[Richard Hudgins]

SoLark,

I am responding for JBL.

As Bob Putnam says, the ERA is not too shabby. It looks correct and works quite well both road and track. I feel that is it is the "Best of Breed" of repilcas. Period!!!!!!!!

The JBL is a different beast entirely. It is not close to the original and was never meant to be. It was designed to put modern chassis and suspension dynamics into a classic roadster envelope.

As far as quality of components and fabrication detail, they are the best that can be produced by folks who are in the race business today and supply Trans-AM, CART, FIA, and F1 teams with components. The same attention to design and detail that these folks put into the products for these teams, build the JBL.

Every component of the car is built on CNC machines and this includes the chassis tubes, the stressed panels, the roll bars, the suspension arms, the uprights, in other words everything.

The corner to corner tolerances for pickup points is .030. The tolerances for all other components is .0010.

That does not make JBL better than anyone else, just different.

The mindset of JBL is to produce the best piece period. In all details. Dave at JBL will actually drive you crazy with his commitment to design and fabrication excellence. (I know he makes me nuts)

The JBL is not for everyone. It is only for the person who wishes to explore the edge in Roadster design and execution.

There are really very few folks who wish this. They think they do, until they realize the commitment it takes to build a really serious piece.

John Marsey is an example of one who is truly commited to building the best piece that one can. The folks at JBL are proud of his efforts.

Of Course JBL is proud of all the folks who chose to build the JBL (The "butcher" is a horse of a different color, as everyone knows.)

It would be my recommendation that you research all of the offerings and find what truly fits your requirements. That is the only way that you will ever be happy with your choice of brand.