I am very pleased...

patrickt · #1 (**permalink**) 02-01-2007, 03:21 PM

To see that my car now graces the Customer Image Gallery on ERA's website.
Here's the link: http://www.erareplicas.com/cars/732/index.htm

blykins · #2 (**permalink**) 02-01-2007, 04:10 PM

What color? Titanium?

Sweet lookin' car and congratulations!

patrickt · #3 (**permalink**) 02-02-2007, 05:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blykins

What color? Titanium?

I just couldn't go with red, and I couldn't go with blue either.

The folks at Connecticut Custom Car did the paint and body work for me and did a five-star job on it. I recommend them highly (even if you go with blue or red).

SJK2 · #4 (**permalink**) 02-02-2007, 06:16 AM

Very nice indeed.....

aldersonjames20 · #5 (**permalink**) 02-02-2007, 06:27 AM

Is it titanium, or is it taupe or light beige? Maybe its just the camera and lighting... not sure. Whatever color it is, its awesome looking. I agree on the red or blue colors... beautiful, but too abundent....

How long did your ERA take to have built from the time you ordered it?

James

SSSammy · #6 (**permalink**) 02-02-2007, 06:50 AM

Well done, Patrick! Did ERA turn key it or did you do the build? Very correct looking, btw ...

Sam

patrickt · #7 (**permalink**) 02-02-2007, 08:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aldersonjames20

Is it titanium, or is it taupe or light beige?

How long did your ERA take to have built from the time you ordered it?

James

Good eye; there is indeed a beige tint to it. The ambient light will actually make it appear different depending on how it hits (and a flash bulb makes it look completely different....) It took just over a year for full completion after I ordered it. There were no hold-ups over the engine build, or for that matter at ERA. There was a slight time lag at Connecticut Custom due to staff illness which, I would say, tacked on an additional 8 to 10 weeks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SSSammy

Well done, Patrick! Did ERA turn key it or did you do the build? Very correct looking, btw ...

Sam

ERA turnkeyed it all. The 428FE was built to my specs by Joe Lapine. A reasonably mild FE stroked and bored to 447CID, flat tappet solid lifter cam, dynoed through the mufflers at 440HP. The mild cam (245/525) pulls strong straight from idle as I opted for the .64 5th gear which lets me do highway speeds quietly and comfortably at roughly 2000 RPM with my 3.54 rear. The other four gears are for spirited driving. The rear is the optional ERA/Jag rear with outboard brakes, which necessitated beefing up the front brakes with the squealy Sierras (although Chuck B. seems to have found the solution to that). Bob P. built the custom turkey pan for me, which I still think is the coolest part of the car.

Kramer · #8 (**permalink**) 02-02-2007, 08:52 AM

Patrick,

Great looking car. I was wondering since your car is one of the newer models from ERA, what do you think? Did you get a chance to see/sit/drive/ the older model and compare to the newer ones?

PS...I believe I am #739.

Kramer

patrickt · #9 (**permalink**) 02-02-2007, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kramer

Patrick,

Great looking car. I was wondering since your car is one of the newer models from ERA, what do you think? Did you get a chance to see/sit/drive/ the older model and compare to the newer ones?

PS...I believe I am #739.

Kramer

I flew up to CT to have the car fitted to me and, fortunately, there were both "old style" cars and "new style" cars in various stages of completion there on the floor next to one another. Some of the new features are so subtle that you can only appreciate them by looking back and forth at the older models (which is exactly what I did as Bob P. pointed them out). There is an abundance of new aluminum, which is easy to spot, and the new floor to door transition is quite pronounced. The change in fender flare is subtle, to say the least. There does seem to be a significant increase in interior room and foot space. When I sat in one of the older cars (it was Peter's in fact), I literally looked *over* the windshield, could barely move my legs between the seat and steering wheel, and my feet were jammed. In my car I look squarely through the middle of the windshield, with the top of my head about even with the top of the windshield, and well below the roll bar. I have ample leg room and adequate foot room, and with a dead pedal as well (there are shots of the driver's foot well with a tape measure in my gallery). The fitting issue was a real concern to me as I am 6'4" with 12EEE feet. The car fits me beautifully, but I would certainly encourage anyone in a similar situation to visit ERA personally for a "butt-in-seat" fitting with Jack, Doug, and the gang. I don't believe any of the other new features make the car drive differently than the older models, but I'll leave that to others to discuss.

Kramer · #10 (**permalink**) 02-02-2007, 11:07 AM

I guess I better get my butt up to see Peter in person. If it would not be asking to much, I would like to talk to you a bit more. Ill send you a PM and hopefully we can talk more.

Kramer