"Inspirations" for my ERA 289

[tkb289]

Hey Guys ...

I was at ERA last Thursday and Friday (8/27/09 & 8/28/09) for my first visit ... Wow!

It was wonderful to meet all of the great people at ERA, and to see my car start to take shape (FIA 2136 - fresh out of the mold).

Below are some recent photos to add to the mix ... all of the cars look great, I spent a lot of time looking at all of them.

I have a few more photos ... send me a PM and let me know which one is yours and I can email you some pictures.

Regards,

- Tim



tkb289 - ERA Visit 8/28/09 & 8/29/09 Photo #1



tkb289 - ERA Visit 8/28/09 & 8/29/09 Photo #2




tkb289 - ERA Visit 8/28/09 & 8/29/09 Photo #3





tkb289 - ERA Visit 8/28/09 & 8/29/09 Photo #4




tkb289 - ERA Visit 8/28/09 & 8/29/09 Photo #5

[RAO-3]

Great pictures of the finishing shop! My car's the one on the left in photo 3.

As I understand it, they expect to finish up the silver one on the lift this week.

-Ray

[kgs365]

gee...any cars unclaimed that you could slot into?

[jeffy]

Great pictures, Tim! Your photography skills greatly exceed mine!

Jeff

[marcalan]

now that is eye candy.

m-a

[tkb289]

Originally Posted by RAO-3

Great pictures of the finishing shop! My car's the one on the left in photo 3.

As I understand it, they expect to finish up the silver one on the lift this week.

-Ray

Ray,

By the time I left on Friday afternoon, the silver FIA on the lift was just about ready to start up. I believe the owner was scheduled to pick it up this week ... anybody know who's car it is?

Are you next on the lift ???

- Tim

[tkb289]

Originally Posted by jeffy

Great pictures, Tim! Your photography skills greatly exceed mine!

Jeff

Jeff

Thanks ... I took a lot of photos, there is so much to see!

It's interesting to see all of these cars in various stages of competition. The guys at ERA sure are busy putting cars together.

- Tim

[patrickt]

Very cool. It would be like working in an OB delivery room where all the babies came out perfect. You know, I offered to pay Peter to let me come and work there. He declined.

[RAO-3]

Originally Posted by tkb289

Ray,

By the time I left on Friday afternoon, the silver FIA on the lift was just about ready to start up. I believe the owner was scheduled to pick it up this week ... anybody know who's car it is?

Are you next on the lift ???

- Tim

As I understand it, the blue and white one that is next to the lift will be #1 on the list and mine is right behind...

Actually, when you were by Jeff's car by the front door, you may have tripped over my engine.

-Ray

[RAO-3]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Very cool. It would be like working in an OB delivery room where all the babies came out perfect. You know, I offered to pay Peter to let me come and work there. He declined.

Patrick, every time I go there, I see something else tucked away in a corner; it's amazing all the things they have there.

-Ray

[tkb289]

Originally Posted by RAO-3

As I understand it, the blue and white one that is next to the lift will be #1 on the list and mine is right behind...

Actually, when you were by Jeff's car by the front door, you may have tripped over my engine.

-Ray

There were a couple of motors in the assembly area, each carefully covered with a plastic sheet ... just waiting to be installed ... one of those must be yours!

- Tim

[*13*]

Great pics! I hope to visit ERA one day. Looks like a lot-o Fun.

[jeffy]

On a whim, I drove up to ERA today to spend some quality time with my new baby and discuss one or two things with the ERA pros.

As luck would have it, Phil, aka fastd, pulled up in a cab not long after I got there, to pick up his silver 289FIA and drive it home to North Carolina. We had a great time comparing notes, etc. Before Phil headed out, he asked me if I'd like to "go for a ride". Well, friends, the ERA is one hell of a car!! I'd never ridden in an ERA before, and was concerned about comfort, quality of ride, etc., and was genuinely surprised by how tight and smooth the car is. My Mercedes felt all sloppy all the way home! I think I'm putting a lot more miles on this beast than I anticipated!

Here is a pic of fastd's 289FIA:



I shot some better pics of my car:

[jeffy]

I also got several shots of RAO-3's 427, which I have posted on a new thread, as well as a few shots of the other ERAs on the shop floor:





Peter told me that the owner and his daughter built this engine:



Here is Doug, returning from a test drive:

[fastd]

Jeff,

FYI, I just got in to North Carolina at 11:58 pm; 604 miles in just under 10 hours. Great drive; could have gone a couple of more hours.

Thanks again for lunch.

Regards,

Fastd

[jeffy]

Originally Posted by fastd

Jeff,

FYI, I just got in to North Carolina at 11:58 pm; 604 miles in just under 10 hours. Great drive; could have gone a couple of more hours.

Thanks again for lunch.

Regards,

Fastd

That's great! Glad you didn't get hung up in traffic. Thanks again for the ride: yours is one beautiful car!

Jeff

[tkb289]

Jeff,

You got some awesome photos, nicely done ... those guys at ERA have been busy!

I have had (3) rides and (1) brief drive in ERA FIAs and my feeling was how supple and well planted the car felt, not a creak or groan, even going over very bumpy roads ... very nice indeed.

A question for you ... from the side shots of your car I can see that the vent slats behind the front wheel are painted, I assume these slats are aluminum? Is painting commonly done ... or is it personal preference?

Also ... the fiberglass spare tire well is somewhat noticeable being off white, as I am sure it was in the original cars. Have you ever seen the outside of the tire well painted black?


Thoughts or comments?

- Tim

[jeffy]

Originally Posted by tkb289

Jeff,

A question for you ... from the side shots of your car I can see that the vent slats behind the front wheel are painted, I assume these slats are aluminum? Is painting commonly done ... or is it personal preference?

Also ... the fiberglass spare tire well is somewhat noticeable being off white, as I am sure it was in the original cars. Have you ever seen the outside of the tire well painted black?


Thoughts or comments?

- Tim

Tim-

We never discussed whether or not to paint the slats, so I assume painting them is the custom.

I plan to have ERA paint the trunk tub with a black rubberized coating. Good catch!

Jeff

[fastd]

Jeff,

To follow up one of our conversations from yesterday: If you really don't plan to drive your car hard, or you only plan to drive on the street, you might want to chat with Peter, Doug and/or Bob about either installing your oil cooler just for show, or see if they have any other suggestions.

I didn't pursue it, but you could check out how well oil thermostat works (if I recall I received mixed reviews about them; although I theory, they should do the trick). If you want to go super high end, you could pursue a shut off value (maybe put it out here on CC to see what people think about them?).

Phil

[jeffy]

Originally Posted by fastd

Jeff,

To follow up one of our conversations from yesterday: If you really don't plan to drive your car hard, or you only plan to drive on the street, you might want to chat with Peter, Doug and/or Bob about either installing your oil cooler just for show, or see if they have any other suggestions.

I didn't pursue it, but you could check out how well oil thermostat works (if I recall I received mixed reviews about them; although I theory, they should do the trick). If you want to go super high end, you could pursue a shut off value (maybe put it out here on CC to see what people think about them?).

Phil

Thanks for the recommendation; I'll talk to the guys about it.

Jeff