start with, Larson converted the car for owner Jim Costilow and did so by building the snot out of the 289ci small block, adding the big slicks, steep rear gears, beefing the half shafts, moving the battery to the back, and bolting on the sweet side exit headers that are still on the car. Larson restored the car in the 1990s and it has sold at auction a few times, peaking at a 1.4 million a few years ago.
Wickam was treating the car with the reverence it deserved when he saw it at the show and that’s cool. It really is an awesome piece of drag racing history and it was the car that truly launched the career of a funny car icon that would eventually become an NHRA champion when he topped them all in funny car during the 1989 NHRA Winston Drag Racing Season.
Along with the awesome Cobra there are boats galore in this gallery and these boats are true waterborne hot rods. Dual quad equipped hemi engines and horsepower galore are the name of the game here. We think you’ll love this final look at the Keels and Wheels 2016 show from Seabrook, Texas. Stay tuned as we plan on being back next year to bring you more ace coverage from this awesome gathering of beauty and horsepower.
If he’s lucky we won’t scoop Charles out of his own story!
Click on the images below and then scroll through to see them all –
That awesome Cobra could easily be copied using a high-quality replica. But it goes without saying that under no circumstances would a Chevy motor be seen under the hood…