Davemk1

Ride height on these cars is not set this way. It's set by setting the front shock eye-eye number to 294 mm and then setting the rear part of the chassis a certain amount above the front to establish rake. This way stuff like tire and wheel diameter won't influence the number and the suspension angles will all be correct. As I recall the front shock eye-eye is 294 mm and there should be 15 mm of rake. So you would measure the ride height under the front of the chassis and add 15 mm to get the rear. I'm working off my not so good memory on this so someone else should chime in if I'm wrong. I hope that helps. dave

I think Dick has the price listed on his home page. In any case Dick has it listed for $25K with all spares and race wheels included. If you'd like any additional photos let me know. Thanks for asking, dave

I hope that I don't have it until then but I suppose anything is possible. Keep an eye on this space or email me directly when you are ready. Thanks for the interest. Dave

The full listing is now up on the Texas Motorworks site with lots of photos and all the info. I bought the car through Dick Brink at Texas Motorworks an he is first class and I suspect that I will be buying another car from him in the future. Here's the link - http://www.texasmotorworks7.com/webtemplate.aspx?IID=2430444 dave

Asking for proof of registration more than 15 years ago is a simple and clever way to prove age. I wish I'd thought of that. Dave

I wonder how one proves the date of manufacture on something? It's not like they have birth certificates. Does anyone know how this works? I'm just curious to know how they are dated. dave

Actually.......... it's not a problem. My official Bill of Sale and official Montana title lists the car as a "1969 Birkin". So as far as anyone is concerned it's a 1969. I can send you a photo of the title if you are interested. Let me know if you'd like more photos of the list of features/improvements. I can email them to you if you like. Thanks, Dave

Cool that your riding buddy has a Terraplane. Small world eh? The roll bar is 3" taller than the very low stock Birkin bar. It allows the driver to drive the car with a helmet on with the top up. When I made the bar I had a new top made that came out much nicer than the stock Birkin top. I am very pleased with the canvas guy's workmanship. Dave

If he wants to head east to Bozeman MT I'll give him a ride and let him drive too if he wants. dave

They are Team Dynamics wheels - 15 x 7. It's a nice light wheel that I like the look of very much. I got them from a Miata supplier. dave

I have toyed with the idea of building my own Seven at some point and if I did it would have round tube most everywhere. I think there are places where a flat sided tube might work better but I think the big reason most have them is that it's much easier to miter tubes to meet one another. But once you are set up to mitre one round tube to fit another it's just as easy. Maybe a lugged Seven? dave

Thanks so much for the kind words. There are many parts of life that do not reward my natural tendency to be a bit anal.............. but bicycle framebuilding isn't one of them. It allows me to fuss over the little details to my hearts content. The Birkin has been much the same way. I'm a real stickler for having things work as they should. This is especially true when it comes to alignment and handling. The car is so easy to drive at it's limit that it's very rewarding to play with. Thanks again, Dave

Hey there, I was sure this day would never come but I guess the phrase "never say never" should fit as I'm offering my 1999 Birkin S3 up for sale. I'll post a few photos here and if anyone would like more I have many I can send you. I also have a very extensive list of features and improvement made to the car that I can email to interested parties as it's way too much to stick in a post here. Just the basics - 1999 Birkin S3 - I'm the second owner of this car. It has a 2.0 L Zetec from a 1997 Contour (desirable hydraulic lifters model) fitted with Weber DCOE 45's. It makes 143 hp and 137 lbs/ft at the rear wheels on the dyno (figure 165ish at the crank). It has a Ford T9 5 speed and a live axle with a Quaiffe LSD fitted. I've used the car for fun street use and some autocross since early 2006 and in that time gotten it very well sorted and competitive in DM Solo. The car has many FTD's and is two time overall state championships to its name. The car will come with all the related stuff I have for it including full weather gear and a set of race wheels with 1/2 season old Hoosiers and a custom made quick release rack to haul them to events. When I autocross I drive it to events and change tires there and drive it home. No trailer or truck needed and a cheap way to be very competitive if you like autocross. I also have a pretty good sized list of spares that will go along with the car. It makes for a really fun street car and is quiet enough for regular street use and it's very comfortable to spend time in. I really love this car and have spent countless hours getting everything just right on it. It is not a show car but a very reliable street car. Everything works all the time. Please let me know if you'd like some more photos sent your way along with the list of features and improvements and I'll get them right out to you. Thanks much. Dave info (at) kirkframeworks.com 406 582 9084 Montana

Wow, I had no idea some much bad stuff was happening there when I posted my weather forecast. Sorry about that - it comes off as flip and non-caring. I just didn't know about the flooding. I wish all the best to you all and hope you all come out safe and sound. dave

I run .25* camber on the front of my Birkin with Hoosier slicks and 1/8" toe out for autocross and get pretty darn even temps across the tire. I'm running 8" wide tires with 14 psi FWIW. dave

Winter is not a good time to enjoy your Seven in Montana but fall on the other hand is just right. This fall is even better than usual. Come on by and we'll go rip some back roads. Dave

That's interesting. I don't run with that many other D/E mod cars but I don't know anyone using a DOT tire. We all seem to use Hoosier road race slicks. Even with that said stuff like this is typically not checked. Not a complaint - just an observation. dave

I removed the entire key/steering lock system from my Birkin. On mine it hung below the dash a bit and would have opened my knee up in a big way in any kind of accident. So with the key/lock mechanism removed I rewired the system with a prefab ignition switch/starter button from Pegasus Racing. I located the switch plate up under the dash on the vertical surface on the inside of the cowling. This makes it very hard to see but very easy to reach. I think it would take someone unfamiliar with the car a good long time to find the switch. I really like the set up as everything falls right to hand and yet is completely out of the way. Along with this I wired in an emergency electric cut off switch to the battery that has a removable key (also from Pegasus). This is required by SCCA rules to run in the D Mod class - however I've never heard of or seen anyone ever check for the switch in tech. Nonetheless I added one because it is required and it's a convenient way to disable the car electrically. True that the "key" is a standard deal and others may have a similar key but it seems pretty unlikely to have someone walking through the Costco parking lot will have a race key, be motivated to steal the Birkin in daylight and be able to find the the ignition switch. Security isn't a big deal in my case as I only park the car overnight outside my own garage a night or two a year and even then it's in a very controlled situation. When there is any doubt about the security of the car I remove the key and take the steering wheel with me so I feel the only way anyone is going to steal it is if they winch it onto a trailer and they be able to do with with or without the key/steering wheel. My 2.500 cents. dave

Nice work. Dave

Results never lie so if it works go with it. I suspect you might be seeing that the pressure you were running was too high for the amount of camber/caster in your set up. Run lots of camber and high pressure and you'll ride around on the inside edges and see big push. The if you lower the pressures you will soften the side walls and allow the tire to distort to make a larger/flatter contact patch. I think you are right in that different tires react differently........... and suspension set ups will favor different pressures. Experiment and find out what works best for your tire, your car and your driving style. Dave I dont know that I agree with you. I have experimented alot with tire pressures on street tires and 1-2 pounds makes a huge difference in the way the car handles. Example when I ran my front tires at 21 psi I had severe understeer issues. Drop the pressures to 18 psi and it turned like it was on rails. Same track same temps same corners. I shaved 2 seconds off lap times with the lower pressures. I had the same experience on the street. I suppose this can change from one manufacturer to another. I think Monda and I are using the same tires.

Street tires, unlike a road race slick, don't change foot print size (and therefore traction) that much with small changes in air pressure. The thick belts under the tread have more to do with your contact patch size than the pressure does. Sure if you go way up or down you'll get the contact patch size to change but a few pounds won't make much difference. What will change a good bit with air pressure is how stiff the sidewall of the tire is. At low pressures the tire will tend to roll over during hard cornering and you will reduce your momentary contact patch. If you increase air pressure you will stiffen the sidewall and keep more of the thread on the ground and have better traction. There is another thing that increasing the tire pressure does and that is reduce the slip angle. This will help the tire roll in the direction it's pointed. It's too nice out to write a bunch about slip angle but I'll bet if you google it you get more than you want. If it were me I'd bump the rear pressures up some. The car might feel a bit more edgey and have a more narrow window but I'll bet it hooks up better. This is only for DOT tires. Once you move to slicks you can play a good bit more with pressures and contact patch size vs sidewall stiffness. Dave

I'm running the same rates as Slomove - 325 and 175. I've experimented with higher rates and the car transitions very crisply but hooks up not nearly as well. After playing around a lot this is where I ended up. Dave

I'd go and drive them and see what fits you best and what feels the best. In the end Dick is very good to do business with. I bought my Birkin from him and would do so again in a heartbeat. dave

Looks to me like they borrowed a bit from the Artega playbook. Dave

It was my pleasure. I hope the trip home was uneventful. Stay well, Dave