slomove

Yes, doing quite well, as far as one can do well without a Seven Might indeed be that the new owner just replaced the head and kept going. And maybe the oil pump if that was the reason for cam shaft seizing. And maybe the crank and main bearings if that also seized up. Or just replaced the whole motor. Oh well, good to hear that somebody still remembers me...

Hi guys (and gals, if any...) This is Slomove (a.k.a. Gert Burkhardt) and I did not post here for at least 7 years. Greetings to all who still remember me from the USA2005, PNW, Black Hills and GBB tours. I sold my Birkin in 2017 to a guy in El Segundo, CA and all I know what happened after is that he ruined the almost new SVT motor after 2 weeks with seized cams, maybe by over-revving. Broke my heart because I loved the car but hey, sold is sold. Since I stumbled across the USA7s again, I was wondering if anybody has heard or seen what happened to that Birkin. It was 1998 S3, orange yellow with aluminum boot lid, gull wing doors, roll top and custom headlights. Cheers, Gert

But it is unlikely it will roll over on a hard surface. The wind buffeting should be minimal as well...

Fake News! That is a totally discredited source. According to my alternate facts, California has the best drivers ever (maybe except some not named minorities from far away countries...)! Period. :jester:

Yes, L.A. traffic is kind of interesting: But then, this is only a few miles away:

Well people surely know and for best information you want to go to the Birkinowners Yahoo group. I don't have my Birkin anymore but over the years I experimented a bit with the alignment. Being a Live axle that was for the front wheels only. For radials I started with whatever was recommended for S3 type Caterhams and ended up (IIRC) with modest 0.5-0.8 deg camber and 1 degree toe-in. For the bias ply ACB10 and some slicks that I used for a while that was zero camber and I forgot what the toe was.

Regarding daily distances, I have somewhat split feelings about the longer stretches. If it is just about the scenery and the road, 300 miles or more is fine (assuming one has comfy seats, no pouring rain and below 95 degrees). But on the other hand, we often regretted later having zoomed through an area without getting out once to look at some attractions, hike a bit etc. Obviously it also depends on the preference of a potential passenger. In any case I found the whole tour usually more fun when it was made interesting enough for the spouses to join, which in turn may limit the daily mileage but possibly allow for a longer duration. Another good reason for the base camp approach, since it gives more flexibility. An important factor was the choice of hotels. There is much more opportunity to get together, chat and have a beer in the old fashioned motels with cars in front of the room than in one of the big box hotels. Safer for the cars, cheaper, and more convenient to take valuable stuff out of the car overnight. Given the mentioned difficulties of cat herding and coming to an agreement, for the last few trips at some point I just decided the time and route, picked the hotels (in case of the Black Hills tour with Randall's great help) made reservations and posted the trip early enough (3-4 months lead time) that others still could make plans and get rooms. That worked pretty well. The likelihood of getting good group rates is anyway small in Summer and it is a lot of work to organize.

Hello John, sounds like a good plan (or start of a plan...). Unfortunately I can not attend since I do not have a Seven anymore. Having organized several tours I can confirm the difficulty getting a number of people together for more than a week like what I preferred to do. Another experience is that tour "commitments" are often only fuzzy intentions that can change anytime. However, what worked well was a combination, i.e. to do a 2 week trip with the hardcore group and have other people with less time join for part of the trip. For the 2011 Black Hills trip we did a generous 2-week round trip from Jackson/WY to Custer/ND and Badlands NP. We stayed in Custer for a week exploring the beautiful roads of the Black Hills and returned a different route to Jackson. A number of people joined just for this week and others did part or all of the tour. Real nice group we had there from 4 to 9 Sevens. This is anyway a manageable number, since larger groups tend to break apart. If you do this tour, make sure to post the pics! GB

I think I can wear the snowflake as a badge of honor :flag: I am in good company. After all, Jesus was a snowflake (if I remember the bible correctly).

4500 pounds....what??? :jester:

Agree with the previous posts but keep in mind this is for newer Birkins (maybe after 2003?). Older Birkins had the front brace under the gearbox welded in place and there was no way to drop the engine with gearbox. It had to go out separately on top which is actually not too bad with a little wiggle if all the peripherals are taken off. As for the gearbox oil spill....jack up the rear of the car as far as possible, pull the propshaft and plug the hole with the rubber boot of a walking cane. No spill when removing the gearbox! This recommendation came from Woody Harris @ MSI. Alternatively you can suck out the gear oil with a MightyVac if you have a bung in the front top plate. If you don't, having the gearbox out is the time to install one...so much easier to check oil levels and refill or change oil with that. I welded a simple 5/8" UNF nut (or was it 1/2"?) to the front left corner of the stamped cover plate (after drilling an access hole) and used a regular short bolt as plug.

Short opinion from the previous owner...yes the brakes need some foot pressure and to lock them up takes quite a bit of pressure. I had dabbled with the thought of installing a smaller master cylinder when I had the car new but I got used to it and don't think they are glazed because they were like that for a long time. My previous brake pads were EBC Green Stuff and they needed even more foot pressure. The ones that are on there right now are Hawk HP Plus pads which are a little more aggressive (and make a lot of dust). So other than the mentioned smaller cylinder I can only recommend a few gym visits. IMO a power brake is kind of anathema for a Seven...

Ha! Don't really know and in no hurry. But first things first...I am going to retire end of November and have a long list of projects (not car related). Also the lease for my daily driver will be up next year October and maybe I will get something else with open air access then. But I must admit the engine transplant 2 years ago taught me that I don't enjoy crawling under and around the Seven that much anymore. So the next "sports" car will be a little more mainstream and it is O.K. if the power-to-weight ratio is more modest.

Hey Steve, good to hear from you! I do remember your visit and the test drive. Stan sold your car (no idea to whom) and bought another one with a bigger engine. Sold that one as well. I will probably buy another sports car but not as radical as a Seven. And, probably not as maintenance hungry as an old Lotus.... GB

Car and trailer are sold. The buyer is a quiet member of this forum and local to El Segundo, CA

I don't want to sound flippant but for aftermarket ECU the solution is to get everything right: - correct and stable fuel pressure - correct injectors - balanced intake (for ITB) - correct fueling and ignition map - reasonable startup enrichment - reasonable cooling and air temperature compensation - calibrated baro compensation (if present) - correct ignition timing calibration - surely there is more If any of that is off, this can result in bad starting, bad running, high fuel consumption, if unlucky even not running at all or engine damage. It also assumes the basics (ignition spark and injector pulses) are working properly and the spark plugs are O.K.

I bought a pair of generic boots at Autozone. They have stepped diameter ends and can be cut to the required diameters. They work fine but unfortunately I do not have a part number, found it by browsing the aisles. Edited: found them on Amazon as well https://www.amazon.com/Dorman-614-020-Universal-Steering-Boot/dp/B002ESF5QK

Yes I will hang out here I got into the habit of checking the Seven forums first thing in the morning and such old habits are hard to change. If I see something where I think I can contribute I will do that. GB

Sale pending....

I would like to make it official now that this car is ready for sale. Restoration is complete and everything shiny. I have added a few items to the description in the first post that I forgot. You can find a photo collection on Dropbox here (hope that works): https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ik1yhleohj5ay8i/AAD1wMo4vg_5uGe6fqJCFIasa?dl=0 Included are a bunch of new pics that I took today. For now I am listing at a fixed price of $24,500 for the car and $1,000 for the trailer. Let's see what interest there is on the usual Sevens forums. In a few weeks I may go to Craigslist or commercial sales/auction sites. For some strange reason I don't mind if it takes longer to sell the car...

Thanks for the nice words guys! As you can imagine it took me a while to make this decision, given the memories and all the effort (and money) I put in over the years. But the decision is made, the car is in excellent shape and IMO I have set a very fair price. Let's see how it goes...maybe nobody will buy it and I just keep the car :smilielol5:

Hey, you know my car better than I do ;-) Yes you are right. Must have overlooked that one and I just fixed it in the original post. Actually the mirrors just got a new paint job since they were a bit dinged from the road grit.

Quick plug for my For-Sale post here....

Continued description: Outside: - Special louver in bonnet with air transfer box for driver side footwell venting (avoids boiling feet) - Custom small headlights with Hella hi/low beam projector modules (SAE version), integrated LED day running lights and turn signals - Custom billet aluminum rear lights (LED, red/yellow/white) - Folding polished aluminum boot cover - Brand new Line-X polyurethane rear wing rock protectors - Custom slightly convex side mirrors on stainless stems (stems also act as pivot for the gull wing side screens) - Custom transparent "gull-wing" half-doors/wind deflectors included but not mounted at the time - Roll-up sun-roof/birkini top (also effective for rain) included but not mounted at the time. This can be closed while sitting in the car, no contortions required. - Detachable rear end luggage rack for touring included but not mounted at the time. Finish: - The painted surfaces (new paint in 2009) were covered with paint protector film (ClearBra) - The aging film was removed recently and the paint is still in almost virgin condition. - All bare aluminum surfaces are freshly mirror polished. Also available: - Lots of car specific tools, spares, materials and accessories included for free if needed/wanted (e.g. intake vacuum balancer, timing light, leakdown&compression tester, spare front wings, fluids, alternator etc.) - Custom lightweight enclosed tilt-bed trailer with electric brakes, el. winch and interior AC/DC lighting (3500 lbs GVW, does not need ramps) - $1000 (I used the trailer for car transport and occasional track side camping)

Oh well, I have (reluctantly) decided to sell my Birkin. I have owned the car for 15 years of fun and drove it on many memorable group trips with USA7s friends (USA 2005, Pacific Northwest 2007, Rocky Mountains 2009, Black Hills 2011, NorCal 2012, Grizzly Bear Blat 2013, Montana/Idaho 2015). Nowadays I just don't use the Seven enough anymore and I need to make space for other projects and a likely future move. Price: $24,500 For now I have included a few older pictures (see below) but will take and post a complete set of photos when the current restoration job is finished (see link further down this thread). This is a '98 live axle Birkin S3 that has a lot of upgrades over the years and an almost new Focus SVT engine. I bought the car with only 600 miles on the clock in 2003. Total mileage is approx. 57,000 for the chassis, 40,000 for the gearbox and LSD, 25,000 for the wide-track front and 2,500 miles for the engine. Color of wings and and nosecone is intense yellow (Toyota Sun Fusion code 5A3). Other surfaces are highly polished aluminum. I used the car with the previous engine occasionally on the track until 2010. Otherwise it has been mostly driven on long distance tours (up to 2 weeks/4000 miles) and many weekend trips and it is equipped accordingly. California clear title as "1969 Birkin Lotus". The original owner had it titled as such first in California and later in Florida (title copies available) and I transferred it back to CA in 2003 without problems. Engine: Focus SVT engine (installed 2015), VCT hydraulic removed, adjustable cam pulleys installed. The engine came out of a brand new Focus that was totaled en route to the dealership and stored until 2015 when I installed it with new clutch and throwout bearing. Now approx. 2500 miles. An almost identical SVT sister engine (installed in a Caterham) showed around 175 rear wheel hp @7000rpm on a precision hub dyno. Following a list of upgrades and noteworthy items. I think it is fair to say this car is quite well equipped. Mechanical, intake, exhaust, ECU, tranny, cooling, etc.: - Jenvey 45mm individual throttle bodies - Intake box with integrated trumpets (uses Chevy HHR size air filter, K&N version installed) - Penney & Giles Hall Effect throttle position sensor (contact-less magnetic sensor) - Emerald ECU, upgraded to K3 version with baro compensation - Lightened steel flywheel - Underdrive front pulley and optimized serpentine belt routing - Quantumechanics semi-close T9 gear box, top oil change plug added. - Quaiffe LSD - Raceline wet sump with "no-mess" Aeroquip quick disconnect oil change plug - Laminova oil cooler (oil/water heat exchanger) - Remote mount oil filter - Aeroquip push-on oil fittings and hoses - Raceline cast aluminum water rail with front accessible thermostat - All silicone coolant hoses (2 years old) - Header wrap - Raceco muffler with titanium shell, re-packable - Gustafson gear-reduction starter - Lightweight small alternator Chassis, suspension, wheels: - Wide track original Birkin front suspension upgrade - Short steering arms (original steering arms included) - Camber infinitely adjustable with left/right hand threaded bushings: takes only minutes without removing rod-ends or a-arm bolts - Eibach springs 350lbs/" front, 215 LBS/" rear - Protech shocks with special valves for lightweight cars - QA1 Heim Joint rear trailing arms with protective cover washers - Birkin original 15" alloy wheels (I run 205 wide tires all around but used to have 195 front and 225 in the rear on these rims as well). One spare rim is included. - 4x Toyo Proxes R1R 205/50R15 tires approx 75%-80% tread left Safety: - Fuel Safe custom fitted fuel cell with check-valve box fuel pickup (avoids fuel starvation when cornering). - Newton "Aero" flush fuel filler cap - Solid state capacitive fuel level sender. - Rear outside access aircraft style fuel filler cap - AFFF fire suppression system installed (nozzles for tank and engine bay) - Solenoid operated battery disconnect with dash mushroom button (zero battery leakage current when turned off) - Hand fire extinguisher can be mounted under driver knees for touring or between seats for track events - Rear end chassis tubing reinforced for tank protection - Tunnel reinforced cage with multiple propshaft hoops and stringers. - Brake light flasher module - Ballistic nylon bellhousing shatter shield - Tall roll bar (chromed) with modified mounting for quick removal - Skid plate with armored front rock catcher/cruncher - Slim center high mount brake light included but not mounted at the time Cockpit/electrical: - Brand new windscreen glass installed - Completely rewired with "Painless Performance" harness, all color coded, numbered and tagged PEX wires (all original wiring was removed). - ECU, fuse box and relays easily accessible on hinged panels under dash - Lightweight Odyssey PC625 battery - Heater core and fan was removed (useless and dead weight) - Brushed and black anodized custom aluminum dash - In-dash gage-style Whistler Cruisader radar detector, receiver mounted in nosecone - In-dash Innovate wideband AFR gage wired to ECU for data logging and optional closed-loop operation - "Idiot Light" for low oil pressure (105 C) - Bright 4-LED white shift light in dash (center of view) - "Longhorn" compressor signal horn - 12V outlet for GPS, phone etc. - SPA Alpha suede small diameter steering wheel, removable with quick disconnect - Billet aluminum stopwatch bracket on steering wheel hub (fits Hanhard classic stopwatch, not included) - Brazilian rosewood shift knob (wood keeps the shift hand cool) - New removable and heat insulated tunnel cover panels (stock was riveted fiberglass shell) - Cobra "Roadster7" seats, driver side lowered. The seats are 14" wide with good side support wings. Should approx. fit people with up to 38" jeans size. - G-Force 5-point 3" wide belts (sub belt is 2") - Scuttle mounting features are modified and fluid reservoirs moved away for quick scuttle removal (to get easy access to the back of the dash) - Complete wiring schematic and wiring table available (except later additions: "Idiot Light", Radar and wideband AFR sensor wiring) O.K., just noticed I exceeded the 10,000 character post limit, so description to be continued in following post......