Any new ERAs in que?

[jetblue69]

Originally Posted by DanEC

Congratulations - can you fill us in on some of the details so far?

It's a 427S/C, other than having ERA bond the body to the frame I'll be doing most of the assembly work other than paint/bodywork.

I ordered the pin drives, girling cans, leather seats and a few other goodies for it.

I've got the rear-end setup and just have to get the shafts/control arms shortened and installed once I get the cage for it. I'm dropping a TKO600 in it and have pretty much all the drive-train stuff I need.

Engine is a 427 Side-Oiler that I personally built and tested. Kind of proud of myself on that one actually, real solid runner and sounds good too. It's stroked with a 428 crank and in the neighborhood of 500HP. What's nice is you can build one from scratch with all new stuff and I rather enjoyed building it as I like a challenge.

What I enjoyed most was probably the visit up there. I enjoyed talking to Peter and some of the staff as well as the folks at Connecticut Custom Car. All around great people to deal with and very personable.

[DanEC]

Originally Posted by jetblue69

It's a 427S/C, other than having ERA bond the body to the frame I'll be doing most of the assembly work other than paint/bodywork.

I ordered the pin drives, girling cans, leather seats and a few other goodies for it.

I've got the rear-end setup and just have to get the shafts/control arms shortened and installed once I get the cage for it. I'm dropping a TKO600 in it and have pretty much all the drive-train stuff I need.

Engine is a 427 Side-Oiler that I personally built and tested. Kind of proud of myself on that one actually, real solid runner and sounds good too. It's stroked with a 428 crank and in the neighborhood of 500HP. What's nice is you can build one from scratch with all new stuff and I rather enjoyed building it as I like a challenge.

What I enjoyed most was probably the visit up there. I enjoyed talking to Peter and some of the staff as well as the folks at Connecticut Custom Car. All around great people to deal with and very personable.

Glad to see another do-it-yourselfer on board. Setting up your own rear suspension and building the engine in addition to overall assembly should give you a lot of satisfaction (I wimped out in those 2 areas but did most everything else). ERAs are so well engineered and sorted out that there is a lot of personal reward in working on them. Keep us posted.

[jetblue69]

Will do, I'll try to get some pictures up on here too as I go along.

[jetblue69]

Running a Comp Big Mutha Thumpr hydraulic roller. A lot of people give them a bad rap but I've had good luck with them. I do like hydraulic rollers...set 'em and forget 'em!

[Jim Holden]

According to Peter, they have a year's worth of orders on the books. So, if you are on the fence, jump into the queue.

As an aside, my ERA289 with a 302 has 3.77 gears and the long .64 5th. My ERAFIA has a bored and stocked 302 with 3:31 rear and .82 5th.

[Large Arbor]

I was just in ERA's shops about 3 weeks back and snapped a few photos...

Phil

[Large Arbor]

Pic 2

[Large Arbor]

Pic 3 from the beautiful black ERA Cobra.

[Jim Holden]

Originally Posted by Large Arbor

Pic 3 from the beautiful black ERA Cobra.

Peter built the "cammer" car a decade or so ago. Fitting that SOC lump under the hood and into the frame necessitated a number of modifications. With the gear and chain cam drive, the first thing you hear coming down the street is the whine before the thunder. (Sounds like a lead in to a joke about Miami.)

Standard 427 or 428 for that matter is more usable on the street, but open the hood and there is nothing else quite like it.

[RodKnock]

I assume that the GT40 replicas were in the queue prior to ERA ceasing production of them?

[Jim Holden]

ERA is finishing up the remaining GTs, all of which I understand are spoken for. They have decided not to do any more for a number of reasons, so, if you want one you will have to look for a "pre-owned ERA" or look to the competition.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

I assume that the GT40 replicas were in the queue prior to ERA ceasing production of them?

Obviously you don't know about the "secret queue."

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Obviously you don't know about the "secret queue."

If there is an ERA "secret queue," then folks like me with Oliver Twist-like net worth's wouldn't qualify.

[Jim Holden]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

If there is an ERA "secret queue," then folks like me with Oliver Twist-like net worth's wouldn't qualify.

To quote Peter, "For anyone who can write a check, where's the challenge?" "If you can't write a check and find a way to do it, that's something spectacular."

[Large Arbor]

I understood the golf one and the silver one were in for minor work. The red one was being finished before being shipped to France. I drooled over all of them including Peter's cammer. It did fit very tight but looked like it belonged there. The ERA guys are all great.

Phil

[Detroit Bill]

To the OP you want to get with Brent of the gearing. This will have a cam in it. That cam will not like low rpm. How low is low is the question and Brent will know.

My only other suggestion is the speedo. I would get the electronically driven speedo. It is driven by the speed sensor that comes with the TKO. The cable drive unit is a POS. If you are going for authentic this might be an issue but I thought I would throw it out there for what it is worth.

Good luck!

[RockBit]

Originally Posted by Detroit Bill

To the OP you want to get with Brent of the gearing. This will have a cam in it. That cam will not like low rpm. How low is low is the question and Brent will know.

My only other suggestion is the speedo. I would get the electronically driven speedo. It is driven by the speed sensor that comes with the TKO. The cable drive unit is a POS. If you are going for authentic this might be an issue but I thought I would throw it out there for what it is worth.

Good luck!

I spoke with Brent and he endorsed the 3.54 gearing for my setup. I then made the change with Peter. I'm still thinking about your suggestion on the speedo.

The body will be mounted to the chassis next week.

Thanks for the suggestions.

[patrickt]

Regarding the speedometer, I have the reverse Smiths, all mechanical, gauge and it has worked flawlessly for ten years now. But, there are three points to having one that you have to know about: 1) The cable itself requires special lubrication; and 2) The reverser on the back of the speedometer requires special lubrication (actually, it has a zerk fitting just like your ball joint and you have to grease it pretty much the same way); and 3) There is a critical length tolerance to the little thingy that connects the reverser to the speedometer itself. I have posted detailed threads with picks on all of this, so it's pretty easy to find. If you follow the instructions, and have the right plastic transmission gear, your mechanical Smiths will read accurately, the needle will not bounce, and it will run smoothly and quietly -- and nothing looks as cool as a reverse Smiths, or any Smiths for that matter.

[RockBit]

Peter tried to warn me off the CCW speedo. He said they had seen lots of troubles with them. It was not negotiable though, and I told him I would deal with it. I'm sure I will be looking up your posts when I start hooking things up. I'm not hung up on authenticity, but I'm leaning toward old school as a theme in the build. Sort of a time machine back to the 60s.

[desgros@vtlink.]

The SW speedo on my 289 Slabside stopped recording miles at 999. Peter very quickly replaced it.

Anything mechanical or electronic can break at anytime.

John

ERA #3010 289 Slabside