Dick & jo's most excellent cobra adventure

[lamaluv]

19 days and counting till the trip starts. We put both of the cars in the new trailer yesterday to be sure that they would fit.


They both did but it is tight. It would be nice if the trailer was a little longer but a 40' Motorhome & 20' stacker adds up to 65' going down the road.

Dick

[dcdoug]

Originally Posted by lamaluv

We put both of the cars in the new trailer yesterday to be sure that they would fit.

They both did but it is tight. It would be nice if the trailer was a little longer but a 40' Motorhome & 20' stacker adds up to 65' going down the road.

It's not easy to make sacrifices.

[lamaluv]

So true Doug. We'll honk when we drive through DC on I-495 on the 5th of November.

Dick

[James Stern]

Doug, I-81 is a lttle out of my range but I think a wise choice for you. If you hook up withI-95 in the DC area use a by-pass as the Washington ring road SUCKS in a major way. Whatever your schedule do not hit the DC area on Friday afternoon. That is an experience that you want to avoid. Safe journey.

Jim Stern

[dave from mesa]

Dick
Don't you tow your Vue 4 down? If so you are at/over 65'. The biggest diff I found was how they turn. Our Honda follows inside the turning radius while the trailer will cut turns short.
We just got back from a 2 month trip and towed the Cobra in a Serpent Express trailer.
Had a great time but not sure we sill do it again.
Biggest problem for us was finding 60' pull thru's + room to park the cobra. Had to move sites at a few parks cuz they don't know what a 60+ site looks like. That was a PITA.
Good luck in your trip.

[lamaluv]

Our plan is to by-pass DC on I-495 and we should be doing that in mid-morning then we will stop for the weekend in Petersburg, VA. Last year we were in DC on the by-pass over Memorial day weekend and got caught in motor cycle traffic for "The Ride to the Wall". Slow moving, but well worth the wait watching all the bikers with their flags.

Dick

[lamaluv]

Dave get yourself a copy of "Big Rigs Best Bets Campground Directory". They only show sites that can accommodate long rigs. They have visited every site they list and even have the lengths on sites by number as well as discriptions of road widths and turning ability. We're spending next winter in Tucson so we'll probably so you then.

Dick

[lamaluv]

Well the trip has begun. We loaded everything on Saturday and left Nampa early Sunday morning.
[
Into Utah and then Wyoming spending the night in a WalMart parking lot in Evanston.

Monday on the road to Cheyenne where we spent the night at the Terry Bison Ranch RV Park.

On Tuesday we left for Lincoln, NE were we will stay a couple of days to rest before departing on Friday for Altoona, IA were we will meet Gail Rhoten who was the fourth owner of ERA EXP002.

The weather has been less than desirable while we have been on the road. Snowed on us in Laramie rain in Cheyenne and forcast of rain in Altoona over this weekend. Sure hope this isn't going to be how this trip goes

[CobraDan]

You are traveling a little late in the season to be any ware north, you should have headed south into Florida as October is one of our nicest months. The weather has dropped in temperature as has the humidity; we have not had rain in 3 weeks. The snowbirds have arrived, 2 weeks ago we gathered 30-40 car enthusiasts and last Friday we had 60-70 at the weekly meeting of the Hot Chili Rods car club in Cape Coral.

[lamaluv]

Sounds like we are about 3 weeks late for a lot fun Cobra event in Florida. I'm thinking that your coldest winter day will still be a little better than the warmest winter day in Idaho

Dick

[CobraDan]

We have just ended our summer with 90-70 degree temperatures and rain, now it is 80-70. We did have one of our coldest winters last year in the 15 years I have lived in Florida and living south of Tampa it is usually 10-15 degrees warmer than north of Tampa. All of the snowbirds seem to bring a car with them and many a time it is something different than last years ride.

[lamaluv]

Well we have finally got to what this trip was all about. We pulled into Altoona, IA at 2:30 pm Friday. It was forcast to rain on Saturday so I called Gail Rhoten and asked if we could come by Friday.


We pulled into Gail's farm and met in his shop to look over the hundreds of pictures he had of the Cobra and swap stories about the car. He also had some pretty nice Ford muscle cars.









This is a picture of the car just after Gail bought it from David Page in 1991 before the meatballs and race stripe.



This is a younger Gail and Carrol Shelby at a SAAC convention and Carrol signed the air cleaner on ERA EXP002. Gail tells me that Carrol had not started charging for his signature at that time. We also met a friend of Gail's, Doug Dire who is building a Shelby 4000 series car that he is just about finished with. He said that seeing my car made him want to get his car finished right now. It was really great meeting Gail and talking about the car. Gail doesn't have any children and he considers his cars to be "his kids". He told me it was great to have one of his kids come home for a visit.

[d_ford]

Wow! I am so excited at the prospect of seeing my old car again. Dick and his wife are supposed to be here wed. I hope the weather holds out so I can get a ride in ol' number 002 again. Dick, if you're reading this, I have something to show you when you get here that I think you'll find very interesting.

[DougD]

It was great meeting you and Jo, Dick. The car's a time capsule. I can't believe it hasn't been repainted in all these years. It still looks great!

I hope the rest of your pilgrimage goes well. You have some new friends in central Iowa. Don't be afraid to call if you're through this part of the country again.

Did you try the Porterhouse at the Big Steer?

DougD

[lamaluv]

Doug it was great meeting you and maybe the next time we are though your area we take a run with your Cobra and ours to the Big Steer. The Porterhouse was too big so I settled for the Top Serloin.

Dick

[lamaluv]

We spent a beautiful day with Doug Ford (owner number 5) and his wife talking about ERA EXP002 and going for a ride. The surprise he talked about was seeing the Dove aluminum block 427 engine that Gail had put in the car. It was in a stunning 68 Mustang that Doug owns. Pictures and more info to follow tomorrow when we get settled in PA.

Dick

[lamaluv]

We unloaded the car from our "home" in Buck Eye Lake and headed for Doug Ford's house. Doug had lots of pictures as well as stories about the car. He blew up the Dove 427 at the drag strip and replaced it with the 67 428 Police Intercepter engine that is still in the car today. He kept and rebuilt the Dove block and it now resides in his fabulous 68 Mustang he spent 6 years building.

He went for a ride with me and told me that he is still in love with 002 and would sure like to have her back. He understands why my wife refers to the car as my "red headed mistress".

We are now in East Lyme, CT and will visit Bruce Bissonnette owner # 1 of ERA EXP 002 on Saturday and will visit Justin O' Rourke and David Page Numbers 2 & 3 on Sunday. On Monday it's off to New Britain to see the gang at ERA.

[lamaluv]

On Saturday the 30th we left our base in East Lyme for Manchester, CT to visit Bruce Bissonnette who was the first owner of ERA EXP002. Bruce had the car from it's completion in 1980 till November 1984 when he wrecked it.
He told me the story of his wreck and stay in the hospital to heal but that will have to wait untill we get to Florida and I'll do a recap and update on the saga of ERA EXP002. He has some very nice cars and has owned over 70 classic cars over the years. It was a pleasure to hear the cars early history and Bruce related that Justin O'Rourke had ridden in the car and wanted to buy it. After Bruce's wreck Justin visited him in the hospital and did buy the car, though at a substantial discount.

[lamaluv]

On Sunday we went to West Warwick, RI to visit Justin O'Rourke owner #2 and David Page owner #3. Justin rebodied the car after Bruce's wreck and sold it to David in 1986. David and Justin had not seen each other for over 20 years so it was great talking about the car. David traded the car to Gail Rhoten in 1991.

The adventure will continue Monday when we go to New Britain for our visit to ERA. The weather has been OK, no rain, but it has been cold. The high Monday is going to be 50. The Cobra at 65mph and 50 degrees makes for a very "Cool" ride.




Justin O'Rourke owner number 2 and I discuss the car.



David Page owner number 3 Dick and Justin look at old pictures of the car.







Pictures of the car when David owned her.





David's present Mustang and his old green one.

[lamaluv]

We started our trip to New Britain at 930am and it was still pretty cold. My wife has put up with me and my "Red Headed Mistress" and has always been a good sport. I think that maybe I was pushing my luck this morning. We pulled into the shop yard and noticed a marked absence of any ERA sign. Peter tells me that they are still saving to buy just the right one.







Peter was in the office and on the phone but made time to show us around and look up the old records on our car. Jo fell in love with a Wine with ghost stripe 427 car that was bound for France. There were several very nice cars in various stages of build. Jo found the cut away car very interesting and got some good pictures.









Peter had us bring the car in and Doug put it up on the lift and went over the car for a quick safety check. Everyone was impressed with how well the old girl has held up after 30 years. Bob came by and commented on how good the welding job was. Peter explained to us that Bob had done the welding on the first 4 or 5 cars.









Peter took us to lunch and Doug put a set of new door latches on the car. We then let the ERA crew go back to work and headed back to East Lyme. We got back and loaded the car in the trailer and tucked everything away for the night. This was the last stop on our Cobra pilgrimage and tomorrow we will start our trip south.