Man maths made me buy a Westfeild Seight
Discussion
The starting point was a simple one - I absolutely had no need for another car.
I work in Germany 3/4 days out of every 7 and had two cars that I was (am) very happy with, an M135i and CL500
Out of the blue last week the specialist who I bought the CL from contacted me to let me know that they had just acquired a car I might be interested in - turns out it was a very low mileage S4 convertible with a full Milltek exhaust.
Thought about it for 24 hours and concluded that I did not want it - just too much cross over in abilities across my existing cars, the only thing that stood out was the fact that it was a convertible - this is where the man maths started to come into play
For the money the S4 required what else would it buy me that was a convertible and could stand apart from my existing cars.
Having previously owned a Lotus twin cam powered Westfield back in the early 00's I started to look at what was available. Research soon showed that cars were split into three main groups:
Bike engined
1.6 - 2.0 mainly Zetec powered
A handful of Seights
Within this grouping there was further sub division into sensible (!!) with windscreens and wet weather gear and more hardcore aeroscreened cars.
At this stage I had no idea what I wanted so figured the best way forward was to join the owners club and various forum groups, post wanted ads and talk to people, hoping that this would start to clarify what was a contender and what was definitely not
First to go were the bike engined cars, nothing wrong with them but just not the kind of driving experience I was looking for - I wanted primarily a weekend blast car and maybe the odd track day
Spent some time with a specialist to look at his stock, get some pointers and possibly buy a car but nothing was in budget or had a spec that appealed to me
Out of the blue on Sunday a club member dropped me a message saying that although his car was not strictly for sale he could be persuaded to part with it
Numerous emails exchanged along with pictures and video clips a trip over to view was arranged for this morning
A leisurely look at documentation and the car followed by a run out soon saw me deciding this was the car for me and a deal was struck - man maths meant my self-imposed budget was blown but needs must
Let me present my soon to be collected Westfield Seight
Spec sheet shows this was not a car built on a tight budget and whilst build commenced in 2004 it did not hit the road until 2009 and has done a mere 8,000 miles
Westfield Wide body SEight Chassis built 2004
Weight approx 670 Kg
Aeroscreen
All aluminium panels are black powder coated
Crimson red Gel Coat (lightweight fibreglass body)
Nose can be removed in a couple of minutes.
Carbon fibre “Cycle Wings”
Removable Rear arches
Carbon fibre stone protectors
Carbon fibre “boot” panel
Carbon fibre dash
Westermann Motor sport Carbon Fibre half doors (forward tilting for ease of access)
Rose jointed “RAC” Roll Bar
5 ¾” black headlights
Carbon effect indicator pods
Rear carbon effect lights
Interior
Westfield Sports seats (fixed)
Willans 4” 4-point harnesses
Carbon fibre gear knob
Passenger foot rest
Instrumentation
Stack ST8130 Digidash Plus, with full parameter recording and lap timer
Displays:
Oil Temp
Oil Pressure
Water Temp
Fuel Pressure
Fuel tank contents (with low alarm)
Max Speed
Speed
RPM
Immobiliser
Engine
V8 5.1 by V8 Developments (started life a s 4.6)
300 bhp @ 5200 rpm, 360 lbft torque @ 3000 rpm on 95 Ron
330 bhp @ 5300 rpm 380 lbft torque @ 3200 rpm on 99 Ron
Lightened flywheel
Vernier timing chain set
Dynamically balanced
Lubrication
3 stage John Eales Dry sump pump
Large capacity bespoke oil tank
Alloy catch tank
Aeroquip oil pipes
Fuelling
Bespoke extra long range tank baffled with integral swirl pot and foam filled
Fuel filler mounted on top of “boot” cover.
Jenvey Throttle bodies (8 off)
ITG Filters
ECU
DTA 8 PRO programmable ECU with Launch and Traction Control
Software and switch block/data cables
Cooling
Bespoke (Brise Fabrications) radiator
Electric (pull) fan and thermostat controlled by ECU
Samco Silcone hoses
Exhaust
Bespoke central underfloor stainless steel with 2 silencers to meet strictest track sound limits
Transmission
R380 gearbox
Heavy duty clutch
Ford Sierra 7” diff with ZF plated LSD 3.62 ratio, correctly set up and progressive
Steering/Suspension/Running Gear
Specifications for suspension were developed by head of Audi Chassis Dynamics (at the time).
Front and Rear Nitron dampers, Dyno’d and matched to springs
Front Anti- roll Bar
Oz Ultraleggera Wheels
Brand new Federal 595 rs 205/55/15 tyres
BG Quick disconnect steering boss
Quick rack 2.1 turns lock to lock (with stops)
Brakes
Hi Spec Ultralight 4 pot front Calipers with drilled discs
Sierra Rear Calipers with integral handbrake and drilled discs
I work in Germany 3/4 days out of every 7 and had two cars that I was (am) very happy with, an M135i and CL500
Out of the blue last week the specialist who I bought the CL from contacted me to let me know that they had just acquired a car I might be interested in - turns out it was a very low mileage S4 convertible with a full Milltek exhaust.
Thought about it for 24 hours and concluded that I did not want it - just too much cross over in abilities across my existing cars, the only thing that stood out was the fact that it was a convertible - this is where the man maths started to come into play
For the money the S4 required what else would it buy me that was a convertible and could stand apart from my existing cars.
Having previously owned a Lotus twin cam powered Westfield back in the early 00's I started to look at what was available. Research soon showed that cars were split into three main groups:
Bike engined
1.6 - 2.0 mainly Zetec powered
A handful of Seights
Within this grouping there was further sub division into sensible (!!) with windscreens and wet weather gear and more hardcore aeroscreened cars.
At this stage I had no idea what I wanted so figured the best way forward was to join the owners club and various forum groups, post wanted ads and talk to people, hoping that this would start to clarify what was a contender and what was definitely not
First to go were the bike engined cars, nothing wrong with them but just not the kind of driving experience I was looking for - I wanted primarily a weekend blast car and maybe the odd track day
Spent some time with a specialist to look at his stock, get some pointers and possibly buy a car but nothing was in budget or had a spec that appealed to me
Out of the blue on Sunday a club member dropped me a message saying that although his car was not strictly for sale he could be persuaded to part with it
Numerous emails exchanged along with pictures and video clips a trip over to view was arranged for this morning
A leisurely look at documentation and the car followed by a run out soon saw me deciding this was the car for me and a deal was struck - man maths meant my self-imposed budget was blown but needs must
Let me present my soon to be collected Westfield Seight
Spec sheet shows this was not a car built on a tight budget and whilst build commenced in 2004 it did not hit the road until 2009 and has done a mere 8,000 miles
Westfield Wide body SEight Chassis built 2004
Weight approx 670 Kg
Aeroscreen
All aluminium panels are black powder coated
Crimson red Gel Coat (lightweight fibreglass body)
Nose can be removed in a couple of minutes.
Carbon fibre “Cycle Wings”
Removable Rear arches
Carbon fibre stone protectors
Carbon fibre “boot” panel
Carbon fibre dash
Westermann Motor sport Carbon Fibre half doors (forward tilting for ease of access)
Rose jointed “RAC” Roll Bar
5 ¾” black headlights
Carbon effect indicator pods
Rear carbon effect lights
Interior
Westfield Sports seats (fixed)
Willans 4” 4-point harnesses
Carbon fibre gear knob
Passenger foot rest
Instrumentation
Stack ST8130 Digidash Plus, with full parameter recording and lap timer
Displays:
Oil Temp
Oil Pressure
Water Temp
Fuel Pressure
Fuel tank contents (with low alarm)
Max Speed
Speed
RPM
Immobiliser
Engine
V8 5.1 by V8 Developments (started life a s 4.6)
300 bhp @ 5200 rpm, 360 lbft torque @ 3000 rpm on 95 Ron
330 bhp @ 5300 rpm 380 lbft torque @ 3200 rpm on 99 Ron
Lightened flywheel
Vernier timing chain set
Dynamically balanced
Lubrication
3 stage John Eales Dry sump pump
Large capacity bespoke oil tank
Alloy catch tank
Aeroquip oil pipes
Fuelling
Bespoke extra long range tank baffled with integral swirl pot and foam filled
Fuel filler mounted on top of “boot” cover.
Jenvey Throttle bodies (8 off)
ITG Filters
ECU
DTA 8 PRO programmable ECU with Launch and Traction Control
Software and switch block/data cables
Cooling
Bespoke (Brise Fabrications) radiator
Electric (pull) fan and thermostat controlled by ECU
Samco Silcone hoses
Exhaust
Bespoke central underfloor stainless steel with 2 silencers to meet strictest track sound limits
Transmission
R380 gearbox
Heavy duty clutch
Ford Sierra 7” diff with ZF plated LSD 3.62 ratio, correctly set up and progressive
Steering/Suspension/Running Gear
Specifications for suspension were developed by head of Audi Chassis Dynamics (at the time).
Front and Rear Nitron dampers, Dyno’d and matched to springs
Front Anti- roll Bar
Oz Ultraleggera Wheels
Brand new Federal 595 rs 205/55/15 tyres
BG Quick disconnect steering boss
Quick rack 2.1 turns lock to lock (with stops)
Brakes
Hi Spec Ultralight 4 pot front Calipers with drilled discs
Sierra Rear Calipers with integral handbrake and drilled discs
Edited by Andy665 on Wednesday 15th February 21:46
chuntington101 said:
Any pics with the bonnet off? Looks very clean without the headers sticking out the side.
One of the things that really appealed to me.The original builder built it with some very specific targets and had already built one Seight previously. It was built as a fast road / track car with the ability to run out to the Ring and Le Mans, hence the long range fuel tank etc. The rear exit exhaust was built up to reduce heat transfer and noise during long runs. Amazingly there are absolutely no ground clearance issues
magooagain said:
That's a beautiful thing OP.
Can I ask how big you are to get in it? More width than length . Myself and Mrs Magoo are quite broad and we wonder if we ever will be able to own such a car.
I would like to think I'm reasonably normal - 5ft 11ins, 13 1/2 stone in old money. This car has fixed seats but driving position is perfect and with the carbon half doors there is actually reasonable amounts of elbow room.Can I ask how big you are to get in it? More width than length . Myself and Mrs Magoo are quite broad and we wonder if we ever will be able to own such a car.
I agree - I think Westfield and Caterham plough their own furrows
What has shocked me is the build quality you see on many Westfields, lots of people take thier cars to well beyond the level of a factory built car with some engineering that is clearly created to a standard rather than to a price
What has shocked me is the build quality you see on many Westfields, lots of people take thier cars to well beyond the level of a factory built car with some engineering that is clearly created to a standard rather than to a price
Insurance sorted - all my no claims is being used on my other cars but still only came in at £163 fully comp with full spec advised - very happy with that
Collection confirmed for Saturday lunchtime and of course its forecast as rain so will be an interesting journey home
Managed to get a couple of sound clips too
https://youtu.be/flrt3F3Kj6s
https://youtu.be/aQVhfFYPBZ8
Collection confirmed for Saturday lunchtime and of course its forecast as rain so will be an interesting journey home
Managed to get a couple of sound clips too
https://youtu.be/flrt3F3Kj6s
https://youtu.be/aQVhfFYPBZ8
Edited by Andy665 on Monday 20th February 15:19
Edited by Andy665 on Monday 20th February 15:21
SimonTheSailor said:
Had a John Eales 4.6 in a G33 for a few years - always scared me the first couple of times out of the garage in the spring !!
Pulled like a train and liked to rev quickly.
Apparently this is redlined at 6500 but there is no reason to go beyond 5000. The graph from the remap and RR session last year when it was detuned show an incredibly smooth power curve and a torue line that seems to peak at just over 2000 and stay there - seems like a hugely linear and tractable powerplant - Saturday and collection will reveal all Pulled like a train and liked to rev quickly.
Collected the little beast yesterday - quite comical really. Fallen trees, high winds, driving rain, cold, the Leicestshire Hunt riding across the road in front of me with no warning, mud on tjhe roads etc, hardly ideal for my first acquaintance with the car.
Car performed faultessly but my goodness its a thirsty old beast, probably about 20mpg and bizzarely it does not feel as quick as its 300bhp, 358 lb ft of torque and 650kg would make you believe, its so linear, so undramatic and its only the speedo that gives the game away
Surprised at the hidden equipment it has - air conditioning if you lift your head up over the aeroscreen, heating just by pressing your leg against the transmission tunnel, automatically folding mirrors as soon as you go over 65mph
Plans for the next few weeks are a deep clean so that it looks as good as it is to drive
Car performed faultessly but my goodness its a thirsty old beast, probably about 20mpg and bizzarely it does not feel as quick as its 300bhp, 358 lb ft of torque and 650kg would make you believe, its so linear, so undramatic and its only the speedo that gives the game away
Surprised at the hidden equipment it has - air conditioning if you lift your head up over the aeroscreen, heating just by pressing your leg against the transmission tunnel, automatically folding mirrors as soon as you go over 65mph
Plans for the next few weeks are a deep clean so that it looks as good as it is to drive
Edited by Andy665 on Sunday 26th February 22:41
Managed to give the car its first quick wash this morning, first time I have actually seen it clean - wasn't clean when I viewed it as it had just got back from its MOT - even cleaner body condition than I expected.
Identified a few jobs I want to do:
Full machine polish
Repaint of front wishbones
Tidy up of interior - some paint chips on floor
All wheels off and clean of inner rims
Woke up silly early this morning (4am) so put the quiet to good use and went through the pile of invoices that came with the car, got them all in date order - all 127 of them and kept a running total of money spent on the thing - excluding consumables (tyres / oil etc) comes to over £31k - most definitely supporting the theory that was not a Westfield built to a tight budget
Hoping for a dry (ish) day tomorrow so I can get to the Midlands Breakfast Club in Oswestry
Identified a few jobs I want to do:
Full machine polish
Repaint of front wishbones
Tidy up of interior - some paint chips on floor
All wheels off and clean of inner rims
Woke up silly early this morning (4am) so put the quiet to good use and went through the pile of invoices that came with the car, got them all in date order - all 127 of them and kept a running total of money spent on the thing - excluding consumables (tyres / oil etc) comes to over £31k - most definitely supporting the theory that was not a Westfield built to a tight budget
Hoping for a dry (ish) day tomorrow so I can get to the Midlands Breakfast Club in Oswestry
Been awful weather and been really busy so not had much time to do anything meaningful with the Westfield since getting it home.
Managed to get out for about 30 minutes the weekend before last and noticed there was a clear bad earth on the rear lights so connections stripped down, cleaned, protected and put back.
Late afternoon today decided to pop down to the local petrol station and put some fuel in, a nice evening, the right mood and instead of a 10 minute trip it ended up being a 1 1/2 hour blat, managed to grab a couple of reasonable pics
It really is a car that once you're in it you just do not want to stop driving - the power and more specifically the delivery of the power is intoxicating, any gear, any speed and it just surges forward. One thing I have learned very quickly is always to be one gear higher than you think you need, the engine braking when changing down could very easily lock the rear end up
Hoping to get to the Loton Park hillclimb weather permitting this Sunday as its free entry for all and only 25 miles away, which may end up being a rather longer route home
Managed to get out for about 30 minutes the weekend before last and noticed there was a clear bad earth on the rear lights so connections stripped down, cleaned, protected and put back.
Late afternoon today decided to pop down to the local petrol station and put some fuel in, a nice evening, the right mood and instead of a 10 minute trip it ended up being a 1 1/2 hour blat, managed to grab a couple of reasonable pics
It really is a car that once you're in it you just do not want to stop driving - the power and more specifically the delivery of the power is intoxicating, any gear, any speed and it just surges forward. One thing I have learned very quickly is always to be one gear higher than you think you need, the engine braking when changing down could very easily lock the rear end up
Hoping to get to the Loton Park hillclimb weather permitting this Sunday as its free entry for all and only 25 miles away, which may end up being a rather longer route home
Had a proper run out on Sunday, meeting up with fellow members of the North West Kit Car Group at Loton Park hillclimb circuit
Starting to get the feel of the car now, been a long time since driving something like this and its not easy to remember that your ABS is your left foot, traction control is your right foot and that the steering wheel is merely something to hold on to as most of the steering can be done by the throttle
Mine has not got a front anti-roll bar fitted, one did come with the car but on talking to a couple of competitors at the hillclimb running Westfields I noticed that they ran without them too - apparently it stiffens up the front end too much.
Handling on mine seems very good, little of the understeer I thought may be there because of the V8 but I may tweak the Nitrons up a couple of notches, currently running on the softest setting and I'd like to tauten it up a small amount
Ran faultlessly over just over 100 miles of A and B roads, oil temp never above 85 degrees, oil pressure a healthy 70lbs + and water temp (a weakness of V8 Westfields) never above 78 degrees
The obligatory few pics
Starting to get the feel of the car now, been a long time since driving something like this and its not easy to remember that your ABS is your left foot, traction control is your right foot and that the steering wheel is merely something to hold on to as most of the steering can be done by the throttle
Mine has not got a front anti-roll bar fitted, one did come with the car but on talking to a couple of competitors at the hillclimb running Westfields I noticed that they ran without them too - apparently it stiffens up the front end too much.
Handling on mine seems very good, little of the understeer I thought may be there because of the V8 but I may tweak the Nitrons up a couple of notches, currently running on the softest setting and I'd like to tauten it up a small amount
Ran faultlessly over just over 100 miles of A and B roads, oil temp never above 85 degrees, oil pressure a healthy 70lbs + and water temp (a weakness of V8 Westfields) never above 78 degrees
The obligatory few pics
PurpleTurtle said:
Great car OP - I expect your lad there loves riding shotgun!!
Dare I ask what £££ you were able to acquire this for?
I had a budget of 12k for the right car and I had to go over it but not by that muchDare I ask what £££ you were able to acquire this for?
Always disliked the mirrors that were on it, did not look great and had an annoying habit of folding in on themselves above a certain speed which was not particularly helpful, especially with full harnesses fitted.
Found a new pair on EBay, was sceptical of the quality for the price but actually they are extremely good - couple of fresh holes and all fitted - no idea whether these will also fold back at sped but a planned trip to North Wales next Tuesday should provide the answer
Before
After
End of a few days of intensive car cleaning with BMW waxed, Merc fully machine polished and waxed and today was the Westfields turn in readiness for a North Wales trip on Tuesday
Front wheels off, cleaned and waxed, full clean and checkover of all suspension, bodywork clayed, prepped and topped off with a layer of wax, all levels checked, spares packed (just in case) - just keeping fingers crossed for a dry day
Front wheels off, cleaned and waxed, full clean and checkover of all suspension, bodywork clayed, prepped and topped off with a layer of wax, all levels checked, spares packed (just in case) - just keeping fingers crossed for a dry day
True bonding session with the car yesterday - was important for me to become totally comfortable with pressures, temperatures on a prolonged hard drive and to get feel for the balance of the car
7.15 am start and first 55 miles to Corwen on the A5 to meet up with the other cars for the day
E46 330i convertible
B5 S4 running just over 500bhp
Corrado 16V running 888's and the surprise of the day
Griffith 500
Route seemed to centre around the Shell fuel station on the A5 just outside Betws-y Coed as I needed to top up every 100 miles or so
First action was the top two legs of the EVO Triangle - the A543 from Pentrefoelas and the B4051 - not really worth doing the bottom section as its just the A5 so turned round and did it in the other direction
Said it before - whilst the EVO Triangle is good there are better roads out there and we then proceeded to drive them.
From the A5 (Cerrigydrudion) we took the B4501 to the A4212.
Turning right on the A4212 we took the road until it met the A470 at Trawsffyndd where we turned right to Ffestiniog.
From Ffestioniog we took a right on to the B4391 until it reached the A4212 where we turned round and went back until we reached the B4407 to the A5.
Reaching the A5 we took a left and went to Betws-y Coed for lunch.
After lunch we headed to Llandudno on the A470 and did a tour of the Great Orme before heading to the A55.
Quick blast on the A55 through the three tunnels - great noises from mine and the TVR before coming off at Bangor and joining the A4244 to Llanberis.
Meeting the A4086 we took a left and right up and down the Llanberis Pass - fantastic scenery but traffic always prevents a proper attack of the roads.
This took us back to the A5 and a right turn back to Corwen.
The day ended for the others but heading home B4401 down to the B4391 where turned left and took probably the best road of the day, clear roads, setting sun before hanging a right on to the B4580, followed by a left on the A490 and a left on to B4393 and B4398 bring me back on to the A5 at Knockin and a final 20 mile journey home
Hugely enjoyable day - the surprise being just how well a stock Corrado 16V (albeit running on 888's) kept up
Vital stats for the day
Breakages, damage, mishaps - nil
Speed camera vans seen - 3
Unmarked police cars spotted - 1 red Auris estate
Oil and water used by Westfield - nil
Mileage - for me (from Telford) - just over 300
Fuel used - approx. 19 gallons of Shells finest V Power Nitro
And proof that a car with no windscreen, heater etc can still prove comfortable to sleep in
7.15 am start and first 55 miles to Corwen on the A5 to meet up with the other cars for the day
E46 330i convertible
B5 S4 running just over 500bhp
Corrado 16V running 888's and the surprise of the day
Griffith 500
Route seemed to centre around the Shell fuel station on the A5 just outside Betws-y Coed as I needed to top up every 100 miles or so
First action was the top two legs of the EVO Triangle - the A543 from Pentrefoelas and the B4051 - not really worth doing the bottom section as its just the A5 so turned round and did it in the other direction
Said it before - whilst the EVO Triangle is good there are better roads out there and we then proceeded to drive them.
From the A5 (Cerrigydrudion) we took the B4501 to the A4212.
Turning right on the A4212 we took the road until it met the A470 at Trawsffyndd where we turned right to Ffestiniog.
From Ffestioniog we took a right on to the B4391 until it reached the A4212 where we turned round and went back until we reached the B4407 to the A5.
Reaching the A5 we took a left and went to Betws-y Coed for lunch.
After lunch we headed to Llandudno on the A470 and did a tour of the Great Orme before heading to the A55.
Quick blast on the A55 through the three tunnels - great noises from mine and the TVR before coming off at Bangor and joining the A4244 to Llanberis.
Meeting the A4086 we took a left and right up and down the Llanberis Pass - fantastic scenery but traffic always prevents a proper attack of the roads.
This took us back to the A5 and a right turn back to Corwen.
The day ended for the others but heading home B4401 down to the B4391 where turned left and took probably the best road of the day, clear roads, setting sun before hanging a right on to the B4580, followed by a left on the A490 and a left on to B4393 and B4398 bring me back on to the A5 at Knockin and a final 20 mile journey home
Hugely enjoyable day - the surprise being just how well a stock Corrado 16V (albeit running on 888's) kept up
Vital stats for the day
Breakages, damage, mishaps - nil
Speed camera vans seen - 3
Unmarked police cars spotted - 1 red Auris estate
Oil and water used by Westfield - nil
Mileage - for me (from Telford) - just over 300
Fuel used - approx. 19 gallons of Shells finest V Power Nitro
And proof that a car with no windscreen, heater etc can still prove comfortable to sleep in
Weekend of cleaning in prep for the National Kit Car show next weekend.
Saturday saw the removal of the seats to deep clean the cockpit and touch in some marks, no carpets to worry about but despite only being four bolts per set my arms are now ripped and bruised to hell, space is tight. All wheels removes, arches cleaned, wheels waxed and suspension cleaned up
Second set of new mirrors fitted, tiny but convex lenses give great field of view.
Swapped out the original and grubby 5 3/4" headlights for a shiny new pair of 7" units with LED DRLs - pretty essential in something as small as this
Saturday saw the removal of the seats to deep clean the cockpit and touch in some marks, no carpets to worry about but despite only being four bolts per set my arms are now ripped and bruised to hell, space is tight. All wheels removes, arches cleaned, wheels waxed and suspension cleaned up
Second set of new mirrors fitted, tiny but convex lenses give great field of view.
Swapped out the original and grubby 5 3/4" headlights for a shiny new pair of 7" units with LED DRLs - pretty essential in something as small as this
Edited by Andy665 on Sunday 23 April 21:49
Weekend of cleaning in prep for the National Ki Car show next weekend.
Saturday saw the removal of the seats to deep clean the cockpit and touch in some marks, no carpets to worry about but despite only being four bolts per set my arms are now ripped and bruised to hell, space is tight. All wheels removed, arches cleaned, wheels waxed and suspension cleaned up
Second set of new mirrors fitted, tiny but convex lenses give great field of view.
Swapped out the original and grubby 5 3/4" headlights for a shiny new pair of 7" units with LED DRLs - pretty essential in something as small as this
Saturday saw the removal of the seats to deep clean the cockpit and touch in some marks, no carpets to worry about but despite only being four bolts per set my arms are now ripped and bruised to hell, space is tight. All wheels removed, arches cleaned, wheels waxed and suspension cleaned up
Second set of new mirrors fitted, tiny but convex lenses give great field of view.
Swapped out the original and grubby 5 3/4" headlights for a shiny new pair of 7" units with LED DRLs - pretty essential in something as small as this
Edited by Andy665 on Sunday 23 April 21:57
Super Slo Mo said:
Looks like a cracking day out, I love the roads in that area.
Regarding the unmarked above, what made you think it was Plod? The reason I ask is that I have an Auris estate as my daily, it's not the kind of car I would expect to be an unmarked police car, but then I might just be surprised.
Cashier in the Shell station told us - apparently parks up there regularly as its a filling station used frewuently by people doing the Evo TriangleRegarding the unmarked above, what made you think it was Plod? The reason I ask is that I have an Auris estate as my daily, it's not the kind of car I would expect to be an unmarked police car, but then I might just be surprised.
Fine run down to the National Kitcar Show at Stoneleigh on Sunday, all A roads and an early start meant an opportunity for some sensible fun on the way down.
Whilst standing start acceleration is compromised by the narrow 205 section rear tyres the in-gear acceleration is completely savage and the V8s willingness to rev out to 6500 is surprising
It was a very enjoyable show with a hugely impressive outside display put on by the Westfield Owners Club - very impressed with the standard of build of every single Westfield that was present
One thing that does let my car down is the seats, 13 years old and starting to look a little tatty. I did consider having them re-trimmed but on chatting with the guys on the Intatrim stand I decided to opt for a new pair. Chose their brand new seat design and wimped out and opted for heated bases and backrests too, will make the car more usable on cold but dry winter runs out. Whilst the seat is chosen I have opted to take the car to them so they can look at it and come up with some ideas in terms of materials, pattern, colours and stitching etc. Current line of thinking is to utilise the material BMW used on the Z1 seats, sort of a wetsuit like material that would be practical for the car
Whilst standing start acceleration is compromised by the narrow 205 section rear tyres the in-gear acceleration is completely savage and the V8s willingness to rev out to 6500 is surprising
It was a very enjoyable show with a hugely impressive outside display put on by the Westfield Owners Club - very impressed with the standard of build of every single Westfield that was present
One thing that does let my car down is the seats, 13 years old and starting to look a little tatty. I did consider having them re-trimmed but on chatting with the guys on the Intatrim stand I decided to opt for a new pair. Chose their brand new seat design and wimped out and opted for heated bases and backrests too, will make the car more usable on cold but dry winter runs out. Whilst the seat is chosen I have opted to take the car to them so they can look at it and come up with some ideas in terms of materials, pattern, colours and stitching etc. Current line of thinking is to utilise the material BMW used on the Z1 seats, sort of a wetsuit like material that would be practical for the car
Glad to report that the car is running faultlessly and is being used as it deserves to be.
Time for a quick oil and filter change this evening - so easy with a quick release nosecone and dry sump with high mounted remote filter
After seeking a fair few opinions have opted for Millers Nanodrive CFS NT+ 10w60 - not exactly cheap at £100 for the full change and a bit spare but never believed in skimping on oil
Time for a quick oil and filter change this evening - so easy with a quick release nosecone and dry sump with high mounted remote filter
After seeking a fair few opinions have opted for Millers Nanodrive CFS NT+ 10w60 - not exactly cheap at £100 for the full change and a bit spare but never believed in skimping on oil
In anticipation of the new seats arriving shortly I needed to change the retaining method for the carbon half doors. These were retained by a cobbled together securing bolt attached to each seat over which the elastic cord attaches - crude but effective.
Not wanting to drill holes in brand new seats and attach bolts to I pondered and after much searching found some pretty subtle hooks that could be attached to the chassis rails that not only will keep the new seats unscathed but also easier to use. Erring on the cautious side I have also added "reserve" hooks invisibly under the chassis rail just in case the primary ones fail.
As the original cord was looking a little tired I order and fitted new black and red cord to tie in with the colour scheme
Before
After
After seeing a very impressive demonstration on a test rig and talking to a UK distributor I have treated the oil to a treatment of Faher Anti-friction HD, whilst the engine in the car will never be refined the difference in smoothness and general reduction in the feeling of internal friction is pretty noticeable. Not usually a believer in claims made by these additives but the test rig demo was deeply impressive and the low key way they are going on with the business prompted me to give it a try. The communication subsequently from Chris at Ashford Classic Cars has been superb and shows a commitment to really being interested in what customers are experiencing with he product
Last but by no means least the car has been featured in the new issue of the Westfield Owners Club magazine
Not wanting to drill holes in brand new seats and attach bolts to I pondered and after much searching found some pretty subtle hooks that could be attached to the chassis rails that not only will keep the new seats unscathed but also easier to use. Erring on the cautious side I have also added "reserve" hooks invisibly under the chassis rail just in case the primary ones fail.
As the original cord was looking a little tired I order and fitted new black and red cord to tie in with the colour scheme
Before
After
After seeing a very impressive demonstration on a test rig and talking to a UK distributor I have treated the oil to a treatment of Faher Anti-friction HD, whilst the engine in the car will never be refined the difference in smoothness and general reduction in the feeling of internal friction is pretty noticeable. Not usually a believer in claims made by these additives but the test rig demo was deeply impressive and the low key way they are going on with the business prompted me to give it a try. The communication subsequently from Chris at Ashford Classic Cars has been superb and shows a commitment to really being interested in what customers are experiencing with he product
Last but by no means least the car has been featured in the new issue of the Westfield Owners Club magazine
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