MightyMike

Yes - it's yours free if you will pay for shipping. It is in okay shape, but could use new vinyl covering. PM if interested.

Here's a pic of the driveshaft loops. Other bits are still out getting powdercoated. Work was done by Tom Beauchamp of Beauchamp Racing and Restoration. 3520 N. Prospect St. Colorado Springs, CO 80907 Phone: (719) 635-1201 Tom's handywork is featured in the book, "Lotus Seven & the Independents". He is expert on all things "Seven" along with many other British sportscars. I'm fortunate to have him nearby. http://i41.tinypic.com/2d8faqa.jpg

My family had an Holden that look just like the one in the video - except it was white and slow.

This has got to be a joke or SNL sketch. No one can be that stupid.

Got my driveshaft loop and driveshaft cover fabricated. All I need to do now is get it powdercoated and a couple of boots made. It turned out real nice and photos do not show the craftsmanship the project deserves. I decided to put in a cubby that I had intended to use in my Miata. The shifter lever came out of my Elise. http://i41.tinypic.com/25su7hv.jpg http://i39.tinypic.com/2mxl8no.jpg

From my perspective as a Federal government employee and senior manager, local unions drive up the cost of doing day-to-day business. They bicker and put up a fuss on piddly crap as simple as moving a coffee pot from one corner of the room to another. I'm not kidding. They claim moving the coffee pot is a change in working conditions. This is how good government unions have it (at least where I work). I'm sure that when working conditions were originally addressed in the collective bargaining agreement it meant taking an employee from an office envioronment and putting him into a warehouse or something like that. Also from what I've observed, productivity from our union members is just plain minimal at best. Their pay compared with outputs is far greater than just about anything you will see in the private sector. This cuts into our bottom line and drives up costs. I'm not really in favor of pushing out unions from our government, but I believe we should force them into living up to both sides of the collective bargaining agreement and not wasting time and money arguing things that shouldn't be argued. Anectdotally, I believe the problems that I observe on a daily basis may be representative of many other Federal, state, and city unions. Maybe I'm wrong, but in the end, I am convinced unions are a significant part of the waste and higher costs passed onto tax payers. Having said this, I completely agree that the level of services provided by our government is the chief reason for most of our governmental funding challenges.

Still looking for one?

My driveshaft loop and new console are finished and I will post pics when I return from vacation.

Funny like watching someone slip and fall on ice.

Jeff, Congrats with the sale! Mike

Check out this scam baiting website... http://www.419eater.com/

Ditto for the Euro.

A little elbow grease goes a long way.

Appreciate comments and suggestions - car is going in the shop by the end of the week. Besides the driveshaft loop, I will likely get a metal cover fabricated to replace the fiberglass cover.

I'm definitely going to weld in a couple of loops. Seems rather dangerous not to.

I took off my center console to get it reupholstered and upon removal, discovered there are no driveshaft loops. Is this normal? http://i48.tinypic.com/2eg61vn.jpg

Neat idea; kinda pricey!

Today I replaced my fuel pump with a new MSD High Pressure Electric Fuel Pump and am very happy with the results. While at it, I replaced one fuel fuel filter ahead of the electric pump and added a second one about six inches downsteam. I would like to mention that fuel flowed freely out of the tank, so I guess there is no bronze filter in the tank. Upon startup, instead of the old clack-clack sound, the pump just whirred slightly and fired up. Now, only a slight whirring sound is noticeable. Thanks to all who provided tips and suggestions. Your comments really helped!

Very nice! Is the bracketry new too?

Bruce, Another gentleman on the birkinowners yahoo group mentioned the same thing about the restrictive screen in the fuel tank. I'll most certainly take a look at that when I replace my fuel pump. Also, thanks for the photos! I will likely copy your setup. Not sure it will be as clean as yours. The initial pain, followed by numbness made the seats bearable. Mike

I was definitely cooler! Avatar is Vyvyan Bastard from the BBC series, "The Young Ones".

I'm hoping to get my VIN inspection and license plates on Friday. First, the weather and roads must clear up.

I want to share my first Birkin S3 adventure with everyone. As you may have read on another thread, I purchased the car on ebay from another forum member, Marine7 (aka Jason). After a phone call and several email exchanges, we agreed that last Friday would be the optimal time for me to fly down to Houston, Texas to pick-up the car and drive it 1,200 miles back to Colorado Springs. Yes, I’m a little crazy, but that’s the way I roll. Once I informed Jason of this and prior to my arrival, he did a thorough job checking the car over to ensure it was in top mechanical condition for my drive back. He was even gracious enough to pick me up from the hotel where I was staying and brought me over to his house to check out the car. At his house, Jason had carefully packed up what seemed like a mini warehouse full of spare parts for the car - every nook and cranny of the Birkin was filled up. He gave me a thorough orientation and pointed out numerous important details and features. Jason then took me over to his workshop and showed me his new Birkin that he is currently building – hence that is why he sold me his other Birkin. Afterwards, Jason dropped me off at the hotel where I was staying and I went to bed knowing the next day would be long and uncertain. The next morning Jason picked me up at my hotel and took me back to his place to get my car. I was anxious to get rolling as I knew a weather front was moving into Colorado and Kansas within the next 24-hours or so. So I expressed my thanks and gratitude to Jason, loaded up my duffel bag, plugged in my GPS, put in my earplugs, and drove off. My initial impression while driving was the car was tight and appeared to be built well. The engine appeared to be very responsive and ran smoothly. The way it drove was very similar to my Elise, but didn’t require nearly as much pressure to actuate the clutch. Vision outside of the car was good, but the view of the speedometer and tachometer needed improvement (future project). Shortly after departing Jason’s house I had my first hiccup. My GPS wasn’t getting power from the 12v outlet. Not a big deal as I did a map recon and memorized the route the night prior. I even took the “shortcut” as suggested by Jason. My trip through Dallas was rather uneventful, except the traffic was a little more than I was used to. The car was very maneuverable, but I noticed a couple times that other cars perhaps didn’t see me so I was extra cautious. What bothered me the most after leaving Dallas and heading north was that many drivers hogged up the left lane, drove varying speeds, and had little regard for the other drivers around them (venting my frustration). Anyhow, during this leg of my trip I had the opportunity to mash the gas pedal a couple of times and was impressed with the engine’s responsiveness – not bad, but no where nearly as quick as my BWR supercharged Elise or SLK32 AMG (recently sold). Oh, I forgot to mention, as I left Houston and drove further north, the temperature both outside and inside of my car was constantly falling. By the time I got out of Dallas, I started to get cold. I had put on several layers of clothing and covered up much of my neck and face, but cold air was hitting me in all directions. I decided to stop in Oklahoma at some town I don’t remember and picked up an insulated hoodie, a couple cheap screwdrivers, pliers, and a LED flashlight at the local Orschlen’s. A couple of these items would come in handy later. My trip up through Oklahoma City and Wichita was rather uneventful other than continuously falling temperatures. Along the way many people in other cars were taking pics of my Birkin with their cell phone cameras. I was used to this as it happens all the time while driving my Elise. At every stop along the way, people came forward with compliments and questions. I really enjoyed telling them about the car. I had planned to spend the night in Wichita, but decided to push on to Salina. I was increasingly concerned that the weather was going to get worse sooner than forecast. My plan was to get a hotel in Salina and head out first thing in the morning. As I neared Salina, I thought less about getting a hotel room and more about not freezing to death while driving my Birkin. It wasn’t my upper torso that was getting cold, but my legs, so upon arrival to Salina I stopped at the local Target and picked up a small fleece blanket for my legs. As I was leaving Target and en-route to the hotel, I notice that one of my headlights went out. Having been to Salina several times, I picked up a set of new headlamps (Sylvania Silverstars) from the local AutoZone and used the screwdrivers picked up in Oklahoma and installed them. Problem solved and I was ready to check into the hotel. While en-route to the hotel, I changed my mind and decided to complete my drive back to Colorado Springs. Barring any problems, I’d be there before midnight. So off I went. It was now dark, so I’m glad that I changed out my headlamp bulbs. The Silverstars provided ample light and I was very satisfied with my purchase. Traffic was light, but there were quite a few semis on the road. I had driven this route more times than I can remember, so I was very comfortable with everything except for the dropping temperatures. The blanket that I had purchased generally did a good job at keeping my legs warm, but my calves and ankles were feeling the chill. There wasn’t much I could do about that, so I pushed on. The trip was uneventful until I got about forty miles outside of Limon, Colorado. Then things went downhill as weather conditions deteriorated. The outside temperature had fallen considerably and heavy freezing fog started coming on strong. At first, my wipers did an okay job at removing the mist, and then I had to clean off the ice that was forming with windshield wiper fluid. A short while later, I ran out of windshield wiper fluid and started to get concerned. Ice was forming at a rapid pace and my outward view rapidly deteriorated. I knew that I must pull over to clean off the windshield, but knew that I was a target for passing semi trucks given the extremely limited visibility. I cleaned off my windshield and proceeded onward. A mile or so later I pulled over again and cleaned my windshield. I had to do this several times before reaching Limon and needless to say I was beginning to question my decision to drive at night. I pulled into the TA at Limon and picked up a bottle of ice-cutting windshield wiper fluid. Having done this, luck was on my side and there was no more freezing ice. Even better news was that I was only a little more than an hour away from Colorado Springs. The rest of my trip was uneventful and for some strange reason, I even felt warmer despite knowing the temperature had dropped into the teens. I arrived to my house and went to bed. The next morning I woke up and it had already started snowing. Upon seeing the snow, I was so glad that I decided to push on and drive without stopping. That’s about it. I’m glad that I had the opportunity to become familiar with my car on a road trip. I learned many things about the car along the way. I really liked the way the car tracked – it did not pull to the left or right, but proceeded in a straight line when I took my hands off the steering wheel. Fuel economy was respectable. I presume it was in the low to mid 20s. The car had much appeal to people I met along the way. On the downside, the fuel pump was obnoxiously loud and unbearable, even with earplugs. That’s definitely my first project. The other thing I didn’t care for was gauge placement on the dash. That’s my second project. Everything else was expected for a car of this type. Sorry for the length of this post. Here are a couple of pics… http://i48.tinypic.com/2yy144m.jpg http://i47.tinypic.com/2wokity.jpg PS: my legs and butt are still a little sore from the ride - kinda tight!

I have only ridden in a Seven, but beleive they are very complimentary.

Skip, Yes, I also have a silver '99 Miata, but haven't tracked it yet. I'm looking forward to getting some track time this year. Last year was very unpredictable during my transition out of the Army. I only was able to get in 4 or 5 trackdays. Mike