What is ERA #203 worth$$$

harritg · #1 (**permalink**) 05-31-2004, 07:59 AM

New to Club Cobra and looking for my first car. There was a car listed on ebay, I have an interest in. Any idea what it could be worth?

Black Imron paint w/black leather seats. Halibrand wheels, wood AC steering wheel. Custom built 428 cobra jet big block w/only 500 miles. Car was originally built in 1988 for Hollywood producer @ cost of over $90,000.(ERA #203). Sat for years in garage which necessitated rebuilding engine. For serious Cobra lover. Includes tonneau cover and full car cover.

Tom Harris

Lowell W · #2 (**permalink**) 05-31-2004, 08:11 AM

Tom,

Here's a site to look at used Cobras. This will give you an idea of the ASKING prices. I took a quick look and counted four ERA's for sale there. ERA builds a top-of-the line product, with a fair degree of exclusivity, as they're only somewhere in the 600's or so at this point.

http://www.cobracountry.com/cobrasforsale-cobras.html

If you provide a link to the car on ebay you'll probably get more responses from people more knowledgeable about ERA's in particular and Cobras in general.

Good luck,

Lowell

luke-44 · #3 (**permalink**) 05-31-2004, 08:24 AM

Lowell is right about the link - this car caught my eye the other night, but now I can't find it......

balloonist · #4 (**permalink**) 05-31-2004, 09:42 AM

Bidding has ended for the cobra. The auction ended yesterday. Here is a link to the expired auction. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...480423965&rd=1
Ask Erine how much ERA's are worth.
Here is another web page with ERAs.
http://www.hmn.com/index.cfm/fuseact...assifieds.cars
Put in ERA for the make and hit the search tab. Most of the ERAs for sale here are in the $40's

Excaliber · #5 (**permalink**) 05-31-2004, 09:56 AM

Uh,,,, don't ask me, I'm pretty sure they go in the 50's, or 60's. Yeah, thats the ticket!

OK, heres MY take on the market in general. ANY Cobra with a 427 side oiler is going to be more desirable with that motor. There are some people (like me) that are specifically looking for that. Pretty hard to find one under 50K, all though it CAN be done.

Two ERA's on Cobra Country stand out:
The FIA small block car at mid 40's is a GREAT buy!
The 390 FE at around the same price is "OK", but no question the 390 hurts it's value.

Occasionally you will find an ERA under 40K, and it will ALWAYS have either certain "undesireable" options, is OLD, or needs TLC. Mine needed a LOT of TLC and is OLD, but it has the 427 and I'm very happy. I rebuilt the IRS, new clutch, starter, worked over the trans, carbs, etc. You get what you pay for!

mikiec · #6 (**permalink**) 05-31-2004, 01:00 PM

There is an ERA here in Phoenix for sale.

The car is listed here.

ERA for sale

This car is well maintained by current owner.

Mike

harritg · #7 (**permalink**) 05-31-2004, 09:04 PM

Thanks for the help. The 428 Cobra Jet would not be an FE engine would it? I would think a none FE engine would have quite a negitive impact on the price. what are your thoughts. The link to the car on ebay is above in the balloonist response. I couldn't figure out how to copy it one more time.

Tom Harris

Excaliber · #8 (**permalink**) 06-01-2004, 12:39 AM

428 FE is quite acceptable and a LOT of 1966 Cobras ran that motor. It is said to be more reliable and certainly cheaper to maintain/build than a 427 side oiler.

.......but then again, it ISN'T a 427 side oiler now is it?

Instead of "Slick" it would be OK if you just called me Egocentric this one time.

:

clayfoushee · #9 (**permalink**) 06-01-2004, 07:27 AM

Yep, 428 is an FE, and most original CSX 427s had them because SOs were more expensive and hard to get at the time. However, 427 SOs are definitely more sought after and hence those cars are always more expensive.

JWheaton · #10 (**permalink**) 06-01-2004, 08:43 AM

Tom,

Congrats on looking for your first Cobra. My suggestion to you would be to look at LOTS of Cobras and learn as much about them as you can or want to. Decide what you are looking for in a car. I have not seen the car listed on ebay, but you can find a very nice Cobra that has very desireable features for half of that original price.

If you search this site you will see that there are a couple of really nice looking ERA's for sale at fairly high prices, but less much less than the ebay price, that have not sold yet. I don't know much anything more about them but the description given, but they have not sold yet for whatever reason.

Searching through this site and doing your Cobra homework you will be able to build a picture of what the market is for each brand, make and options. Not easy, but possible.

Good luck on your search. The more you learn up front the more satisfied you will be with your purchase.

Jamie

jldunkle · #11 (**permalink**) 06-01-2004, 08:59 AM

I have owned ERA #208, 402 and 326. The #208 car had a 428 with Webers, #402 had a 427 S/O and #326 had a 390 w/ Edelbrock Heads. The biggest problem car was the S/O car. The "fabled" LeMans rods are a problem and most of these blocks have been abused. A friend of mine had a 427 S/O and also had problems with the LeMans rods. He ended up having to have the S/O rebuilt locally with Eagle Rods and a better cam and the car was incredible afterwards. The guy I sold my 402 car had to do the same exact thing. Do yourself a favor, don't fall for the overpriced Side Oiler myth with high compression and high lift solid lifter camshaft. Find a good standard bore FE block and go with Edelbrock FE Aluminum Heads, Cam and Intake. Run a 750-800 CFM Holley and you will get an honest AND reliable 450 HP on PUMP GAS! I have attached a pic of the motor in my #326 car. I had $4,800.00 in the motor even with Aluminum Heads, etc. and I am telling you the thing was evil. Can you tell the difference? Please keep another thing in mind. When you wick that $20,000.00 Side Oiler up to 6,500 RPM and one of those 40 year old LeMans rods decides to leave the motor via the side of the block what will you do then? Don't get me wrong, an authentic 427 Cobra replica is cool, but there is a reason production 6 cylinder cars make 300+ horsepower now. I am thankful that dynos, computers and flow benches have enabled us to get more bang for the buck by being able to get NEW parts for a lot less than "correct" 40 year old parts and they work great. Do yourself a favor, don't overpay for a Side Oiler if you are worried that 1 guy out of 1,000 will ever notice. One of my SPF cars had a F.A.S.T. injected 392 stroker small block that put over 450 HP at the wheels and I ran Sunoco 92 fuel in it. That is what I call something that works! Good Luck!

Excaliber · #12 (**permalink**) 06-01-2004, 10:43 AM

jldunkle, does this mean you blew up your side oiler because it threw a LeMans rod or what? I guess your buddy blew up his too?

I got mine rev limited at 6000 (paranoid), but I've turned it over 7000 and it pulls STRONG up there! The side oiler was specifically built to tolerate high rpm for extended periods of time, like at LeMans. The center and top oilers were loosing the crankshaft due to inadequate oiling at high and extended rpm.

Reality check, like any of us are running extended time at high rpm!

When someone asks me, "Is that a real 427"? Without qualification or further discussion I can simply answer that with one word, "YUP!" I like to be able to do that.

jldunkle · #13 (**permalink**) 06-01-2004, 11:14 AM

Please don't get me wrong. I am not here to "degrade" the Side Oilers. If a guy is on here who is not sure about what an ERA Cobra is worth, he needs to know that he might not want to overpay for a Side Oiler car. The 2 motors I mentioned did not blow up, they developed oil pressure problems at hot idle. Both motors came from a reputable builder. My point is simple. Old parts are much more prone to breakage/ problems. If you don't go to the track, buy an ERA with a pump gas motor, you will be better off, believe me. Seldom, if ever does a guy get over $50,000.00 for any side oiler ERA. ERA has by far the most authentic LOOKING car out there. I can always pick any Contemporary (they missed it on the hips), SPF (4 inches shorter than an original, sits too high in front, etc.)- but ERA's are hard to pick. Excaliber- The reason you won't spin it over 6,000 is exactly my point, and I don't blame you one bit! Have fun!

Excaliber · #14 (**permalink**) 06-01-2004, 11:40 AM

No question about one thing. If your not passionate about haveing a side oiler, don't waste your money! This is my third replica, I really wanted to get as close to the original design as my budget would allow.

The ERA I have now is NO WAY as easy and driver friendly as my Excalibur. At the ERA's 8 mpg and BIG money costs of supporting that FE I miss the simplicity of a reliable small block. You can't have it all you know!

clayfoushee · #15 (**permalink**) 06-01-2004, 12:25 PM

JDunkle,

No one can argue, with a straight face, that the 428FE is not a great choice for a Cobra, and the ERA is a great car to put it in. It also happens to be equally period-correct if that is important to you.

I think the ONLY point to be made here is that 427SO-powered cars demand more $$ in the market place, because they were a big part of the legend. Either FE has more power than most can "sanely" use, as do plenty of small blocks built out today.

It all boils down to what's important to the owner. No one should buy one of these based upon resale value. FWIW, the original motor in my car was a 428 CJ, which the previous owner blew up. He replaced it with an SO.

luke-44 · #16 (**permalink**) 06-01-2004, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Excaliber
When someone asks me, "Is that a real 427"? Without qualification or further discussion I can simply answer that with one word, "YUP!" I like to be able to do that.

Hey Ernie - what's an inch between friends? When I get asked that, I say "yup, just like the originals..."

Excaliber · #17 (**permalink**) 06-01-2004, 12:43 PM

Luke,,,, and that would be an "accurate" answer, mostly.

I'm SO wierd I had to take the 427 emblem off the sides of my fenders when I was running a 302. I replaced it with a "Powered by Ford" emblem, which was NOT correct for a 427 body style. But I wouldn't expect anyone else to do that.

,,,at best, it's a tangled web we weave.

clayfoushee · #18 (**permalink**) 06-01-2004, 01:07 PM

Hey Ernie,

You are weird. Even the "ole chicken farmer" left the 427 emblems on the cars despite the extra inch.

jldunkle · #19 (**permalink**) 06-01-2004, 01:37 PM

I'm really going to catch it for saying this, but after having 3 ERA's, 2 Contemporary's, 3 Superformance cars and 4 Factory Five cars, I have to say that if I were a first time Cobra owner and I was on some sort of a budget, I would look for a nicely built Factory Five car with a stock fuel injected 5.0 motor. These cars are extremely user friendly, reliable and easy to maintain. A VERY nice accurate looking car can be bought for $23-25,000.00 in the current market. This would give a first time Cobra buyer a car he can enjoy immediately and then decide if he wants to move up to an ERA, SPF or Contemporary. If they decide a Cobra is not for them they have a larger target market for the $20's car than the $40's car. Believe me, these things don't sell overnight. Most of the people who want an ERA w/ an FE probably shouldn't have one to begin with because they can't wrench on them in most cases. Just my thoughts.

clayfoushee · #20 (**permalink**) 06-01-2004, 02:20 PM

Not at all JD, that's a very reasonable way to look it. As I said before, this is supposed to be about fun, and whatever you want.