Chassis number received!

[cscobra]

I heard from Peter today--ERA #766 will be mine.
Life is good.

[Kramer]

Congratulations...I am sure the wait will kill you but it will be worth it!!

Kramer

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by cscobra

I heard from Peter today--ERA #766 will be mine.
Life is good.

That is an exciting day -- I remember it well. The waiting is tough, but on the positive side it forces you to really think through your build. Any estimation on when you'll actually have it in hand?

[RAO-3]

Congratulations on reaching the all important milestone.

If you don't mind sharing, how long ago did you place your deposit, and what are you getting?

Ray

[jagxjr5012]

Congratulations !! Keep us posted !!!

[cscobra]

Thanks to each of you. I sent my initial deposit last September 17, so it took a little over nine months to reach the head of the "queue." I remember seeing #749 being assembled at ERA when my wife and I visited last July 31, so perhaps ERA is doing quite a bit of turnkey work these days. Mine will be the 427 kit, which I will be building as a basic street car (FE, toploader, inboard rear brakes, undercar exhaust, no hood scoop, no rollover bar, 15 x 7 1/2" wheels all around, 235/60R-15 Goodyear Eagle GT II tires all around, bumpers front and rear, street dash with glovebox, Smith's instruments, no racing stripes). I will also have it painted locally. I was so excited reviewing options with Peter that I forgot to ask about their completion time! Perhaps (with the holidays) 4-6 weeks? I already have the wheels (Vintage Wheels Halibrand 5-pin replicas), tires, rebuilt toploader, and various other odds and ends, and I'm about to finish rebuilding the XJ rear end.
Hope that wasn't too much information, but this is exciting!

[SSSammy]

CS, my, my .. you have been waiting a loooong time to order. Rest assured you chose the right manufacturer. I can tell your car will be a fine example. Did you decide to have ERA bond and rivet the body to the frame? I can't imagine trying to do that myself after seeing all the rivets!

If you were at ERA in July 07, you would have seen #745 in the pit or the body shop. It's great to see another new ERA build going on nearby. Give me a shout if you need any advice or want to compare notes

Sam

[Ron Going]

Definitely have ERA powder coat the chassis and bond the body. It will be well worth the $$ spent and the time saved. Enjoy your new cobra....you went with the best company.

[cscobra]

Thank you, Sam. I am planning to bond it myself--we´ll see! I appreciate your offer of help!

My wife and I have seen quite a few different kit ¨factories¨ over the years. ERA´s quality stood out markedly from all of the rest. The ERA people are great, too, as you know.

What color is #745? I may have a picture--we were there on July 31 last year. I´ll never forget that day--my wife sat in a partially completed ERA, looked at it in detail, and said, ¨This is REALLY NICE. Why can´t the others be like this¨? I won´t mention her comments about the ¨others¨!

Clay Sawyer
Waco, TX

[RICK LAKE]

cscobra Clay welcome to the family. As Ronny and alot of others have done, let ERA do the frame painting and bonding of the body to the car. I know that this is not that hard but they get it right everytime. If you don't get this right you can get cracks in the body. $6-8,000 dollar paint job is down the drain. Over the years, 12+ have seen good people say they can do it them selves, have seen it done, have videos, every have body shop Pro's. The book is great along with the pictures, but for the couple of dollars you are saving, IMO and seeing others not done at ERA, it's just not worth it. What gears are you going with? It sound like a nice street car you are building. A nice 5spd overdrive trans might be a better trans that top loader unless you are staying local to home. Have you asked Peter about the rims and pin drive they sell. IMO the 6 pin drives are stronger that the 5 pins. I do race the car. You are also running an FE motor with about 400-500HP and torque. Just a thought Rick L. If you want to talk, call me 732-254-3536

[ZOERA-SC7XX]

Congrats on choosing ERA, you won't be disappointed. Ditto on letting ERA fasten and bond the body, this is what they are all about. They will do it right every time, and when you drive it it won't shake, rattle or squeak.
I've seen a few of their 'Street' cars and they are very nice. Good luck.

[Bobcat]

I have #757 , which I`m currently building . IMHO , you will be better off letting ERA bond the body and chassis there . They do it all the time and have seen anything that can cause a problem ... but more importantly , they stand behind everything they do . You are getting the "new" body as I did ( mine was one of the first ) , and it has some improvements over the "old" body .... ask Peter what they are .
FYI ... the body shop that painted mine ( in CT ) said they really like working on ERA bodies as the quality is very high compared to others and the fit etc is much better .
Have fun while you wait .... I waited for over a year ... but it was/is well worth it !

[Rickd]

CS, I went with the Vintage 5 pin wheels on my FIA, and it was partly because of Peter's recommendation. He said "that way if you want to track it seriously, you can get a set of steel bolt on wheels with racing tires, take off your street tires/wheels, and go". I think the Vintage wheels look great, and the finish on them is superb. I just came in from an "Independence Day spin" in my ERA - I live by the U of Miami campus in Coral Gables, Fl. - while stopped at a light 4 blocks from my house a GT-40 in Gulf Colors came zipping around the corner - really cool moment - my 289 Cobra rumbling, and a GT-40 echoing back!!! Have a great 4th of July - and enjoy the build!! Rick

[FIA-ERA]

Clay, Congrats and now the fun really starts! I would strongly suggest letting ERA bond the chassis to the car. I would differently take the advice given by fellow CC members. They have been through this before and their experiences are valid, I know. I had no choice but to install and bond my chassis to the frame. I will tell you it is pretty nerve racking and you have to move quick before all the epoxy sets up. It pretty much sucks if you ask me not to mention the at least 4 guys it takes to do it. Plus ERA has jigs to get the car set in place just right! There is a lot to it and if your off slightly it will make the body crooked or panels miss aligned. I've seen others paint the car seperate from the chassis and I really don't know how they do this either! On my car you had to first get the nose in place with the back end up at an angle and then let the backside down. At the same time pulling the sides so it will go around the interior of the car (bulkheads). When your doing this all you can hear is the fiberglass talking back at you and your wondering if it's going to break! I would suggest getting powder coated by ERA/ bonded at ERA/ trial fit everything!/ use their dollies/ and take the time to mask off very well. It also sucks to try and touch up the powder coating!! Watch for the paint guys as they just like to paint and don't really care where it goes other than the top side. Use this forum, it will be your friend with many experiences and updates! Welcome to the ERA family and listen to Peter/ Bob, their great! You've got to check out the "skunk works" on your next visit up there. It's worth the price of admission!! Good luck, Matt.

[cscobra]

Thank you all for the warm welcome and the great comments--sounds like I need to talk with Peter about having ERA bond the body!

I have 3.31 gears (with Power-Lok) in the final drive. Even with the 1:1 fourth gear in the toploader, I should still run about 3000-3100 rpm at 70 with my tall, skinny tires--not too bad. I don´t plan to ever seriously track the car, especially without a rollover bar.

Can´t wait for the build!

[RICK LAKE]

cscobra I run 3.31 gears and with the overdrive can turn 70 mph at 2,200 rpms give or take 100 or so. The 5 spds are not cheap but at gas going to $5.00 per gallon, you could pay off and over drive trans in 15,000 miles. It also saves the wear and tear on the motor. Just a thought. Rick L.

[ZOERA-SC7XX]

When driving regular city/rural roads, a 3:31 rear in 4th gear (toploader) will turn around 2000 rpm's at 45-50 mph, which is about the lowest range you'd want to run your FE engine in 4th gear. Unless you plan on lots of highway driving keep with the toploader, it's still the best tranny for your ERA Cobra.

[patrickt]

Well I'll chime in here... CSCobra, I have the 3.54 rear with the TKO .64 OD and I think it's absolutely perfect (for me, that is). That combination has the first four gears right where you want them for either non-highway street driving, tracking, or "spirited driving" and the .64 OD gives me 2000RPM at 68MPH in fifth. The only thing I use the fifth gear for is pleasant, relaxed highway cruising. You can actually chat with your passenger at 70MPH because the wind noise is louder than the pipes. If I was in fourth gear at 70MPH I would be turning 3300RPM -- that's a big difference. Your trans/rear/tire-size numbers are something you really want to think through and research -- it will make a make a big difference in how much you enjoy your car and changing them after the fact is a PITA. Not impossible mind you, just a PITA, so you might as well do it right the first time.

[RICK LAKE]

ZOERA-SC7XX The top loader is the correct trans for a cobra car.How many people are going to crawl under your car to see what trans is in it?Unless you have a BIG input and Big output trans in your car, It's not the best. The strongest trans for the late 60's early 70's was the Dodge hemi trans. I know from racing and taking out M22's rockcrushers, M21, Ford top loaders, both big and small shafts, For 1/4 mile the Hemi box was the best and strongest at that time. Today, the Richmond superstreet 5 spd is the way to go. Has overdrive, 2.87 first gear, straight gears and is good for 600HP and torque. IMO the design is alot simplier and stronger designed that the TKO 500 or 600. Less shafts and moving parts. Also the shift forks are stronger. Clay has not said what power he is looking for in the car, but with a complete under the car exhaust, 400-425hp limit is about all. I totally agree with the not lugging the motor on the highway at 2,000 rpms unless the motor was built for torque power and not HP. I have lugged my motor at 1,600 rpms, have 65 psi oil pressure to the motor, my 6 spd trans from richmond and 3.31 gears that do it all. IMO this is why tork motors which I build last alot longer between rebuilds than high HP motors. If you want to know what trans is in the car, I just ask the owner or look at the shifter knob. Just like you trying to save Clay money and time on his buildup. Like Pat, been there, done that the hard way. Some people listen and some go deaf and cry later. We don't know how smart, knowledgable,or the garage and tools Clay has. I think the ERA guys do have an excellent idea on what works and doesn't in these cars. The changes I have made to my car are large. Down the road I am looking at out board brakes and lighten the car wieght some more for racing. We are all trying to help Clay and make it easier from start to finish and have many good years of care free driving.Rick L.

[Rickd]

Very good recommendation on the new Richmond Gear "street / strip" tranny. Cost is about the same as a Tremec TKO600, it is, I believe, a better tranny, and it also has a .73 OD that, in my mind, is the perfect "missing link", as with Tremec you're either at a .64 or a .80.