southwind25

i looked up the wear #'s for this falken tire that came on the car..420? uh, does that mean it's a 100k tire on a se7en will last longer than the car? i need to find a corperate sponsor to pay for all this stuff... :willy:

our accomidations budget is very humblehttp://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/717140889_tent.jpg

As a rather new Birkin owner...so far i love the car! It seems very well engineer'd and seems to have a good combination of parts. You will find a fair support group for this car, but not as extensive as for the caterham. The engine within it sounds pretty common and should be fairly easy to get parts. my 1.6 x-flow is very easy to find parts and so far seems to be great if not underpowered.. And of course like most se7en's the car is very upgrad-able as your fabrication skills or wallet allows. This would include, if you wish, changing from RHD to LHD with a bit of effort. My ginetta G4 is a RHD and i plan on keeping it that way. toll booths, bank drive thru's and passing are a bit of a hassle..it's up to you of course. it seems the Birkin has at least the longevity of a caterham and a few examples have been around for quiet a time being used in many conditions. matter of fact theres one fellow who has a series 1 who drives it around frozen volcanoes somewhere out far east. Of course it would be quiet a diffrent car from your BMW..it is much more in your face as you say.

Seems to us this subject is very much "ON Topic" We accept the challenge! Our se7en has "1,486" miles on it. yeah thats 1,486 miles on a 9 year old se7en! Ok sure we could keep her super low miles and push her on and off a trailer going to car shows and whatever..but if we wanted a pure showpiece we could just hang a picture of one in the garage to stare at. We bought it to drive. So as soon as the rain washes away the big piles of snow (or is that salt?) off the frozen tundra of ohio roads we are good to go. Our first goal is to wear out the rock hard tires that came with it so we have an excuse to buy a new set of those toyo's. Miles of smiles to come! :)

We sent an invite to C.A.L.L. and Mike R. (we belong to the cleveland lotus club now) The Austin Healey club sometimes has a few go as well from this area. We are camping not getting a room. Basically whoever wants to come along is fine,,,but mini vans have to stay 200 yards behind please.

Certian cars should not be allowed to mate:ack:

This was a easy upgrade. We got a 5 led light from e-bay that worked perfect. It was a chopper/motorcycle light for custom frame effects. It's about as big as my small finger but bright as heck! 3$ or something. we ran wires through the roll bar down the birdcage close to where the rear light connector is. We simply found the hot wire for the brakes using a meter and probe. we clamped a clamshell style connector on the hot line and wrapped it with weather tape. Then we found a nice nearby screw and put an "O" style connector on that to ground. We already had the boot area apart to replace the gas cap so it took us only a couple hours. We thought the hood would cover the light and it does. However as it turned out, it lights up the whole rear window when on!!:rofl:

We would be more than happy to caravan over there together with you. Mary is able to go now so we will have both seats and the new saddlebag full. remember,,,we only have the 1600 x-flow and you have the firebreathing zetec..we will try and keep up.

From what i am seeing on the official website, there wont be an ohio run this year...if i am mistaken please inform us and we will deffinitly do that one!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1960-LOTUS-7-Chassis-Number-001_W0QQitemZ270188542733QQihZ017QQcategoryZ43114QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem :7frog: very interesting..

Thats like: Sterling Moss cool.. :thumbs: Mary would never ride in the car with me wearing such she would take the keys away

gee i wonder what the law does when they see a motorcycle with the driver-to-passenger intercom's then? You can wear a helmet that covers the ears...crazy laws. :bs: So much for my intercom with i-pod idea..:nonod:

Gary, yes i (bob) plan on going though Mary wont be able to make it, she's off to vegas for a work related trip. I plan on driving as well. I think you'll find a long thread about this here in the PA area. matter of fact we just registered. ** correction Mary's trip was postponed till october, so she will be there as well**

Some of the Birkin owners (me included) have gone to Woody Harris' rear trailing arm kit to improve the rear tire contact over less than ideal roads. It might be worth looking into. Here's a photo I have at work: Tell me more about this kit? looks nice. Is it simply an adjustable set of trailing arms? or is there more involved? are they aluminum? steel? Humbly admit we dont know Woody Harris, yet. what size (model etc) rod ends? inquiering Birkin minds want to know please.

Yes, please keep me-us informed on this lizardskin sheilding. we took out the trashy looking aluminized "stuff" we found on the birkin. We have the headers wrapped inside the bodywork but are sure more will be needed. dont want to melt our new shoes!:ack:

If anyone is interested..it gives you a great opportunity to do something positive, giving and fun with our toys.. We will be signing up for the michigan one. http://www.abrr.org/

Yes we will be there for sure, unless something breaks along the way. the evening drive sounds great.

what make-brand headlight is being used on this car?

Could the front fender be moved-spaced up and away from the tire a bit? i know it may catch a bit more air under it but?

> Ohhhwww,,let us know how they are!...inquiring minds with bland tires wish to know. price seems in line. And where did you get the bright-neon orange color paint? I have been looking for such a paint and could only find it in a flat finish. (Not for my wheels but for the rudder-centerboard of our sailboat)

Now here's the dilema.. personally i think having a set of good goggles and even the leather (or a canvas) helmet is way cool.. and deffinitly the goggles are practical. The 7 is a rather open car windshield or not! BUT...Mary thinks it would look just way to "goofy" to wear such driving around...sigh. How can i convince her that this isnt a problem of bad fashion? i dont think cheap sunglasses are going to do the trick here on dusty summer days. OH,,,FWIW, i found PUMA brand shoes makes an indoor soccer shoe that would be perfect for driving! while not nomex they are built perfect and VERY resonably priced. (She let me get a pair of these!)

slower on the track? wow really? well perhaps thats part of the live axle vs IRS also.. all i know is from my direct experiences that a limited slip is much better,,,(and a welded is pure stupidity dont ask me how i know) on a solid axle anyways. yes..tires may be the first option when we do some auto-xing.. just have to get this all past the holder of the purse strings.

Not mine...lol...but interesting drivetrain! http://cgi.liveauctions.ebay.com/304-1996-Lotus-7-Replica_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ28195QQihZ005QQitemZ150220830345QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

sooooo...instead of rust and oxidation, does it have a warranty against termites and dry rot? do you have to have it inspected for ash borer to drive it across state lines?. Yeah wood is indeed a good strong material, just look at the boats still being made from it!or those that have lasted for 100's of years...however....theres a reason that allot of boats now use a carbon fiber or aluminum masts instead of wood, laminated or not! Same here. Sure wood has some great limited applications.

When we were racing, we called this a "nut and bolt" check, and is an exxcellent idea. We actually did it between EVERY session on the track and it became a habit. it was also a great way to find those little things that could get nasty quick. it also included checking all fluids, tire pressures (as well as lug nuts) belt tension etc..Also dont forget the allen's and philip heads all over as well as electrical connectors. it makes you real aware and intimate with the car after a while, but we never DNF'd from something stupid. We made a checklist not unlike the preflight walkaround list i used as a pilot but much more extensive. we even put together a mini tool kit we used exclusivly for the checklist so the person doing the check would never take from repairs or tunning tools being used.