Driving #782 Street Roadster

[DanEC]

I've now ventured out on the road two times in the last week - not venturing too far yet but fortunately, always making it back home - a good sign. I'm very impressed with how it drives, very smooth and comfortable. This is the first open roadster I've owned so that is a new experience. So far I'm impressed with my motor and transmission (well - after I got 3rd and 4th gear in the right quadrant of the shift pattern). I've made a couple accidental starts in 3rd gear and it just motors off and away - I probably wouldn't even notice except that the revs increase slower. My clutch is a little heavy but it's liveable. I have plenty of room for travel so I could go from my 7/8 inch master cylinder back to a 3/4 inch if I want to lighten it up a little. The wide ratio toploader and 3.31 rear seem just about ideal for the driving that I have in mind. If I were planning to put a lot of highway miles on it an overdrive would be nice then. The undercar exhaust is working real well, the car is actually pretty quiet. And that's OK because I have a sidepipe Corvette that is about as loud as I can stand. I probably should have put a radio in it as I actually would be able to hear it. The thing is so heavy insulated that I don't think heat from the engine or exhaust is going to be a problem at all. The body and suspension are tight. The ride actually reminds me a lot of my 66 Corvette which is a compliment since it has a complete body off frame restoration. The seats are comfortable. I sit down nice and low and actually look through the windshield. My garage alignment seems to be fine so far as it tracks arrow straight down the road. Steering is reasonably light and the brakes have a pretty firm pedal although stopping power seems a little low - probably just need for the pads to bed in and use a little more pedal pressure.

There are a few things I still need to deal with. I need to finish up fitting the top and it's getting warm enough to do so now. I need to jack the rear up about 1/4 inch as it has settled a little. I'm going to change out the 10w-30 Joe Gibbs oil and go with 15w-50 only because I don't like 15 psi at hot idle. I plan to re-set the camber on the front to neg 1/8 inch and re-set the toe. Although these generic Holley carbs seem to be working OK I plan to get a more correct set of reproduction carbs for the motor. And then Mickmate says he is still working on his original style single pusher fan kit and he will send me the first one.

The ERA is a great car. There's nothing in the above that will be news to other ERA owners. It amazes me how well everything fits and works and how great it looks. It took me 4 years to build this thing from this:



to this:



I'm happy, happy, happy.

[rodneym]

Congratulations!
She looks amazing!

[RodKnock]

Fantastic job. Best of luck and enjoy the moment(s).

I'm sure Patrick will hoist a few (oysters) in your honor too.

[kevins2]

Awesome, Dan, congrats! Great write-up.

[patrickt]

I think that's wonderful. And, yes, I'll have an extra oyster just to celebrate your build.

[ERA Chas]

Living on the water as you do, be mindful of corrosion on fasteners, brackets etc that are natural metal. And mind your aluminum wheels.

[buddyg]

Congrats very awesome and I'm sure it's been all worth it. Take some video of your drive next time to share.

[lippy]

Nice job. Happy for you. Looks beautiful.

[Hotfingrs]

Congrats on getting on the road....

[DanEC]

Thanks very much for the compliments.

Chas - it's actually a small inland lake so lake moisture is not a big issue. I have a nice, dry garage - put two layers of visqueen under the slab, fully insulated, etc.

[my427cobra]

Fantastic car Dan. The street roadster is my favorite configuration also and ERA does make a great product.

Enjoy and be safe.

Cheers
Greg

[blown871]

Awesome!!!
Very happy for you!!

[JBCOBRA]

Excellent!

[1795]

Dan,

Looks fantastic. It is nice to see another black ERA cobra on the road. Enjoy the nice weather and put some miles behind you.

Jim

[cscobra]

Congratulations, Dan--looks great. Thoughts:

1). Gas cap looks great--I should have done that, too.

2). If your trunk latch is closed, the "arms" on the handle should be horizontal.

3). Take your time with the top and you'll do well. Be sure to start the lift-the-dot fasteners on the sides and work toward the center of the car, finishing in the center. Also, be sure to have the side curtains in place while you are installing the top.

4). I had to drill and retap my windshield stanchions to take a larger screw for the top latch hooks--the standard screws are miniscule and stripped the threads in the stanchion with extremely little effort applied. Be careful, but know that you can easily remove the windshield from the stanchions for the redrilling (should you decide to do so) and thus not lose the angle you have chosen.

5). I still regret getting the heater--it should not be leaking after only 700 miles/9 months.

6). I like your blue "sill protector" on the driver's side

7). Enjoy every drive--amazing how well it rides, don't you think?

8). Last thought - I added round chrome tailpipe covers for a typical period look on the dual undercar exhaust. To me, it gave my car a more finished look. Opinions, of course, may vary!

[CHANMADD]

Looks great.. I like the look with twin pipes at the rear..........

[tkb289]

Dan,

Beautiful build!

For the brakes, Wilwood has a detailed bedding process if you have not seen it already, this might help.

Wilwood High Performance Disc Brakes - Pad Bedding Tech Tips

After (4) years of hard work, it's time for miles and miles of smiles.

Nice work

- Tim

[Silversmith]

Super Nice, the street version AC's are what I grew up with. Still the best look overall. I'm plannig on doing a refit back to steet in the next few years. Enjoy her M8!

[DanEC]

Originally Posted by cscobra

Congratulations, Dan--looks great. Thoughts:

1). Gas cap looks great--I should have done that, too.

2). If your trunk latch is closed, the "arms" on the handle should be horizontal.

3). Take your time with the top and you'll do well. Be sure to start the lift-the-dot fasteners on the sides and work toward the center of the car, finishing in the center. Also, be sure to have the side curtains in place while you are installing the top.

4). I had to drill and retap my windshield stanchions to take a larger screw for the top latch hooks--the standard screws are miniscule and stripped the threads in the stanchion with extremely little effort applied. Be careful, but know that you can easily remove the windshield from the stanchions for the redrilling (should you decide to do so) and thus not lose the angle you have chosen.

5). I still regret getting the heater--it should not be leaking after only 700 miles/9 months.

6). I like your blue "sill protector" on the driver's side

7). Enjoy every drive--amazing how well it rides, don't you think?

8). Last thought - I added round chrome tailpipe covers for a typical period look on the dual undercar exhaust. To me, it gave my car a more finished look. Opinions, of course, may vary!

Re: the trunk lid - this is actually a picture from last month when I backed it out into the driveway, before I got it tagged and yes, the trunk was unlatched at the time.

I had thought about adding chrome tips but I kind of liked the look of CSX3334 with black pipes so I'm going to stay with that awhile.

I didn't have a problem with the top latch installation (yet) but I still have to fit the top to the front top bow so it could still arise.

Glad you like my sill protectors. I've gotten so used to having blue tapped scattered all around the car for the last couple of years, that it's hard for me to remove all of it - just doesn't look right.

I haven't opened my hot water valve up to the heater - guess that is something I better do to verify no leaks.

Yes, it does drive great. I'm still getting used to the pedal position but the last time out I wore a pair of Sketchers with narrow soles and it worked out much better. Still thinking about a set of real driving shoes.

A couple regrets - maybe future projects: I didn't know at the time about the sheet metal kit for an authentic appearance trunk. I probably would have done that. I'm not sure if that can be retrofitted or not. I did carpet my trunk so unless I was going to leave it in aluminum it wouldn't really matter anyway. I do regret not going for the leather seats. The vinyl are fine but the leather look better and more correct due to all the light creases they eventually develop. That may be a future project. And finally I wish there could have been an option for a narrow hip rear fender section - but I know the market for that is just too small to warrant the effort. I toyed with taking a cutoff saw to the fenders myself as I've done a reasonable amount of fiberglass work and repairs, but I hated to cut up the really nice ERA body. Metalmorphis is saying he is going to develop molds and narrow hip fender sections for the ERA. That's a tempting thought - but not sure how many more paint jobs I have left in me.

Again - thanks for all the replys and compliments from everyone.

Dan

[1795]

Dan,

I have been following the thread from Metalmorphus on the narrow hip, it looks pretty nice. Maybe you can build one of those next so that you can have a pair of street versions in your garage...