Shamrock may be a new name to US & Euro Cobra-philes, but the fact of the matter is, versions of this car have been in continuous production for more than 20 years—in South Africa. In fact, over that period of time, several companies have tried to establish the marque in the USA, but without much luck for a variety of reasons. We still haven’t figured out why South Africa is such a hotbed of car-building activity, but we sure welcome the products. Like the other snake replicas coming from that continent—Backdraft, Superformance, Venom and the soon-to-arrive Shelby CSX4000—the Shamrock’s show up here in containers as turnkey-minus cars, completely finished and lacking only an engine, transmission and driveshaft to be roadworthy.

Actually, we do know a little bit about why so many cars are coming from South Africa these days. The government there has some very favorable incentive programs in the form of grants and subsidies for companies employing people and engaging in the export of certain commodities. That, combined with their low labor rates, allows for some very attractively priced cars as well.

The US Shamrock distributorship was set up in Chattanooga, Tennessee by the brothers Crawford—John and Randy. It’s a familiar story too—car nuts wanting to be in the automotive business in some way, decided Cobra replicas might be the way to go. Instead of jumping into it blindly, however, the boys headed for South Africa to see what was going on and to buy a couple of used Shamrock replicas to determine how they have held up over time, and to really take a close look at the way the cars were built. They were obviously impressed enough to invest heavily in inventory and get the business going.

We recently had the opportunity to pay the Crawford’s a visit and were impressed not only with their friendliness but also their first-class facility that includes a tidy showroom, offices and a spotless shop.

The car you see here is the fourth iteration—Mark IV—in that it has gone through considerable development since its introduction back in 1984. The snakes are built on TIG-welded ladder-style frames made of 2”x4” tubular steel with typical outriggers reinforced with plate steel for added rigidity. Shamrock additionally uses rubber composite pucks throughout the chassis to eliminate vibrations. The frames are completely powdercoated and the company tells us that they have been engineered and tested to accommodate 700 horsepower.

For suspension, Shamrock treads familiar ground by utilizing completely remanufactured Jaguar components. In the rear, a Jag center section accepts the power and distributes it to the hubs through modified halfshafts and lower control arms. Shamrock must have some sort of volume discount with its plating company as it cadmium plates practically all the under-car components—brake parts, control arms, etc. The rear brakes are of the inboard mounted variety and four adjustable coil over shocks provide the damping and rebound.

Up front the suspension components are also of the Jaguar variety with upper and lower control arms and adjustable coil-over shocks. The spindles are also Jag as are the solid brake rotors and 4-piston calipers. Shamrock uses an Alfa steering rack and rubber bump stops on all the suspension components. The company offers sway bars as optional gear.

The Shamrock cockpit is rather atypical for a snake replica in that it has a leather-upholstered dash with a console that extends down to the transmission tunnel. The dash additionally has a padded and upholstered glove box. Authentic Smiths gauges, including a reverse-reading speedo, are arranged in the center of the dash and an ergonomic, leather-wrapped steering wheel is a welcome departure from the more traditional wood-rimmed wheel. The Cortina steering column is also fitted with modern stalk switches for turn signals and windshield wiper operation. We particularly liked the novel, big street rod-style, polished-stainless steel gearshift knob and the hefty e-brake lever. The leather-upholstered seats are a little different configuration as well and are very comfortable with ample thigh support. Even the seat belts are a departure from snake tradition; they are retractable three-pointers instead of a racing-style harness. All of the cockpit upholstery is butter-soft leather and the driver’s seat is adjustable. A convertible soft top with side curtains is standard on the Shamrock as are tinted sun visors, polycarbonate wind wings, polished-stainless roll bar and cockpit-mounted hood release.

Hand-laid fiberglass is employed to create the Shamrock body structure with plenty of Coremat used for lightweight reinforcement throughout. The cars arrive completely painted and striped in virtually any color a customer may want. The Shamrock replica has lots of little details that set it apart, but we were intrigued by the use of polished stainless heat shielding on the footboxes and through most of the transmission tunnel. The metal shielding is additionally backed by ceramic fiber underlay material to keep heat out of the cockpit. The company also uniquely mounts the front and rear bumper overriders or quick jacks in rubber isolated, telescoping shock mounts.

The Shamrock snakes are set up to accept Ford or Chevy small-block and big-block engines. Our test mule was powered by a built Ford 351 Windsor engine sporting iron Rousch heads, a bigger than stock cam, Edelbrock intake manifold and a 670cfm Holley carb. The Crawfords tell us the roller-rocker engine develops over 400 horsepower and is very streetable and reliable. Keeping the mill cool is a four-core heavy-duty radiator complete with a stainless steel expansion tank. Mounted just under the tank is the car’s battery.

As we mentioned earlier, some of these South African companies take advantage of government help and low labor rates to offer attractively priced products. Shamrock’s U.S. distributor sells this car for $26,900, less engine, transmission and driveshaft. This snake replica could be conservatively powered by a Ford Racing 351 crate engine ($2,895), backed by a Ford T-5 Super-Duty 5-speed ($1,395), plus some miscellaneous goodies for perhaps not much more than $6,000. For an all-up finished cost of about $33,000, that puts the Shamrock at the low end of the mid-priced Cobra replica market. That’s a tough neighborhood in which to do business, but we think the Shamrock should fare well given the novel, non-traditional touches—particularly for those buyers looking for the performance image of the Cobra replica but without the hard-edge, spartan nature of a competition machine—and the overall nice build level of the car.

Shamrock Autocraft USA, Inc.

Dept. KCB

6242 Perimeter Dr.

Chattanooga, TN 37421

423/593-8900

423/316-2294

www.shamrockautocraft.com

Words and photos by Jim Youngs