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I've started to build a Birkin, it is a Lotus 7 manufactured in South Africa.
It uses a Duratec Ford engine 2.0, 2.3 or 2.5, Ford T9 transmission and Subaru differential. It uses double A arms front and rear, coil overs all around, Wilwood four pots in front sliders and parking brake in rear. Body is tubular with aluminum skin. I'm hoping to get it built for under $40k in about 3 months. Texas is very lenient. It will be registered as a replica '67 Lotus 7. I only have to meet safety standards in place at the time. I don't have to have windshield wipers unless I have a windshield. I don't have to have fenders. I don't have to have a hood. I don't have to have a front license plate or bumpers.
I plan on building it Spartan, no fenders, no windshield, no interior other than Kirkey low back seats, Racepak digital dash w/gps speedo. It will basically be a race car for the street. I'm hoping to bring it in at about 1,000 lbs, no driver or gas and around 200 hp.
So far I have the engine from a '12 Ford Fusion with 57k miles for $560, new Subaru differential 3.70 with viscous limited slip $524.99, Enkei RPF 15x7 wheels that weigh under 10 lbs/ea and Toyo Proxes R888R tires in 195/50-15 and some Oxmo titanium lugnuts to hold 'em on.
I'm goin' to Gypsum, CO to pick up the rest mid-February.
First part to arrive: tires Toyo Proxes R888R 195/50-15. It is a DOT legal race tire Treadwear 100 but on 1,000 lb car they should last a long time, $563.48 from Tire Rack to my door. They weigh 19.2 ea. Interesting in that they have colored stripes molded into the tread white, green, blue and it looks like it is a dual compound tire.
Going to Gypsum, CO to pick the car up February 9th.
Got the wheels, Enkei RPF1 15x7 35 off set in black. They weigh 9.8 lbs each, wow. Wish I could get some wheels like this for the Corvette. Price was $869.48 for 4 to my door from Amazon. This is probably the nicest wheel I have ever seen. They ring like a bell when you tap 'em. They even come with a fancy aluminum valve stem but it looks like the stubby rubber ones are lighter and I will go with them.
Got the engine, 2.5l four out of '12 Ford Fusion, $560. Stock it puts out 170 ish, with throttle bodies and headers it ought to make 200. Engine is all aluminum, double overhead cam. Engine will need balance shaft delete, variable cam timing delete, different oil pan designed for fore and aft orientation, AT Power throttle body injection, low profile cam covers, basically putting $3,000 parts on $500 engine.
Went to Gypsum, CO and picked up the car. Hauled it back on a Ford 5 ton crew cab diesel flatbed, car filled with stuff on the back, fiberglass fenders and nose inside. Did the 3,000 miles out and back in 3 days, ugh.
Got the car set up in a 10x20 storage unit with electricity, it is setting on a couple of saw horses. Got the engine on a Harbor Freight engine stand.
Next task it to get organized, brake stuff, electrical stuff, suspension stuff and stuff I won't be using like windscreen, wipers, fenders, etc.into separate piles.
Got the front suspension on loose. Next the rear suspension. I need to get the brakes on and working because some of the fitting are under the differential. It has Wilwood four pistons in front and VW sliders with mechanical handbrake in rear, single adjust coilovers on all four corners.
Ordered the Racepak IQ3S street dash with GPS. This will take the place of speedo, tach, high beam indicator, turn signal indicators, oil temp, oil pressure, coolant temp, fuel level. It has programmable **** (shift, ha, ha) light.
Got the front Wilwood four piston calipers on and will check clearance on the Enki wheels before mounting up the tire. Got the clutch/brake reservoir and master cylinders mounted. Hard lines are all in place. Trying to get all the stainless brakes lines sorted.
Last edited by juanvaldez; 02-16-2017 at 10:58 AM.
Got the Racepak IQ3S street dash. It will display tach, speedo, time, oil temp, oil pressure, coolant temp, high beam, turn signals, parking brake warning, g meter plus warning lights for oil temp, oil pressure and coolant temp. Also has shift light setable for each gear. Other than the this unit I will only have ignition/start, two programming buttons for dash, light switch, high/low beam, turn signal (non canceling) and horn. Speedo is GPS.
Got just about all the parts. Still lack one pair of Kirkey seat brackets, throttle bodies oil pan and cam cover. Need some machine work done on the head so it has to come off and get shipped.
Got the car up on it wheels for the first time. Got the rear brakes pressured up and bled so I could check for leaks before installing Subaru limited slip differential out of WRX. Got the 11" Momo steering wheel and NRG quick release. Mounted aluminum radiator and electric fan just to get it out of the way. Figured out how I'm gonna fabricate steel mounting bracket for the Kirkey seats. Got the fuel level sender so I can get the tank back in and mount electric fuel pump. Decided I would probably wrap the fiberglass nose to get something that would come close to matching bare aluminum on the rest of the body.
Steering wheel shaft is some morphidite 39 spine. Quick release doesn't look like it will work with stock hub.
Head needs to come off the engine to get shipped off for some machine work to accommodate variable cam timing delete along with custom low profile cam cover needed to clear hood (bonnet). I already have the cams, timing chain, etc. off so it is just a matter of removing head. Head looks like a sportbike head, 4 valve/cylinder, buckets over valves. A difference is no shims under buckets. It appears that clearance is adjusted by changing buckets. Engine is very clean inside, no gunk at all anywhere.
Decided to skip the steering wheel quick release for now. Head is off and off to be machined. Kirkey seats were a battle. Fabricated some mounts from 2x1/8" and 1" angle plus the Kirkey brackets. Seats are 41V 15" and they barely fit. Got the 5 point harness in. Differential is in, waiting on a piece to install axles. Brakes on on, backs are pressured up, fronts ready to be.
Took the nose to check out wraping instead of painting. Gonna use 3M brushed aluminum wrap. Got a bunch of waterproof connectors so I will start wiring up taillights and headlights. Taillights are not stock as stock mount is fenders, not running fenders. They are waterproof LED trailer lights with license plate light on one side. Fronts are dunebuggy (guide) that incorporate LED turn signal/running light with regular H4 bulb. Everything in one housing, clean.
Got the nose wrapped in 3M Brushed Aluminum. Not as good as I hoped but probably as good as paint.
Car is coming along. Brakes are bled, differential and axles in, radiator on, headlights and tail lights, turn signals (all in one) on. Sent the head off for machining and got it back. Engine is going back together. Got sump on. Got most all of the missing parts, throttle bodies, wiring harness for engine, ECU, Raceline sump.
Next is to finish back end of car, get fuel tank in, wire sending unit for fuel gage, install fuel pump and run lines and wiring.
Engine is going back together. Head is on, sump on. In the process of getting valve clearance right. Cams have been on and off a couple of time. Valves are adjust by replacing the buckets over valves/springs.
The is nice little engine out of '12 Ford Fusion, 2.5l, dual overhead cams, 4 valves/cylinder, all aluminum, steel crank. Stock it is rated 170. With headers and throttle body injection it out to do 200.
Engine is going back together. Head is on, sump on. In the process of getting valve clearance right. Cams have been on and off a couple of time. Valves are adjust by replacing the buckets over valves/springs.
The is nice little engine out of '12 Ford Fusion, 2.5l, dual overhead cams, 4 valves/cylinder, all aluminum, steel crank. Stock it is rated 170. With headers and throttle body injection it out to do 200.
Need pics... and what is approximate price to do a project like this?
01-24-2017, 04:46 PM
Birkin build
