Considering a Westie now ....

[Wacky Racer]

peetbee said:

raks said: also, i've exhausted out all possible searches on trying to find out the difference between pre and post lit. anyone help !?!? I believe that pre-lit cars were almost direct copies of the Caterhams. The litigation case that Caterham brought resulted in Westfield changing things subtly so as not to infringe copyrights etc. The post lit cars are a bit bigger for example. I'm sure someone else will correct me if I'm wrong!

Correct, pre-lit early cars (before around '86) were a bit smaller, and considered fairly desirable now, although I don't know why

If you want to go down that route you may as well get the real thing, also spare body panels may be hard to obtain.....

[raks]

hmmm, you say its a bigger car. are we talking external or internal dimensions ? this would be useful, as i am a big chap (not blowing my own trumpet there ) i'm 6'3", and stocky. hope my shoulders fit !!!

[dern]

See my profile for a picture of my westy. It's a 1988 which I understand is a post-lit car and is a narrow body.

I only paid 4900 for this one and it goes very well indeed. The downsides are that because its a x-flow engined car it's not what you'd call oil tight but for what I use it (mucking about in) for it's fine. It's also geared quite low and travelling distances at speed is a noisy experience and it drinks fuel (range is only 60-70 miles).

I'm 6'2" and it's a squeeze but only because my left knee rubs against the steering wheel. I've got used to it and just sit differently now but whether or not you'll fit in one depends on how long your legs are rather than how tall you are. You can move the wheel up a bit but that requires some engineering or you can fit a smaller wheel or you can fit a seat with a lower base... there's lots of options to help you fit in one.

Regards,

Mark

[Wacky Racer]

dern said:

See my profile for a picture of my westy. It's a 1988 which I understand is a post-lit car and is a narrow body. I only paid 4900 for this one and it goes very well indeed. The downsides are that because its a x-flow engined car it's not what you'd call oil tight but for what I use it (mucking about in) for it's fine. It's also geared quite low and travelling distances at speed is a noisy experience and it drinks fuel (range is only 60-70 miles). I'm 6'2" and it's a squeeze but only because my left knee rubs against the steering wheel. I've got used to it and just sit differently now but whether or not you'll fit in one depends on how long your legs are rather than how tall you are. You can move the wheel up a bit but that requires some engineering or you can fit a smaller wheel or you can fit a seat with a lower base... there's lots of options to help you fit in one. Regards, Mark

Yep Mark, It's definitely post- lit, (but only just), a foolproof way to tell is by looking at the windscreen surrounds, pre-lit ones were more like the current Caterham shape at the bottom.

I understand that was one of the things Chris Smith at Westfield had to ammend, to appease the Caterham boys.

It looks like the standard narrow bodied SE that I built in 1990, (mine was a navy blue one, fitted with a 2 litre Pinto and Twin 40 Webbers). There was also the SEi version, with fully independent rear suspension, which was a bit wider.

I can't understand why your crossflow isn't oil tight, unless it's very worn, they usually had a good reputation, I had several Escorts which never leaked a drop, but sometimes it's cheaper to keep topping up the oil than attempt to cure the problem.....

Looks a nice car, depreciation should be almost zero from now on......

[Graham.J]

Wacky Racer said:

Yep Mark, It's definitely post- lit, (but only just), a foolproof way to tell is by looking at the windscreen surrounds, pre-lit ones were more like the current Caterham shape at the bottom.

IIRC the rear arches are a give-away, not curving down on the pre-lit's and going straight out a-la Caterham (that didn't come out well, compare the pictures of a new westy and a new caterham and you'll see what I mean)

Raks, join the WSCC, they have a monthly mag which has cars for sale in, get along to your local meets, assuming your position in London, try the Thames Valley meet, and if you're up in the Midlands there are a fair few meets up around there, again, you will find out about this in the mag.

You'll be wanting a wide bodied car, I'm about 6'3" and have a narrow westy and find it a bit tricky to get in and out and to get comfy but I can, just.

This shouldn't be a problem in your price range though.

>> Edited by Graham.J on Friday 19th December 19:28

[dern]

Wacky Racer said:

Yep Mark, It's definitely post- lit, (but only just), a foolproof way to tell is by looking at the windscreen surrounds, pre-lit ones were more like the current Caterham shape at the bottom. I understand that was one of the things Chris Smith at Westfield had to ammend, to appease the Caterham boys. It looks like the standard narrow bodied SE that I built in 1990, (mine was a navy blue one, fitted with a 2 litre Pinto and Twin 40 Webbers). There was also the SEi version, with fully independent rear suspension, which was a bit wider. I can't understand why your crossflow isn't oil tight, unless it's very worn, they usually had a good reputation, I had several Escorts which never leaked a drop, but sometimes it's cheaper to keep topping up the oil than attempt to cure the problem..... Looks a nice car, depreciation should be almost zero from now on......

I love it to bits

The oil leak is coming from the oil filter housing so it should be pretty easy to rectify.

Cheers,

Mark

[Justin s]

Dern,weren't we supposed to meet up and talk westies sometime? Fatherhood has made the brain cell fall out.doh
And as for the pre-lit,which was my first westie,I'm 5-11 and was a cramp squeeze for me,which was a reason for the change.I have a widebody (in more ways than one) westie now and am chuffed.Did a 270 mile journey home in it and only stopped for fuel without a bother.The larger cars I feel are not as nimble as the narrows and am working on that with my home made front and rear anti roll bars to help carry more speed on the corners.The joy of winter.Anyone local to Thatcham with a welder?

[Wacky Racer]

Talking of Westfields, I notice WK? are doing a feature on the factory itself, in next months issue

ps: don't let Den see this, he'll skin me alive!!!