KiwiBirkin Posted August 7, 2010 Author Share Posted August 7, 2010 Also fitted in my new engine start button ready for wiring up. http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu326/Hotdognz/Engine%20Swap/Birkin_Thursday5th6.jpg Remote gearshift now finally sorted out it just needs to come apart for painting and then it can be refitted. http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu326/Hotdognz/Engine%20Swap/Birkin_Thursday5th1.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiBirkin Posted August 10, 2010 Author Share Posted August 10, 2010 (edited) Its been a very busy day today at Macgregors with a lot of work being done on the car and finished off today while also meeting some of my NZ Lotus 7 forum (http://www.lotus7.co.nz) members who turned up today at Macgregors, 7ish dropped his car in for a new bonnet and too great delight in taking Steve (the electrician wiring my car) for a fast trip in his R1 powered clubman, also Russel arrived in his 4AGE 16v turbo powered clubman and also Lachlan was there for his normal lunchtime chat. The wiring is 99% complete as should be finished in the morning the ECU has been moved again to under my dash now and will now be right out of the way of the passengers foot-well. Mark finished running the fuel lines and pump and tested the system with everything working as it should the fuel pump is delivering a lot of fuel to the fuel rail so there will be no problems there with not enough fuel pressure also the headers were put in and bolted up. The cooling system was completed and all that's left now is to hook up my heater unit but that can wait a bit as its all being changed from what was there before we started to a better solution for the fan and its also being moved to make way for the ECU to be mounted under the dash, we will loop the cooling system for now at the rear of the thermostat housing for now so we can get water flowing through the system. http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu326/Hotdognz/Engine%20Swap/DSCF0122.jpg http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu326/Hotdognz/Engine%20Swap/DSCF0116.jpg http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu326/Hotdognz/Engine%20Swap/DSCF0124.jpg The drive shaft was bolted up and the final drive shaft hoop was welded in and its all been painted up and the remote shift system has been finished off too. I have put all the rear light clusters back on the guards as they are now not being painted for at least a month while i wait for my mate to finish his spray booth and will bolt up the new S/S stone guards tomorrow and then fit the rear guards back on the car. So the car is now getting put back together which is great too see with some luck tomorrow will see the engine get cranked over and started and then in the next couple of days it will be onto bolting back in the center console while Mark get cracking on the brake & clutch cylinders set up which is being fully re done with new parts. Also orderd a Shift I lights for my car from the NZ stockist, I have watched a couple of videos off these units in action and think it will be great for the road and really good for trackdays http://www.ecliptech.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=59&Itemid=109 http://www.ecliptech.com.au//images/rsgallery/original/prb_birkin_s3_clubman.jpg I will grab some decent pictures tomorrow. Edited August 12, 2010 by KiwiBirkin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeanG Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 Nice gear shift arrangement. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiBirkin Posted August 11, 2010 Author Share Posted August 11, 2010 (edited) Well we hit a major milestone today we had the engine up and running for the first time today and it started first go after a small wiring hickup. We then started it again later after Steve sorted some wires out and brought it up to temp for the first time, we hit a couple of issues with one being a big airlock in the cooling system and also the new front fan running very slow when it kicks in but this is due to the fan being faulty. So now Steve is happy with the wiring all being right he is setting about tidying it up under the dash. The center console also arrived back from the upholstery guy and as soon as I have put the headphone jacks in place will be going back in the car meanwhile Mark is going to get the cert enginner down to have a look at the car and get the paperwork under way for the engine change over on the VTNZ plate. Well things are progressing along Steve has finished the electrical work in the engine bay and has moved on to getting the wires into the loom behind the dash and should be finished within the next day, I helped him today by sorting some wires up in the engine bay with heat shrink and PVC wrap so this has made the engine bay a lot more tidier than it was. The engine is nearly ready to start which I hope will happen on either Wed or Thu this week. I have also started putting the car back together today with the front wheel guards being mounted and the radiator and overflow bottle being fixed in place I have had to move the radiator forward by 18mm because the fan is now on the rear so turned up some bushes at work to mount it up. That's it really there has been lots of sorting out small lose ends i'm now waiting for parts to come back from getting work done outside of Macgregors so I can carry on putting bits back on the car while Mark & Steve carry on with the important bits. http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu326/Hotdognz/Engine%20Swap/DSCF0123.jpg http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu326/Hotdognz/Engine%20Swap/DSCF0126.jpg Edited August 12, 2010 by KiwiBirkin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiBirkin Posted August 13, 2010 Author Share Posted August 13, 2010 Well it was my rosterd day off from my late shift so and spent the day at Macgregors tidying up the car and helping Steve the electrician finish of the car wiring and wire in the final bits that needed doing. The start button was wired in to the ignition along with the Shift I lights and the 2 powered 12v sockets and all the wiring was starting to get cleaned up with zip ties, Steve hit a slight snag with some of my exsisting wiring playing up and with the inginition off the ECU was staying powerd up or something along those lines and it took him a while to sort it out but its done now and every thing is playing along fine now. We had great fun starting the car from the big red start button and also playing with the Shift I lights which come on at 1000rpm and then intervals of 1000rpm untill 7000rpm when the red one flashes like mad for the shift change which is its default settings the Shift I lights are fully programable and its going to fun playing with the settings at a later date. This does and some bling factor to the car but its all good fun http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu326/Hotdognz/Engine%20Swap/Birkin_Friday13th4.jpg I then spent some time mounting the new console pockets and then fitting the console in with the help of Mark and then bolting it down with 28 nuts and botls on each side (it was riveted in at the start). http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu326/Hotdognz/Engine%20Swap/Birkin_Friday13th7.jpg http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu326/Hotdognz/Engine%20Swap/Birkin_Friday13th2.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiBirkin Posted August 13, 2010 Author Share Posted August 13, 2010 Also fixed in place the new rear boot cover ready for the popers to be put on on Monday http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu326/Hotdognz/Engine%20Swap/Birkin_Friday13th3.jpg The car is nearly back together now and i would say is 90% done we are just waiting on some steering & pedal box parts to come back from powder coating now and then Mark can fit them on and sort out the new hydraulic brake & clutch master cylinders and hook them up, the rear wheel guards need to be put on and the hand brake connected once all that is done its then on to test driving for the first time and tweaking the engine and everything else to make sure its right for the road. Pnce Mark is happy the car will head off to the cert engineer to make sure that everything is ok and hopefully that should be it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MHKflyer52 Posted August 15, 2010 Share Posted August 15, 2010 KiwiBirkin, Your going to have a new car when it is all finished and a nice one at that. Thanks for all the photos as it has been fun watching your rebuild. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiBirkin Posted August 17, 2010 Author Share Posted August 17, 2010 KiwiBirkin, Your going to have a new car when it is all finished and a nice one at that. Thanks for all the photos as it has been fun watching your rebuild. Cheers Martin Well a big update today Took a day off today as Mark expected some of the last parts to come back for the car so he could crack on with it so I decided it would be a wise move to get in and help hime by doing some of the bits I needed to get finished too. I need to finish of the center consol as it needed sealing down with RTV to stop any water of the road coming up through the floor and into the cockpit, Mark meanwhile started to sort ot the clutch and brake system which all need to be put back onto the car and positioned around me before being sent of too the powder coaters for painting Mark got all this hooked up by the afternoon and in position for a test fit as I wanted to move it about 1" forward to give me some more room as it happens its sits in the perfect place as it is so I have decided to leave it as is for for now. Next was to bleed to clutch and brakes and then to test that the clutch was working ok on the stands which it did, we then put the steering back together as by now Mark was keen to give the car its first test drive as it was only 3.30pm and we had time. After a quick clean up of tools and check around the engine systems & bay was done we lowerd to car of the tressels and sat the car on the ground for the first time in 5 weeks. http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu326/Hotdognz/Engine%20Swap/Birkin_Monday17th2.jpg http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu326/Hotdognz/Engine%20Swap/Birkin_Monday17th1.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiBirkin Posted August 17, 2010 Author Share Posted August 17, 2010 Mark then jumped in started the car and headed out and up the street after a few short trip up and down came back with a big grin on his face and said he was really really happy with the results. When he gave me the thumbs up I jumped in as a passenger and we were off. After a short blat I jumped in and had a drive of my car with its new 4AGE engine in, what can i say this swap has exceeded all expectations its a rocket ship the power was pretty full on and im going to have to learn to drive this car all over again , its so easy to wheel spin the rear end up where as the 1600 xflow had to be really reved up to get it too lose grip from take off, the power is much smoother and the roar of the induction through the snails sounds fantastic. Anyway shes alive again and very very happy now its a matter of finishing her off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 Great post - I enjoyed reading through the upgrade process. I am glad you like the results! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scannon Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 Kiwi, Thanks for sharing your upgrade, it's been fun to watch. You're going to love the extra power. That appears to be a V8 engine in the red Se7en in the shop. If it is, some details & pictures please. Are you planning on running the engine without the timing belt covers? I've seen several people lose engines that way in Miatas and they have far more protection in the engine compartment from loose rocks than a Se7en does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiBirkin Posted August 17, 2010 Author Share Posted August 17, 2010 Gday Skip Ill get some pictures ofthe V8 McGregor Mach7 for you next time im in their workshop. The timeing belt covers will be going on as soon as the car is finished, the extra power is fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiBirkin Posted August 19, 2010 Author Share Posted August 19, 2010 (edited) I took half a days holiday today and also have the day off tommorow as the car is getting very close to the 100% complete stage with just final testing to be done. This morning Mark pulled apart the steering and pedal box and sent the bits to Pro-Metal for powder coating black and they had them back within the hour by the time I had turned up to start helping out, I started on making the inside ali panel that sits befor the scuttle on my Birkin it had had a small brake fluid leak over the years due to some one having the duel brake cylinder on the worng way and had dripped brake fluid over the ali for god knows how long any way it was in a bad shape with really bad corrosion so I decided to replace it while the car was apart so today i cut a new bit of ali the using the old piece as a template I have also on Marks advice decided to use rivnuts where ever possible now, so after about 4 hours work the new ali panel was in place with all the holes drilled and rivnuts in place and was ready to be screwed down. Kelvin who was doing my upholstery had arrived with my new back panel and the new carpets and then fixed the rear boot cover in place with black press studd fastners instead of silver, Kelvin has done a fantastic job of fixing up the upholstery in my center consol and I can not recommend him enough. Mark meanwhile had put the pedal box together and had it in the car all hooked up we only have the throttle cable to secure now and we are back to where we were when we drove the car the other day. Tommorow we really start to get it back to how it looked the day I drove it in and back on the road for testing. Pics to follow when I take some tomorrow. Edited August 19, 2010 by KiwiBirkin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim F. Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 Kiwi, for no other reason than curiosity, did you by chance take a look at the Fraser cars before you decided to acquire your Birkin and perform all the subsequent changes and upgrades you've recently acomplished? I share the Fraser name and was interested to visit their website fraser.co.nz. I saw some really cool LED lighting options they offered and had a tour of their offerings. One of their engine options appears to be the 1600 4AGE....is that the same motor you've installed? Enjoyed following your build along the way! Great job and quite an undertaking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiBirkin Posted August 19, 2010 Author Share Posted August 19, 2010 (edited) Hi Jim cherrs for the nice comments Yes I did consider a Fraser car and it was my first choice as they build nice cars and also supply pretty comprehensive kits but a fully built car is anywhere from NZ $45k to $60k and putting a kit puttiing a together your self will set you back between NZ $30k-40K depending on engine choice. They spec there cars with the Toyota 4AGE (1600cc) and 3SGE on carbs (2000cc) with the 3SGE being the most popular choice. Fraser cars tend to hold their value at around NZ $25k to $35k for a second hand one depending on year and specs so it was out side of my budget, I didnt know about Birkin at the time but then cam across my car for sale localy for $16k but knocked them down to $14k prior to the engine install I had spent NZ $5K on all its new bits and refurbishing it. The motor transplant will have cost me another $2K once I credit the sale back of my 1600 crossflow to the costing which i got NZ $3740 for on a local trading web site (http://www.trademe.co.nz). Search Fraser under the motoring section. So all up im at NZ $21000 for my car and its now on par with a more expensive second hand Fraser. Edited August 19, 2010 by KiwiBirkin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiBirkin Posted August 20, 2010 Author Share Posted August 20, 2010 Well today we nearly finished the final assembly of the car the scuttle went back on and the windscreen and the rear wheel archers were fitted I finished off some more small jobs that needed doing and then Mark started to check over the car. All thats left to do know is fit the rollbar and boot and fit the 4 point harness back in which I will be doing on Sat morning. Steve did a final check of all the wiring and passed it all off that he was really happy with it, Steve has done a really nice job of fitting the wiring loom into my car and has managed to even make the bad Birkin wiring look good. So once these last small jobs are done on Sat morning the plan is to give it a bit of a shake down run over the weekend and then its back to McGregors on Monday to to sort out the only issue we have so far that the car is running too cool and wont run at its normal operating temp and maybe any small niggles that could crop up from some daily driving, once these are fixed it will go the the local engineer for recert and then I will get it back untill the VIN plate arrives. I didnt manage to get any pics for the last 2 days as my camera battries went flat and I forgot to charge them up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiBirkin Posted August 21, 2010 Author Share Posted August 21, 2010 (edited) Well after all the work and effort that has gone into my car its finally on the road for testing. The day started off with a early vist to McGregors, Mark had offerd for me to come in if I wasnt working as he gets some quite time on a Sat to finish off some projects he has on the go as there was no overtime on this morning and we stayed in town over night at friends Marg and I headed down to finish of some small bits that needed doing in the hope I could drive home in the car for a weekend of test driving. I need to fit the roll bar on and get the exhuast fixed in place and the seatbelts and seats in this was all done within the hour and Mark did a once over again before we took it out for the day. Marg headed off home and I was soon to follow...... or was I !!!!. We started the car up to warm her up and Mark noticed the ignition light didnt go off at all so after a quick ring to Steve he got mark to check the battery was charging which is was, we dicide that it was a faulty wire some where so Mark took the car out for a quick spin up the road and came back not happy as the car was spitting and farting and running like crap.....Bugger. Mark checked a couple of other things and then we noticed that the fuel gauge was on empty so we put in a litre of fuel and Mark went off again, this time he retuned with a grin on his face and said the ignition light was also off now since we had put the petrol in, we have come to the conclusion that Birkin have wired in some sort of low fuel light to the ignition light system when it gets very low, this is quite possible because Birkin send cars all over the world they have to meet the rules of a lot of countrys so its quite possible this is true. Anyway it was off too a petrol station to fill the tank up and then home after putting in 34L of petrol (the most its ever taken so the tank must have been nearly dry) I discoverd I had Marks wallet and mine was at home with Marg in Kaiapoi....Bugger again. A quick phone to Mark and I soon discoved he didnt have any cards in his wallet to use to pay for petrol either....Bugger for a 3rd time :shock: . Anyway now what to do :?: ... next thing i know a young lad called Rob with a Celica who had been looking at the car while filling up walked up to me and offerd to pay my petrol bill all I had to do was give him my email address and phone number and he would email me his bank details and I could pay him via internet banking after some conversation about that he paid the for my petrol and I asked him to follow me back to McGregors so i can drop Marks wallet off and I could give him a ride as a passenger which was the least i could do. We dropped the wallet off and me and Rob were off in Grace for a quick spin around the block and back, after a chat it turned out that Rob is a friend of Rookie's (a guy on the NZ lotus forum) and has seen Rookies car, so it turned into a very interesting start to the day to getting a few K's on Grace. As I wrte this up we have coverd about 150kms so far today on the shake down runs over the weekend and plan on doing a few more tommorow, so far we have only had 1 issue and that is the ignition/engine turning off on its own accord 2 times today as soon as I pull over though and switched the ignition off and then back on it starts again fine so im putting it down to maybe a lose wire for now. Other than that its going great Ill stop rambaling now and post the pics up from today. http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu326/Hotdognz/Engine%20Swap/BirkinFriday_20th5.jpg Shift I lights from my view http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu326/Hotdognz/Engine%20Swap/BirkinFriday_20th7.jpg http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu326/Hotdognz/Engine%20Swap/BirkinFriday_20th8.jpg Edited August 21, 2010 by KiwiBirkin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiBirkin Posted August 21, 2010 Author Share Posted August 21, 2010 (edited) http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu326/Hotdognz/Engine%20Swap/BirkinFriday_20th6.jpg http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu326/Hotdognz/Engine%20Swap/BirkinFriday_20th3.jpg http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu326/Hotdognz/Engine%20Swap/BirkinFriday_20th2.jpg Edited August 21, 2010 by KiwiBirkin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiBirkin Posted August 21, 2010 Author Share Posted August 21, 2010 (edited) http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu326/Hotdognz/Engine%20Swap/BirkinFriday_20th1.jpg http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu326/Hotdognz/Engine%20Swap/BirkinFriday_20th10.jpg Alll thats left to do for me is finish of the heater and get it connected in so I can get rid of the long hose thats connecting the heater inlet and outlet. Edited August 21, 2010 by KiwiBirkin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snookwheel Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 Beautiful!! Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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