ERA vs Unique FIA

[A/S65]

Dan yes interior detail is very important to me, which is why I was leaning toward ERA. Thanks.

[*13*]

I was on a budget when I started in on my decision. Looking back, I made the right choice. Unique makes a very solid car, but the ERA just "looks right". I also considered some fab work on a Unique to make things a little more authentic, but then you open a whole new can of worms. The resale market on Cobras isn't as strong as it was 10yrs ago. You should also take that into consideration. If, for some reason, you need to offload the car you need to make sure you know what is selling. I think both sell pretty well, so long as they are built desirably.
I didn't make a trip to either shop before my purchase, I don't think it's necessary. I've since been to ERA & it was a fun trip. Neat to see where it all happens & talk to the guys. But, there is enough info here on the site & people willing to give their testimonials that I just don't see the need, unless you just need to go see for yourself.
The last point I'll make is that you can save a few bucks between the time you put down your deposit & the car actually ships out the door. I made a number of upgrades in that time.

[glenview289]

I don't know where Ashland, MO is, but I have a Unique FIA here in Northwest Arkansas if you want to look at one. Limited pics in my gallery.

Bill

[A/S65]

Good looking Unique you have there.

[patrickt]

Troy, if I were you, and was approaching a build while watching the pennies, I would go with the ERA over the Unique, but I would cut back on the "easily upgradable" big ticket items. For instance, the seats are just four bolts each and they pull right out. Get them in vinyl and then upgrade them later on down the line to leather (if you're like me, you would just pull them out at the end of the driving season and ship them back to ERA for an upgrade and then reinstall them when the new driving season starts). There are all sorts of pieces that you're not thinking about that can be done "on the cheap" now and then tweaked up later. Here's the ERA options list and prices for both the 289 and 427 cars: http://www.erareplicas.com/427/427options.pdf One area that I would really cut back on would be the engine. I would just put any half-decent, cheap, used SBF and a rebuilt transmission in there for now and then replace them both down the line. That's a one day upgrade some time in the future. Sooooo, if you were looking to save $1300, and the choice was to put in a used Tremec or to powder coat the chassis, I would choose to go ahead and do the powder coating every time (because doing that later is next to impossible). I would splurge on a nice paint job up front though, because that's easier to do at the beginning (although you can do it later with good results). Wheels/Pin Drives, rears, brakes, gauges, body trim, tops, visors, wings, wipers... all of that stuff you can pick and choose to add at a later date. ERAChas started his car off that way, and systematically upgraded it for two decades until it was one of the finest examples around. You can do it incrementally.