I did it!

[xrayvsn]

Hey everyone,

I have been lurking here and at other websites for months now and figured it was past time to introduce myself.

After many hours of reading and gathering info, I put my deposit down on an ERA 427 last week. Peter P. says he has already spent the check.

I had my heart set on building the car from the chassis up, but after attending some car shows, seeing how other cars had turned out and being honest with myself...I ordered a painted roller. Now the waiting begins, I am already getting excited.

Plus I somehow talked my wife into letting me keep the car from the darkside! Is it poor form to post picts of a Chebby (on my first post, to boot) on this forum?

Steve

[ZOERA-SC7XX]

No problem. You're a Cobra owner and that's just your 'other' car. Good luck with your ERA. Give us some build details.

[rustyBob]

My eyes, my eyes, i'm blind aauugg.....all kidding aside....WELCOME.....
after getting your ERA there will be no use for the Chubby....it will become
yard art......unless you will it to me...it would make a real good gasser.....

enjoy your ERA....will it be powered by a FE ?????

[gsharapa]

So what is the time table for getting a completed painted roller these days?

[Got the Bug]

Welcome and congrats on ordering your ERA. The Chebby is still cool for cruising.

[xrayvsn]

Ha! The '57 is all original and came out of The Horsepower Hall of Fame when I got it. Jack "Doc" Watson owned it before me. He designed the original Hurst shifter and worked on the Hurst Olds, so no gasser mods for this one.

The build plan for the ERA is the ERA rear, 6 pin knock offs, TKO600, and a 428 with 2 x 4 carb set up.

Other options are: antisway bars, big brakes, powder coated chassis, Smith's gauges, oil cooler, glove box, tripode headlights, pusher fans, Girling brake reservoirs....

The current lead time quote is this fall...we'll see.

Steve

[sllib]

Steve;
Welcome to our world. I had a "dark-side" car just like yours when I was a kid. Except it had four doors, a top, very little chrome, very few working electrics, four different sized tires, six cylinders, self changing oil, etc. but ,other than that,it was just like yours. Oh, yeah, it had a Hurst 3 speed shifter so it was a race car!
Bill Stradtner.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by xrayvsn

The build plan for the ERA is the ERA rear, 6 pin knock offs, TKO600, and a 428 with 2 x 4 carb set up.

Other options are: antisway bars, big brakes, powder coated chassis, Smith's gauges, oil cooler, glove box, tripode headlights, pusher fans, Girling brake reservoirs....

The current lead time quote is this fall...we'll see.

That sounds pretty good, Steve. With a little luck, you just might get some driving time in before the cold weather.

[rustyBob]

WOW...sounds like a nice ride Steve......dont forget to post lots of pics. when it comes home.

[Seagull81]

Welcome to the Cobra Madness! AND sweet '57!

[Bobcat]

Steve .... congratulations !! You`ll have a ball . One suggestion since you live where you do . Get the heat shields for the primaries .... your feet will appreciate it . Also , if you get the oil cooler , have them put a Canton oil thermostat/regulator on it or you`ll never get your oil up to proper temps . There was a major thread on that a while back . I`m in SC and my ambients are in the mid 90`s to low 100`s recently . Last summer , I barely got my oil to 160 degrees ... now 180 to 200 depending on how hard I run it .
BTW , a friend I grew up with used to have a black `57 Fuelie . Then he got his clock cleaned by a three deuce , Dontov camed , solid lifter Belaire , so off came the fuel injection and on went the three dueces , Dontov cam and solids . I got to drive that car everytime he lost his license ... which was on a regular basis . He still has that car , but it`s a Fuelie again .

Bob

[Quik289]

Congratulations Steve! Peter will be shipping my 289FIA painted roller in a couple of weeks. I ordered it around the first of October and am trying not to get too excited until I can touch it. I have one of those 57 Chevy convertibles doing garage art duty - have had it over 25 years. It has the factory 2 four barrels on the original 283. Ran fine when parked but haven't started it in 4 years. Don't forget you can store lots of parts in the trunk!

Greg

[RAO-3]

Congratulations on taking the first big step and welcome to the Club. Look forward to hearing more about your build as it progresses.

-Ray

[xrayvsn]

Originally Posted by patrickt

That sounds pretty good, Steve. With a little luck, you just might get some driving time in before the cold weather.

Patrick,

I hope so. At least it doesn't get too cold down here, even in winter. 40's and 50's are typical.

Another issue is me getting my butt in gear and finishing the thing when it arrives. I'm looking forward to it though.

Steve

[xrayvsn]

Originally Posted by Bobcat

Steve .... congratulations !! You`ll have a ball . One suggestion since you live where you do . Get the heat shields for the primaries .... your feet will appreciate it . Also , if you get the oil cooler , have them put a Canton oil thermostat/regulator on it or you`ll never get your oil up to proper temps . There was a major thread on that a while back . I`m in SC and my ambients are in the mid 90`s to low 100`s recently . Last summer , I barely got my oil to 160 degrees ... now 180 to 200 depending on how hard I run it .
BTW , a friend I grew up with used to have a black `57 Fuelie . Then he got his clock cleaned by a three deuce , Dontov camed , solid lifter Belaire , so off came the fuel injection and on went the three dueces , Dontov cam and solids . I got to drive that car everytime he lost his license ... which was on a regular basis . He still has that car , but it`s a Fuelie again .

Bob

Great suggestions Bob, thank you. The heat shields are already ordered.
I saw the thread about the oil cooler/temps. I will get the guys to add the oil thermostat.

That's really cool that your bud still owns the '57. I've only had mine for four years, but I do enjoy it. The Fuelie option his has makes it pretty special. Even though it's slower without the mods it was probably a wise move to revert back to original in the long run, if he ever decides to sell.

Steve

[xrayvsn]

Originally Posted by Quik289

Congratulations Steve! Peter will be shipping my 289FIA painted roller in a couple of weeks. I ordered it around the first of October and am trying not to get too excited until I can touch it. I have one of those 57 Chevy convertibles doing garage art duty - have had it over 25 years. It has the factory 2 four barrels on the original 283. Ran fine when parked but haven't started it in 4 years. Don't forget you can store lots of parts in the trunk!

Greg

Greg,

I bet the anticipation is growing exponentially at this point! So it took about ten months to get your car? I think a fall time frame for mine is being optimistic, we'll see.

I've got a feeling that when I get the ERA my '57 will being be on art duty also.

Steve

[Kramer]

Have fun with the new ERA. I love mine. I know you probably know this but the more you purchase from ERA, they will install for you as well. I would highly recommend you let them do the wiring part. Any questions let us know...being a relatively new ERA owner, feel free to PM me with any questions.

Kramer

[xrayvsn]

Thanks Kramer, I appreciate the offer. You may get more pm's than you'd expected, lol.

[Kramer]

No worries...the Cobra family here and specifically at ERA are all great people who will help you with every step of the way. Reach out to me any time you need it. I did a ALOT of research of every aspect of my car so it will be good to pass on any information that will help you.

Kramer

[tkb289]

Steve,

Welcome to the club and Congratulations ... your ERA sounds like a excellent setup!

Let us know how your build goes, Peter and Crew make wonderful cars and you will really enjoy working with them.

I am having a car built as well, hope to have it sometime later this year

- Tim