ERA vs. Unique

[luke-44]

Originally Posted by sssnot

Has anyone else noticed that the more they research the more they keep moving up in kit prices--

Yup...exactly what happens

Originally Posted by Chaplin

When I first started looking, I was going to get a Factory 5. I ended up with an ERA

I went through the exact same start and end point, with a stop along the way at Unique.... . Figure out the max you can afford and then add about $10k. A Cobra purchase has to hurt a bit...

by the way, all said, a used car is definitely the best value

[marcalan]

I too went from the factory five to the unique, hung out there for a while, then ended up with the era. I had a tough choice between the two as they both have good product. I reviewed both this web site and the unique web site for quite some time. It was tough because I liked the look of both the ERA and the Unique product. In the end I found tha the ERA with body bonded option fit within my budget and timeline.

In the end, you need to be happy with what you chose and then don't look back.

[JustOne]

Rick's ERA 644 and Kelly Mullin's car were in fact parked in the grass,side by side, at the last Houston Cobra Club meeting. I'm not sure if anyone has any pictures, but it was the first time I had seen those two cars right next to each other.
I did spend a little time walking around them to see what the differences were. There aren't many from the exterior, the roll bar is exposed on the ERA and the rear fenders are a tad different. The first thing you notice about these cars is that they both sit much lower in the rear, about 8 inches at the top of the quarters, than most other cars. In person I do not think the Unique sits any lower in the rear than an ERA. If one is lower than the other it is most likely due to personal preference on where to set the shocks for ride height.
Under the hood they are completely different, mostly due to the positioning of the radiator and the shock tower brace. Another difference is that most Unique owners run the wiring so that it is hidden from plain sight, on the other hand the ERA replicates the original car with the wiring on the firewall and uses glass fuses instead of the more modern style in the Unique.
These were the two cars I chose to decide upon as well and ended up with the Unique. I spent a ton of time doing research and knew I couldn't go wrong with a 427 Deluxe Pallet Kit from Unique.
Well I went to their homecoming event (The main reason I decided on a Unique over the ERA) and while there fell in love with FIA car. I had looked at the ERA comp car and although I liked it I always liked their 427 better. I changed my order at that point.
As far as quality of the car it is great. I haven't had a chance to fully sort it out yet, but there aren't any rattles and it has less cowl shake than my cousin's new M3 conv (no kidding). The car handles fantastic, much better than I thought it would. The steering is very responsive and direct much like driving a big go-kart. And the ride is the most amazing part it is very comfortable.
Overall the ERA is the more original car, but the Unique is just as close with the body.
As far as resale goes the most important factor will be the build quality and attention to detail.

Good luck,

Justin

By the way... these message boards are the only place where people care about what brand of Cobra you have.

[Chaplin]

Originally Posted by luke-44

Yup...exactly what happens


I went through the exact same start and end point, with a stop along the way at Unique.... . Figure out the max you can afford and then add about $10k. A Cobra purchase has to hurt a bit...

by the way, all said, a used car is definitely the best value

don't think I didn't have a stop at Unique along the way too