MMTX

Thanks for the comments on the crossflow. The "waiting for something oily to let loose in spectacular fashion" leaves me with a bit of pause. It also doesn't give me confidence the venerable and quaint old crossflow would be a good candidate for turbocharging. I have already noticed significant differences between it and the Datsun (Nissan) L series engines I have worked with, and the differences don't, as they say, warm my cockles. I personally think the crossflow I have recently driven is a very pleasant car, and it would have been great fun and considered a pretty good performer, 34 years ago, when I first drove one. Now the same performance level seems a bit antique, and there truly is nothing wrong with that if someone is comfortable with that. Unfortunately, I would at least like something that could run close to the turbocharged Datsun 510 that I built in the late 1990's. Before anyone writes there is no comparison, it does take over 200 hp in a Seven and the treaded racing tires to match that 510. The Mazdaspeed Miata I bought after I sold the 510 seemed just pleasant compared to the performance level of that 510, and the Mazdaspeed is no slouch. As to the lag of turbos, there have been a lot of poorly designed turbo systems made, both aftermarket and OEM. Most systems in the 1980's used very low compression pistons which resulted in the NA operation of the engine to be much lower than stock engine. The systems I put in 510's were always able to use the stock compression ratio. And most better OEM systems today use engines that would not feel like you were driving with the brakes on, so this is not such an issue today. If the base engine has pretty good power, a little spoolup is not a bad thing, especially on a light car. It is possible to set up a turbo with virtually no lag, but it isn't easy. As to how desirable this is, I would say it really isn't desirable to have a turbo spool up ultra quick. Turbos result in such a large increase in torque that a smooth spoolup to maximum boost can result in larger amount of power being much more manageable. Having said that, and possibly getting a reaction that that would be bad because it wouldn't launch the car, my 510 with a 1750cc L18 would easily and violently spin the tires in 5th at 60 mph with the clutch engaged (about 2300 rpm), just depressing the throttle about another 1/2 inch when the boost gauge was reading 0 psi. Oh, and that car was also geared for and would do over 160 mph. Even using a turbo, rather than a V8, power still had to be applied with some care to avoid having nothing but wheelspin below 60 mph, and that was in a fairly heavy 510 weighing 2500 pounds with 3.54 gearing. I would think that a turbocharger on an engine of the power level similar to a stock Miata 1.8L could result in very high but manageable and reliable power. A supercharger would work very well. However, the torque could come on rather abruptly though, and while that would appropriate on a heavier car, or a drag car, a smooth onset of power and torque would seem to be perforable. Nothing like getting into trouble in a corner because the blower suddenly shoots another 150 + ft pounds of torque through the drivetrain. A supercharger can be set up to spool up slightly so the power comes on smoothly, so this doesn't have to be a problem. It's all in the design. Still, in my case, I'd be fairly content with 130 hp in a stock engine not having to be run over 6-7k (such as Miata, stock Zetec, Duratec, Datsun L18, etc, etc., etc.) or up to 200hp that doesn't have to be run past 7k. For me the Honda S2000, rotary, or the bike engines are entertaining, but 8-10,000 RPM is just not my personal cup of tea. I like shifting below 6000 if the engine still has a wide torque and power band. I hardly ever took my turboed L18's past 5000 rpm, because they were V8 like from 2000-6200 rpm.

OK, I'm going to open this thread back up because I have three engine/transmission combinations I would like comments on and a few questions. First, I would like comments on the Ford 1600 crossflow motors. I've driven one recently, and it is a quaint little thing but 0-60 in a touch under 10 seconds with lots of commotion is a bit slow, which makes me think it is a very stock crossflow. I engine is solid, and seems to have been balanced very well as it revs very smoothly to 8000 rpm. I can't imagine it having more than 80 hp. After all, the car only weighs 1200 pounds. This engine has twin DCOE's, but with the low performance level, it is simple cool looking, but a downdraft would do fine on a motor of that power output. And I don't like DCOE Webbers for driving around town. Best I can tell a 32/36 would be too tall for the hood, and I'm not putting a hole in the hood. Anyway, a Seven that can be blown away by my base Miata just does nothing for me at all. I can already tell that a turbo system can be easily designed that would fit under the hood. From the prices I can find, internally modifying one of these Kent crossflow would be stupidly expensive compared to any other option. And I do have access to buying a turbo system for a Kent. And I want to know who likes these original engines. I would also like to talk with anyone familiar with turbocharging one of these. I am considering the idea of a simple suck through system, probably using an SU or Stromberg side draft as they work well in a simple turbo system, with water/alcohol injection. Low 7-8 PSI boost, 160 - 180 hp goal. Biggest question is I want to keep it simple and reliable, meaning I don't wish to stress the motor too much. And I wonder if stock 9.0-1 CR would be safe? I like the Zetecs and Duratecs, but I have other thoughts. First, one that may seem odd, though my problem is more if it will fit due to transmission size and the deck height of the motor. I have thought of using a Datsun (Nissan) L18 with a suitable 5 speed transmission. The advantages are: 1) Stock motors are balanced to 8000 rpm and already have a very strong forged crank that can handle 400 hp. 2) Due to above, they are easy to turbocharge using a very simple draw through system that can be dialed easily from 180 hp (7-8 PSI) to 325 + hp (15 PSI) without any damage to the stock engine in long life (150,000 + miles) street use. O-ringing the head allows up to 21 PSI safely (well, for the engine), but I wouldn't bother, since even my upper goals for this would only 200 - 225 hp. 3) In this case, I have built turbocharger systems like this for a Datsun 510, so I have parts and knowledge of this system. 4) transmissions are still inexpensive, but more important, extremely strong. (I also still have 4 with the correct gearing.) There are plenty of gear ratio ranges available, but I have been trying to decide if the box is too wide to fit the tunnel. 5) another possible issue with the L series Nissans may be weight as they are certainly heavier than most of the engines typically fitted to Caterhams and Birkins. Then there are the Toyota twincam motors, which look appealing. I know nothing very technical about them, so I do not know which transmission to select, etc. While I can still quote from memory gearing for Nissan rear drive trannies, I know nothing of the Toyotas. I would also prefer to use a nearly stock ECU and injection system or, if I must use a carb rather than $3500-4000 in aftermarket ECU's and TBI's, I would want to use a down draft carb, as long as it would fit under the hood of a Birkin. I absolutely, positively, have no interest in DCOE's. I really can't stand them. I'm using this as a street car, and have no time to twiddle with tuning carbs. If you love DCOE's please spare me the song about how they are wonderful and easy to tune. Of course a Miata drivetrain and computer could be used and would be somewhat interesting, but does anyone have a Zetec or Duratec using the stock Ford computer and fuel injection system? I am interested more in reliability with reasonable modern power and much less interested in spending another $3000 or more for a custom computer system and throttle bodies. If I could use the stock EFI system, the Duratec would be reasonable, since low mileage inexpensive engines are available and the expensive part is mating to the transmission, so I wonder if anyone has done that. Of course the other option is finding a car I like in or near Texas... I missed the Miata engined one in CA recently because there was no way I will buy anything sight unseen.

I would be much more interested w/o all the modifications and a stock interior. But $28-33k. No way it is worth that much. I haven't even seen any original true Lotus Sevens selling for that in this recession. Plus, there are nice Bruton Stalkers available currently for far less. Remember, a car is hole in the pavement in which you can pour money. This is evidenced by the gentleman writing he would want to change it to a Duratec. Added modifications rarely add much value to a car. Sometimes, even properly done modifications actually lower the value of a car. While not as bad on a car such as a Seven, recent production cars modified with aftermarket performance parts are rarely worth more than the untouched clean original. My son has a aftermarket upgraded Audi A4 with 350 RWHP. Everything works nicely as it should. The installation was very clean. Fortunately, he didn't spend all the money that the original owner spent modifying the car. But he has been trying to sell it for more than clean stock Audi A4's of the same year for over a year. I have tried to warn him that he will never get it. I have a dead stock Mazdaspeed Miata, never driven in rain, always stored in a temperature controlled garage. As of this writing, it has 4400 miles on it. You can't tell any part of it from a car sitting on a showroom floor. It is still worth more than I paid for it. The few MSM's sold in clean stock condition have sold for much more than the ones modified with even the (reportedly) very good turbo aftermarket modifications that clean up Mazda's intake plumbing. The difference is as much as $8000 for cars with similar miles. BTW, where a car is stored when it is not driven is very important. Heat and cold cause deterioration of plastics and rubber, and corrosion. Paint holds up fine. The difference between the cars stored in my AC garage, and my regular garage is like night and day. If I ever re-restore any of my antiques to keep, I will insulate and AC the garage. Oh, and why do I have to restore them again? Nine years in a regular garage. To get back to the Westfield, once you start modifying a desirable car for your particular purpose, your customer base shrinks. I agree with the gentleman who wrote that the seller would likely be better off selling the goodies separately. I suspect this car will end up being a very good deal for someone who wants to go SCCA racing. But I'll bet they change the car again, pouring more money in the hole. :leaving:

I am very happy for you. Hopefully you will tell us about after it arrives. If I had had time to go look at it, it might have been me. :cheers:

First, I want to thank everyone who responded, especially those who offered to look at the car. Unfortunately, for me, the time ran too short, given this was an ebay auction. I would have had no time to go out to look at it myself. It looks like the buyer got a nice deal, though normal in today's market. The car sold for $16,600. Certainly, the following statement from the seller made all the difference: "On Jul-20-11 at 13:20:36 PDT, seller added the following information: Thanks very much for the overwhelming response. I have tried my best to answer your questions as completely as possible. To those of you who asked, "when, where and under what circumstances was the Miata motor purchased," I finally have the answer. There is a VIN tag on the side of the block - it reads JM1NA3535S0605514. I ordered a CarFax which shows that the Miata was purchased new in San Jose, CA and remains in CA with just 19,000 original miles. Then I googled the VIN and found a classified ad from a year ago when the original owner sold his 1995 Mazda Miata which was powered by a 500+ horsepower Ford 302/331 supercharged V8. I sent him an email and he kindly responded saying that the Miata motor was removed from his car in May 2006 with less than 1,000 miles on it. So, if you add the 600 miles that are now on the Lotus odometer to the less than 1,000 miles from the Miata, we know there are less than 1,600 original miles on this drivetrain. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask." So I am still in the market, preferably closer to Texas. I did get a chance to que the California DMV about the tax situation on cars bought in California to be taken immediately to another state. I am going to post a separate answer to this issue, because if it is done incorrectly, you do have to pay California sales tax. But there are legal ways out of the tax.

I seem to remember that Caterham lost one of their infringement on Lotus licensing rights cases because Lotus sold Caterham the rights to make the Series 4 car, not the space frame designs, but the makers all wanted to build the Series 3 frame. Since Lotus didn't license the Series 2 or 3 design, and probably didn't care who made them because they couldn't sell them due safety regulations, and didn't want to be associated with kits from the factory,we have the cars we have today. Looks like a nicely kept Series 4, if you're into that sort of thing. "Not that there is anything wrong with that." :deadhorse:

I am wondering if there is a member who lives close to this car (Newport Beach) who has driven Birkins? I'd really like to get an opinion on this car, the build and its set up. Maybe someone can do a pre drive before I considered going out. The car has been for sale for quite a while. If someone can give it a once over, maybe they would PM me. I am in Texas and will not buy a car without driving it. So I am in for quite a trip. The silly sales tax laws in CA make it more expensive since I would have been planning on driving the car back if it weren't for the fact I would have to pay CA sales tax. The only way out of this is to have the car shipped out of state by a commercial shipper. No bill of lading, pay CA sales tax. Because of this CA punishment for taking a car out of state, I instantly have another $1500 in additional cost, and I am not happy about that. I have driven several Birkins of the current type (2000+) and Caterhams and an original Seven back in the late 1970's - 1990's. I also drove a Super Stalker recently, but was not too impressed with that particular Stalker. In fact, I went out a drove a Birkin just to make certain whether it was me, or the car. It was that particular Super Stalker, but it leaves me wondering if all Stalkers drive as twitchy, hard and unstable as the one I drove. It was not like any Seven I have ever driven. It felt more like a dirt track sprint car I drove back in the '80's. Transient handling was sketchy, at best. I don't really want to get into the subject of that car, because I think it was just that car. Please, lets try not to turn this into a discussion of Super Stalkers. I just need to drive another one. If anyone can help with the Birkin in CA, I'd appreciate it. Thanks, Scott