Decision made, ERA on order

[ERA 626]

Welcome, 5 monts is a short wait!! I waited a LOT longer than that for mine.
Exellent choice!

[Godfather]

5 months I believe, is what Peter told me would be the approx time for my name to move up the list before they could start. Not sure what the total time frame will end up.

[ZOERA-SC7XX]

My car took exactly five months to complete (although not a full roller), from the time I handed over the first five grand to the day when Peter delivered my ERA to Meriden, CT.

[WarrenG]

My FIA took about 16 months to get to the roller stage from the day that I put down the deposit. That included 3 months at paint.

[ERA2188]

Warren, does it normally take 3 months at paint????? Isn't that a little bit ... long? Rickd

[marcalan]

Mine took even longer than Warren's for paint. It all depends on the paint scheme, paint and the work load of the paint shop. In my case the paint shop had a lot of rush orders that came in, and I was in no hurry to get the paint done.

[Jim Holden]

Painting fiberglass is not something to be rushed. Tony (one of ERA's recommended painters) likes to do the job in stages and allow things to "set up" before going on to the next procedure. The result being straighter bodies with less likelihood of paint irregularities.

Jim

[WarrenG]

My situation was similar to Marc-Alan's. It got to Tony after several others that had to be finished first. Jim is right though Tony does it the way he does to make sure that it's perfect and to me that's what counts.

[xracerbob]

GF-
Congratulations! I put my order in about a month ago and was also told it would be about 5 months which I'm OK with. Also ordered the ERA rearend. Still picking out the other options/features.

Here is what I know:

Powder coated frame
Bonded body
Chrome roll bar
oil cooler
rectangular tail lights
SW gauges
Std. S/C dash
ERA steering rack and column
Tremec TKO w/ .82 5th gear
3:31 rear end gear
tonneau cover
Trunk mounted battery (going to use the little Kirkham style battery)
17" wheels
paint by Tony or??

What I'm not sure about:

5 or 6 pin wheels- $$ concerns
leather or vinyl seats- same
Which 17" wheels
heater/defroster or not
sway bars- probably will add later
and of course- the motor. FE for sure, but the budget will dictate either budget 390 for now or KC all aluminum 482 c.i.

[Godfather]

What is the ( little Kirkham style battery)?

[Chaplin]

Originally Posted by xracerbob

GF-
Congratulations! I put my order in about a month ago and was also told it would be about 5 months which I'm OK with. Also ordered the ERA rearend. Still picking out the other options/features.

Here is what I know:

Powder coated frame
Bonded body
Chrome roll bar
oil cooler
rectangular tail lights
SW gauges
Std. S/C dash
ERA steering rack and column
Tremec TKO w/ .82 5th gear
3:31 rear end gear
tonneau cover
Trunk mounted battery (going to use the little Kirkham style battery)
17" wheels
paint by Tony or??

What I'm not sure about:

5 or 6 pin wheels- $$ concerns
leather or vinyl seats- same
Which 17" wheels
heater/defroster or not
sway bars- probably will add later
and of course- the motor. FE for sure, but the budget will dictate either budget 390 for now or KC all aluminum 482 c.i.

Bob-
Wheels are purely up to you. I got the 5-pin knockoffs with the adaptors because I liked the original look, but there are a lot of nice non-trigo looking wheels out there that look good too.
Get the leather, you will like it.
Get the heater- especially if you're not getting a top. It really does help to keep you warm when its cold out.
And might as well get the sway bars now too.

As for the motor, if I was going to do it again, I think I'd get a well built 390 and drive that for a while and save up the $$ for an aluminum stroker.

Your other option for paint is Connecticut Custom- they did my car and did a very nice job.

[RedEsprit]

Bob,
I had Cobra Restorers build a 428 "break in" motor for my ERA comp car and I know ChucK has a nicely built 390 with "goodies" in the shop he would like to sell. He's had it for a while so price might be right. Good luck on the "goodie" list from ERA. I was going to build just a nice straight street car but by the time I saw all the great track time and events I could attend, I ordered more of a comp car from Peter. With a few "might as wells" and a short list of "add this", I'm well north of $36,000 for the kit alone with no paint. Top, side curtains, tonneau (being fitted by Peter), optional rear with outboards, powder coated pipes etc. Ordered an original oil cooler with the black cloth covered hoses from Cobra Restorers, and some other very close to original other goodies. Just got a set of "as original lap belts" they are making in the shop. Not cheap. You wanna play...you gotta pay.

[xracerbob]

GF-

The battery can be seen here:
http://www.kirkhammotorsports.com/pr...batteries.html

I had an even smaller version of these gel cell sealed batteries on my FFR and it worked pretty well. They are about half the size and weight of a conventional battery and don't cost that much more. Cheap 20+ lb savings.

Chaplin-

Wheel wise, I'm leaning toward Vintage. I would like an 11" wide rear so I can run 335's if I want, but I didn't see anything over 10.5" on his website. I will contact them to see if they can do it. I had Compomotives on the FFR and they were nice too.

I probably will go for the leather.

Red-

Thanks for the tip on the 390. Cobra Restorers are the guys in GA, correct?

Maybe there should be a "community 390" that can get passed from one Cobra to the next as owners save up for the "real engine".

[RedEsprit]

Yup, Georgia. Ask for Chuck and tell him McMahon in Ft. Myers sent you. He had mentioned the engine to me but at the time I was building a "street" car with no pipes or scoop and wanted it to be as authentic as possible so I told him to get me a 428 (didn't really need the side oiler at the time). As I recall, the 390 is a very well built engine.

[Pete Munroe]

Guys,

You can change an engine in an afternoon. Well, two weekends, lots of beer and pizza.

Seems with a good build a 390 FE will blow the doors of most everything on the street.

Are you REALLY a "time slip" collecting track/drag racer?

If you don't have unlimited funds, get the stuff YOU think make the car you want to drive/show. The 390 will be enough power to go to jail.

Oh, NO ONE can tell the difference between a 390, 406, 428 or 427 unless they are looking at numbers or the side oiler "bulge".

Get the accurate pin drive wheels, ( PS Engineering has great USA made product), good body/paint...Tony at ERA is terrific...leather, transmission, etc...or, what ever you may otherwise "pass over" to build a super wazoo engine with more power than you can put on the ground.

The BATTERY?...on the ERA 427" its can be BEHIND the REAR WHEELS...thats called TRACTION...get the BIGGEST, HIGHEST CCA AMPS battery that fits...your battery cables are 8 feet long or so...I have an OPTIMA that is sealed..first one lasted 5.5 years...got $45 credit on the old one!
have fun.

Change out the 390" after you out-grow it...hunt for your pristine "side-oiler block" in the time you aren't driving the car.
Pete

[strictlypersonl]

Our standard (427) battery location is just behind the right front wheel. Optionally, we can mount the battery over the rear suspension. The FIA mounts the battery behind the right rear wheel and wouldn't fit in the 427 because of the fuel filler and piping.

Unfortunately, it's a pretty ugly setup to locate the batteries behind the seats. We've "optimized" the chassis and suspension for maximum interior room and there's no way to put batteries back there without losing legroom and aesthetics.

[BFBurk]

In response to WarrenG; Jersey Shore is on the West Branch of the Susquehanna.

Some of he early settlers looked across the river and thought what they were looking at was New Jersey, so they named the town Jersey Shore. Jersey Shore has less than 5000 people and virtually no jobs. Good hunting and fishing.

Last year the rails to trails came into Jersey Shore so you can hike or bike for about 55 miles on the old railway. This area is still very unspoiled and is great for outdoor recreation.

[Godfather]

I finally have a chassis#. My car will now be known as ERA #755. It turned out the wait was 5 months to start just as peter had said. I would love to hear from others who's cars are just ahead of mine being built to help me gauge progress and define some of the decisions still left to be made.

[JWheaton]

I'm still waiting for # 457! just kidding.

Congratulations on getting the chasis number. Your not far away from an amazing car.

[Jim Holden]

GF:

Now comes the fun part... no turning back now.

So, have we made a choice of color(s)?

Jim