papak

Just installed a Deltran in the Birkin. My Braille finally gave up the ghost after 5 years. Nearly a third of the weight of the old Braille B-129 (3.2 vs 9.3 lbs) The only issue with installation is that the Deltran is slightly narrower at the base in both dimensions. This needs to be factored in in the mounting design.

Tom Carlin says the it is usually related to grounding issue. Check battery to block ground, ECU ground, starter ground, etc.

I've know Chris Musante for years. Very successful PCA racer and has had the shop doing prep and repair work for 20+years. Very competent.

If that's the biggest screwup so far, you're way ahead of most of us.

I haven’t had a single problem here in LA. I’ve stopped and chatted with cops and been at C&Cs with them in attendance with no problems at all.

We are going to be re-roofing the garage in the next month or so and this seems like a good time to "clear the shelves". All of the listed parts are for a Birkin SS3XS unless otherwise noted. fiberglass boot liner in excellent condition. New Duratec starter. This is for a Ranger flywheel. The ring gear on the lightened Focus flywheel that I am using is slightly different. Who knew? Side mirrors; a pair of 4" round stainless steel ones from Speedway in perfect condition, a pair of black Emko ones original to the car, perfect as well. A barely used heated windscreen, original to the car. I run Brooklands and am very happy with them. ITG air filter, square shouldered sausage style with mounting plate to fit 4 48mm ITBs the original steering wheel and hub assembly fuel pressure regulator, Chinese in origin but it accurately holds 42 psi and doesn't leak. I am running a physically smaller one now due to space constraints set of Accel COP coils keyed ignition switch original Birkin grill valve cover for the Duratec Stock cams (with gears) for the 2.3l Duratec rear cover for a Subaru R160 diff I also have various sensors, switches and other small stuff. If you need something not listed here, pm me. I may have it as I am just starting to go through this stuff. I've held on to all this stuff for a couple of years and have pretty much settled on the configuration of the car now so it all has to go. Make me an offer on any or all of it. I am located in LA. I am happy to work with a buyer on delivery in SoCal but other than that the shipping is up to you. Pictures on request.

I built an SS3XS a couple of years ago. One of the few suggestions I would make is to take a close look at some of the hardware that comes with the kit and consider upgrading the suspension bolts to better stuff, maybe 12.9. Try boltdepot.com or mcmastercarr.com. Also give a long hard look at the orientation of some of these bolts as you will want to be able to recheck the torque from time to time. Once the assembly is complete, they aren’t coming out again until a major chassis rebuild. Consider covering the steering arms and front ar bar pushrods with heat shrink tubing as those parts will pick up a bit of abrasive wear over time. If you are using a Subaru diff, make sure to get a reliable LSD ( not the viscous). I am running an AP Suretrac now and it works great. Definitely plumb in an air/oil separator. You will astounded at the amount of moisture it accumulates on short, neighborhood runs. Enjoy the build. The process itself is an immense amount of fun.

I have to admire the glovebox solution. Cup holders as well!

Not yet but looking into a few things (more like eliminating culprits). This may be delayed a bit as I am trying to get the garage re-roofed over the next few weeks.

It does occasionally occur in a straight line, usually upon accelerating after holding a constant speed in 2nd or 3rd. Probably not the LSD as this is the second LSD in the car. It seems to be correlated to the presumed peak torque, around 3500-4000 rpm.

I have reached out to Exedy USA for suggestions. They make some reference to this possibility in that they list a similar style but higher capacity clutch plate as an option.

try "https://jollyrogersmotors.com". They carry some unique vintage parts. They may have what you want or can locate it. Their phone number is on the website.

Three of us got out for the Drive at Dawn. Saw hardly anyone while taking Mulholland up to the county line. Splendid drive though. One of the fellows had a Caterham CSR with a turboed 2.0l Ecotec. 301 hp at the rear wheels. Impressive installation.

Thanks. I’ll give it a try. I’ve tried everything else.

It only occurs when the drivetrain is “loaded”, as in accelerating through a turn in second or third. The drivetrain is perfectly intact. No clutch slip or tire spin. I’ve experienced the event since initial assembly. The diff is a new Suretrac in an R160. The cv’s are perfect.

I have noticed that in the lower gears (2nd, 3rd particularly), as I approach max torque (3500-4000 rpm), I sometimes experience a shuddering in the drivetrain that seems unrelated to engine function. At first, I presumed this was related to the incomplete tuning of the ECU functions but now that I have been running close sloop for a while, the problem is still evident. It is as if the friction plate springs are becoming heavily loaded and start to “fight back” as it were. A simple feathering of the clutch seems to resolve the problem momentarily. I am running an Exedy organic clutch and pressure plate on a lightened Exedy flywheel, all designed for a Ford Focus. While I plan on contacting Exedy today, have any others experienced this sort of problem? When I recently had the drivetrain apart to rebuild the transmission, the clutch components looked perfect. Both the flywheel and friction disk were perfectly flat with no discoloring. The springs showed no wear on the ends. The splines were fine.

I keep the receipts in a zippered binder hidden away in a dark corner. It’s now 2” thick and the zipper is getting quite strained.

Saw this one on a fellow race car years ago: “Driver carries no cash-(anymore)”. How true...

At 1 ½ hours into the Sunday blast, I noticed that my thumbs were getting a bit numb from the collective NVH. Well worth it!

We moved out to LA from Connecticut when the grandchildren started to appear. I was much more into racing back there (PCA Club racing in a 944). New England is laced with great roads and wonderful drives. The backroad drives are about all my friends back there are doing now. I guess I shouldn’t complain considering the alternatives. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

This pandemic experience is really starting to get to me (understatement!). Southern California may be the Cars & Coffee capital of the country (no geographic offense intended) but nearly all of the usual events have been formally cancelled for the time being. Personally, I am among those who just don’t want to risk the exposure to even the few informal meet-ups that I see occurring but I certainly miss the shared social experience. Maybe it’s just the idea of having a specific destination in mind when I leave the house. As an alternative, I have been doing long early morning drives through the hills above Malibu on the weekends. This opportunity is one of the true blessings of living out here. Apparently, I’m not alone. While cruising across Mulholland Drive, I saw half dozen or so McLarens passing in the opposite direction. Over an hour or so, I saw various Porsches, Ferraris as well as a selection of Lambos and other exotics. On the way down Malibu Canyon, there were 3 Morgan tri-wheelers in close formation as well as the usual collection of bikes. As a testament to our collective sanity, there were only 5 or 6 bikes parked at the Rock Store (as opposed to the usual 50 or so on a Sunday morning). Several notes to self; don’t plan a route into the rising sun at dawn. Several times I would come around a bend only to have to slam on the brakes as the glare of the glare of the sun blinded me. Some of the shear rock faces regularly shed debris on the road when you least expect it. The cops up there are pretty decent if you don’t get stupid about the speed. When I finally arrive home, the first question my wife asks is “You didn’t stop anywhere, did you?” I can’t wait for a vaccine!

This is a recent shot of mine. The nice thing is that you can powder coat it to look fulfill your wildest imagination! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Try Tom Carlin. He had some made locally. I have one and it is well done. It solved the clearance issue I had with running a 2.3 in a 2 liter chassis. Well machined, o-ring included as well as the low profile filler cap. I think it was about $400.

I finished mine in 2017. The 2.3 Duratec has proven to be one of the driest motors I have ever built. I finally got the transmission sealed as well. Unfortunately, it took several tries to get the O2 Sensor controller to function correctly. Innovate was quite helpful but things were complicated by their acquisition by Autometer and the subsequent relocation to Chicago ( from Costa Mesa, CA). Just finished an all aluminum boot and cover.

Finally took the car out for a spin this morning up PCH and through the Malibu mountains (such as they are). The route took me by several regular C&C sites and I was really surprised to see cars pulling in to them. I’m as hungry for social interaction as the next guy but the average age at these events has to be well over 50 and we are still logging over 1,000 new cases a day in LA. At the risk of appearing too politically correct, I have to say that I am disheartened by the lack of concern. On the other hand, the new lambda controller works correctly and the closed loop mode is adjusting the fuel map quickly. The 2.3 has a ton of torque and the acceleration is now butter smooth. Now to find a dyno!