The more I thought about it, the more building a completed car began to make sense. As the father of two girls, 4 and 1 yrs old, there was no spare time to concentrate on attempting my own build. It just wasn’t the right time for that. But with the Cobra replica market riding along with the “great recession”, and my Lotus ownership decidedly over, I chose to get serious. I looked at two ERA FIA’s within 2hrs of my home and the owner that won my money was the one with ERA#2124. The car’s spec included drop-center dash, with full interior and comp seats, 6-pin FIA Trigos, ERA-designed rear suspension with out-board brakes, Competition front brakes, TKO 600 with final 0.82 drive and 3.54 gears in the locking Jag diff. The engine was a T&L 347 with Dart Pro1 heads breathing through 44IDF carbs good for a dyno’d 420hp/430tq. The car is finished in Ivy Green with a “Lambo” yellow team stripe. This was not my ideal combination of colors, but it wasn’t terrible, either. Anyway, I know painters and while the color combo isn’t my 1st choice, it makes the occasional and inevitable paint chip much easier to accept as I get closer to a full color change somewhere down the line.
With my dad not knowing I was getting serious about a Cobra, I decided on a little “surprise unveiling” while he and my mom had stopped by for a visit.. (P.S. Never mind my daughter playing around with the sidepipes. She knows not to do that now and luckily they were "cold")
Dad leaving for his first weekend with the car:
- Allen.