Road trip to pickup my new Birkin (long)

[MightyMike]

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!

[Mondo]

Brave man.... glad you made it home safely.

[DeanG]

Nothing like starting off with an adventure. Thanks for the post.

[Croc]

Excellent! Good to see you made it home before the snow.

[powderbrake]

Mighty Mike:

First, congrats on the new Birkin.

You have demonstrated the Sevens are real cars and can be used for long trips (as long as the driver is tough as nails).

 

Re your comment "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)". I have deduced that when Texans are born, they are assigned a lane to drive in, and they never leave that lane, no matter what the traffic conditions.

 

Before you Texans jump me, you have to admit it's at least a little true. :jester:

[MHKflyer52]

Good article and thanks for sharing your experience with your new toy car....(that is what my wife calls all 7's)....

[V-Robb]

Nice read! Reminds me of when I bought my Harley sight unseen in El Paso and rode it home to Cali. A good test of both machine and man.

[twnpipe]

Excellent report, look forward to getting my license plates this week.

[MightyMike]

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

[DeanG]

You look much cooler in the driving picture than your avatar!

[MightyMike]

You look much cooler in the driving picture than your avatar!

 

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

[gjslutz]

My experience in Texas, on two lanes is how you come up behind thm and they don't slow down. They pull off on the right side of the road at the same speed and you pass. This isn't new, it was like this in the 60's also. Around Dallas, you likely ran into some dam Ohio drivers that moved down there.

[S1Steve]

Hi Mike,

Welcome to the forum, Thats a great first drive. This summer will make up for your cold ride home. Good Luck your 7..

[11Budlite]

On the downside, the fuel pump was obnoxiously loud and unbearable, even with earplugs. That’s definitely my first project.

 

PS: my legs and butt are still a little sore from the ride - kinda tight!

 

Mike - Great write-up and nice first drive! The most I've ever done is about 325 miles in a day.

 

I also hated how noisy the fuel pump was in my Birkin. I ended up moving it behind the rear axle on the right side of the car. I made a panel out of .125" aluminum and mounted it to the frame with adel clamps. I then mounted the fuel pump to the panel along with the main fuel filter. I also have a small pre-filter before the fuel pump, with no filter/screen in the tank. It's important that you don't have the restrictive screen in the tank which has caused a lot of problems and can be contributing to the noise. See the picture below of my installation...

 

While Jason wasn't looking you should have swapped your 2001 seats for the 2002 seats from the roller he's building....they're much more comfortable!

[thegoat]

I made a 1000+ drive in my Elise the day I picked it up in Vegas. I left Vegas at 5p and drove through the night to Erie, CO. It was a great drive - but I was warm. I did wake up the next morning with a bruise on my left ankle where it rested on the floor of the car and another on my hip where the seam of my jeans met the seat and provided a little extra pressure. Still, a great memory and good way to get comfortable with the car. I will never forget the image of that orange elise sitting under a single overhead light at some small gas station at the beginning of the mountains in UT streaked with road grime. Just looked tough. Too bad I didn't have a camera with me.

 

I plan to make a 1000+ mile trip in my birkin this spring when it goes from CO to NV. I will probably take two days though so I don't have to freeze during the night (no weather gear other than a bikini top for the sun), and also so that I can take back roads and not worry about potentially closed gas stations at night. I absolutely love long road trips. And this will be a great time for me to get acquainted with the new car.

 

Thanks for the great write up!

[Hank]

Wonderful story there! Congrats on the new purchase.

[MightyMike]

Mike - Great write-up and nice first drive! The most I've ever done is about 325 miles in a day.

 

I also hated how noisy the fuel pump was in my Birkin. I ended up moving it behind the rear axle on the right side of the car. I made a panel out of .125" aluminum and mounted it to the frame with adel clamps. I then mounted the fuel pump to the panel along with the main fuel filter. I also have a small pre-filter before the fuel pump, with no filter/screen in the tank. It's important that you don't have the restrictive screen in the tank which has caused a lot of problems and can be contributing to the noise. See the picture below of my installation...

 

While Jason wasn't looking you should have swapped your 2001 seats for the 2002 seats from the roller he's building....they're much more comfortable!

 

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

Edited February 11, 2010 by MightyMike
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