Tall w/clown feet: Caterham SV vs. Birkin?

[Spaz]

6'4" - 200 lbs on the nose, size 10 shoes. I love my Puma Speed Cats.

[supersportsp]

6'2", 202, 34 waist and size 12's here. I fit in my standard chassis Caterham, but it is tight. I drove several standard chassis cars as well as an SV and sat in a Westfield before buying mine.

To me, easily the biggest dimensional difference between a standard and SV chassis is footwell space. I didn't note the cockpit width as much and the steering wheel to thigh clearance seemed largely unchanged.

I can get away with Van's in my car without feeling like I am endangering myself. Narrower shoes will help. Even in an SV, you aren't going to want to wear anything of a wider profile.

You should be fine length wise unless you have really long legs in a standard car. What you want to be careful of is thigh to steering clearance. Two of the three standard cars I drove (and also the SV to an extent) I had issues with this which made driving uncomfortable and had me worried about accident avoidance etc. Smaller steering wheels (flat bottom as well), lowered or lower profile seats and dropping the floor an inch can help here.

[e043656]

Originally Posted by rnr

6'1", 185 lbs with size 14 feet I have plenty of room inside my Ultralite. Are you looking to buy used or build a new car?

I could and would like to build one ... but not at a "too significant" cost disadvantage. My problem is I change my mind on what car to buy/build depending on the day.

I can do anything on a Miata with my eyes closed but I don't really prefer the look of the Westfield.

I like the idea of a $1500 210HP Duratec more than I like the idea of any motor other than a Miata motor. (+ for Birkin or newer Caterham?)

I really like the more classic looks of the Caterham and Birkin. I also like the idea of the IRS in the new Birkin.

The thing I'm missing more than anything is driving a few different variants.

I've wanted one for 15 years, and I've finally decided Miatas are overweight and too floaty

[Croc]

Originally Posted by e043656

I've finally decided Miatas are overweight and too floaty

oops! I guess this will kick off the Hank and Skip niggling act again!

[Arya Ebrahimi]

Originally Posted by e043656

6'3", 180 lbs, 34" waist, size 13 shoes

You just described me to a T. The only solution for me to be able to drive Mazda's Rotus was to break out the sawzall and reconfigure the entire cockpit. It turned out to be more of an undertaking than either of us imagined, but in the end it was worth it(at least for me ).

[scannon]

Originally Posted by e043656

I like the idea of a $1500 210HP Duratec more than I like the idea of any motor other than a Miata motor. (+ for Birkin or newer Caterham?)

I really like the more classic looks of the Caterham and Birkin. I also like the idea of the IRS in the new Birkin.

I've wanted one for 15 years, and I've finally decided Miatas are overweight and too floaty

Miata engines in Caterhams are doable, click on the link in my signature. I think there is a Birkin out there somewhere with a Miata engine. There is also a Miata engine in a WCM Ultralite.

My Miata felt like a Buick with bad shocks after I drove Caterham USA's demo SV on the track. Immediately after driving the SV I took the dealer for a session in the Miata and promptly had one of the worst off track excursions ever (excluding the infamous outhouse incident) in the car.

The Miata has adjustable coil overs, adjustable shocks and sways and lots of chassis bracing along with a turbo but once I drove the SV I had to have one. I still like Miatas, I have three of them at the moment.

[e043656]

Skip,

I had actually stumbled onto your car somewhere on the net before you posted that link... I love the concept, but not sure I am up for the fabrication.

How is the gearing with the Miata stuff? Is the Link EFI good enough?

[scannon]

The fabrication of the motor mounts is quite straight forward. I took a look at the Caterham engine mount system for the Zetec, used the Caterham rubber mount pads and built the rest of it to fit the Miata engine.

It took some trial and error to determine how much material had to come off the transmission but I have saved the sacrificial tailshaft and you are welcome to borrow it to have one machined from it if you go that way.

The only other difficult part was the wiring and that requires a lot of time but not necessarily a lot of skill.

The Link ECU worked well, but after a year I replaced it with a more modern Hydra Nemesis which required further rewiring. With no other changes to the car the chassis dyno showed a 61 HP gain and a similar gain in torque. It has many more features whereas the Link was developed to the max with its outdated electronics.

My car has the Caterham 3.9:1 differential (with a Quaiffe LSD) and with the Miata engine and transmission it works very well. I'm sure with a 3.6:1 diff it would cruise nicer and probably a little better top speed I doubt I will bother making the change.

If you ever get to the Denver area, look me up and we will do a ride/drive in the car. With 1,350 lb and 301 RWHP I think you will find the car entertaining and the acceleration adequate for most needs.

[e043656]

Skip,

Very interesting! I have rebuilt many Miata transmissions (6 this winter alone) and wiring harness work and EFI tuning is within my expertise as well. What I am terrible at is bracket-making, welding, bodywork. Of course I can grind a tailshaft as well as anyone, though.

Perhaps a Miata drivetrain is not as much a stretch as I thought, especially if I can copy your hard work and learn from your experience.

I see you have used the 1999-2000 motor. How did you handle all the intake, exhaust, and turbo plumbing?

It would seem to me a 1994-1997 mill might be easier to fit and simpler ... any feelings on that?

FYI, this is where I first ran into your project: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/636168/10/

[scannon]

I'd be happy to pass on any knowledge I have. I found it to be a fun project and not especially difficult.

I had no idea if a Miata engine would fit in the engine compartment before I started. You can follow the test fitment of the mocked up engine in that cardomain site.

I used the stock '00 Miata intake manifold, a Flyin Miata turbo and manifold and the charge side plumbing is just exhaust tubing with a couple of nipples welded on between the intercooler and the throttle body. All the bends are Samco hoses as is the reducer between the throttle body and I/C pipe.

The exhaust was fabricated to my design (after consulting with Corky Bell) by a local hot rod shop that builds exhaust systems and roll bars with a big assed mandrel tubing bender. The whole exhaust system ran about $1,000 for parts and labor, all in stainless steel.

I don't think you would gain anything using the earlier engine. Besides you gain about 15 HP using the later engine which has a much better head on it.

Bracketry is quite simple to build if you have the combo shear/brake/roller tool. I used a belt sander to round corners and any special shapes. I often made up two or three different brackets before I had what I wanted. I buy scrap ali from a recycler so not much is lost if I scrap a few pieces. For a few of the pieces I made card stock templates to get angles and fit the way I wanted.

I don't think my engine with the turbo would fit in the standard Caterham engine bay.