The dream started in 1976,  I got snake bit watching Gumball Rally.  I had a brief interlude in the 90s with a Unique 427SC, it was short lived akin to dating the blonde captain of the cheer leading squad.  You need a prenup for that relationship.  Finally, 4 1/2 years after my deposit, ERA853 a narrow hip 427 Street was delivered.  I downgraded from a turnkey car to a roller,  I'm not sure how much longer ERA will be making cars.


7/9/2026

Had to take a break and do a little wood working.  I loaded the Cobra and took it to Walker Morgan Performance for a custom under car exhaust.  Big thanks to Jeff Seale, Kyle Stephenson, and Ed Terry for helping me load in.  Extra thanks to letting my borrow his car hauler.


7/8/2026

Heater hoses with shutoff valve.  I really like the look of the Milspec lacing tape instead of cable ties.


7/7/2026

This took several days.  Sound deadening matting applied to the cockpit.  Under car heat shield also done. My hands took a real beating, the aluminum edges will cut you like a paper cut on steroids.


Details matter...

Windshield frame


6/25/2026

It's been a full on Level I Trauma Alert since the Cobra arrived.  Every spare moment I've been hard at work finishing the car.  First impression, ERAs are masterfully hand built cars.  I removed the dash and pulled all of the inner aluminum panels to gain access for wiring.  When you get under and inside the car you can see the attention to detail.  As Peter told me, "our cars aren't cobbled together".  Bob Putnam's assembly manual is detailed and very will written.

 


 

Once I figured out where to run the main dash harness, it  was easy to connect all the gauges.  The car is wired for an ammeter instead of a voltmeter.  I figured it wouldn't be a big deal to swap out for a voltmeter. Well it is, Peter was kind enough to exchange back to an ammeter.


The main harness went in easily.  ERA pre-drills all the holes and has wire clamps in place.


I upgraded to the Lucas Tripod headlights and they are wired with these bullet connectors.  With only the strength of a mere mortal, I couldn't squeeze them into the female end.  Of course, Moss makes a tool to squeeze together for a mere $74 with delivery.  I should have cut them off and used a standard spade terminal.   The tool does make it easier to squeeze spade terminals.


Holley Terminator X EFI Wiring

I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I ordered the 8 stack from Jim Inglese with EFI.  "It'll be so worth it".

Below is the main EFI  harness loom with sensors. There are separate looms for power which has to be connected directly to the battery, one for the injectors, and  "loose wires" to integrate with ERA harness.


 

Picture below shows what we called a spaghettioma in surgery.  I took apart the EFI loom so I could line up the sensor plugs with the ones on the 8 stack.  The cardboard has the sensors placement on the 8 stack.


I drilled a 2 1/2" hole in the lower cowl for the EFI harness.  I got the clean "install" I was looking for.  The tags will come off before preflight. 


 Glovebox

The EFI Terminator X and MSD 6AL boxes were installed in the glovebox.  I did speak the Holley and they said the proximity of the two would not cause an electrical interference issue.  To be on safe side, I added a copper plate for reduce interference and provide a heat sink.  I added a USB port, and kill switches for the fuel pump and ignition.  How about The Wood Surgeon prop stick?


Oil Lines

Wanting the focus of the engine to be the 8-stack, all the other engine bay components are black.  I didn't want stainless steel or plastic braided hose; they wouldn't look period correct.  I used Aeroquip StartLite racing hose which is covered with Nomex giving exactly "the look" I wanted.  The StartLite hose $11/ft vs $7 for SS.  The StartLite ease of cutting and applying the fittings make it worth the premium over SS which is real pain.  I did go "modern" with the Improved Racing remote filter mount with an integral thermostat for the oil cooler.


 

 

My friend Adams Hudson saw an engine bay picture and recommended an edge trim to cover the exposed panel edges.  Super easy to apply and it looks so much better. 


5/30/2026

ERA853 arrives!


5/26/2026

Ron & Juan from Metal-Morphous went to ERA to polish the paint.  It's had 2 years to cure!

Cobra will picked up Thursday for Monday delivery!!  4 1/2 years of build up.  Peter P has commented multiple times how nice the narrow hip conversion and paint color are.  Ron said there were 4 customers in the shop and ERA 853 was the center of attention! 


5/22/2026

I wanted my car "turnkey" but with the all the delays, I changed to a roller.  It's been almost 5 years and production continues to slow down.  I worry about the future of ERA. Ron Randall is polishing and waxing the car on Tuesday, transporter should pick it up Wednesday.  Finally! Now the work begins.  I have to finish the dash wiring, EFI and ignition boxes placement behind the dash, radiator and heating lines, oil lines, carpet and mount the seats.  At some point it will go for custom under car exhaust.


4/30/2026

Ron Randall from Metal-Morphus went by ERA to see his bodywork and tire fitment with the narrow hips.  The Bomber Brown leather on the dash and 16" Moto-Lita custom steering wheel  with a hard wax  finish instead gloss really give the Cobra that classic English roadster look.  AC emblems on the trunk and hood will be the finishing touch.


4/26/2026 Wheels on!


2/16/2026

Making progress!


1/6/2026


 11/14/2025

ERA 853 has finally made it to the assembly shop for inner panels and bumper installation.  The rear fender panels had to be custom made for the narrow hip modification.  I ordered the overriders and hoops from europaspares.com.  Bobby Crumpley had his overriders from ERA filled in on the backside.  I thought I could save a step and get them already filled in from europaspares.  Details make a difference and the stock overrider on the left below looks unfinished and missing a piece to me.  The rear hoop fit fine, the front did not.  ERA feels the front hoop is asymmetrical.  They are going to fit their hoop to the overriders.


Europaspares hoop that doesn't fit right


9/30/2024

A week shy of 3 years since my deposit, Ellen and I went to Boston for Lauren's 30th birthday and to see the Fall colors.  I made a side trip to ERA to check on the progress and see my car.  Before we went back to the shop, Peter told me how impressed he was with the color and body work.  Several customers that have come through have been equally impressed.  When I saw the car, the color and finish blew me away.  Ron totally nailed the color,  and the depth and richness of the paint was amazing. The narrow hip fenders are perfect, I can't wait to see the tire fitment.  All of the fender and cockpit edges were rolled to a perfect radius.  As you can see in pictures, there were several cars including Peter's to compare the paint and bodywork on my car.  Not because I'm playing favorite, Ron's bodywork and paint are a step above the others.  If you're in the shop, go ahead and caress the rolled edges to notice the difference. 

As to progress, the fuel & brake lines along with master cylinders are installed. The majority of the aluminum inner panels have been installed also. The rear harness has been pulled.  Hoping the build accelerates.  The engine is in the back but I didn't want to remove the shrink wrap.

Yes, that's Peters' car still in the shop for over 3 years now and  they continue to cannibalize parts from.  


6/5/2024

Ron Randall at Metal Morphous has finished the body work and paint, my car is headed back to ERA.  Ron has been an absolute pleasure to work with making my dream Cobra a reality.  If you look close, you can see the attention prepping the body and the detail rolling all of the edges to simulate an aluminum body.  The conversion to narrow hips tightens and enhances  the aesthetics and curves while making the car look properly proportioned and not a like a flared out race car disguising as a street car.  Only 32 of the original Cobra street versions had these narrow hips and in my opinion are the most beautiful versions of the 427.  

Ron with his years of experience was able to create the color I've had in my mind for years thinking about this car.  When my wife and I went to Ireland and I saw the waters around Valentia Island, I  had a real world example.  Rather than picking a color from a sheet, Ron went old school relying on his years of experience and hand mixed the color.  In doing a mixture of four different paints each with their own unique metallics resulted in truly unique color with an amazing depth that makes it look like poured wet paint.  I can't wait to see the car in person, I know I'll be blown away.

There are seven cars ahead of me at ERA, bummer.  Well I've been waiting since putting down a deposit in October of 2021, what's another couple of months?


5/24/2024

The under surfaces of the hood and trunk lid have been aluminum coated by Metal Morphous with their proprietary technique.  One more round of polishing.  The color and aluminum plating look amazing in the photos.


5/15/2024

I couldn't be happier with the color and depth of the paint.  One more final buff and sand to go.  From the frontal view, I like the spats.  


5/15/2024

Aluminum coated fiberglass removable spats.  Yes they are bigger than the standard after market spats.  Ron has worked on a lot of Cobras over the years and knows where the rocks hit the rear fenders.  These as per request, were designed for function over aesthetics.  


4/30/2024

4 coats of polyurethane primer applied.  Allow to cure then final sand and paint.

4/19/2024

Transformation to a narrow hip Cobra is complete. Polyester gel-coat will dry for a week and then final sand, primer and Valentia  Island Blue paint! To make the fiberglass look like the originals done in aluminum, Metal-Morphous added fender edge returns and  rounded the cockpit edges. 

 The polyester gelcoat is not easy to sand but gives a better finish.  They will then apply 3-4 coats of urethane primer which is easier to sand and is the recommended base coat for the paint.

4/11/2024

The rear fenders are done.  Final sanding and Gelcoat this week.


3/11/2024

The left fender has rebuilt to narrow hip configuration.  Much cleaner and gives takes the car back to its original English Roadster aesthetic. 

2/29/2024

Narrow hip rear quater panels in the mold.

2/23/2024

This is the beginning of the body seam work.  After lightly sanding down the seam area, they apply an epoxy adhesive to ensure that any loose fibers are well bonded before the bodywork is started.  Narrow hip fender molds that will be grafted.

1/20/2024

ERA853 cleaned up and front & center at Metal-Morphous.  The red Cobra on the wall is  Fred’s ERA753.

For originality, I ordered a 16” steering wheel from Moto-Lita.  Most builders use a 15" wheel for several reasons.  The smaller wheel is available as a cheaper knockoff and is sized like modern steering wheels.  The Cobra is a 70 yr old design so I wanted it to have an era appropriately sized steering wheel.

I don’t like the thick glossy finish they put on their wheels so I custom ordered the wheel unfinished.  Peter said he's seen the finish crack and peel over time.  I wanted a wooden steering wheel with patina and the appearance appropriate for a 60 year old design.  I also chose the 1/4” thicker option to help control this beast!  Since they weren’t applying a finish, Moto-Lita wouldn’t stamp the wheel with their logo but they would put “Made in Great Britain” on it.  Of course no discount for not finishing but they did refund me £40 for forgetting to stamp “Made in Great Britain”.  For the finish I applied 2 coats of Monocoat Rubio Pure hardwax followed by buffing with wool then cotton with red rouge.

1/26/2023 Metal-Morphous picked up ERA853 for transformation to a narrow hip.

10/12/2021

Peter Portante doesn't like pictures, especially selfies.  427 Roadster in the background is his personal car.  My car will get the same Sunburst wheels.