As many on CC have documented the build of their cars in the different manufacturer sub-forums, I’ve not been able to experience the realization of the cobra owning experience in that fashion. With the previous owner of ERA#2124 having had that pleasure, I thought why not document the car while under my stewardship? As everyone in this hobby knows, unless the car spends full-time in the garage, the history of ownership continues to unfold with every turn of the ignition key and wrench (from time to time). Call it a diary, a blog, or a failed attempt due to other interests/time conflicts, I start out with good intentions at least, so ‘here goes:
How I became to know what a Cobra was happened circa 1985 through listening to a conversation held between my dad and a family friend while looking over what must have been the Automobile Quarterly vol. 22-3 feature on the 427 cars. My dad still had a sparkle in his eye from witnessing a small block car take FTD during the 1969 Tuscarora Hillclimb event ran by the PHA and the Franklin County Sports Car Club. I guess my own car-related enthusiasm, along with the interest my dad showed in the car over the following years was what kept an amber lit for me. Around 1995 when FFR was becoming main stream, I began to consider the possibility and increased accessibility of a replica. With an unfinished 1919 Model T Speedster, and a fully restored 1972 MGB Roadster under my belt, I felt more than capable to take the kit approach to making all the days day-dreaming a reality for my Dad and I. Fast-forward a few years after lots of reading and internet searching and it becomes clear that if I was going to do a Cobra replica, it was the ERA FIA that ticked all the boxes for me. From that time on, a temporary 3-year distraction with a Lotus Elise was what stood between.
So, 2010 was the year that the pieces fell into place. At the start of the year, I was concentrating on what changes I would be making to my Lotus for the up-coming autocross season. With increased competitiveness in my blood, the first event in late March made me realize what a beating I take with that car from an indexed time standpoint and how fast I would need to be in “raw” times to take FTD from the likes of the AWD Sti Subarus and Evos. I just didn’t feel like the advantage was in favor of my current ride, so I started making plans to return the Lotus to stock, sell my aftermarket stuff, and join the boosted Subaru ranks. But little did I know there was another wrinkle coming up. In Mid May, the annual Carlisle Import and Replica show hit the calendar and to my surprise, there were a couple of ERA FIA cars in the show field separate from ERA’s normal vendor stand. One of them was in fact for sale. While at the show, I briefly looked the car over, but took little serious interest as the owner didn’t have an asking price on the car and I was convinced I was a STi Subaru owner to-be, anyway. It wasn’t until the ride home that it hit me and I wished I would have gotten more information on the car. That’s when I posted this thread:
The more I thought about it, the more building a completed car began to make sense. As the father of two girls, 4 and 1 yrs old, there was no spare time to concentrate on attempting my own build. It just wasn’t the right time for that. But with the Cobra replica market riding along with the “great recession”, and my Lotus ownership decidedly over, I chose to get serious. I looked at two ERA FIA’s within 2hrs of my home and the owner that won my money was the one with ERA#2124. The car’s spec included drop-center dash, with full interior and comp seats, 6-pin FIA Trigos, ERA-designed rear suspension with out-board brakes, Competition front brakes, TKO 600 with final 0.82 drive and 3.54 gears in the locking Jag diff. The engine was a T&L 347 with Dart Pro1 heads breathing through 44IDF carbs good for a dyno’d 420hp/430tq. The car is finished in Ivy Green with a “Lambo” yellow team stripe. This was not my ideal combination of colors, but it wasn’t terrible, either. Anyway, I know painters and while the color combo isn’t my 1st choice, it makes the occasional and inevitable paint chip much easier to accept as I get closer to a full color change somewhere down the line.
With my dad not knowing I was getting serious about a Cobra, I decided on a little “surprise unveiling” while he and my mom had stopped by for a visit.. (P.S. Never mind my daughter playing around with the sidepipes. She knows not to do that now and luckily they were "cold")
Dad leaving for his first weekend with the car:
- Allen.
Last edited by Fullchat289; 02-10-2011 at 06:00 AM..
So that was the beginning of the story. As I considered how I would enjoy this beast, I planned to continue auto crossing at the local level, share some good times with my dad running around in the car, and completing a trip to the Tail of the Dragon I had committed to earlier in the year along with two other good friends. People who know me would ask the question, “so which car do you like better, the Lotus or the Cobra?” Although the Lotus is a brilliantly engineered car that is very easy to drive quickly right out of the box, the Cobra is just different in the sense that it represents a legacy and a raw simplicity whose beautiful shape continues to inspire and capture the eye of even the youngest budding enthusiast. Additionally, the Cobra community of individuals is one which is woven into a close-knit fabric promoting a unique history of automotive performance supremacy. This is a car has a “meaning” that none other holds for me. So, would that long-winded, poorly assembled answer be my response when asked that question? No, not necessarily, but I do gloss over a bit and try to paraphrase in such a way to keep from raising too many eyebrows from those few that might not “get it”. Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut on the long winded answer and just respond with a question to their question….something like…”Wanna go for a ride??” That should prove sufficient enough.
- Allen.
Last edited by Fullchat289; 02-28-2011 at 05:57 AM..
Continuing the build – planned additions/modifications (aka – it’s never finished):
ERA engineers a great car that is solid, well thought out, period correct where it counts, and intelligently engineered where it doesn’t. BUT…. Each individual build result can vary slightly as the customer/owner chooses to take on the final completion work…installing the drivetrain, assembling the suspension, installing the interior in the case of my car. If I was going to auto-cross this thing, it was going to need some sorting. The nose pushed, it was riding on flabby tires with a rock-hard compound, the seat wasn’t ideal, ride height was too high, and the steering wheel was too large and thin. Exhilarating in a straight line, certainly, but turning was something to be done with due care. So those observations created a tick-list for the up-coming Winter months in preparation for the 2011 auto-x season.
However, the car is perfectly capable at posted limits, and the overall excellent quality of the build gave me the confidence I needed to proceed with plans for the September 1,300mile round trip to Tennessee’s Tail of the Dragon. In preparation for that, I contacted Bruce Chervenak and asked him to make me a Lemans Hardtop so that I would have some weather protection for the trip. The reasoning behind the Hardtop was practical as well as a desire to incorporate the historical significance of that style of Hardtop. The documentation of the top build is located here:
So it’s already well into the Winter of 2011 and the task list is long. The first auto-x will likely be held in March, so the car needs to be back on the ground with most of the items complete by or around the 4th weekend. Not a big deal, but planning is key. Here’s what the list looks like now:
So, lots of small items there, but I don’t want to forget anything and it helps to see it all written down in front of my face.
The more critical items include getting the 17” wheel set from Bob Lacey at Vintage Wheel ready with the A6’s mounted (275/315), my steering column converted over to include a quick disconnect, the fuel filler assembly changed over to a more robust solution since the roller cap was relocated to the roof, as well as, getting the ride height and alignment sorted. The fitting of the split trunk lid, associated hardware, and transport of those pieces and Hardtop off to paint really aren’t necessary until the middle of April, as I have a goal of taking the car to the Carlisle Import and Replicar show the third weekend in May. I also found that the backspacing on my FIA wheels wasn’t machined correctly to ERA’s specifications, so I had that corrected and will be taking them off to have them powder coated completely black over the next few weeks.
There’s a little bit of catching up to do with regard to documenting some of the things already accomplished on the list, so as I get time, I’ll be continuing with more updates.
Cobra Make, Engine: ERA #732, 428FE (447 CID), TKO600, Solid Flat Tappet Cam, Tons of Aluminum
Posts: 21,897
Not Ranked
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fullchat289
With my dad not knowing I was getting serious about a Cobra, I decided on a little “surprise unveiling” while he and my mom had stopped by for a visit..
The ownership log is a very cool idea and you are off to a great start
You are starting with a very well optioned ERA and have a good list of 'to do' items to get it just right to fit your needs. Cobras of all types are truly customizable as time and budgets allow, and in your case 2124 will continue to evolve.
Keep us posted with entries and photos, look forward to see how the car works for you, the BRG and Yellow stripe is a nice combination, I like it!
Great story. Your picture of the car on the Tail of the Dragon inspired my wife, Suzanne, and me to do the trek to the "tail" in Oct.
Remember, it's the journey that counts!
Jim
Jim: I gotta say that am quite honored to learn that my photo inspired you to make the trip. I hold you as one of THE "legendary" ERA owners out there. Also, looking at your photo, it appears that your passenger (wife?) is wearing one of Fran Kress' Terlingua team hats. I just picked one of these up from him when I was out there visiting with a friend. I never would have noticed this if I didn't have one of my own...
Tim: I really appreciate your support and comments. Lots more updates to come. I must reciprocate your comments as well b/c I'm really enjoying your build thread.
My car was not spec’d with an oil cooler so the nose of the car was left rather “unfinished” in that there was no division between the main radiator opening and the oil cooler opening. This bothered me a bit, so I decided to replicate the panel that ERA fits to the car on the small block cars when an oil cooler is used.
I first started by carefully making a cardboard pattern to mock up the panel, then traced the panel on a piece of aluminum. To get the radius’d form in the back of the panel for the rear attachment points, I utilized the down-tube of my roll bar as I really didn’t have anything else to put the form in it. To accomplish this, I just clamped the aluminum to the down-tube and used two long pieces of wood to keep even pressure along the length of the sheet, then applied He-man strength to form the sheet around the down tube – worked like a charm!
Here’s a picture of the sheet clamped to the down-tube:
Here’s a shot taken from one end of the panel so you can see the formed radius:
Here’s a shot of the panel once fitted to the car – I’m much happier now.
Cobra Make, Engine: ERA140, ERA 267, ERA GT2038, ERA FIA 2045, ERAGT2077 ERA2893000EXP
Posts: 1,117
Not Ranked
Yes, Suzanne aquired the hat from Francois (the "ancient pilot") when we made the trek out to Road America in 2009. He avered that he had an understanding about royalties due on the logo...
Jim
PS: Suzanne would like to do the "tail" again this fall. We'll see.
Last edited by Jim Holden; 02-10-2011 at 10:09 AM..
As I mentioned earlier, 2124 came with BFG’s on the 6-pin FIA-style wheels from Trigo. The sizing was 235/60 and 295/50. My first order of concern was that the tires felt too squidgy and in no way had the amount of adhesion I was looking for in the corners. Secondly, I didn’t feel the sizing was right for the FIA, especially in the rear. The wheel-wells are shaped differently relative to the 427 flares and after looking over some period photographs of the race cars, I borrowed a 275/60 to try in the rear to see how that would look. The photos below show the result of that trial. I’m really pleased and will be using this sizing for the rear and 245/60 for the front. These photos also show the wheels machined to the correct ERA-specified back spacing. I discovered earlier that they were 3/8” under the specification at 3.5” vs 3.88”. I will be going with Mickey Thompson S/T tires in this sizing.
As for powder coating the wheels black, I’m still quite undecided. I was all gung-ho on the idea as of last week, but after seeing how this is shaping up, I may run the car a while this season with them in the natural as-cast state. I can always change it up a bit later. The determining factor will be the fitting of my 17” set of auto-x wheels from Vintage Wheel in the next week or so. I ordered these in all-black (painted). I’ll hold off on ordering the MT’s and getting those mounted until I see how the 17” set looks.
Late last year, I had been in touch with Bob Lacey about a set of 17” 6-pins for auto-x duty. I had decided to hold off for a bit while pursuing other options until I got an email from him early this year stating that he had a set that already had the correct back-space machining for an ERA FIA that another customer had ordered and then changed back to 15” wheels. I can’t say enough about Bob and Vintage Wheel Works. Great guy, great customer service, great product. The wheels were originally the standard powder coated grey centers with polished lip, but I asked him to change them to all black. We chose paint rather than powder coat to save a little cost. I had them drop-shipped to a Hoosier Tire distributer in the area and just picked them up over the weekend. Here’s the result:
Next will be an alignment. The first auto-x of the season is in three weeks!
With the high-bolstered Sparco seat in the car combined with the hardtop, entry and exit is a little challenging. To help with this, I chose to go down the path of a detachable steering wheel. My car is fitted with the Triumph Spitfire steering column ERA supports the use of in addition to their ERA column. I purchased my 6-bolt disconnect unit from Sweet Manufacturing and bought a 14” Sparco 375 suede-covered wheel. I really like the feel of the suede and the Sweet unit is, …well….sweet. Since the Triumph column utilizes a ¾” steering shaft, I went to Lowes and purchased a ¾ x 36” piece of steel tubing to have the splined disconnect adaptor welded to rather than modifying the Triumph shaft. This allows for returning to the stock configuration and added only about 30 bucks in material and machining costs, so I think the added cost is more than worth it.
Here’s a picture of the Sparco wheel and Sweet disconnect with the Triumph column in the background next to the original steering shaft. The old 14” moto lita wheel and hub I was running is also shown:
Here’s a view of the front of the Sparco 375 wheel:
Another view from the opposite side:
Here are some pictures of the column installed:
Last edited by Fullchat289; 03-18-2011 at 08:31 AM..
Allen - how about a nice pic of that dropped centre dash?
And there's a bit of a trend continuing here with the black wheels...I prefer 15s myself, but I love the 'colour'
Glen
Allen - how about a nice pic of that dropped centre dash?
And there's a bit of a trend continuing here with the black wheels...I prefer 15s myself, but I love the 'colour'
Glen
Hi, Glen:
See the edit to my steering wheel disconnect posting above. I added some pictures that shows the ERA drop center dash.
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Ownership Log – ERA#2124
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