Questions for ERA owners

[Quik289]

I had my ERA painted by CT Custom, and they did a spectacular job imho. Mine is a 289FIA and CT Custom painted the underside of the hood body color at no extra cost. The only extra cost item was correctly shaping the edges of the wheel openings. Again, a great job there too. tkb289 on this forum is in your area. I met him at ERA. He also had CT Custom paint his car, but had his engine build in the Bay Area. You should contact him - I know he'll be happy to share about his experience, which I believe has been very positive with both painter and engine builder.

[DonC]

I second the points made my Murky781 and Quik289. Had Joe Lapine build the engine and Walt at Connecticut Custom do the paint on my ERA.
Going on 8 years and 50,000 miles and still could not be more pleased with both products.
Only extra costs over quotes for the paint was the additional cost for red which is quite normal for paint shops and the option of a Scat crank in my 428, per Joe's recommendation, to help bullet proof the bottom end. Both additions were discussed with me before I committed to them. Very comfortable doing business with both.
DonC

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by lippy

Hi,
I just joined, and am considering building an ERA 427 with my three small kids. I'm thinking of using an FE 428, carbed, with a TKO-600, something in the ballpark of 500 HP/500 lb-ft. Of course, I want it to be a nice powerplant, but I also want to keep the price reasonable. Do you have any references for good builders for this sort of engine, and what prices have people seen? Thanks!
-Jeff

Jeff, I pulled this quote from your previous thread. I've used both CCC and Danbury -- they're top notch. First off, those three kids are going to be absolutely no help whatsoever with your build; in fact, they're going to be a hindrance -- so consider having ERA do as much as possible. "Keeping the price reasonable" is pretty subjective, but CCC & Danbury alone will put you well in to the 20's (and that's before you even spend a dime with ERA). There's no rush deciding on either CCC or Danbury, since the wait for ERA will be several months at the very minimum. Have you sent Peter a check yet to put your name in the queue?

[lippy]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Jeff, I pulled this quote from your previous thread. I've used both CCC and Danbury -- they're top notch. First off, those three kids are going to be absolutely no help whatsoever with your build; in fact, they're going to be a hindrance -- so consider having ERA do as much as possible. "Keeping the price reasonable" is pretty subjective, but CCC & Danbury alone will put you well in to the 20's (and that's before you even spend a dime with ERA). There's no rush deciding on either CCC or Danbury, since the wait for ERA will be several months at the very minimum. Have you sent Peter a check yet to put your name in the queue?

I'm sort of getting past the "reasonable price." Probably a process everyone else has gone through. BTW, the kids are the primary reason I'm doing this project in the first place. I don't care if it takes twice as long (or more). I want them to learn how things work, how to plan a project, that things need to be made by someone, and lastly I want to spend the time with them. Otherwise I'd probably save some dough and consider a completed car.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by lippy

I want them to learn how things work, how to plan a project, that things need to be made by someone, and lastly I want to spend the time with them. Otherwise I'd probably save some dough and consider a completed car.

Admirable. BUT, can I ask what age(s) they are? Let me tell you,I speak from experience, and kids will have about a 20 minute attention span, if that, when working on a Cobra. Now, personally, I used to play hooky from high school to stay home and work on my sports car. You couldn't find a bigger sports car nut than me starting around 15 or so, and I would have jumped at the chance to do any work on a Cobra up until, say, 18 or 19. Of course, if I had somehow managed to get my hands on a Cobra at that age I would have 100% wrecked it -- no doubt about that.

[lippy]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Admirable. BUT, can I ask what age(s) they are? Let me tell you,I speak from experience, and kids will have about a 20 minute attention span, if that, when working on a Cobra. Now, personally, I used to play hooky from high school to stay home and work on my sports car. You couldn't find a bigger sports car nut than me starting around 15 or so, and I would have jumped at the chance to do any work on a Cobra up until, say, 18 or 19. Of course, if I had somehow managed to get my hands on a Cobra at that age I would have 100% wrecked it -- no doubt about that.

They are 7/7/9. I know they won't be involved for a ton of time, but they do help me with projects on my '62 Vette and other projects, so I think they will gain something from it.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by lippy

They are 7/7/9. I know they won't be involved for a ton of time, but they do help me with projects on my '62 Vette and other projects, so I think they will gain something from it.

Look, I don't want to offend you, but I think it's a bad idea. I'll just STFU now and go away.

[Silverback51]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Admirable. BUT, can I ask what age(s) they are? Let me tell you,I speak from experience, and kids will have about a 20 minute attention span, if that, when working on a Cobra. Now, personally, I used to play hooky from high school to stay home and work on my sports car. You couldn't find a bigger sports car nut than me starting around 15 or so, and I would have jumped at the chance to do any work on a Cobra up until, say, 18 or 19. Of course, if I had somehow managed to get my hands on a Cobra at that age I would have 100% wrecked it -- no doubt about that.

Damn Patrick, how can you even pretend to know anything about this persons kids?

Your experience does not apply to everyone. Every person is an individual, be they parent or child. We are not all little clones of Patrick's children.

The man has a dream. Let him live it.

[DanEC]

I can't speak to either supplier as I had my motor built locally and did the paint/body myself. But, I've only heard great things about the painters ERA uses and from what I remember of the pricing, it sounded very reasonable. But from doing my own body work here are a few things you might consider:

- Roll the cockpit edges fully front and rear deck.

- Finish the inside of the wheel lip back a couple inches or more to give a finished appearance (and feel).

- Finish underside of hood and I did the underside of the trunk also and painted both.

- You can do the undercoating yourself, but if you're doing the aluminum panels yourself like I did, it was easier to undercoat them off the car and then rivet them in place. Otherwise, whether they do it or you do it is personal preference (and check book).

- I coated the exposed aluminum side of the panels underhood with Sharkhide, an aluminum protectant. I don't know if ERA offers this as an option but I think it's going to keep the aluminum looking fresh longer from what I can tell so far.

An ERA is a wonderful thing.

[tkb289]

Originally Posted by Quik289

I had my ERA painted by CT Custom, and they did a spectacular job imho. Mine is a 289FIA and CT Custom painted the underside of the hood body color at no extra cost. The only extra cost item was correctly shaping the edges of the wheel openings. Again, a great job there too. tkb289 on this forum is in your area. I met him at ERA. He also had CT Custom paint his car, but had his engine build in the Bay Area. You should contact him - I know he'll be happy to share about his experience, which I believe has been very positive with both painter and engine builder.

lippy,

Welcome to Club Cobra! Your ERA project sounds great and building it with your kids makes it all the better.

To echo many of the comments above, I can also highly recommend Connecticut Custom. I had my ERA FIA painted by CC and they did an outstanding job on the body work and paint. I also opted for the rounding of the inner wheel well lips and the finishing of the underside of the hood and trunk, both done in the body color (indigo blue). Connecticut Custom has a lot of experience with ERA cobras, and they are a top notch outfit.

For the motor, I went with FE Specialties in Sacramento. Tom has built motors for several Cub Cobra members and he did first rate job on an all iron 302 for my FIA. The look, sound and performance of the motor is amazing, very much like a HiPo 289, but with modern internals which is just what I was after. Tom's well known for his FE motors, has an excellent reputation and would be an great person for you to talk with. Sounds like you are close, so a visit to his shop is recommended. Ask him to start up the motor in his '67 Mustang drag car … that will get your attention !

Best of luck with your project … keep us posted!

[*13*]

I wanted the "Ridden Hard/ Put Away Wet" look so I painted mine myself. My advise is pretty simple. If you don't want to paint it yourself, have the ERA recommended shops do it. As with any raw fiberglass body, it will have it's own personality. When I built my car the prices they we giving were quite reasonable. It just makes sense to have someone who knows the body intimately, the mold lines, the fender lips & any other quirky areas of a fiberglass body. It will be worth your hard earned money. The only other option I would consider is to do it yourself. I was very meticulous with my bodywork. It was a learning process, not one I'd want to put in the hands of just anyone who is "trying to make a living".

As far as engine build goes, if you have a good Ford guy, go with him. Some of the recommended engine builders are a little pricey for my taste. You might look at Hawaii Racing in Simi Valley, CA. They generally have a good stock of blocks on the floor &/or can build what you want. They seem fairly reasonable, have a clean shop & appear to do nice work. I bought a lot of stuff from them when I was in CA. The Owner & Engine builder were really good people.

[kevins2]

The other ERA paint shop was formerly Tony's Auto Body and is now Big B's Auto Body. According to Peter, can't tell the difference in quality between them and CT. Customs. Cost is a bit less.

Regards,

Kevin

[Albie]

Originally Posted by kevins2

The other ERA paint shop was formerly Tony's Auto Body and is now Big B's Auto Body. According to Peter, can't tell the difference in quality between them and CT. Customs. Cost is a bit less.

Regards,

Kevin

Brendan (Big B) is Tony's nephew, he finished painting my car after Tony passed and did a great job. I definitely recommend him.

[kevins2]

Originally Posted by Albie

Brendan (Big B) is Tony's nephew, he finished painting my car after Tony passed and did a great job. I definitely recommend him.

According to Peter, Brendan did the painting even when Tony was alive, so I trusted Peter, sent Brendan a deposit and he's spraying some color samples for me next week. Good to hear your endorsement.

[JustOne]

I think it is great that you are going to do this with your kids. My 2 & 7 year old always want to be in the garage when I am out there. Yes, they make noise and don't pay attention all of the time, but they are great company. They have also been around the cars long enough that they don't run inside the house when a car is fired up, instead they are expecting to go for a ride. Nothing will put a smile on your face like coming home and having one of your kids ask to go for a Cobra ride before dinner.
As for paint and engine work, I would get this done as local as possible. Not that anyone local is better, but Murphy's law can and many times does apply when building a car in your garage. It's a long way CT.

Cheers.

Justin

[REAL 1]

I had ERA built my ERA, engine and paint it.

I don't recall who painted it for them back in 1995 but the paint job was great. Joe LaPine from Danbury competition built a 428 Cobra Jet which ran reliably and strong. The car was stunning and was one of the most exciting days of my life when I went to ERA to take delivery.

Interesting note: I believe Peter bought my ERA from the guy I sold it to back in 1998 and still owns my old ERA (#515).

I would have no reservations with ERA finishing your car and providing the engine.

Good luck.

[DanEC]

Congratulations. Now the (long) wait begins as excitement builds.

Dan