What are the major updates made by ERA

[patrickt]

Going through the ERA build process, and customizing your Cobra to exactly what it is you want, is well worth the nickel or dime premium that it will cost. The time it takes to do all that has its pluses and minuses, but it is what it is. If you can overlook the inaccuracies (or if they just don't matter to you to begin with) of the SPF, like the pedals, radiator, etc., then an SPF is probably the bargain of the two. You can put an FE in either, you know -- and I hope you do.

[AL427SBF]

You can put an FE in either, you know -- and I hope you do.

Not so fast there Chester! Or you can put in 427w SBF and ...

427w SBF vs. the traditional 427FE BB?
Weighs approx. 200lbs. less than a Big Block 427FE.
Improved internals over factory 351w. (Forged Connecting Rods, Crank and Pistons)
Same Dimensions as 351w.
Approx. 2-3 inches less in Width and Height than 427FE.
Huge Torque increase over factory 351 engine (500+lbs. when built properly)
Runs Cooler than a Big Block Ford.
Vehicle Handles and Corners Better than a Big Block Engine.
Just as Fast or Faster 0-60 or 0-100mph times than a Big Block.
Runs thousands less in cost to a Big BLock.
Still have the bragging rights of a 427 cubic inch engine under the hood.

[Dennis Mosley]

Been around these cars for a long time now and this will be my 2nd cobra. Built the first from the ground up in 1999 and have helped at least 5 others build theirs. Worked with different brands but never ERA. ERA has made the short list in my search as it did the first time I built a cobra.

This time I think I'm going to buy a completed car but even then, unless it it exactlly like I would have built it which is highly unlikely, it will be driven to the garage, dismanteled and rebuilt and repainted to my specs. This car will be the base for me to build from. Even doing that, as long as I work a good deal on the car, I will come out ahead on the $$$ side vs building new. Lots of spreadsheet work and price checking firmed that up.

Patrickt, sold my other car as a roller so there is a very nice 550hp FE engine sitting in my garage that will be cleaned up and put into use if necessary

I haven't decided ERA is that way to go just yet but like I said it's on the short list of 3 and I hope to decide which way I'm going to go in the next few weeks.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by Dennis Mosley

Patrickt, sold my other car as a roller so there is a very nice 550hp FE engine sitting in my garage that will be cleaned up and put into use if necessary

Excellent. You remember that TV commercial back in the 70s where the American Indian had the tear coming out of his eye? Well, he was probably looking at a small block in a 427 car when they filmed it.

[AL427SBF]

Very good patrickt, all I know is this guy has a 427 SBF in his cobra ...

[ZOERA-SC7XX]

Nobody commented on the new seats (the old ones were fiberglass buckets). ERA developed these new seats a few years ago, and as luck would have it, the new seats weren't available when I picked up my car (718). Peter had said he'll have seats ready for me when I'm ready for them, so about a year after I took delivery of the car, a new set of seats were there for me, and I'm just so pleased that I waited for these seats rather than the old ones. They are so comfortable that after several hours in the car you still feel quite good. You'd have to ask Bob when they became standard, but it wasn't that long ago.

[Melzer]

Re: 350 Front X member between front suspension towers changed from square to round tubing


I have always wondered about the ERA Chassis #350 documentation of the change in the front cross member between the shock towers from square to round tube. I own ERA 297 and it has round tubes at the cross members.

Maybe this is a question for Bob....how about it Bob?

[AL427SBF]

patrickt, I'm good with that.

Hey jackass, no hard feelings eh?

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by AL427SBF

patrickt, I'm good with that.

Hey jackass, no hard feelings eh?

Hmmm, considering it's a holiday weekend, they might have wheeled Ol' Chas in early from the sun and put him to bed. If he was awake though I'm sure he'd say that he could kick your ass.

[66gtk]

I'm resurecting this thread. I have a specific question about the 731 and later cars and what specific increases in size the footboxes have grown from the earlier cars. I sat in an earlier car last night and felt the pedal spacing for my left foot was very tight. How much wider are the newer cars down there in that area and where has the width grown (left/clutch side or right throttle side)?

Thank you!
Troy

[patrickt]

A pic...

[Dimis]

Originally Posted by patrickt

A pic...

Who do I have to sleep with to get one of those "foot-rest-stops" next to the clutch?

I like it...

[Grubby]

I had 178 and now 755. Foot box room is much wider. I could not drive 178 with my hiking boots on; 755 no problem.

John

[66gtk]

Originally Posted by Grubby

I had 178 and now 755. Foot box room is much wider. I could not drive 178 with my hiking boots on; 755 no problem.

John

Thanks John,
I found this diagram on the ERA site:


So if measured across the face area of the pedals (not the dead pedal) a newer ERA should be 14.4" across with carpet. I had my buddy go back and measure his older car this way and he came up with 13.75. Less than 1" of difference doesn't seem significant. What gives...

Thanks for the pic patrickt, but that doesn't really help much since the measurement is to far forward and the tape housing is in the way to know the length there (:

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by 66gtk

Thanks for the pic patrickt, but that doesn't really help much since the measurement is to far forward and the tape housing is in the way to know the length there (:

Sorry. The tape housing is exactly three inches. So you can see on my car the total distance is just under fourteen and a half inches.

[patrickt]

Here's a zoom in on the original pic. I'm going to say that it's just a hair under 14 and a quarter inch. Now I have 12EEE feet, and have no problem with the pedals. My left foot did go to sleep on a long drive this past summer... and I mean it was dead to the world, couldn't feel nuthin'. But that's a rarity.

[Jim Holden]

"Who do I have to sleep with to get one of those "foot-rest-stops" next to the clutch?"

Sleep with ? Ah, Peter?

And the price of that little foot rest-y thing? You have to buy the rest of the car to get it.

(Frankly, it is very simple sheet aluminium with four bends in it and a couple of rubber grommets. If you look carefully in the picture you should see how the bends go... more or less.)

Jim

PS: Here is a view of a foot rest that I happened to have on the shelf... (This, the three bend early version from ERA#75 vs the 4 bend model seen in the footbox picture above.) ...I only had to buy a couple of ERAs to get it.

[strictlypersonl]

The footbox is tapered quite strongly toward the front, so pedal height makes a big difference in the width. The further forward the pedals, the narrower the footbox. There's no such thing as a universal width. The car that yielded the 14"+ measurement must have had the pedals much closer to the seat.

[Jim Holden]

"My left foot did go to sleep on a long drive this past summer... and I mean it was dead to the world, couldn't feel nuthin'"

I find that a foot rest/dead pedal is an absolute must. For those with "gunboat" feet, even a little narrow footrest on the left side of the foot box, that only catches the edge of the sole of your shoe would be better than nothing.

As an aside, my wife and I have found that some support (either a cushion or small bag) placed under our thighs on the floor in front of the seat in our ERA289 helps keep things from going numb on those long back country drives... and Lord knows, at my age, I don't need anything else going "numb."

Jim