BirkinBernie

Here is our '86 MR2. My wife and I bought this car new in May of '86. The arrival of offspring a couple years later, and some other circumstances caused me to sell it to my best buddy. He had it for about two years, and decided to trade it in. Instead, I bought it back from him and it has been here ever since. It was my daily driver, and it has been enjoying retirement for quite a few years. It is still driven regularly along with my other cars. In the late 1990's I installed TRD springs, suspension bushings and bars, Tokico adjustable shocks and 15x7 wheels now shod with Dunlop Direzza Z3's. The rest of the car is bone stock. The first summer we owned it, we went on a two week road trip from Fairfax, VA to Tampa. After a week with family in Tampa, we headed north and just explored. One day, I took a random right turn in the mountains of North Carolina. And there was a sign - "11 miles 318 turns"! We had never heard of the Tail of the Dragon - and we turned onto it completely at random. Wow! I was having a ball - an autocrosser on the road of his dreams! After a short while, my wife (also an avid autocrosser at the time) said "you need to slow down, I'm getting car sick!". Now, I've seen this girl thrashing a VW Rabbit around corners on three wheels with no issue. We looked at each other with the same thought. That night a visit to the drug store confirmed it - she was pregnant! So, we found out we were going to be parents in Mister Two on the Tail of the Dragon! I rebuilt the AC about a year ago. I would jump in it tomorrow and take it anywhere. I could never sell it though - it would be like selling the faithful family dog.

Here's my 2001 Birkin on 15x7 Enkei RP-O1s from around 2002, 15x7 Panasports, and 7x13f 8x13r Kodiaks....

Before I bought a trailer, I got a deal on a set of Kodiak wheels and Hoosier slicks. Compared to 15x7s and street tires, the Kodiaks and slicks cut 60 lbs off the car - and rotating mass at that. In order to use the 13's I built a rack to carry them on the Birkin. It worked great. Got some really strange looks from people on the highway though....

In the mid-1990's I autocrossed an F-Prepared RX-7 that belonged to a buddy of mine. It had a pro-built motor and the torque output of that thing was just awesome - especially given its size. I've often thought of that as the ultimate Se7en powerplant - with the exception of the exhaust temp and exhaust noise. Both are over the top..... Great video - thanks for sharing. Looks like great fun!

I cracked the center bottom of the nose of my 2000 Birkin at an autocross a few years back. I was fortunate to know an auto body guy who fixed it for me. You might look for a body shop that works on Corvettes. One mistake I made was not taking him the grille along with the nose. The grille still fits - just barely. Could be a bit better if he had worked with it.

My general thought is, if you have room and can afford it, do it. It is a game changer if you work on your own cars. I even use it for waxing the cars so I don't have to bend over. The arms on my two post lock in position once you start to lift, they are not just swinging arms. There is a bar across the top of the lift connected to a switch that stops the lift if the car touches it. As the lift rises, ratcheting locks click off, and you always set the car on the locks after lifting. I have a BendPak XPR-10AXLS two post rated for 10,000 lbs. If the concrete meets the lift manufacturers specifications (the minimum for my lift is 4.25 inches deep, 3000 psi concrete) and you use the approved concrete anchors, j-bolts are not necessary. I chose a two post over a 4 because I use it for working on cars, not storage. I chose the particular lift because it is one of the few I came across that lift high enough for me to get my 6'4" self under the car standing up straight. With a minimum pad height of under 4 inches, it will lift the Birkin or my '65 Cadillac just fine. If storage is your goal, a 4 post might be the best solution - car is on its wheels, and loading is easy - just drive on. It will all boil down to ceiling height and what you plan to use the lift for.

Great, a new Se7en available in the US! With taxes, transport, options etc, a price approaching THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS?!?! Hmm, must be really great looking! Well, no. Must be really lightweight! Well, no. Must be faster than any Se7en on the planet! Well, no. Is this April 1st?

I had the headers on the Birkin coated silver in 2004 and they still look pretty good. I suspect it would be pretty difficult to keep wrap looking decent over the long term. I cannot comment on the relative merits from a heat perspective. Partly because I have never tried wrap, and partly because I had it done so long ago I don't remember if I noted any real difference in heat. I have the footwell and trans tunnel well insulated so heat isn't too big of a problem. I actually found a pic of them from 2004 taken just before hanging them on the car. Happy Motoring!

Here is a factory drawing of the shock length specs for a solid axle Birkin like mine, manufactured in 2000. There were many different spring/shock combinations used. My car has AVO adjustable shocks with 2 1/4 inch ID springs with 7 inch free length. I bought these from the importer when I built the car (long before Tom's involvement). The factory supplied shocks and springs were smaller diameter. TBH, the spring rates and lengths are really not relevant to a Caterham due to differences in the suspension geometry between the cars (spring rate vs wheel rate). FWIW, my car has Eibach springs, 350 lb/in the front, and 150 lb/in in the rear. (EDIT: I just discovered that I gave the rear spring rate incorrectly as 200 lb/in. They are actually 150 lb/in)