All 3 of the painters mentioned will do a great job on your e.r.a. and they will explain to you what should be done to do the quality work the car deserves. I dont think you need to be too concerned about what questions to ask.
One thing you should think about though is to have the defroster vents painted instead of raw or polished alum. Certain times of the day when I drive my car with the wife she gets heavy sun glare from the wiper arms and the bottom of the windshield, I think the vents would make it worse. (mine are painted)

Glad to hear that, as I would hate to miss something in my discussion and be upset afterwards. Thanks for the tip on the defroster vents.

Ray

Get the clear stuff over your rear fenders
 

Unless you like the look of the leather spats over the rear fenders (conjurs up scary dominatrix thoughts for me:p) make sure you get the clear 3m stuff put over your paint where the rocks get thrown. I think it cost me about a hundred bucks for that and it's hardly noticable. Does a great job of protecting your finish.

Tony painted my FIA and both he and Peter recommended the spray on Clear Coat on the rear fenders to protect against rock dings. I went with it. It cost all of $100, is a clear (has a slightly opaque tint to it) finish, is barely detectable, and works. So far with 1500 miles, not a ding - and the fender has been hit by small road debris. Rick

Ray,

Congratulations on the selection of ERA. I ordered mine last September and I will get it this September. I have #768. The photos you took were great. My son and I are going back up to visit the facility just before they ship our car. We just came back from the London, Ohio show. Only one ERA out of about 250 cars.

Clyde

You must be excited, and counting the days by now? How far along is your car?

Ray

Thanks Rick, I'm adding that to my list of questions for the painter!

Ray

Here's a picture of the rear fender protection. You have to look hard to see the line that tells you where it starts. It's a little easier to see in real life, but this will give you an idea.

http://www.clubcobra.com/photopost/d...ear_fender.jpg

Is that the clear film from 3M?

Ray

Yes, it was applied by the folks at ERA, not CCC. But I believe you can have it done either way. I'm told it takes some skill, though -- it's not like putting a sticker on the windshield.:)

This looks almost identical to the "clear coat" that Tony SPRAYED onto my FIA. Peter was going to do it but Tony had to take the car back to detail it and did it then. RD

I think it's film, because Peter called me on the phone shortly before applying it and said "Pat, just checking, you want the black protection on your rear fenders, not the clear, right? No kidding.:D Fortunately Peter double checks stuff like that....

As the original owner of jagxjr5012's ERA#208, I can also vouch for the entire buying experience at ERA. I got to know Peter quite well during the time my car was being constructed and when I was producing the show Wild About Wheels for the Discovery Channel in 1992, we shot a feature at ERA which helped spread the word about them. jagxjr5012 and I have exchanged emails and he's told me how well the car has held up after over 20 years of use. I'm not surprised. I love my CSX car that I have now but if I were to go back to a non-Shelby car, ERA would definitely be my first choice. In fact, I priced a new ERA with Peter in 2001, shortly before deciding to bite the bullet and go with an aluminum-bodied Shelby.

One other quick note: About a year after driving ERA#208, the engine began acting very strange. Loss of power, rough idle, etc. A friend of mine ran a compression test and found I had some severe irregularities. I had the engine taken apart and a motor which was supposed to have been balanced and blueprinted was neither. I won't name the shop which built the engine for ERA, but when I called Peter and told him about the problem, he said to bring the crankshaft down to him so he could see the lack of any proper balancing on it. I did, and when he saw how botched the job had been done, he told me to have any engine builder of my choice go through the motor, make the needed repairs and he would cover it. The tab came to over $2000.00 and Peter was true to his word. You'll probably hear similar stories from other ERA customers and I've been a big fan of Peter, Phil, and Bob ever since.

I just wish Peter wouldn't jab me about CSX cars not being "real Cobras". :)