thegoat

Well, the car isn't finished yet, and it is still in CO. Here are the latest pictures from about a month ago. I have left the car in the capable hands of Tom Carlin in Gypsum. Maybe before I drive it out to Tahoe using backroads, we can meet up. I will be running down to Erie to check out the house we left there and show some others the car.

Congrats, Mike! You did get quite the steal on that. Does it get to park next to the Elise? I can't wait to see the custom touches you put on it. Your Elise is a very, very nice specimen.

Thanks, all. Sorry I have been out of touch for a bit. I just moved to Incline Village, NV and switched jobs, so have been a bit distracted. The engine is the spec that Dick has put together for the new Birkins. 2.0L Duratec with stage 2 crower cams, individual throttle bodies, the birkin headers and exhaust, raceline aluminum oil pan, and electric water pump. Dick found a cache of nearly unused engines. Mine will also have a lightened crank pulley on it. Thanks to Skip with his help in getting the pulley bolt off. CO has some great mountain roads. But I thought I should show off the drive that is literally out my back door and between me and Reno (where any kind of civilization is): http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=808+carano+court,+89451&daddr=18650+Mount+Rose+Highway,+Reno,+NV+89511+(Galena+Creek+Park)&hl=en&geocode=FeQCVwIdPpLZ-Cnb21JKHHCZgDFod5HtA0GTQg%3BCUSG4A4mIswEFa2LWAId9yTb-CGFHzgmmS6lhylxtIf9cmyZgDFrM2Cwuw3vhQ&mra=pe&mrcr=0&sll=39.30708,-119.907427&sspn=0.150889,0.308647&ie=UTF8&ll=39.309863,-119.890366&spn=0.150883,0.308647&z=12

Dick Brink at Texas Motorworks has some around, I think.

Very nice. I like the silver with the carbon accents.

Thanks, Skip.

He needs to get rid of that windshield! Outstanding driving.

There are also the emissions reductions, potential safety increases, and car dealership benefits. There are significantly greater benefits than just oil.

Dick has them in stock. I will PM you his email.

Why not powder coat it?

When we took that green one out, we went to probably the same parking lot, but Dick was driving, and we had the same plow. Also, I am about the same size as you it seems and I had a terrible time with those peddles too, but that can be remedied by adjustment. I went with a new one because I could build one for about $29k by leaving off stuff I don't need (like weather gear), and it will be exactly what I want. A lot of the other cars I have considered were around $25k, but I would want to spend a few thousand to get the car to where I would like it...so, it made sense and will be more fun to just build one. Plus, I will get the new wide track and Duratec power. The only problem is that I have been waiting for 3 months now for the kit to arrive. I was told a few days ago by Dick that it should ship from the factory at the end of the month. He mentioned drop shipping it by air to Denver to get it here faster, but at more cost. At this point, it is getting so late into the season that this will likely be a winter project, so I am not sure about whether it is worth paying to get it here sooner. I just hope it shows up eventually. I epoxied the garage floor today in anticipation even. There have been a lot of sevens come on the market recently. If you don't want to build a new Birkin and want to stick to your price, then I would just continue to watch the cars that come up. You will find one.

Very nice car. Great videos. Isn't 220hp a bit of work to reach in a Zetec?

I drove 2 out of the 3 a while back. I did not drive the one priced at $20k. Of the other two, I would choose the green SVT. But at the time, Dick had another green one on consignment that I thought was sorted out the best. IMO, the green SVT needs a corner balance before you can really get a feel for it. I liked the yellow one, but it was bogging down quite a bit the day I drove it, which gave me concern. Dick said that he hadn't seen that before and would have it sorted out if I decided to go with it. At the end of the day though, I took home a new kit order sheet and later placed an order. The kit is supposed to arrive this month.

This is most likely not at all related to your post, but is similar. On my daily driver, my left front wheel seems to lose pressure quicker than the others. It does not go fully flat, but is off by a few pounds usually. Rotating the tires does not change this. I wonder if it is the wheel that hits my driveway (one of those half curb subdivision types) and other ramps at the highest speed that causes it - like it forces the air out.

Very nice.

A rock under the gas pedal is a good idea, especially with your car. The park is on County Road 4, which is that short jog between Sheridan and County Road 5. (http://maps.google.com/maps?g=erie,+co&ie=UTF8&ll=40.014727,-105.012115&spn=0.003164,0.006164&t=h&z=18) It must not have been you though because the car was going very slow.

I think I have seen his Cobra around Erie. Also, I think I saw you coming home from LoCo track day yesterday. Was at the park with the family when you cruised by with the orange wheels. It was the first time my wife had seen one in person, and then realized that I wasn't a complete nut as she found the car appealing by its appearance. She wanted to know if I would have some fun colored wheels too.

I ended up selling my Exige for more than I had it listed on lotustalk.com and craiglist by putting it up on eBay. It fetched more than I expected to get for it in the best case scenario - but only a few hundred more. I was surprised, but rarer cars sometimes need the increased exposure.

I had a bit of pixelation and garbling of sound - but not a ton. I am on Dish. I wonder if it was weather related given that we live pretty close, but the weather seemed fine, and typically doesn't interfere with my signal.

I am not a paid member, but would consider becoming one. I have found this forum to be useful in my month or two here. I think you might want to add a sticky in an obvious place about membership and what needs to be done to become a member. I am not sure I have seen anything about wanting people to become members or how to become one. But I didn't come to the forum and start looking for that info because most forums are not tied to a club.

Anyone with photoshop skills? I have none. If not here, then post that on lotustalk.com. Many there fill photoshop requests.

Don't really want to start a new thread for this, so I think I will just post here. I visited Dick Brink on Saturday. Drove a handful of his cars. At the end of the day, I pretty much decided that I am going to build a new Birkin (I think). Now I am just going through the part list deciding on what is needed and isn't. Right now, it looks like it will be one the newer IRS Birkins with stage 2 cams in a duratec.

Congrats! Great car.

No worries on hijacking. Supersportsp, I am waiting on the SF crossflow photos as he is traveling. If you could forward them to me I would appreciate.

Will do. It isn't fully for sale yet last I checked, but I will contact the owner.