ERA #2086 is home!

[NeedAntiVenom]

First I need to thank my wife for being insane enough to let me buy a Cobra. 12 years of bringing her coffee in bed every morning paid off - hopefully I'll be graced with the honor of continuing the tradition for another 40 years.

I also need to thank Peter for putting up with the endless calls, continuous changes and availing himself repeatedly so I could could visit it in the delivery room. I wish everyone I dealt with was of his caliber.

Thanks to Bob Putnam for designing a world class machine. If you charged the same as Shelby, I would STILL have bought an ERA. Great Work!

Thanks to the guys in the shop for doing a first rate job on the assembly. True craftsmen, one and all.

Thanks to Jack for the great interior and making the special "shrimp shim" for "tiny". Beautiful, just beautiful!

Thanks to Tony for the paint, samples, putting up with the endless calls and just being a helluva nice guy.

Joe Lapine made a great motor, runs clean, strong with just the right bark. He also put up with a lot of stupid questions.

Intercity Lines delivered "Ethyl" on Tues about 6:30 PM. Tony at IL called to tell me he had my "yellow" Cobra on the truck and it look great. He almost got me. Great people to work with. We invited them to stay for dinner but they had a tight schedule. Very nice people.

We got our first "objective" opinion from a couple that drove by just after it rolled off the truck. Their eyes turned into saucers and she mouthed "WOW" in slow motion. We got it to drive it - but it felt nice that other people appreciated the beauty of it.

After dinner we took a short 3 mile drive on a private road. It has a nice lope at idle, a stab of the pedal awakens it with an intimidating roar. The engine is smooth, torquey and very strong. I expected it to be a little jumpy with a 3.54 rear - quite the opposite.

Clutch effort is a little high, but very progressive - got used to it quickly.

Handling is flawless, flat and stable in the turns, no weaving on the road crown, nice steering effort, good ratio, good return to neutral.

Brake effort was much higher than expected, that will take me a little longer to get used to - too spoiled by power assist.

Suspension was perfect, firm but very compliant.

The Tremec is as expected, a little notchy but I like the positive feel.

I broke from tradition and went with 17" wheels and Michelin Pilot Sports. Great rubber - used M's exlusively for the past 10 years. Traction is not a problem on acceleration - matches very closely the rate at which the engine winds up.

Within a few weeks I'll be "official" - until then I just have to remember the lasting impression of the brief minutes I had with it.

Finally, thanks to all of the CC members who answered questions, gave advice and support. Hope meet many of you over the coming years.

Jim