For Sale: 1999 Birkin S3 w/ ~34k miles, motor rebuilt last year

[GPWarr]

For sale is a 1999 Birkin S3, styled and titled as a 1969 Lotus 7. This was my father's car, bought three years ago through Texas Motor Works from its second owner, a man named David Kirk from Bozeman, Montana. The car is a live-axle S3 chassis powered by a '97 Ford Zetec 2.0L 4-cylinder (with hydraulic lifters), and it originally had twin DCOE sidedraft Webers. This was mated to a T-9 5-speed manual (w/Fidanza aluminum flywheel) and a Quaiffe limited slip differential. I believe the cam is a little warmed over, not too lumpy but it seems to have more separation than the normal Zetec cam. Under Mr. Kirk's ownership, the car was tuned for spirited driving and auto crossing, and performed admirably at both for many years. My father bought the car with 32.5k miles and had it shipped out here to Maine after he received his second cancer diagnosis. It was hardly driven during the time my father owned the car; most of the time it was either in the shop unable to be driven,or he did not feel well enough to drive it. About a year after its purchase the car suffered a catastrophic failure of the oil system(truth be told I don't know *exactly* what happened, I know it involved but wasn't limited to the oil pump), and my father had K&B Automotive in Surry, ME take the motor apart. They found the cylinders were scored, and the decision was made to completely overhaul the motor. Along with replacing almost everything below the camshafts, he had the dual side-draft Weber carburettors removed and an Emerald ECU and fuel injection system put in its place. The list of work done to the car during this overhaul includes but is not limited to:

-New short block

-10.6:1 compression forged pistons(perfect for 91/93 octane)

-forged chromoly connecting rods

-ARP main studs

-Clevite HD rod and main bearings

-The Emerald ECU and fuel injection system

-Emerald throttle position sensor

-Wideband O2 sensor

-Endless new seals/hoses/clamps/adapters/etc

-Valve cover gaskets

-ARP head studs

-spark plug wires and fuel injection hose

-Camshaft sensor and connector

-Fuel pump relay

-Ignition coil and connector

-Pipercross air filter

-High output starter

-Engine harness connectors

-Zetec oil pump w/billet gear

-PCV/oil separator delete kit

-Aluminum expansion tank

-New muffler with removable trap (take it off to make even more shouty exhaust noises!)

 

 

I have receipts for all the work done during the overhaul, as well as receipts from the Mr. Kirk's ownership proving the custom suspension tuning and various parts/work he had done to the car. Since it was made for autocrossing/trackdays, it has all the equipment you'd expect/need to qualify for such events (higher roll bar, racing seat and 4-point harness,battery/ignition/fuel pump cut-off switches, driveshaft loop, set of steel wheels with Hoosier slicks, etc). I don't think the car has even been driven 500 miles since the rebuild. My father passed away shortly after its completion, leaving me with the car, and I have only driven it a couple miles since to ensure everything still functioned properly. With the recent overhaul, this car is ready to paint a grin on anyone's face who finds joy in a pure driving experience. The only soundtrack accompanying this car will be those made by the car, the road, and the driver. If you know these cars,you know that they aim for joy from minimalism; if you are expecting a grand touring car or highway cruiser, look elsewhere. For a visceral, purely exhilarating experience of one's senses melding with one of the most capably-quick four wheeled machines on the planet,this is the ultimate vehicle. The vehicle is just shy of 1300 pounds,and it had 160 horsepower before the overhaul; with the ECU and fuel injection, I believe it could make 200 or more hp.

 

 

I would like $24,520 for the car. This car is pristine, and is only just being broken in from this nigh-on-complete rebuild of the engine (that cost in excess of $10k between parts and labor). It was my father's dream car,so no expense was spared, and now it is ready to give its next owner tons of miles and smiles, not to mention competitiveness on the track(if that's desired). The price includes the car, plus: the steel wheels with slicks; birkini top; extra springs of varying stiffness and other assorted swappable suspension parts; slide in wind visors for the sides of the windshield; and anything else I can find that belongs to the car.

 

 

I would also like to sell the two-axle box trailer that was bought for the purpose of transporting this vehicle. It is an EZ Hauler 14' (long) x 7' (wide) x 6.5' (high),with a 1.5' wedge in the front. The inside is a mostly empty plywood-walled box with points to tie straps around the car and into the trailer. The wedge in the front also has a little storage space for jack/tools/etc. There is a winch in the front that can be used to slowly bring the car into the trailer instead of driving in. It was bought new in 2014, and has only seen a few trips; two from Maine to Wisconsin, and a couple from the coastal region (where we live) to Northern Maine. It's basically brand new, and I'm asking an additional $4000 for that. Trailer not sold separately: if it doesn't go with the car, I will keep it and sell it later for more. I'm offering to sell it with the car at a discount in case someone would be interested in buying the car + travel trailer and driving out hereto tow them back both back to their home.

 

 

Thank you for your interest. I'm happy to discuss the car and answer questions to the best of my knowledge.

 

Here are some pictures, I apologize for the lack of quality, car is still stored in the garage with a bunch of other miscellaneous things.

 

Edited April 23, 2016 by GPWarr

[GPWarr]

Here's a picture of the aforementioned trailer from the previous post:

[Davemk1]

I was so very sorry to hear of your father's passing. I didn't know him beyond some phone calls but I got the sense that he was a good man.

 

I was the previous owner of this car and I just loved it. I sold it to buy an Elise thinking that doors and windows would be a good thing but after a few years moved back into a Seven with a Westfield. Whoever ends up with this car is going to have a lot of fun as the handling is just wonderful and now with that much more power I'll bet it's a real rocket.

 

Good luck with the sale.

 

dave

[coffee break]

It's unfortunate you dad didn't get much seat time, but I'm sure he did enjoy the miles and smiles he did have. I hope there is someone lurking around here that would really love to enjoy this car. It looks like a lot of good stuff to play with.

 

Best of luck.

 

 

Carl

[GPWarr]

This car has been sold. This post is being temporarily left up for the benefit of the new owner, who was involved in an incident with the car, and requested this be left up until the matter is sorted with the insurance company. Hopefully the car will be back on the road soon, and the new owner will come here to share his experiences with the rest of the Seven community.