"Inspirations" for my ERA 289 - Page 3

1985 CCX · #41 (**permalink**) 12-08-2008, 07:11 PM

JEFFY

I think that Fran Kress has that correct hood emblem just like 2127. The FIA's did not use one to my recallection, they went nude.

Jeff

jeffy · #42 (**permalink**) 12-08-2008, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1985 CCX

JEFFY

I think that Fran Kress has that correct hood emblem just like 2127. The FIA's did not use one to my recallection, they went nude.

Jeff

Actually, some FIA cars did and some didn't. As you can see in the pics I posted above of CSX2301, it had the white badges. The three other cars that raced did not:

CSX2345, car 142:

CSX2323, car 146:

CSX22260, car 148:

This link has lots of pics from the 1964 Targa Florio:

http://saacforum.com/index.php?topic=552.0

Some may have noticed the rectangle of plexiglass on the hood of car 146: that was added to provide some additional protection to the windshield from gravel thrown up from the rough Sicilian mountain roads.

PDUB · #43 (**permalink**) 12-09-2008, 03:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1985 CCX

JEFFY

I think that Fran Kress has that correct hood emblem just like 2127. The FIA's did not use one to my recallection, they went nude.

Jeff

Thanks Jeffy for the pic, it looks great

!

Jeff, is that all the FIA cars? It looks like a white emblem on the front of the red one, or is it not an FIA car?

Thanks guys!

mk2gt40 · #44 (**permalink**) 12-09-2008, 05:47 AM

Another item of interest is the small aluminium deflector fitted on 2345`s driver side windscreen.I presume that it was an effort to stop the buffeting of the drivers helmet at speed.This was probaly more pronounced once scrutineering had taken place and the screen angled back.See pages 124 & 126 in Trevors "first 40 yrs"
Besides the dash layout what`s your choice for the interior? Spartan (RACING) or luxurious?

jeffy · #45 (**permalink**) 12-09-2008, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PDUB

Thanks Jeffy for the pic, it looks great

!

Jeff, is that all the FIA cars? It looks like a white emblem on the front of the red one, or is it not an FIA car?

Thanks guys!

The red one was not one of the five original FIA cars. I don't know what chassis number it is; it is identified as a customer-ordered race car in the book. All five FIA cars had the light blue paint with a different color nose stripe.

Only four of the five FIA cars raced at the 1964 Targa Florio; CSX2259 did not, and I don't have any period pictures of it. CSX2301 (car 150) was an original FIA car, and, as mentioned, it had a smooth trunk, as well as white Cobra badges on the front and back. Its nose stripe was purple. It also had a fuel spill guard surrounding the filler cap that the others didn't have. The dashboards were all the same.

jeffy · #46 (**permalink**) 12-09-2008, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mk2gt40

Besides the dash layout what`s your choice for the interior? Spartan (RACING) or luxurious?

Spartan, but with carpeted doors and leather side pockets; the original dash was covered in leather and had a glove box, so I'll include that as well. I'll probably use cocoa mats to keep the floor panels clean.

patrickt · #47 (**permalink**) 12-09-2008, 11:51 AM

Your build/delivery thread will be fun to watch. What's Peter's guesstimate on when you'll have it?

jeffy · #48 (**permalink**) 12-09-2008, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by patrickt

Your build/delivery thread will be fun to watch. What's Peter's guesstimate on when you'll have it?

Sometime when it's warm out, presumably in 2009...

Snakebit · #49 (**permalink**) 12-10-2008, 02:44 PM

Bribe him with food and he will give you a completion date.

jeffy · #50 (**permalink**) 12-10-2008, 09:44 PM

For those that want another "correct" competition dash option, here is one more. CSX2514 was a customer-ordered FIA-style bodied car. It had essentially a "street dash", comprised of the 3 3/8" S-W speedo and tach and five 2 1/16" "small" gauges (presumably oil and water temp, oil pressure, ammeter and fuel level), plus a 2 5/8" fuel pressure gauge, where the clock would normally be:

jeffy · #51 (**permalink**) 01-17-2009, 12:08 PM

I spoke with Peter this morning, and my ERA FIA is underway; the chassis number is 2131! The frame has been welded and powder-coated, and they are putting in the lines. Danny has also gotten started with the motor. Next step is a visit to New Britain to review everything. There is no turning back now!

I have done some more research on rear-end and transmission gearing combinations, and am now leaning toward the following: 3.07 rear gears and the Richmond Road Race 5-speed, with a 3.04 1st, 2.13 2nd, 1.57 3rd, 1.24 4th and 1:1 final. I like the Richmonds because of their durability reputation, and I like this gearing combination because, at the wheels, it is pretty much the same as a 3.77 rear with a close-ratio TopLoader (2.32 1st, 1.69 2nd, 1.29 3rd, 1:1 4th), which is how I understand the original race cars were set up. The 1:1 fifth with the 3.07 rear is, in effect, a 0.81 overdrive with a 3.77 rear. I don't want a short first and, based on my conversations with Danny, my engine won't match well with a steep final gear or overdrive. Since "the Webers like to run wide open", and I don't plan long highway cruises, I'm not even sure I'll spend much time in fifth, but I think it is worth having.

patrickt · #52 (**permalink**) 01-17-2009, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffy

Next step is a visit to New Britain to review verything. There is no turning back now!

Excellent! Here's a tip: When you fly in to Bradley International Airport and walk downstairs to catch a cab, they won't come to you until you go up to the person in the glass enclosed booth and say the magic words. Evidently the taxis hide somewhere out of view until she calls them. Stangest thing. I don't know how long I stood there waiting for a cab before I figured that out....