Deposit placed on a slabside!

[AndrewB]

Well, for many years I had been planning an FIA build but now that the timing is finally right, that slabside just really called out to me. ERA really nailed it with this one. So while the wait is a killer, I'll be keeping busy by rebuilding a 3.31 jag rear and a 393w.

Question: I am planning on using a TKO 600 /w .82 5th. Is there any issue with the shifter location on the tunnel with this transmission that I should be aware of? I could understand it would be less of an issue with the 427-style reverse lever, but with the 289 vertical lever I really don't want it too far back. As with the rest of the car, closer to original the better.

Fun times ahead!

[Brooklyn-427]

Are you going for Wires or Fia style wheel . You would need midshift with a straight shifter handle.

[cycleguy55]

TKO 600 has 3 different shifter positions: http://www.jegs.com/i/Hurst-Drivelin...ductId=1413608

I'm sure one will work - probably the middle position as recommended by Brooklyn-427.

[AndrewB]

Originally Posted by Brooklyn-427

Are you going for Wires or Fia style wheel . You would need midshift with a straight shifter handle.

Plan is to go with the original Dunlop wires.

Looking into the midshift position. Thanks!

[Brooklyn-427]

Avon or Blockley tires would be ideal with the Dunlops

[AndrewB]

So based off the Jegs link Brian posted above it appears that the TKO rear shift location is 19.5" or 16.75" in the reversed position and it sounds like ERA says that 17.8" is ideal -- I think the 16.75 position should work nicely. I'd rather have it more forward than too far back.

Regarding tires: I'm a little nervous putting a decent amount of power through 205's but I'd love to try some Avons. Guess its all about self control

[LMH]

In an original Cobra, the shifter is 16" back from the bell housing. If engine placement in the ERA is the same in relation everything else, 16.75" is going to get you pretty close to original position.
An original is also offset to the left a little but worrying about that just depends on how obsessive you want to be.
Larry

[Murky781]

We are running a TKO in 3005 and shifter position is perfect. Nice short lever with short throw and great solid feel. Doug can help you position it if you're doing a build, or fit it to you if building it for you. Great car, fun to drive and very few people on the street know what it is. Enjoy

[DanEC]

Congratulations on your forthcoming ERA. As a lessons learned, don't be hesitant to call up ERA and their guys and ask questions of any nature regarding the car. Obviously they know these cars inside out and know what works, what looks right, and how to achieve what you want. I did not take advantage of that nearly often enough in the early part of building my car and later found out how valuable talking to Doug and Jack and some of the others at ERA can be. And although I didn't take advantage of this as much as I should have, when I did call, they always made themselves available.

Good luck with the build.

[S1013]

Congratulations on your purchase. I had ERA ship me the rear sub frame and built the Jag rear while waiting as you are planning. This sure kept me out of trouble for a while! Also converted to vented rear rotors. Ditto what was stated above as I have the TKO-600 with the .82 fifth and using a Quicktime bell and positioning is fine. As with Dan I wish I would of contacted ERA earlier on some things. Doug has been great to work with.

Good luck

[kevins2]

I, on the other hand, called Doug often with questions and he never ran out of patience (well, if he did, he never let me see it). Great experience working with the entire gang at ERA.

Take your time and have fun!

Kevin

[RockBit]

Congratulations on placing your order. I know it is a monumental decision to pull the trigger. Did Peter give you an estimated delivery month?

[AndrewB]

Thank you everyone! I have called Peter a few times already with questions and he has been fantastic. I told my wife that I swear he was the third brother of Click and Clack. He had me laughing pretty good a few times ("Give me your wife's name as well so we know who really owns the car") -- I love it, I could talk to him for hours.

The TKO was purchased this morning from Liberty Gears complete with their upgrade kit.

S1913, vented rotors? Very interesting. Mind giving me some more info on that? I was literally just about to buy replacement rotors.

RockBit, I was quoted 11 months.

[tkb289]

Andrew,

First and foremost, congratulations! ERA makes a great Cobra … be it a 427, FIA or Slab Side. For my FIA went the the QuickTime bell housing & TKO 600 with 0.82 OD. Peter recommend the 3.54 rear axle ratio for my 302. You should be fine with a 3.31 rear and 393w, but check with ERA to be sure.

I used the recommended shifter location from ERA, the gearbox can be configured with different shifter locations. The shifter is offset a bit to the right of the transmission tunnel center line, I suspect that a Top Loader shifter would be biased a bit to the left of the center line, due to the external shifter linkage.

Either way, the shifter falls to hand very nicely and it’s a pleasure to row through the gears. I would also recommend the external slave cylinder setup, but a lot of guys like the internal slave cylinder setup (Throwout bearing / slave cylinder combo) as is used in the Corvette for example. They both get the job done.


Here are some photos …

[AndrewB]

tkb,

Thank you for those pictures. The shifter placement looks great. Peter commented that with the engine, the 3.31, and the .82 tko the car would be very civilized on the road. I'll be looking more into the external slave cyl for sure. Beautiful color btw.

[Brooklyn-427]

TKO External Hydraulic Slave Kit | eBay

[DanEC]

Another vote for the external slave cylinder. The things go bad all too often anyway and who wants to have to pull the transmission to replace an internal one?

[davids2toys]

Totally agree with Dan on this point. My 2005 Mustang is making some throwout bearing noise and I am dreading that job. Years ago we put a high performance spec3+ clutch in a friends 2005 Mustang race car. OMG, what a job getting that tranny out and back in the car, we could have definitely used a third person because it is huge and heavy, also an extremely tight fit in the tunnel. The cobra would be a walk in the park compared to that, but still a lot of work compared to an external slave!

Brooklyn, can that kit also be used for an FE with a Lakewood scatter-shield or is it a small block only item?

Dave

[Brooklyn-427]

Dave .. yeah I'm sure its universal to a Tremec installation.

[davids2toys]

Originally Posted by Brooklyn-427

Dave .. yeah I'm sure its universal to a Tremec installation.

Thanks, I will check it out further when I upgrade to the 5 speed