BirkinBernie

Sounds good, Loren. Thanks!

When I built my Birkin in 2000/2001 I also wanted a LSD. In search of alternatives to the Quaife, I sent a stock open diff center section to TRD in California to see if they had a Toyota LSD for it. They had a couple of their engineers look at it and they said they had never seen one like it. I ended up with a Quaife. No regrets, it works great. But I can't tell you how it compares to the open diff. The Quaife is the first thing I installed when I built the car. BTW, if you do get a Quaife, the Birkin owner's list has documentation on it's installation. Bernie

I just took the pad off the clutch pedal on my Birkin. Saves space and my foot can't tell the difference.

Congrats! I remember seeing that car years back and it was a real cutie. I'm sure you will enjoy it. Do have a look at the lower ball joints. As Gert pointed out, they are potential safety issue. Please do join the Birkin Owner's group at Yahoo - http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/birkinowners/ - if you haven't yet. There is a posting in the "photos" area by Carlos Fenney that shows the replacement of the lower ball joints with spherical joints. Dick Brink now has new lower arms from Birkin with a spherical joint and a better design. Alternatively, you can send your lower arms to Woody Harris at Motoring Specialists in Vacaville, CA and he can add some reinforcements to the arms and convert them to spherical joints. I did this and am very happy with the result. The setting of the ride height in the front is critical. The spec is 294 mm between the centers of the front shock eyes. This allows enough travel to prevent frequent bottoming of the suspension which will bend the arms. Anyhoo, enjoy your Se7en!!! Best regards, Bernie

Brad, Thanks, I am interested if it is still available..... Regards, Bernie Long Keller, TX

Momo wheel from Ebay with custom center cap made from a Birkin nose emblem.http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1861991262_stwheel.jpg

Hey, I drove my Se7en all the way from Dallas to San Francisco a couple of years ago. With side trips, 4000 miles in 3 1/2 weeks. I thnk I've earned the right to tow it once in a while! :-))))) http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1579310185_ontour.jpg

Hi Gary, I have an Aluma 641. It weighs about 550 lbs with ramps and a spare. The deck is 126x78. It came with a heavy (65 lbs) fold-down ramp that is too short. So I have removed it and purchased a set of 7 foot ramps on Ebay. The Birkin goes up with 13 inch slicks just fine. I also had to add two tie down points in the deck in the rear. It tows just great behind our '97 Outback. Full specs here: http://www.alumaklm.com/sections/products/template_new.php?product_id=15&product_category=5 The pic is the first test fit when the big ramp was still attached.... The bad news is it ain't cheap. With the ramps and spare, I've spent about $2300. But the heavy steel trailers I looked at were $1500, and would have been way over the Outback's 2000 lb tow rating. So the way I look at it, it was a lot cheaper than a heavier trailer and a new truck to pull it with. Besides, I'm just not a truck person.... :-) Bernie [/img][img]http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/108685891_trailerfront.jpg

Hi all! Phil Anderson and I have put together a brief account of the activities at the Southwest Se7ens Festival. Please have a look! http://mysite.verizon.net/bclong7/5th7festreport.html Seeya next time! Bernie Long

There is a list for Birkin owners, though all are welcome: http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/birkinowners/ For Ultralites: http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Ultralite_USA USA Se7ens list and several others reached through http://www.se7ens.net/ Seeya! Bernie

Hi all you DFW area Se7ens enthusiasts! The British Emporium in Grapevine (supporters of the Southwest Se7ens Festival) are having their Halloween British Car Show this Sunday. I know of three Se7ens planning to be there, more would be even better! http://www.british-emporium.com/ Hope to see you there! Bernie

Hi all, Due to circumstances beyond my control, I will not be able to attend the Se7ens Festival this weekend. However, preparations were all but complete, and a team of Texas Se7ens enthusiasts has agreed to take over the operation of the event. I met with them tonight and passed all the info and material to them. The event is in good hands. Please direct Se7ens Festival related emails to Dick Brink at dick@texasmotorworks7.com. I am not sure how much access I will have to email over the next few days. The event is ON! Regards, Bernie Long

Hi all! It's not too late! If you are planning on entering the Southwest Se7ens Festival next weekend, there is still time. I need to hear from you by Thursday because that is when we will be placing the order for the box lunches for Saturday evening. For event and entry info, please go to: http://mysite.verizon.net/bclong7/5th7fest.html Our featured speaker this year, driving instructor Neal Bellamy, has provided some info regarding the lot where the autocross will be held: ----------------------------- This is an asphalt lot with a gentle slope, and with a worn sealer coat. There has been lots of traffic on the sealer, so a lot of it is gone in many areas. The surface is smooth, and does not shed debris, so no marbles develop. The grip is decent, but less than normal naked asphalt. You will need a fairly soft setup. If you have adjustable shocks, be prepared to adjust them between runs. You will probably need to use little to no bump in either end, a small amount of front rebound, and likely little to no rear rebound. If you have an adjustable front sway bar, have the tools needed to soften it (longer moment arm). If you have a rear sway bar, you may need to either set it at the softest setting (for adjustable bars), or to disconnect it entirely. You will likely need to adjust your driving style to be sure to be in control (not too fast) at corner entry (especially for off camber turns). If you go into a corner too fast and start pushing, it will seem like an eternity before the front grips again and you regain steering control. Also, it will be important to be smooth and careful on throttle application. Too much throttle too soon on corner exit can also cause power on understeer. Correct that with more careful throttle application and/or more rear shock bump setting. ----------------------------------------- I hope we see you next weekend! Bernie Long Chairman, Southwest Se7ens Festival

Hi all, Due to circumstances beyond our control, our tire tech session has been cancelled. However, Jeff Sloan of British Auto Sepcialists in Fort Worth has graciously invited us to attend his Open House on Saturday afternoon. Jeff is a Caterham dealer and racer, and his annual Open House is always attracts a great variety of British Cars. His shop is about 10 minutes from the Hampton Inn. Since his Open House runs from noon to 3:00pm, we will revise our schedule to suit. Our autocross driving tech session presented by Neal Bellamy (who just added another SCCA Solo II Nationals trophy to his collection) will be held in the morning. Please see the web site http://mysite.verizon.net/bclong7/5th7fest.html for all the details, and to enter the Fifth Annual Southwest Se7ens Festival! Get your entries in soon! Seeya there! Bernie Long Chairman, Southwest Se7ens Festival

Hi all! I have put together a simple web page with info on the Fifth Annual Southwest Se7ens Festival. As always, this event is open to any form/brand/powerplant/flavor of Se7en! http://mysite.verizon.net/bclong7/5th7fest.html Register soon! I hope to see you there! Bernie Long Chairman, Southwest Se7ens Festival

Brent, Your braking problem is puzzling. My car is set up with the crossweights at 50% - the fronts are about 50 lbs different. And my brakes are great. I have a Birkin with a stock engine, and use Hoosier slicks on the track. From 105 or so, it stops straight as an arrow. Same on street tires. No tendency to lock the right front. And I have never heard of anybody having this problem. Gonna have to think about this one! Regards, Bernie

Brent, Great setup, and I'm with you until you start talking about the distribution of weights that you are targeting. You are absolutely correct that, since the driver is offset to the left, the left side of the car will be heavy unless you can move enough stuff around or use required ballast in the most advantageous places. But you certainly wouldn't want to ballast unless you had to. Remember that the car has four legs, like a chair. And given that you cannot change the percentage weight on each wheel by moving the spring perches up or down, what you have done by moving the right front spring perch up until it carries the same amount of weight as the left front, is add a bunch of weight to the left rear, and take weight off of the left front and right rear. If you took a chair and put a shim under the right front leg, you will see the same thing happen. What you have done is put a bunch of "wedge" in the car, as the roundy-round racers do to make their cars turn left really well. Rather than thinking about cross-weight, think of it this way. The car has a static front-rear weight distribution. Nothing you do with the spring perches will change that. Let's say it's 52% rear, 48% front. What you want to do is get the corner weights such that the distribution of the left side total weight is 52% rear, 48% front. And the distribution of right side total weight is 52% rear, 48% front. If you do this, it happens that the cross weights will be 50-50, but this is really what you are shooting for. Given that the car will always be heavy on the left side, the best compromise for balanced handling is to get the cross weights to 50%. Anything else you do will compromise the chassis for turning one way or the other. Here are a couple of good articles on the subject: http://www.grmotorsports.com/news/012005/understanding-corner-weights.php http://www.hotrod.com/howto/113_0309_corner_weights_correction/crossweight.html I hope this helps! Regards, Bernie

One thing to watch out for if you are using the stock crank position sensor, it's bracket must go on before the flywheel. I know a couple of folks who have had to remove the newly installed flywheel when they discovered this. Also, I didn't see anyone mention that flywheel bolts are a one use item. Once they have been torqued in place, do not re-use them. New ones from the Ford dealer are cheap.... Good luck! Bernie Long Keller, Tx

Hi Atxnarf! You would be most welcome!

Hi fellow Se7ens fans! The September date previously announced has proven a problem for a number of folks, so we have decided to push the date out one month, to October 20-21. We will still join Christian Classic Cruisers for their Saturday night car show/cruise night, then participate in an SCCA Autocross on Sunday morning. The venue for the autocross will be a big parking lot at Texas Motor Speedway. Officials at SCCA Texas Region have been enthusiastic about our participation, offering a discounted entry fee and first thing Sunday morning runs for our group. In addition, we will be able to do tech inspection on Saturday, either at the hotel or at the car show. Other activities are in the works, so stay tuned! So far, I have heard from Birkin, Caterham, Stalker and Ultralite owners, so we should have a good selection of Se7ens! Just a reminder, all Se7ens regardless of manufacturer are welcome to attend. Looking forward to seeing everyone in October! Bernie Long Chairman, Fifth Annual Southwest Se7ens Festival

I finally broke down a few months ago and bought an Aluma in preparation for our trip to 777. But I went with a smaller one. It weighs 540 lbs, and tows very well behind our '97 Outback. Car with trailer is 1800 lbs give or take a few, well within Scoobie's 2000 lb rating. The deck is 10 ft x 77 inches, and overall it is 102 inches wide. Unfortunately, other unexpected expenses came up and our trip to 777 got sunk. Car isn't tied down in the pic - it was the first test-fit..... Bernie http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/372046174_trailerfront.jpg

Hi all, Well, it has been kind of a nutty year, and planning for a Se7ens Festival has not been foremost on my mind. Plus, NASA has only had one event at Motorsport Ranch and that was back in March. But things have settled a bit, and I would really like to see the event continue. So, as they used to say on Monty Python, now for something completely different..... I have a weekend of fun in mind for September 15-16. I would be very interested in hearing your feedback. On Saturday, there is a club called Christian Classic Cruisers that holds a big monthly car show in the evening. I have taken my Birkin there several times, and been very well received. With 250+ cars at a typical event, there is lots to see. 15 or 20 Se7ens could only help! Then, on Sunday, the Texas Region of SCCA has an autocross at La Grave field in Fort Worth. A friend of mine, a highly respected autocross and track day instructor, is willing to be our autocross coach for the weekend, including a classroom session on Saturday at the host hotel. We will arrange with the SCCA to have our part of the event first thing in the morning so we won't be there all day. Add in a possible road tour and dinner, and I think a very busy and enjoyable weekend can be had. So please mark your calendars, and plan to join us. More details will come available as arrangements with the other clubs and a hotel are finalized. For more info on the Texas Region SCCA Solo program, see http://www.autocross.com/texasregion/ For more info about Christian Classic Cruisers, see http://www.christianclassiccruisers.com/ Please drop me a note with your input! Regards, Bernie Long Chairman, Southwest Se7ens Festival

Hi Mutt, I wired my Birkin using a universal harness from Painless. Great quality, well documented and easy to install. You will spend roughly $300, and it is worth every penny. See http://www.painlesswiring.com/. I used the number 10102 harness. Good luck with your build, and we'll seeya at the Dragon! Bernie Long Keller, TX

Congrats, Dave!! What a way to start the New Year! Start exercising your grin muscles before you go for that first ride, or you'll get face cramps for sure! :-) Bernie

Daily drivers - 2000 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS and 1986 Toyota MR2