Kitcat Posted September 17, 2011 Author Share Posted September 17, 2011 Excellent idea Mike. Where did you get yours, or, are they home made? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 For my current car I got lazy and bought them from Caterham. Not sure if it is online but when I was spec'ing the car, it was on some materials I got from Caterham. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellowss7 Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 http://www.caterhamparts.co.uk/search.php?orderby=position&orderway=desc&search_query=clutch+stop Doesn't look like much to it. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted September 17, 2011 Author Share Posted September 17, 2011 I think I will be gluing a small cube of wood, painted silver, on the floor below the clutch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted May 17, 2012 Author Share Posted May 17, 2012 (edited) Just an update to keep track of everything in one place, tho all has been posted elsewhere: Blown engine at recent track day. Inadequate baffling of oil pan seems most likely culprit. Clutch is shot. Perspective: my Caterham's clutch was original after 30K miles, ditto engine after 30K miles, including many, many track days. As also mentioned elsewhere, both rear axle boots came off at 1st track day at speed. They were improperly installed, expensive to replace. The rear brake line does not fit into caliper, so Birkin just jams it in adds a bit of goop to hold it there and calls it done. That had to be redone by my mechanic as it was leaking badly. My just diagnosed tranny leak was a result of TMW not putting the rubber boot that goes over the gear shift lever to seal the fluid in place. So, it was open and splashed out everywhere. Oil pan gasket improperly installed so it leaked. Current theory is that is why the clutch went as it was soaked by engine oil. I have put, maybe, 350 miles, total on my Birkin since purchase 9 months ago, and, combined w/prior owner, car has 1100 miles. (I put 1100 miles on my Caterham the 1st week of ownership). But the Birkin has been in the shop virtually non-stop since purchase (in fairness, it was in storage December-March) and I am essentially rebuilding it, part by part. It took prior owner $1,500 of tuning/re-enginering, to get the engine to run/make power after he had the car built new by Texas Motor Works. And this whole thread started when I had to have wiring redone (at sizable expense) to eliminate the numerous shorts that kept killing the engine. I am not hating on the Birkin per se, clearly folks with mechanical talent build solid, reliable cars. Edited May 17, 2012 by Kitcat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackal Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Too bad about the motor. What pan are you using? I noticed the brake challenge with the fittings and bleeder valves. On mine, the bleeder valves are in a larger bung that is gooped to the caliper. Not the best way in my opinion. If your mechanic has any PN's for the brake bleeder parts they used, I would love to hear about them. The hole in the caliper seem huge now compared to the bleeder valve that sits on the other side of the "adapter". I don't know where I would find a one piece that will work in this situation. I have not checked the boot that fits over the gear shift lever, but I will tonight, and I think I'll drop my pan just to be sure that the gasket is set correctly. I noticed the valve cover gasket on mine was folded over itself in spots, and completely folded in in others. On mine, the pilot bearing was missingm, and so was the bushing for the CPS. It sucks that these challenges plague our cars, but they all seem to have a common theme. The parts are solid when applied correctly. With a bit of work I think they will live up to expectations. Good luch with the repairs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjslutz Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Like a dumb A** I purchased my 2002 / 2004 Birkin In N.Y. and had a friend fly me up as it had spares with it. His A/C was larger than mine! The only problem I had with it on the way home was, I had to cut most of the sides of my running shoes off to fit. After a stop for dinner in Cleveland, OH. I arived at home around 11:30 PM. It was a few hundred miles with no problems. It has been that way on all trips. Many mods later it has been the same. I have added the short steering arms and turned the tach to where 8,000 is in sight, lowered the seat, had a new taller roll bar made, along with a new top to fit it. Added stage 3 cams and head work and many other mods. It has been 100% reliable. As I live in an area of low traffic, it is driven like I rented it. It is push the button and make noise. I have been thinking of an Ohio / Colorado trip this summer. If I do it, it will be W/O top or winshield (Aero Shield only). It will be non freeways if I can. To make my R888's fit I trimed the outside of the fenders and mounting brackets to fit. My car was well sorted as it had about 2,500 miles on it, it was set up for the track prior to purchase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted May 25, 2012 Author Share Posted May 25, 2012 (edited) Mechanic finally is working on the motor. The #4 cylinder spun a rod due to oil starvation. Let the rebuilding begin. Really are not a lot of aftermarket options for the Duratec. Sure, Cosworth makes great stuff-like a crank for $3.5K:). But I was not planning on spending much more than that for whole engine. The turbo option is popular but I decided to pass on that (for now). I communicated with Forum member 1TurboFocus. Tom has built many Zetec/Duratec engines, done 100's of Zetec/Duratec tunes and designed after market parts, like rods and turbo systems for both engines. If he weren't so far away, he'd be building it for me (w/o turbo tho). His prices are very reasonable for a pretty high spec engine. Edited May 25, 2012 by Kitcat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxologist Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 there's always Ammo. http://www.raceline.co.uk/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellowss7 Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 I thought that Ammo had hung up his tools and was no longer building engines.???? Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxologist Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 is that the case? I haven't been on BlatChat in a couple of years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted May 26, 2012 Author Share Posted May 26, 2012 I took Croc's advice and bought slightly used Duratec w/9K miles and will add cam, ITB's, water rail from current motor and call it done. Shd be good for 200 hp and live a long happy life. Will modify oil pan w/"trap door". I will have it tuned and will post dyno sheet once done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pi7ot Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Ammo is/was Raceco. Raceline is a different company. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted June 21, 2012 Author Share Posted June 21, 2012 (edited) Car is back and faces baptism by fire: 2 day track event @ NJMP. If it doesn't develop any other issues there, I will put it up for sale since my track-only Caterham should be here in a week. Whoever buys it will be getting a much better Birkin than I got. Additional discoveries post engine blow up: The clutch pressure plate was improperly installed and was hitting the bell housing, so clutch wasn't clamping totally. Hence the slippage at high RPM. The alternator gave up the ghost and had to be rebuilt. Edited June 21, 2012 by Kitcat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellowss7 Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Great news Mike!:hurray: I'm sure you've made it better, just like you did with your old Crossflow Caterham. Just try to keep it on the blacktop this time.:willy_nilly: SCDA has a hard two spin and you're done policy. Enjoy your grandchild. See you Sunday. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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