kinda quiet, anybody have updates?

[jasond29]

Interested if anyone has updates on their builds?

[patrickt]

Well, since these builds really go on forever, and since it's so slow around here, I did just start ERA #732 up for the first time since October 9th of last year. Over the winter I did some minimal project work on her but once I put her away for the winter I don't start the engine unless it's an unbelievably perfect day for a ride, which only happens every few years. My start up routine after a six month snooze is this: I disable the ignition and crank the engine until I see the oil pressure needle move a little (usually about three or so four second cranks) then I fill the primary bowl through the vent with a little squirt bottle and then squirt some more gas down the primary side. Then I give her a couple of pumps on the accelerator pedal and hold it down so the gas drips down in to the manifold. Then I enable the ignition, turn the key and she fires up on the first or second crank. This year she fired up as if she had been running the day before. Then I pull her out of the garage, watch for leaks, get her nice and warm, look for anything unusual, then pull her back in the garage, shut her down and see if any leaks develop. After almost 20 years, that's my build update.

[1795]

Well I replaced the FIA belts, as they were out of date. Ordering some new tires for this years race season and will be at Pitt Race for the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix and SAAC in July.

[Tommy]

I recently tried the ninth and tenth prototypes of exhaust inserts in the 4" diameter, 18" long side pipes on my Cheetah. It's still just as loud. I'll just keep driving it that way until a new idea pops up.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by Tommy

I recently tried the ninth and tenth prototypes of exhaust inserts in the 4" diameter, 18" long side pipes on my Cheetah. It's still just as loud. I'll just keep driving it that way until a new idea pops up.

Over time your hearing starts to slowly fail and then the pipes don't sound near as loud as they used to.

[1795]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Over time your hearing starts to slowly fail and then the pipes don't sound near as loud as they used to.

It gets drowned out by the ringing in your ears...

[Tommy]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Over time your hearing starts to slowly fail and then the pipes don't sound near as loud as they used to.

I spent many years flying two of the loudest (in the cockpit) airplanes in the USAF. I always wore earplugs inside my helmet. My hearing still sucks. . . . My concern about the Cheetah exhaust is more for bystanders at car cruises than myself.

[mr bruce]

getting caught up on fiberglass stuff backed up over the winter, and then goin' to build me a Mustash car, anybody got a used grill for one? or at least some measurement on the opening so I can make the grill

[mr bruce]

https://www.acheritage.com/1958-ac-a...qm5vdehmij95xm

[xb-60]

Very nice pictures, Bruce. Any more details of the car?

Cheers!
Glen

[xb-60]

A minor update on my car that would interest Tim and Jim...

I went in to the workshop late in the week to discuss a trial fit of the engine with scattershield fitted (to check clutch fork clearance, not using HTOB).
Happily, they are on the same page, so a trial fit is happening ASAP. Fingers crossed - more action soon.

Cheers!
Glen

[RockBit]

We drive our cars year round in Texas.

Although my hearing seems to be fading (ask my wife), I wear shotgunner earmuffs most of the time. They keep my hat from blowing away.

A couple of weeks ago, a buddy driving behind me said my brakes lights weren’t coming on. I replaced the hydraulic switch with a Ron Francis low pressure version. The brake lights now come on with light pedal pressure.

Tomorrow I am taking a 160 mile round trip drive. Weather looks great for it.

[mr bruce]

hey Glen, not my car, but that's the look I'm aiming for, Got most of the steel and suspension parts laying around from other builds, roughed in the nose section, that's why I'm soliciting measurements on the mouth opening, my creation won't be an exact duplicate but will be as close as I can get it from pictures. I'm shaving the fender lips off one of my standard slab bodys, will extend the trunk lid like the AC cars. Gonna make my own windshield frame to use flat glass, scouring the countryside for a 144 ford mustang/falcon straight 6 for power.

[tkb289]

Originally Posted by xb-60

A minor update on my car that would interest Tim and Jim...

I went in to the workshop late in the week to discuss a trial fit of the engine with scattershield fitted (to check clutch fork clearance, not using HTOB).
Happily, they are on the same page, so a trial fit is happening ASAP. Fingers crossed - more action soon.

Cheers!
Glen

Glen,

The trial fit is great news! Hopefully there is room to mount necessary bits for the slave cylinder setup and no or minimal modification to the transmission tunnel is needed.

I believe you are using the same or similar QuickTime bell housing that I am running. I recommend using a rubber boot on the clutch fork arm. I was not able to find a boot designed to fit the QT bell housing, so used a generic boot and made a sheetmetal clip to hold the boot in place. There may be a boot that you can find that fits properly.

You are making great progress and that first drive is so very close!!!

- Tim

[Unique427]

Originally Posted by 1795

It gets drowned out by the ringing in your ears...

The ever popular "EEEEEeeeeeeeeeeee Cobra (Tinnitus Edition)"

[xb-60]

Originally Posted by mr bruce

....my creation won't be an exact duplicate but will be as close as I can get it from pictures.....

Looking forward to hearing progress on your project. My 289FIA is based on one of your bodies, so I know your "close as you can get" will be very good.

Cheers!
Glen

[DanEC]

My spring start up revealed a soft clutch pedal which after climbing underneath appears to been due to a piece of replacement hose connecting to the master cylinder that apparently wasn’t rated for brake fluid and started leaking. A somewhat messy job to change out again but it’s all back to good now. I’m always amazed by how solid and good these cars drive, ride and handle. And the Keith Craft 459 stroker engine that was built more for drive ability than ultimate power is about as smooth and responsive as I could hope for.

[Rig Man]

I placed my order in September of 2020. ERA started the chassis in October of 2021 and commenced the body build up in summer of 2022. It went to paint in September 2022 at Ron Randall’s in New Haven and was delivered back to ERA in December. Engine arrived at ERA (13 months after commissioning) in February and it has now been fitted and the car is now nearly finished. The whole process has taken just over 2 1/2 years. Exhausting. Painful.

[kevins2]

Rig Man,

The guys at ERA are few and do top quality work. The alternative would be to hire more mechanics and quality would suffer. You’ll appreciate the car when you receive it and will then feel like it was worth the wait.

My car took a year to get in kit form and another year for me to finish it and I got the same message from others that I just gave you. The car felt so good and solid when I finally got it on the road I forgot all about the wait.

Kevin

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by kevins2

Rig Man,

The guys at ERA are few and do top quality work. The alternative would be to hire more mechanics and quality would suffer. You’ll appreciate the car when you receive it and will then feel like it was worth the wait.

My car took a year to get in kit form and another year for me to finish it and I got the same message from others that I just gave you. The car felt so good and solid when I finally got it on the road I forgot all about the wait.

All true. But Rig Man there are a thousand different traits that your ERA has and it will take time for you to get your hands around them. The way your car feels, smells, and sounds at different temperatures, the way the sound of your pipes bounces off different objects, the way your engine sounds change when it goes from cold to hot -- and this is even more dramatic if you have solid lifters. Your car will talk to you. And she will tell you when she's feeling good and when she's not quite right. Plus you will learn stuff every year. Even after almost 20 years I'm still picking things up, especially the relationship factors on my ERA. For instance how one change, like the temperature of the under hood air, increases the amp draw of the puller fan, which increases the load on the alternator and how you can feel that change when you're sitting at a stoplight and the increased drag on the alternator affects the sound, smell, feel and RPM of the engine. Or how the idle through the pipes plays a very complicated mathematical tune if you listen carefully. If you're basically OCD and have a desire to know every single possible thing there is to know about how and why your Cobra behaves like she does, then you've found the right car to feed your addiction.