Well 2136 has at long last turned a wheel under it's own power, man is it nice!
We had a few friends over for an launch party. Rolled the car out of the garage, the wife and I strapped in, turned the key and she fired right up. Let the motor warm up a bit then clutch to the floor, slid the sifter into first and away we went!
Took folks for rides around the block, lots of firsts all the way around. Later on I went to the gas station, put in 10 gallons and went for a short solo drive on the local expressway. Had some kid in a new black on black BMW show me how fast his car was, not interested … had some guy with a red mid 90's Firebird V6, same thing … really not interested. Wound up at a local park just as it was getting dark … had some older folks stop and ask a lot of questions and take some pictures … all stuff that you guys have been dealing with for years and years. I am sure it get's old after a while, but for now it's kind of fun.
What's left …
On the paperwork side:
- CHP inspection
- BAR
- Brake & Tail Lamp
- Back to the DMV, for hopefully the final time … then plates ?
On the car:
- Check all the nuts and bolts … look for fluid leaks (will be doing both of these a lot!)
- Mount the hood
- Have 3M clear tape spats put on the rear fenders … no more blue tape
- Locate and cut the hole for the shifter in the top plate of the transmission tunnel
- Remount the driver's seat just a bit further back
- Add the side badging & rear Cobra logo - holes were pre-drilled. The nose was not drilled, so will leave it bare for now
- Swap painted fender vents for the unpainted aluminum vents
- Try the full width roll bar setup
- After some miles and things settle, need to get the car lowered a bit and then corner weighted and aligned
- Paint the outside of the spare tire well (dark grey or flat black)
- Check all the nuts and bolts … look for fluid leaks ...
Needless to say, I am taking is very easy, but the car already feels comfortable. The steering and handling are great, motor sounds good and really pulls (and that's just with the primaries). Need to put some break in miles on the motor, the car and me for that matter. No clunks or rattles, the car feels tight … ERA builds a fine car!
At my blistering build pace, will probably take me a few more months to wrap things up, but really looking forward to my first of many drives to come with the local CC guys … soon one more blue Cobra will be added to the mix.
Before the first drive …
Finally on the road … some completion work yet to go.
