JeffersonRaley

I'll mostly use phone, but I'll also have a hidden key switch.

I installed the M.unit this weekend and it is working perfectly. I contacted Motogadget to see what "spike" amperage the circuits could handle, but they did not have that information. I figured it would be fine since motorcycle lights, fans and pumps spike when first turned on too. Worst case is it'll trip the circuit breaker and I'll have to reset the unit. So far it powers my fan, headlights and fuel pump with no issues. I'm pretty sure I won't even need a starter solenoid. I just wish it had another AUX circuit to power my electric water pump. Keyless start works perfectly, and everything is controlled from my steering wheel momentary pushbuttons. I altered the setup slightly from the diagram above. The M.unit handles parking lights differently than most cars, keeping the headlight on dimly. For now I'll probably just leave them disconnected since I don't think I've ever used parking lights in my 30+ years of driving. I won't be able to make much more progress until I get the engine and new ECU back.

@escondidoron - I have the same concerns. The amperage is fine for steady state, but may not be happy for the spikes when fans and pumps start up. I've emailed Motogadget to try to get more detail. Next weekend I plan to wire up what I can and see what happens. If I need to add relays I will, but I'd really like to keep the wiring loom as simple as possible. I wish they made just a slightly more robust M-unit for cars (I guess that would be a C-unit). 2 more circuits and higher amp ratings, plus some software tweaks, would make it a hit for hot rods, Sevens and other kit cars. Still a bargain compared to MoTex PDM, RacePak Smartwire, Cartek PDP, or HPE Powerbox.

I started a new project while I'm waiting on my rebuilt engine from Quicksilver. I'm going to replace the engine wiring harness because I'm switching from my old Haltech ECU to Performance Electronics. As long as I'm rewiring, I decided to radically simplify the body harness too. The Motogadget M-Unit is a solid state electrical control system designed for motorcycles. Our cars are only slightly more complicated, so I think it'll work out well. Benefits: Eliminate most fuses and relays because the M-Unit handles all of these natively Fuel pump Radiator fan Starter Ignition Parking lights Headlights Highbeam Brake Horn Turn signals/Hazards [*]Move all of my controls to the steering wheel to make me feel more like Kimi Raikkonen (turn, hazard, headlights, horn, starter and wiper all on the wheel) [*]Keyless start through smartphone paring [*]3-flash turn signals (or hold to flash for a designated amount of time) [*]1-button headlight control for on, off, flash, high beam, low beam [*]Built in alarm (which I'll probably disable) Here is my (draft) body wiring diagram. It's not quite complete because I'll still need separate circuits/fuses for Main fuse Alternator Electric water pump Dash Reverse light Wipers http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=14622&stc=1 And here is the steering wheel with buttons mounted and wired. http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=14621&stc=1 I'm also replacing all of the gauges with an Aim MXS Strada. So that also cleans up loads of wires from under the dash. Hopefully by the time I have all of this rewired the engine will be back and it'll be time to work on the engine harness. If anyone is interested, I'll post updates as I uncover issues and resolve them. If this works I'll probably start putting M-Units in all of my race cars and hot rods. It packs a lot of functionality into a very small package at a reasonable price.

I've never liked the 7" headlights on my Birkin, and want to switch to the new LED Caterham 5 3/4 units. Does anyone happen to know if the mounting stud is the same size on both the Caterham and Birkin?

I have the AT Power dry sump and didn't gain any ground clearance because of the transmission bellhousing and Birkin sump guard. Even without the guard the oil pickups drop below the level of the drysump. So I don't think you'll get much clearance, but you will get much better oiling on track. Note that I think the Raceline drysump is the better choice, regardless of clearance, because of the integrated & chain driven oil pump.

I haven't heard about one, except for some vague rumors of a track to replace TWS. But there are always rumors. I'm not sure it's easy to make money off of a track. Motorsports Ranch and MSRH seem to be doing very well. Eagles Canyon, Harris Hill and Driveway are all surviving, but the owners probably could have made more money with different investments. Even COTA is struggling (or says they are). Most of the rumored tracks never materialize. But if they build it I will go.

I've been talking with Quicksilver, and they definitely sound like the right kind of builder. I'll finish pulling the motor and mail it off to them next weekend. In 4-6 months I should finally have the Seven going again, faster than ever. In the meantime I think I'm going to buy an S2000 to get back on the track.

I know someone has shoved an EcoBoost into their Seven. But I'm not sure I want to bang my head against it for that long. After 4 years of mistakes I'm ready for a proven solution. Really at this point I'm ok spending a lot more money for something I am confident will work.

Yeah - I think I need a 2.5 making 270 hp. Leaning towards either OMEX/Burton or someone in the US like Beachman or Quicksilver or Focus Power.

Thanks for the recommendation - I'll check them out.

Thanks - I'll check them out

Yeah, the car is great. Even more so since I've gone through it and reworked several things. Turning it into a parts car does seem very silly. I'm researching engine options - the 2.5L Duratecs look fun (I know that is still tiny in you perspective!) But wow are they expensive. $15-20k is a lot, especially when the 450 bhp 6.3L in my hot rod cost less than $4k.

I've owned my Seven for 4 years now, and it has run properly for maybe 6 months of that time. The problem has been with poorly executed engine rebuilds. I've had 2 different shops rebuild the 2.0 Duratec. The first rebuild was done by TMW's shop and it never made oil pressure (among dozens of other issues). The second was done by Colvin Automotive here in Austin. It had a miss, and compression was 20lbs low on cylinders 3 & 4. I pulled the head this weekend and it is obvious that metal was left in cylinder 4 and bounced all over the place, scoring the cylinder walls, piston, head and valves. Fuuuuuuuuuudge. So basically I have 3 options: 1) Find yet another shop to rebuild the engine again (recommendations appreciated) 2) Buy a built 2.3 motor our of the UK. Probably Dunnell because Costworth is just too pricey. 3) Buy a running Seven and use my current car as a parts donor Thoughts? When this thing runs it is glorious and amazing. I'd give up on it if I could, but nothing I've ever driven has come close to the entertainment factor.

Just a heads up - my Duratec was showing signs of a timing issue at high RPM. I replaced the plugs & coils with no improvement. Eventually I used my calipers to verify the timing tools I bought from Massive Performance, and they were not to spec. The Ford tool 303-507 used to lock the crank in position should be 38.55mm, and the one I got from Massive was 37.15mm, over 1 mm off. Unfortunately you can't get the tool from Ford anymore, so I just ordered one from CFM. Hopefully that one will be the right size.

I put it on the line that feeds the oil pump from the tank. So I think you can do something similar. I'd take a picture, but everything is apart because I'm pulling the motor this weekend. The 2 psi opening check valve was just about the lowest I could find. I did find an industrial one that opened at (IIRC) 1 psi, but they weren't really set up to sell to consumers.

I have had an ongoing problem with the dry sump tank my Seven draining back into the engine when parked. This fills the engine with oil up past the crankshaft. When you start the car it creates all sorts of oil pressure in the bottom of the engine. The rear main seal was never designed to hold back pressurized oil, so it leaks. This is a pretty common issue with dry sump systems. The oil actually siphons through the feed line, into the oil pressure pump and on into the engine. Since the oil is siphoning in the same direction it usually travels, a 1-way check valve wouldn't normally be the solution. People solve this in all sorts of ways, but the common ones seem to be: 1) Lower the oil tank below the crankshaft (not practical in a low car) 2) Install a manual or electric ball valve to cut off oil flow when parked (dangerous and a pain in the neck for a street car) 3) Live with it (some cars don't leak all that badly, but mine does) I took a different route, and it seems to be working. I installed a 1-way check valve, but I did it in the direction of normal oil flow. So basically the check valve is preventing oil backflow (something that never happens). The trick is that the check valve requires 2 psi to open, which is enough to stop siphoning when parked. I'm using a 12AN check valve from Summit Racing that is typically used in fuel systems, so it is oil safe (generally if seals can live with gasoline, they can live with oil). No drop in oil pressure and the siphoning has stopped. Potential Downsides: 1) If my pressure drops to 2 psi it will immediately drop to 0. But at anything below 10 psi I would already need a new engine. 2) Oil flow might be slightly restricted... maybe... in theory. But my oil pressure is 18 psi at idle when hot off the track, so the check valve is wide open. 12AN is 3/4" inner diameter, so plenty of oil is flowing (you can see it pouring into the tank). Note - I'm using the AT Power dry sump. If I had it to do over I'd probably go with Raceline because their oil pump is integrated into the pan, so much easier to install. But the AT Power unit is billet aluminum and oh so pretty. Hopefully someone else will find this useful and saves someone else the time I spent figuring this out.

I am not a lawyer, but I did spend a lot of time reading up on this before I bought my Seven. In Texas (and many other states) cars are treated differently if they are a replica of an older legal production model. Therefore something like a replica 32 Ford hot rod, Shelby Cobra or Lotus Seven only has to comply with the laws in effect when the design was original, even though they may be 100% brand new. So Sevens made by Caterham and Birkin should be pretty safe unless the law changes (unlikely - what red blooded Texan would vote to make Cobra replicas illegal?). Replicas that differ more for the original, like Bruntons and Locosts, may be more at risk. Cars that are not replicas of legal production models, like Zenos, Ariel Atoms and sand rails, have to comply with the laws in effect when they were built. So a 2015 Ariel Atom should comply with all laws pertaining to any new 2015 car. That's one of the main reasons I didn't get one. My guess is that article is completely wrong about Myers Manx-style dune buggies because they are modified VW Beetles and so would probably be subject to the laws for the original Beetle build year as long as they use the original chassis and engine. Again, I'm not a lawyer so I could be reading the laws incorrectly. But the text seemed pretty straightforward when I Googled it.

Brutal!!!

Thanks Maurice - it's helpful to confirm before I start pulling it apart.

I have a Birkin S3 with a 2 liter Duratec and the rear main seal is leaking. I don't think I have clearance to pull the transmission alone, so it looks like I need to yank the entire engine. Looking at the frame rail clearance, it sure seems like it would be easier to drop it out the bottom of the car rather than pulling from the top (really I'll basically leave the motor where it is and use a cherry picker to lift the car off of it.) Has anyone done this, and any tips I should be thinking about? Thanks in advance!

Good to see it coming back together!

I would avoid any car built by TMW unless it has been sorted by a more experience mechanic (like the BAT one was). It has taken 3 years to sort mine out, and some of the shortcuts TMW took were astonishing. But to your original question, I really enjoy my Birkin. I choose it over the other options because of I wanted IRS and Caterhams hold their value too well. I paid less than half what a similar Caterham would have cost. For me the Westfields, Ultralites, Stalkers, etc were too dissimilar from the original Lotus look. That said, I've driven or ridden in a bunch of them and they are all insane fun. In my experience the difference between specific cars is greater than the difference between different makes. For example I've driven an Ultralite that was sublime, and another that was dangerously bad. http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=12319&stc=1

That is amazing,. I really like that they are measuring power for the engine weight. That's a much more relevant metric for a race car or superlight sports car. BHP per liter has always seemed like an irrelevant measure to me. Especially considering that the 6.2L v8 in my hot rod weighs about as much (and is about the same size as) a typical iron block OHC 4 cylinder. And 400 bhp in 88 lbs wins, not to mention how tiny that thing is. Wish I could afford one.

After way too long, my Seven is running again. I went with the Massive head, and unfortunately it took over 4 months for them to get here. But the engine does seem to make more power - I look forward to getting it on a dyno for some tuning. While I had the car apart I fixed several wiring issues, including a mistake the PO made wiring up the wideband. The past year has been an endless stream of problems - mostly due to 2 back-to-back engine rebuilds. I can't count the times I thought about giving up and buying a Cayman S or C7. A hundred feet into my test run all of those thoughts disappeared. These cars are weapons grade hilarity. Tomorrow I'll finish putting the bodywork back on and fabricate a cover for my relocated fuses and relays. Then it's off to get some cage reinforcement and it'll be ready for the track again. I can't wait!