Progress On Front Suspension

Note: To avoid having to remove the front shock assembly, install the headlights before proceeding.

Manned with the Birkin Assembly Guide, we made some progress on the front suspension, which consisted of attaching the upper and lower A-arms, dampers, knuckles, calipers and end links.

The kit a-arms went in with a bit of persuasion. The manufacturing tolerances seemed fair so far.

After snugging everything up, we checked for any excess play at the mounting points and were prepared to add extra washers where necessary, per the guide's instructions. There turned out to be no need, as everything had very little play - one side tighter than the other. We're figuring that the tight tolerances were due to the new bushings and would loosen up slightly once on the road.

The dampers slid in without a hitch. Our chassis came with machined aluminum washers and spacers as a placeholder where the top and bottom of the dampers mounted. We retained the washer within the top mount to occupy the small amount of play present. The bottom damper mounting tabs were fine. The dampers allow for height adjustment which will be handy when corner weighting the car once fully assembled. *Please note that despite everything looking great at this point, you'll need to remove the top mount of each damper to install the headlight assemblies later on.

Next were the knuckles, which came as a unit, complete with bearing, hub and rotor installed. The top and bottom ball joints slid into the knuckle and we snugged everything up. The beefy Wilwood style calipers bolted easily into place and our Hawk pads slid into position.

We ended up being short the otter tie rod ends. Evidently, Dick has them in the mail. So as soon as they show, the front suspension will be ready to rock!

The Birkin Has Arrived

It's here! Dad (Ken) drove down to pick the Birkin up from Dick Brink and the folks at Texas Motor Works. It actually fit in the back of the van! After making some space in my garage, we set up some Harbor Freight saw horses in which to rest the car. With the help of an engine hoist and my lovely wife, we had the bare-bones car in position.

Much to our (my) surprise, many of the components were already in place. On the front end, the steering rack and sway bar were in place. The entire car was plumbed with hard brake and fuel lines and the pedal box was installed. The dash and wiring were in place, save for the instruments and the fuel tank and cargo tray were installed. This ought to be easy, right :).

We have most of the components on-hand, including the 2.0 Ford Duratec engine and a rear differential from a Subaru WRX, so here's to a smooth assembly.