"Inspirations" for my ERA 289

[jeffy]

Most of my decisions and selections have been made for my turnkey ERA 289 that hopefully will hit the road next summer. Peter P. and John have been super to work with, and I look forward to spending some time with Doug during the build. Just for fun, I decided to list some of my "inspirations" for the choices I have made. Thanks to all the photos and galleries available online, anything that caught my fancy I could clip and email to Peter and John for an assessment. Here is where we came out on the major items:

Body style and engine: Basically because I wanted a small block and the underbody sidepipes, I selected the 289 FIA body. I understand that it is easy to get to 400hp with today's technology with a small block, which is about where the 289 competition cars raced. That's enough horsepower for me. Since a small block wouldn't be authentic in a 427, I opted for the 289, although I think the 427 body shape has a slight edge. I also didn't want me or my passengers to burn their ankles on the sidepipes, so that sealed the deal for the 289 comp version. The re-bodied CSX 2009 is a particularly beautiful example of an FIA body (of course, its original body was much different):



After getting fully familiar with the tuning and cost issues, I concluded that, regardless, a Cobra needs Webers. I'm having Jim Holden's engine duplicated for my car:



Although the ERA is a copy of the FIA body, which were built in 1964, I like some of the features of the earlier competition cars, in particular the 1963 Sebring cars. For example, I like the retro look of the kidney bean wheels found on the early cars (this is CSX 2002):



PS Engineering makes a very nice aluminum version:



Like the Sebring cars, I've chosen the riveted hood and black rollbar (this CSX 2129):



I also like the dash layout of the Sebring cars (this is CSX 2129):



For the speedo and tach, I think this is a great looking combination from CSX 2009 (the "as original" Stewart-Warner speedo and the Jones mechanical tach with chrome bezel are both available today via special order):



Another retro look I like is the Bell-style sprint wheel found on some early 289s (similar wheels are readily available today). This is from CSX 2002:



For color, I like red. ERA 002 looks super to me, in what I believe is Ford Rangoon red with a white FIA nose stripe. I'll pass on the roundels, though. Yes, I know it's a 427, but I think the combination will look equally good on a 289. As you may have figured out, I'm fond of the early '60's retro look, which I think you get with this particular shade:





If you've made it this far, thanks for indulging me! As Jim Holden told me: "it's all about the journey!"