papak

Contact Tom Carlin (tbox56 on this site). He has completed at least one 2.0l EcoBoost in a Birkin. As I recall, he had to modify the Birkin chassis as two angled braces had to be removed. The intercooler was also an interesting challenge.

Stock water pumps will almost assuredly cavitate at high rpm. All fixed pitch propellers are optimally effective in a fairly narrow rpm range. To deal with this, you can either run an electric coolant pump (Davies Craig or others) or plumb in a swirl pot to de-aerate the coolant before it continues through the system. The guys who run Evans NPG coolant are advised to reverse the coolant flow for best performance but this strategy really only works for NPG coolant due to it’s fluid properties. I have run the Evans stuff in a 944 at Willow Springs in the summer with no problem but most sanctioning bodies won’t allow it any longer. If you spill some on the track, it is REALLY greasy. I believe the Evans website has a couple of excellent technical articles on coolant plumbing.

3M Upholstery cement works with it. Much cheaper.

Basically vacant space. Access to inspect the rear suspension, fuel lines, fuel filter, etc. the floor is removable in order to be able to change the fuel pumps and access the fuel sender and fuel pressure regulator. The entire framework can be removed with eight bolts if necessary after removing the roll bar.

Mine came with the fiberglass boot as well but it didn’t fit particularly well, a bit warped. Plus, to my mind, it’s more fun to do it yourself. I never realized it but I get much more satisfaction from doing sheet metal fabrication than fiberglass work. It doesn’t itch as much either.

I have always wanted an enclosed boot in order to carry a few tools and a scissor jack. Why have a spare on the back with no way to change it. This was a perfect quarantine project. After taking a number of measurements and roughly sketching out a few ideas, I had a local sheetmetal supplier cut and bend strips of .080 aluminum to form the front and rear supports for the structure. I roughed out the inner structure with corrugated cardboard. The corners of the box are reinforced with 1"x1' aluminum extrusion (1/16' thick). The box itself is formed from .060 aluminum and a whole lot of rivets. Some of the structure was done with flush head rivets for clearance purposes. Fortunately, here in LA, we have several aircraft surplus shops. They are a great source for small amounts (50-100) of rivets and they usually have high quality stuff. Much of the sheet aluminum came from one of the local metal suppliers who has a rack of remnants on the side that are sold by the pound. Many a Socal hot rod has come from that source. The finished compartment measures roughly 12"x18" and about 8" deep. The covers are held on with camloc fasteners. Aircraft quality and dead on reliable. So far, I have opted to finish the top side with a 600 grit random orbital sander. It may get polished in the future but for now, this makes it much easier to blend out any road rash. Now I feel better about venturing further from home.

I had the opposite experience. A friend let me drive his 911SC at a drivers ed at Lime Rock. In short order, I found a very nice 944 that had been gone through by a local restoration shop. This took me through a number of DEs and on to PCA Club Racing. With that car, I got to drive most of the courses on the East Coast. I eventually brought the car with me to California and competed with and instructed for POC for several more years. I finally sold it when I couldn’t get any more out of it. I ended up buying, restoring and racing the vintage Formula Vee that I couldn’t afford 50 years ago. Now I’m having a ball with he Birkin. I’ve loved every bloody-nuckled minute of it.

I needed a reasonably secure compartment to store my jack and tools as I consider longer road trips. This is being done in aluminum. I am still waiting for the interior pieces to come back from the sheetmetal shop (needed a shear and and a wider brake). The top covers are .060 6061 sanded down with a 600 grit random orbital. I may have them polished to match the rest of the car, just living with it a bit. They are held down with 2700 series Camlocs. Really nice to work with.

John, I have been using a grey AC Delco RTV with no issues on surfaces such as the sump. Mine is an early Raceline wet sump and it sealed up perfectly on initial installation. When I rebuilt the T-9, I used Loctite 515. It seals well and allowed me to separate the various sections the numerous times necessary. Once it has set up (it doesn't actually cure according to the literature), it seals very well. It's also a cool purple color. Need forget the artistic component. That's what keeps us going some days.

Walbro is the way to go...

I occasionally get asked why it took me over 2 years to put my Birkin together. It is not only the appropriate attention to detail, but a driving curiosity about all of the components and processes involved in such a complex project. I too had similar questions about the discrepancies in torque values, wiring issues and cooling strategy (among many topics), much of which I have sought the help of members of this forum on. Our fellow forum members have been the greatest single asset in the journey. One can't help but acquire a host of new skills in the course of the project, an aspect I was much looking forward to. After having spent the first month of the quarantine resolving an oxygen sensor issue and rebuilding my transmission, I am in the last few days of fabricating an aluminum boot compartment. I'll post some pics of that project in a few days. Glad to hear you're getting back on the road. I should be metaphorically joining you by the weekend.

It’s a pain in the ass to extract the old seal without removing the tailshaft but I guess it could be done. I would remove the tail shaft housing. The gear itself can easily be tapped off the shaft and the remaining side shaft punched out of the tail shaft housing. You can get the correct plug from Chris at BGH Geartech In England. PM me for more info. I recently did this during a rebuild.

I did much of the same internal “cleanup” in my block as well. I also changed all the galley plugs to threaded ones. It was the only way I felt confident about the cleanliness of the galleys.

I have the same transition issue. I currently use a removeable section of 3/32” SS wire to which we created a bead on the end with a TIG. It’s still not a smooth enough transition.

I like your dipstick solution. What type of dipstick is it, blade or wire? I used a similar solution but due to a different motor mount style, I stabilized mine to the firewall next to the steering shaft.

I just went through this with my Innovate wideband sensor and controller. The shortest cable they offer is about 48". I had to send my controller and sensor back to them for testing and calibration verification. They couldn't shorten the cable for me. They said that since their proprietary technology produces such a fast response time, the inherent resistance in the cables and connectors is factored into the engineering solution. Whenever I shorten a cable, I use a Weatherpak connector. Yes, they are a bit bulky but the soldered connection is protected within the connector. I have never been able to measure ANY resistance in these connectors when properly assembled and I have never had one fail. I'll have my car running this weekend. Once I verify the validity of the 02 signal, I plan on testing a sensor with a shortened cable. My O2 sensor (a proprietary Bosch unitThe longer cable, from the controller to the sensor cable connector, is the real problem. This I neatly coil, zip tie and position in the bottom of the electrical bay (I have a Birkin). If I can find the weird boxy connector that they use to fabricate the long cable, I may try to put together a shorter one and test it. That would lighten the car another 4 ounces.

When you have all of the bits correctly torqued and the car is on the ground, mark all of the appropriate nuts and bolt heads with Dykem Crosscheck Torque Seal. This is the stuff aviation mechanics use. Boeing uses it as well as Gulfstream, Dassault and others. It is described as a tamper-proof indicator paste. I used to use Torque Seal, a colored inspection lacquer but it is no longer available. The Dykem stuff comes in a variety of colors. It's like a thickened paint, designed to show a visible crack if the fitting moves. It definitely makes for quick visual inspections of the suspension bits. Aircraft Spruce sells it.

Randall was gracious enough to let me drive this car when I was considering which route to go. It is an excellent car with all of the development issues resolved. The availability of the trailer is a real plus. It’s just the right size.

You could cut a valve spring in half with a cutoff wheel and sandwich it between two fender washers and run a through bolt through the whole "sandwich". Just use a locknut. That should work.

How much do you figure it will cost to polish out the aluminum? 22” wide seats will be a very tight fit (if at all). Try Kirky drag seats (same as the road race style but without the shoulder wings) with covers. Much more cost effective,and they will definitely fit width wise (17-19”). They are actually quite comfortable.

The box is finally back together and all gears engage! One of the last frustrations was getting the centering spring correctly mated to the centering pin in the tail shaft. I mounted the gearbox to the bell housing this morning. Is should be back in the car later today.

What is the most effective solvent for removing Hylomar sealant? It's been many years since my Formula Ford days and I can't recall anything other than leaking gear lube that removed it efficiently. TIA

I just a replacement from Aircraft Spruce. I’m hoping an “aircraft quality” mount will last longer. You really have to minimize the offset.

I spoke with Tom the other day. He is doing well. Things are moving along.

That looks pretty much as I remember it. I know that I sent them a couple of pictures of what I had and they took care of the rest. They were great to deal with.