I am in the market . . .

[ZOERA-SC7XX]

You guys did a great job of leading the horse to water. Now it's up to him to drink. Sounds to me like he's not quite ready to drink (buy).

[ERA Tom]

Hello Dallas. I am the owner of the black ERA 675 that's for sale. As it's been said before, for some it's driving the car, for some it's building the car, for some it's both. I'm more the builder type.

My advise is regadless of what brand you buy, buy the best that you can afford, wait until you can buy a top quality car, don't go cheap. Don't over do it on the horsepower, these cars are crazy fast with modest mills. I would suggest a moderately twiked big block to a streched out small block for a street car, as the big block will provide plenty of street friendly torque and a top speed that will blure your eyes. I think that the small block makes a better racing engine due to weight bias and quicker rpm's between corners.

Finally, I would check with Curt Scott at Cobra Country to see if he is still publishing the Cobra buyer's guide. It gives a great overview of the twenty top brands. If you have any questions or need any advise my phone number is in the ad for ERA 675. - Tom

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by ERA Tom

My advise is regadless of what brand you buy, buy the best that you can afford, wait until you can buy a top quality car, don't go cheap. Don't over do it on the horsepower, these cars are crazy fast with modest mills.

We've been harping on that for years, and for some reason guys just won't listen -- even though that advice is absolute gold. Tom, your car is gorgeous. I'm tempted to buy it myself as a stablemate.

[Mooch]

Originally Posted by patrickt

We've been harping on that for years, and for some reason guys just won't listen -- even though that advice is absolute gold.

Which part? The "buy the best that you can afford" or the "Don't over do it on the horsepower"

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by Mooch

Which part? The "buy the best that you can afford" or the "Don't over do it on the horsepower"

Really, both. But between those two pearls of wisdom I would say the "don't overdo it on the horsepower" is the more important. I say that because the impact of "overdoing the horsepower" will act as a subtle psychological deterrent to driving the car. It will actually take away from the enjoyment, rather than adding to it. While buying a little less car than you can afford will generally just whet your appetite for the next level up -- which is a good thing. With a car that only weighs 2500 lbs. or less, anything even in the 300+ horsepower range is going to be plenty. 400, more than plenty. 500? C'mon. I don't think any of us with even the weakest FEs on the road can stand on a WOT above 3000 RPM and slowly count to three on the street. And with most of the big block builds coming out of the well-known builders on this forum you can't stick WOT at all without busting your rear loose.