Kitcat

PM sent on possible source of used clam set.

Don: I know nothing about the early Birkins, and (sadly) have nearly zero mechanical skills/knowledge. I wld suggest googling "birkin owners group", and posting your question there. It's a Yahoo based discussion group on all things Birkin. Maybe also post here with a new topic heading, as there are many much more mechanically inlined/knowledgeable Birkin owners here as well. Brake upgrade may not be essential. Have you had issues? My experience is our cars are so light and have so much wind resistance that just lifting off the accelerator is often enough. And the fronts do 80% of the braking anyhow.Just a thot.

The guy, LOL! I can say that while the cars are visually simlar, they are different in critical areas. For instance, when I tried to put my official Caterham Brooklands screens on my Birkin it was all wrong, a bit too wide, wrong shape. When I put my official Caterham carbon fiber Tilet seat into the Birkin, the Birkin was too narrow. After I removed the intertior panels from the Birkin if freed up enough room for the seat. So, doors, who knows? There IS a lot of overlap with the body so perhaps precise fitament isnt critical. I no longer have Caterham doors (side screens) as current Cat is track only. And dont ask Texas Moror Works, they should know, but dont (told me the brooklands wld just drop right in-not!).

And, when you day 59 pounds each, I assume you mean 5.9 pounds, right? Beautiful cars, btw.

I know I speak for everyone on this forum when I say I am not one bit jealous of your garage:).

Ooooh, the equalizer:). Sure wld settle some arguments. Like others tho, I like having my excuses for not catching driver "X". It makes total sense to save your X-Flow for spirited street driving and using this on track. Especially if the already low price is not firm. Virtually the same spec as my track-only Cat, for $8K less money (currently).

Croc has done his usual thorough job here. I wld add that my first Caterham was a '98 w/X-flow engine that was registed in NJ. I bought it there from the original owner who convinced DMV that it had a 1960's Ford Pinto engine, thereby avoiding some of the the crazy stuff.

I wonder how many (any?) newer Caterhams than this were equipped with this engine? In other words, is it the last Kent engined Caterham to come off the assembly line, so to speak? If so, that mite add some value?

Alaskossie: Those are very tempting photos. The idea of a semi-reliable Europa is very appealing, especially with that car's power and other spec. I am suffering from cabin fever and photos like that arent helping:)!

Maybe do a "search" for "registration" and "NJ" first on this site. Or wait for Croc, et al, to comment . That might be the single biggest obstacle. And, does it have a title? My Caterham race car does not, just a bill of sale. I am not sure how much of a hassle getting a title will be. As to the questions you actually asked, I think making it streetable is pretty simple, the car lilkely was streetable and then de-contented when made track ready. So wiring, fuses etc shd be in place (tho getting access to things may be a PITA). Hopefully, there will be people with the parts you want sitting in their basements and you won't have to go to Caterham for what you need which is signif $. Reliability. Properly maintained Caterhams are pretty stout. Tne occasional nightmare seems to be electrical/ECU, not mechanical. Understand tho, that they are much less reliable than, say, a Miata, or any other modern car. So the expression:"It's always something" seems relevant. Usually that something is minor and, if you have some mechanical skills and time, easily fiixed. Seats and harnesses, do a search here as well, many discussions in the past. Brooklands, I dont know but suspect a windshield is mandatory. It seems like a whole lotta Caterham for this price (cheapest I have EVER seen, incl old broken down, short cockpit, solid axle, 4sp, Kent engined cars). It is ideal for someone with a need for a pure track car, but at this price, I agree that it is tempting for a street conversion.

Does the Morgan have an aluminum "bonnet", like the se7en? The single strap in the middle mite warp a se7en bonnet. I have seen plenty of se7ens, mine included, where owner forgot to secure all the hood latches before headed to the street/track, so the leather strap wld be a nice safety redundancy.

Didnt meet reserve, highest bid, $18.1. Exdoc-It mite do better if more pix like the two with just the pure green shrubbery in background, no other clutter (cars, charcoal grills,motorcycles, boxes etc). Those really show off the car's strengths (What do I know tho, my Birkin hasnt sold either:)).

Yes, Jeff's wife could fairly be described as a "car guy" and/or "track junkie".. She comes in off the track just as pumped up as any of us and talking all about apexes and braking points! Jeff: Dancing? Where was that???? Klassic-Tom actually is an amazingly successful guy who invested much time and $ in a comany which was so successful that he was able to cash out at a relatively young age: sort of the dot.com dream, without the dot.com. Have you done Tail of the Dragon before? If so, what was your impression? It makes me nervous to see all that Armco and all those trees, so close to the "track". As you may know, many of us participated at the USA7s.com 50th year birthday celebration of the Lotus 7 at the Tail of the Dragon, back in 2007 (Jeez time is flyin by). For recreational driving, it was fantastic.

Karl: But those were the "low fat" ribs I was eating:)! I gotta say, Croc on the bronco was a highpoint. As I have previouly noted, he got the good sport award for that one. Klassik-Retirement guilt? Talk to Tom (YellowSS), I think he retired in his teens and seems pretty much guilt free:).

Thx. The date I used is the SCDA date. My court case calender fills up 3-4 months out (scheduling cases for May now) so wld be very helpful to know what the alternate dates mite be so I can block them out

Klasik: Order the cage from Mid-Atlantic and then pick it up when you and your car join us for the annual usa7s gathering/track day event at NJMP this June 24-25:)!

I had Toyo RA1s on the back of my Cat and Avons on the front. The car was very balanced/neutral, even at 10/10ths on the track. So grip was identical in spite of the fact that the RA1's cost about 1/3. And My Toyos (which I still have) have abt 13K miles of mixed street and track use. Doubt you cld get that out of an Avon R500 (and still have any grip).

Thx, Nick, I realized that also, after my post.

The rear wing seems way too low/out of the airstream to have an effect. Any thots?

Call Chris at Sevens and Elans for likely definitive answer. Or, consider cross post on the usa@se7ens.net list.

Ahhh, the joys of the dyno "Grand Prix". Your Duratec is making abt 75 more hp than my Duratec. So ya got something for all your money. And, normally aspirated cars show smaller and smaller returns as hp goes up for $ spent. If ya really want to go big, do a turbo!!! You have that "large" SV engine bay. Much bigger bang for the hp buck w/forced induction. I am very impressed with how (relatively) flat your curves are between 6-8.5K rpm's. With your 6 sp transmission, you should be able to stay in that large, predictable sweet spot everywhere on the track. So the engine looks to be very ''driveable". That is a tuning goal even more than peak hp. Also big diff between crank hp and rear wheel (aka, real world). Also big diff between what after markets suppliers promise vs. reality. And, every dyno is different. Some are much more conservative than others.

The Birkin sale ended with a bid of $22.2K which didnt make reserve. Looks like a $25K+ car to my uneducated eye.

To digress: The term "Simplicate and add lightness" is attributed to William Bushnell Stout (1880-1956), or to one of the engineers in his employment. Like Chapman, Stout also designed a lightweight car with aluminum panels, etc., (but in 1932). It was called the Scarab and 9 were built. So I think Colin C popularized the expression. And he certainly had more automotive success. PS: I ordered the shirt, BTW.

I think the straight rear axle makes it a pre-2009 Birkin. How "pre" is unclear tho.

Woody Hayes would be proud!