Kitcat Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 (edited) As noted elsewhere, I have purchased a track-only Caterham and am now selling my Birkin. I can't afford 2 automotive toys (even one is a challenge), so one has to go. Faithful readers of this site know I have spent the last year bringing my car up to spec and getting everything to work as promised/ designed. After $10K in parts and mechanic's bills and various bouts of up-grade-itis, the car is where I want it to be. Only for me to have a change of heart about having a dual purpose, street/track car and opting for full-tilt track se7en (Cage, dry sump, fire suppression system, slicks, etc., etc.). So here's what I am offering, as represented in the attached pictures: *2009 Birkin with all of the latest Birkin upgrades noted on the Texas Motor Works website. This car has 1200 miles in it, and counting, as I am driving it on a near-daily basis. *Duratec 2.0 engine, stage II cam, Jenvey ITB's, upgraded ceramic coated headers, est 215 hp. Plz ignore the bogus "Lotus" name stenciled on cam cover by prior Lotus-obsessed owner (Lotus never made an engine this nice:)). *Aggressively baffled oil pan with latest Birkin upgrade (trapdoor) for track use, *Extra vents/breathers in crankcase and valve cover for track use, * IRS, LSD, *Haltec Platinum1000 ECU, *Wide track suspension, adjustable Gazz shocks, adjustable coil overs (so car can be corner balanced), *Carbon fiber Caterham (Tilet) driver's seat w/anchor belt cut outs, ($1.7K),Caterham fiberglass racing seat on passenger side($800.00)(both seats are on sliders and can be adjusted fore an aft), *Adjustable pedal assembly, *Wilwood calipers, upgraded braided brake lines, *Upgraded(new) Ultima dry cell battery, *Aluminum fly wheel, ,5sp T9 transmission, annular clutch, *Upgraded Simpson 6 point belts, driver and passenger, * 3M paint protection film on all critical areas, * Cabin cover,Tonneau, Aftermarket, upgraded mirrors, * Upgraded (louder) dual horns, * Two sets of wheels, after market 949 Racing wheels and stock (much heavier) Birkin wheels. Toyo R'1s tires on back, Avon C500's up front. The car is a rocket ship.It is fun on the street and a blast on the track. At the recent usa7s.com trackday at NJMP it was the equal of the many high spec Caterhams in attendance . The only time I was passed was by a Porsche 944 w/'Vette engine-and I almost was able to hang w/him:). Price: $29,500. Mike Mooney 513-977-4213 mjmooney@fuse.net Cincinnati, OH Edited July 18, 2012 by Kitcat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xcarguy Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 Beautiful car. A few questions: Did you tune the Haltec or was this done elsewhere? What make LSD (Subaru, Quaife, are you using are what is the gear ratio? Is the tranny gearing close ratio or wide ratio? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted July 15, 2012 Author Share Posted July 15, 2012 (edited) The car is on its 2nd engine. The 1st was tuned by TMW. After he got it the 1st owner took it to Abascus racing and they rewired, removed faulty parts, and tuned it (At a cost of abt $1.5K to prior owner). When I blew the engine in May, 2012, due to oil cavitation issue/inadequate oil pan design at a track day, I purchased a Duratec for $1K w/9000 miles on it. My mechanic put it in, added the Jenvey ITB's and Active Technologies fuel rail, hooked it up to Haltech, and it ran great. So, no further tune. My plan is to take to a local dyno shop and get some hard numbers and post here. And also to modify tune if needed. BTW, redline is 6800-7000. Transmission is close ratio, per prev owner. I suspect,but dont know, that it is Subaru diff, definitely not a Quaife. Don't know final drive ratio. I do know top speed is abt 125 mph per my GPS, in 5th. It hits 100 km (62 mph) in 2nd. Dick Brink at TMW may be able to supply info. It was 1st Duratec vehicle they built. It is stock unless otherwise noted, so a visit to their website for stock specs mite reveal more info than I have. Edited July 15, 2012 by Kitcat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted July 19, 2012 Author Share Posted July 19, 2012 (edited) Prospective buyers have asked: What does it weigh? I dont know but estimate 1300 lbs, am trying to get it on a scale and will post if I do. What's the difference between a Birkin and a Caterham? The Birkin is a short-cockpit 7, the Caterham, a long cockpit version. That means the Caterham driver can push his seat further from the steering wheel and have more upper torso room. Leg room/seat width/height are the same. How do they compare on the street? Depends wh/Caterham you are comparing it to. The Birkin is pretty stiffly sprung so rides harder than my stock Caterham X-flow. I suspect not as harsh as a Cat Superlight. What abt at the track? Six of one 1/2 dozen of other. What advantage does the Birkin's IRS have over Dedion? I haven't found any difference, both are great, on street and on the track. What does it cost to ship? I split the $2K cost to ship my new Cat from Seattle to Cincy, in an enclosed trailer. That was the deal of the century. If you are patient, price drops. If you want the car in 10 days it goes waaaay up. Edited July 19, 2012 by Kitcat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted July 19, 2012 Author Share Posted July 19, 2012 (edited) Some folks have asked for pix of cockpit and suspension so here they are. As you can see, the interior side upholstery/panals has been removed along w/original seats-I have then tho and they come w/the sale. Edited July 19, 2012 by Kitcat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted July 22, 2012 Author Share Posted July 22, 2012 (edited) I was shocked to see my Birkin weigh in at 1112 pounds today!!!!!!!!! Eat your hearts out Caterhams owners (never mind, I am a Caterham owner). In all honesty, it wasn't the most precise system, unless you call a bathroom scale under each wheel precise. (Thx to my wife's and my periodic disbelief at what we weigh, we replace our scales with some regularity and are up to 4 now:)). I did swap scales out and consistently got nearly identical, nicely balanced readings. The 1112 lbs number is after I subtracted 50 lbs for 7 gallons in the tank, and 36 lbs off for the real mounted spare (which I weighed). I have also taken out all carpet and panels (abt 17 lbs per the bathroom scales) and replaced the 37 lb stock Birkin seats with 2 light, racing shell Caterham seats, another 22 lb weight savings. And my aftermarket 949 Racing wheels save about 9 lbs per corner (really, I weighed them). With a swap of the large battery for a lite weight model and replacing the windscreen with a wind deflector, I think I could get it under 1100 lbs. This helps explain why the car feels like a rocket ship. Coincidentally, I took my new (used) Caterham Zetec for its first spin today. It didn't feel as fast. It weighs 1340 lbs and has less power, so that is not a shock, just sayin. Edited July 22, 2012 by Kitcat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slomove Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 O.K. now what? Change the thread title to "Caterham for Sale" ? :rofl: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted July 23, 2012 Author Share Posted July 23, 2012 Slomove-anything's possible:). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelD Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Mike, I thought it would have sold by now. Any chance of you bringing one of the cars to Summit Point in August? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted July 23, 2012 Author Share Posted July 23, 2012 Sorry Michael, we are hosting a dinner that nite. And, I have 3 track days planned in August in the new Cat, so that part of my life is pretty full. Keep the invites coming, tho, it will happen eventually. I'd love to meet the legendary Folis Jones! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted July 24, 2012 Author Share Posted July 24, 2012 Dyno day is 8/14, we shall see how much power the mighty Duratec is pumping out. This particular dyno is notoriously conservative, so I am not expecting a lot (My "135 hp" X-flow made 95 hp, simillar drop seen in my Miata when tested). So, maybe my "215 hp" Duratec will hit 155-165? Stay tuned (no pun intended). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markmad Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Mike from what you have written you better off selling your Caterham and keeping the Birkin ,besides it has a much better engine .215hp will require more than just the ITB's you'll need some cams as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted July 24, 2012 Author Share Posted July 24, 2012 Mark-is that an offer for the Cat:)? My reason for the switch is the Cat is totally track prepped. It wld cost $10-15K to add all that safety stuff to my Birkin. For now I am enjoying both cars-really the best of all worlds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markmad Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 I'll give the Cat a miss thanks . But Mike people under estimate the cost of preparing or converting the car to race ready standards .I understand your thinking . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted August 15, 2012 Author Share Posted August 15, 2012 I got the car on the chassis dyno this morning. It made abt 166 hp, 150 lbs torque, right abt what I expected. On a notoriously conservative dyno. My X-flow made 95 hp, 93 lbs torque on it a few years back, as noted above. I somehow left w/o the dyno sheet so can't post at moment. Will get and add later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted September 18, 2012 Author Share Posted September 18, 2012 Have had some recent inquiries as to whether car is still available. It is, tho I am not pushing real hard. Will get more serious next Spring. In the meantime, keep the e-mails coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rikker Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Have had some recent inquiries as to whether car is still available. It is, tho I am not pushing real hard. Will get more serious next Spring. In the meantime, keep the e-mails coming. what does that mean? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BessieTheSeven Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 what does that mean? It means he will not sell it to you! :jester: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted March 18, 2013 Author Share Posted March 18, 2013 (edited) Car is back at the dyno shop today getting a nice safe "street tune''. The AFR's were a little less than ideal on the above-mentioned dyno day. Then, once I get back from vacation in mid April, I will get serious about selling this car again. There have been inquiries off and on over the winter but nothing serious yet. I plan to drop the price a coupla thosand and make it more tempting. Will put on E-Bay also. Someone is going to get a pretty amazing car at an excellent price (IMHO:)). Some have asked about the top. All I can say is it has one in a box, ditto doors. Since I never put it on, I have no idea how it fits, if all snaps are in place etc. The "build photo diary" shows it with the top up but I cant swear its really ready to be driven that way. Like all things se7ish, I suspect some fettling will be needed. One prospective buyer from Calif was very surprised to learn that sale of the car would not include my Ohio plates so he cld drive it in Calif. Thus buyers be forwarned, title, licensing, and insurance issues are for you to resolve, I just supply the (amazing) car. Edited March 18, 2013 by Kitcat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rikker Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 Talk about drawn out, either list the car or do not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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