Widebody Westfield/7 type...

[Donatello]

Started this thread in the Kit Car section but thought it might get more attention here. If I can't do duplicates, please delete this Mods

Afternoon all,

My brother in law has a Westfield and I took it for a drive last year with him. I am quite a big chap, nearly 6'3" and quite wide. Actually, I'm a bit lardy and need to lose weight, but I'm doing that bit!

My size meant I had to drive the car with no seat back and it was still a really right fit. My arse was wedged in like you can't believe and my feet kept getting under the pedals if I didn't bend my legs at a funny angle.

Now I would LOVE a 7 type vehicle and my brother in law has suggested a widebody? Does anybody own one or has anyone used one that could tell me if it makes that much difference? He seems to think it could be the saviour and I just want one badly!

Thanks in advance

[marshalla]

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/rules.htm

Rule 15.

Might be quicker for you to delete one of the threads yourself.

[Classic Grad 98]

Caterham make the SV for people who want more space- may be worth a look.
The Westfields are generally more spacious than a standard 'S3' Caterham and you'd get more 'bang for your buck' so to speak.
Don't be so sure you need an especially large one. I'm 6'1" and 14.5 stone and I fit comfortably in an S3, as does my 19 stone friend!
Try them out.

[Donatello]

marshalla said:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/rules.htm

Rule 15.

Might be quicker for you to delete one of the threads yourself.

Thanks for that. Deleted the other as this one has already received a helpful response!

Classic Grad 98 said:

Caterham make the SV for people who want more space- may be worth a look.
The Westfields are generally more spacious than a standard 'S3' Caterham and you'd get more 'bang for your buck' so to speak.
Don't be so sure you need an especially large one. I'm 6'1" and 14.5 stone and I fit comfortably in an S3, as does my 19 stone friend!
Try them out.

See I'm especially wide at the top of my legs/hips (fat arse is the other way of describing it!).

I was fine around shoulders chest but my hips/thighs were wedged in and my legs were a little cramped in the footwell (which is to be expected I know but this was a little too enclosed).

My brother in law's car is quite basic. No carpets or fancy stuff, just a bare shell really and the seats are quite chunky so thinner seats could help with the legs?

I will look for an SV... are they rare?

[Chris71]

Classic Grad 98 said:

Don't be so sure you need an especially large one. I'm 6'1" and 14.5 stone and I fit comfortably in an S3, as does my 19 stone friend!

With a lowered floor you can get people up to about 6'6 in a standard (narrow body) Caterham I think!

What's your budget? Without wishing to inflame the whole Caterham vs Westfield thing, that's a major factor. I personally think it's worth paying the premium for a Caterham if budget isn't a big issue - you will see it back if you buy a good one - but there's no denying you get more for your money with the Westies and other kits at the cheaper end of the market.

IIRC All modern Westfields are wide body examples? I think that was actually one of the conditions of the law suit!

I believe the Dax Rush is said to be good for larger drivers too and there are some mammouth examples with Rover V8s or Cosworth turbos going around.

[Donatello]

Chris71 said:

With a lowered floor you can get people up to about 6'6 in a standard (narrow body) Caterham I think!

What's your budget? Without wishing to inflame the whole Caterham vs Westfield thing, that's a major factor. I personally think it's worth paying the premium for a Caterham if budget isn't a big issue - you will see it back if you buy a good one - but there's no denying you get more for your money with the Westies and other kits at the cheaper end of the market.

IIRC All modern Westfields are wide body examples? I think that was actually one of the conditions of the law suit!

I believe the Dax Rush is said to be good for larger drivers too and there are some mammouth examples with Rover V8s or Cosworth turbos going around.

Thanks for that. I haven't really got a budget in mind but I think we could draw a big bold line at £10k max if it was going to be an already sorted example or less for something I could mess around with.

I don't think I want a big V8 engined seven or a bike engined one either. I would also like to try something other than X-Flow or Pinto, so as far as I know, Duratec, Zetec and Red Top are the other choices?

N/A all the way to start with but once I buy one, it won't be leaving after a year or two. It will be there for the long haul.

[rhinochopig]

A westy will fit up to about 6'5" but only in the race seats - the shell ones with minimal padding. The fat cushioned ones really limit the height of the driver - I had loads of room in my race spec car, but couldn't even get into a comfort spec car with air-bag wheel and fat seats. I'm 6'5" and quite broad of shoulder.

[Westy Pre-Lit]

Chris71 said:

Without wishing to inflame the whole Caterham vs Westfield thing, that's a major factor.

I give it till the back end of page 2

[Donatello]

Westy Pre-Lit said:

Chris71 said:

Without wishing to inflame the whole Caterham vs Westfield thing, that's a major factor.

I give it till the back end of page 2

Your both antagonising the masses... I don't want none of that in my thread!!

[c7xlg]

Caterham sv are not that rare now. Production started about 2001. However you probably wont find a 'good one' for under £12-14000.

[rhinochopig]

Donatello said:

Westy Pre-Lit said:

Chris71 said:

Without wishing to inflame the whole Caterham vs Westfield thing, that's a major factor.

I give it till the back end of page 2

Your both antagonising the masses... I don't want none of that in my thread!!

There is little debate that Caterhams do hold their value better. As for which goes best - whichever has been set up properly as both cars are so so sensitive to geo and tyres.

I will say this, the build quality on my factory built Westfield (in 2001) was very poor. Things may be better with the later cars?

[5678]

An SV would do you fine. I'm 6'1" and powerfully builtlardy and I fit in a 7 SV with no problems at all. The seat isn't even all the way back.

[Donatello]

5678 said:

An SV would do you fine. I'm 6'1" and powerfully builtlardy and I fit in a 7 SV with no problems at all. The seat isn't even all the way back.

What about the width? Length ways, despite the fact my feet got stuck behind the pedals, I could cope with it by getting a thinner seat as mentioned previously.

I think I may be better off buying something getting towards the £10k mark and just enjoying it for what it is rather than cheaper with work to do.

[5678]

Donatello said:

What about the width? Length ways, despite the fact my feet got stuck behind the pedals, I could cope with it by getting a thinner seat as mentioned previously.

I think I may be better off buying something getting towards the £10k mark and just enjoying it for what it is rather than cheaper with work to do.

Loads of room. Tbh, I can fit in a regular 7... it's rather snug though!

[Classic Grad 98]

c7xlg said:

Caterham sv are not that rare now. Production started about 2001. However you probably wont find a 'good one' for under £12-14000.

Uh huh, I agree entirely.
I have to say though it will hold up much better come the time to re-sell (than the other 7-esque cars).
re: engines, an SV in this budget will probably be a 'k-series'- don't be too put off by the stigma though. Characteristically it is a great engine for the type of car, and very lightweight.
If you want a car you can just use/enjoy with minimal fettling this would be my choice. As others have suggested, the others are a little variable in their buid quality and handling.

[Chris71]

rhinochopig said:

Donatello said:

Westy Pre-Lit said:

Chris71 said:

Without wishing to inflame the whole Caterham vs Westfield thing, that's a major factor.

I give it till the back end of page 2

Your both antagonising the masses... I don't want none of that in my thread!!

There is little debate that Caterhams do hold their value better. As for which goes best - whichever has been set up properly as both cars are so so sensitive to geo and tyres.

The K-Series in the Caterhams is agruably a nicer engine than the Zetecs you tend to find in Westfields and they do seem to be a bit lighter. My Roadsport A was 518kg in full road trim with fuel, fluids, a full screen, passenger seat, hood etc, which is pretty light for a car-engined Seven.

I guess one advantage of the Westfield is they've had IRS for much longer, I believe? Theoretically that would be better for real world use, but I have to say I never had any problems with the de Dion setup on the Caterham once I got some road-spec springs and dampers on it.

To be honest, though, the whole debate is a bit academic. Unless prices have come down a lot or Donatello fancies squeezing into a narrow bodied example a Caterham is probably out at sub-£10k.

Engine-wise, the Toyota 4AGE is good, but it tends to go in the lightweight screamers - Sylva Strikers and things like that. The Fiat Twincam is a gorgeous engine, but quite rare these days. And, as mentioned above, the Rover K-Series is also a great little unit with a few mods, but not commonly used.

I'd say sub-£10k and wide body screams Westfield. Some of the lesser known kits are very good to drive (some people reckon the Sylva Striker is the best handling Seven type car of all, for example) but the sheer number of Westfields means you'll have a good choice of examples, specs and ages within budget and plenty of support if anything goes wrong.

[Classic Grad 98]

^ All true. Turning out to be an informative and balanced thread so far!!!

[Donatello]

Classic Grad 98 said:

^ All true. Turning out to be an informative and balanced thread so far!!!

Don't tempt fate!

I agree though, very informative and extremely helpful Just what I was hoping for! Westfield it is then... not that its an issue

[Grey Ghost]

CW7 has posted pictures of himself on here before which suggest he is of "chunky" proportions so hopefully he will be along shortly to discuss his fitting into his daily hack Caterham

[rhinochopig]

Donatello said:

Classic Grad 98 said:

^ All true. Turning out to be an informative and balanced thread so far!!!

Don't tempt fate!

I agree though, very informative and extremely helpful Just what I was hoping for! Westfield it is then... not that its an issue

One thing I would say WRT to any kit, is to go over the chassis rails and suspension components with a fine toothed comb. Generally, most kit-car manufacturers (Caterham inc) are terrible at rust protecting chassis steelwork and you don't want to buy a kit that you'll have to rebuild and strip back to bare metal - well unless you like that sort of thing.