Shop Tour
 

Bob,

I will be in CT the wekk of September 3rd through 5th. How does one go about arranging a tour of the facility. Is there a good day or time?

Jeff Guisto

We're almost alway there for tours. A check in hand will encourage us to sweep the floors before you arrive. :LOL:

Directions, etc.

Jeff:
By all means make the tour. I was at ERA the first part of this month. A long trip from Oregon and, comparatively, the weather was abominable, but the tour that I got was a pure pleasure. As a group the folks at ERA couldn't have been more pleasant, accomodating and tolerant of my stupid and inane questions. Even Peter gave the appearance of being interested in what I had to say. (Of course it may have been the "case of steaks per week" early completion incentive I offered that got his attention)
Pretty much a "kid in a candy shop" phenomenon waking around the place.
Give yourself and extra few minutes to find them and you might want to leave some bread crumbs around find your way back out but it's doable.
One caution, don't get between the shop doors and the roach coach when it gets there. Some of them wear really hard soled shoes.

Don Choura

Jeff,

Enjoy your visit! ERA is great to deal with - and a spectacular machine built by true craftsmen. Peter gave up his afternoon several times just so I could get a chance to see mine while it was being built. If you're lucky they'll have a nice GT40 tub laying around too. :D

I'm no longer allowed to comment on Peter's "beef" habit. He wiggled his "soup strainer" at my wife to put some kind of Voodoo hex on her - now she thinks he walks on water. :rolleyes: ;)

Jim

Bob,

I'm shooting for Thursday, and will be wearing my 'garage' shoes. Thanks for the map and directions.

Guys,

Everything I've read for the past three years has been nothing but praise for ERA and Bob. This is not a Cobra shopping trip for me but my CT - based brother is going along...

GT40, now you're talking.

Jeff

Peter
 

Since the car is still months and months away I though I could be of help with a picture of Peter that I took while I was visiting ERA. It's in my gallery.
Yes, the mustache is real, I tugged on it myself.
Don Choura

The way Pete's losing hair on the top of his head, I think he plans on using the mustache for a comb-over some day. :D

Gasketboy. Don't forget the camera. Since ERA builds no 2 cars a like get plenty of pictures, they help when assembling. If you like Italian food go for the lunch run. Spend some time and look at the engineering that is done on these cars. Others are nice but this is the best. I know, I own one. I saved for 15 years to get it too. Worth every penny and not for sale. Don't forget to look at the opitions list.:D Have a good time. Been there 15 times and allways see something new and different. Rich Lake

JEFF - - -

I'VE TAKEN THE "TOUR". MY SIDES HURT ALL OVER AGAIN FROM LAUGHING JUST THINKING ABOUT IT.

THE GREATEST REPLICAS MADE BY THE GREATEST PEOPLE.

I HAVE (SO FAR) THE ONLY COBRA GLOVE BOX DOOR WITH PETER'S AUTOGRAPH IN SILVER PAINT. IT'S A CLASSIC. I FULLY EXPECT THE "AUTOGRAPH" TO APPEAR ON THE "OPTIONS LIST".

I'LL POST A PICTURE OF THE GLOVE BOX DOOR AS SOON AS I FIGURE OUT HOW TO USE THE NEW DIGITAL CAMERA AND TO POST PICTURES. THE CAMERA COMES WITH A MORE COMPREHENSIVE OWNERS MANUAL THAN A BOEING 757 AND WRITEN ABOUT AS CLEARLY. OF COURSE IT COMES IN THREE DIFFERENT LANGUAGES - NONE OF WHICH ARE ENGLISH.

I KNOW YOU'LL ENJOY THE TOUR. THE GUYS ARE GREAT AND IT'S A CHANCE TO SEE REAL CRAFTSMEN AT WORK.

TRUST ME - -- THE CARS ARE AS MUCH FUN AS THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE THEM- - - AND THATS SAYING A LOT.

Y'ALL HAVE A REALLY GREAT DAY,

BLACKJACK

Gasket:

I visited the shop (now some 18-19 years ago) a half a dozen times before I handed over a deposit for my first ERA. With four cars done and two more on order, it was the best "leap of faith" I have ever made.

Jim

PS: Peter is on some sort of self designed weight loss regimen. Whereas, one, in the past, could look forward to the "big food" experience when visiting ERA (if you timed your visit properly... or just hung around long enough) it's best to (pick one) arrive in time for the roach coach, pack your own lunch or demand directions to Paradise Pizza or Capitol Lunch. Frankly, I have found that Peter responds the best to (again, pick one) NY strip steaks, rib eyes and top butt.

Gasketboy Jeff don't let Jim H fool you, He is the teacher for the ERA sales force. His great guidance, light an the end of the tunnel, and world knowledge has help the sales force to become number 1. Cutting edge whit, great advistment keeps the company STRONG. A highly traded staff of mechanics, machinist, and multi assembly personal keep the ERA on top. You will see they really do a great job. Rick Lake ps even Pete C.:rolleyes: ;) :LOL:

You guys are far too hard on Peter - he really is a nice guy.

However, there are a few things you should be aware of - and take precautions for - prior to your visit.

First, Peter is normally safe to be around - except at feeding time. Lynn and I stayed late with Peter one evening, far past feeding time - he looked so cuddley that my wife hugged him before we left. To be fair, most of her left ear *has* grown back and I *did* get a GREAT Cobra.

It is very easy to recognize when this "feeding frenzy" is about to begin, as Peter begins the telltale process of peering over his (rather robust) spectacles. This, apparently, is to verify the true size of his potential meal. As long as the lighing is good and you don't wear a cow bell, you should not have a problem.

The true danger derives from his mustache - not only is it shaped like twin Cobra's - it has similar speed, agility and ferocity. Fortunately, its ravenous appetite is limited exclusively to green paper with drawings of dead presidents on it. There is, however, no known defense against it once it begins its hypnotic dance. Although some theories suggest that an electric razor may provide very short term protection - power calculations show that the mustache grows at such an extreme rate that batteries will last mere seconds. Perhaps a small, oops.., big block weedwhacker with a VERY large tank may be successful.

Enjoy your visit with ERA - great people.

:D

Jim

Update: My wife has "offered" for me to sleep either in the barn or the cobra as a direct result of my comments about Peter. The barn smells like horse s**t, and the Cobra has no tag. Life sucks. Damn that voodoo. :(

WELL - - - -

A FEW MORE POSTS AND WE WILL HAVE "DONE PETER IN".

WHOSE NEXT?????

THERE'S A WHOLE CAST OF CHARACTERS UP THERE AT ERA.

Y'ALL HAVE A REALLY GREAT DAY,

BLACKJACK

Thanks for the input guys.

My brother and I hit the office about 3:00pm so we were between feeding times for Peter. Had a great tour and got to see lots of Cobras (427's and 289's) in just about every phase of assembly.

There was also an in-process GT40 in the shop - its a shame they powdercoat that chassis. Have to agree with Peter, it is a work of art and the current object of my automotive lust.

Peter is a heck of a nice guy and made the trip to ERA that much more enjoyable. Got to spend a few minutes with him and enjoyed the time.

Thanks to Peter and the rest of the ERA crew for their time, and to you guys for all the warnings. I escaped with no visible footprints on my body and the same number of dead presidents as when I walked in.

Thanks to all.

Jeff

UHH HEMMM - - - -

JEFF,

THERE IS NO BETER PLACE TO LOSE THOSE DEAD PRESIDENTS THAN AT ERA.

UNLESS, OF COURSE, YOU WOULD CARE TO CONTRIBUTE TO MY POLITICAL CAMPAIGN.

I'M THINKING OF RUNNING FOR GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA. HELL, EVERYBODY ELSE IS.

Y'ALL HAVE AREALLY GREAT DAY,

BLACKJACK

Doggone it Jeff, ANOTHER thing for me to be jealous of you about. First the Hi-Tech, and now a visit to ERA! Have a great time. (I always thought if I had the dough, I'd go ERA...).


Ben

Folks:

Every time I have made the pilgrimage to New Britain over the past 20 years, upon my return home I am debriefed by my executive committee to whom I report; my spouse, mother and mother in law. Of the three, the last to meet Peter was my mother (a/k/a THE QUEEN MOTHER).

My Mother (born some 86 years ago in North Georgia and despite spending the last 60 plus residing in New York, still retains a strong southern drawl) finally met Peter this past year when I drove her up to Connecticut to see a friend of hers now residing Farmington. As we drove out of the shop gates and down Dewey Street after a short tour of the shop, she said "Well, I can certainly see why you all have so much fun together... but frankly if I were married to that man, I'd take sheep shears to him."

Jim

HEE, HEE, HEE - - - -

BJ

Jim H,

:LOL: :LOL: :LOL: :LOL: :LOL:

We need a Peter P. emoticon - perhaps:

:}

:LOL: :LOL: :LOL: :LOL: :LOL: