Westfield 1800 (+ Astra VXR & car history)
Discussion
I wrote a new member introduction thread with car history in general gassing yesterday, but I thought a readers' car thread was in order too, particularly for my latest acquisition. A lot of this post is cut and pasted from my other thread, so apologies if you've read that already...
Everyone has to start their driving career somewhere, and I was fortunate enough to be given my Grandfather's Ford Fiesta (the one on the left) when I turned 17:
It was never going to win any drag races, but as a car to learn the basics of driving and maintenance on it was perfect. I ended up driving this car from 2003 up to half way through university (2006) when I needed to upgrade during my placement year. In a bit of a rush for a car I headed to the auctions and hastily ended up with this:
A 2001 Citroen Xsara 2.0 LX. Although not a complete dog, it's fair to say this car wasn't quite what I was after, and it definitely taught me a valuable lesson why you must not get carried away at an auction... £1350 for a 5 year old hatch seemed good value, but upon getting the keys from the desk I soon realised the reason for the low price- it was an automatic. This was of course no DSG-type affair, rather 4 "gears" of unmatched slushness, slowness and downright unreliability. I couldn't get on with the car and after 4 months craved for something more involved. Still, I only lost £50 at trade-in...
It's telling when an upgrade in handling, performance and dynamics comes in the form of a Vauxhall Astra. However, despite this car's less than stellar reputation I thoroughly loved it. The handling wasn't the best, but the performance was half decent from the 1.8 and it proved to be thoroughly reliable. After two years of ownership things were still going great with it, until a lack of concentration from another driver resulted in this:
The oncoming driver swerved onto my side of the road when somebody pulled out in front of him, which at 40mph was only going to end one way. Needless to say the car was written off, but it did at least stand up to the impact fairly well. Still enjoying the car up until this point, and having a limited budget, I made the mistake of trying to find a direct replacement, hoping for more of the same.
The larger engine (2.2) gave a little more torque but the performance was largely similar. The problem really though was that this car just hadn't been as well looked after as my 1.8, meaning it always felt second best. After 18 months (2010) I finally swapped it for the one I'd been waiting for:
Yes it's another Astra, but names are where the similarities between these cars end. I honestly think the VXR is viewed unfairly, as although it certainly lacks finesse, the power, grip and looks more than make up for it. I've had this car 3.5 years now and I won't be changing it any time soon.
I've changed the dash illumination from yellow/white to red/blue, but other than that it is standard. I'm toying with the idea of a remap at some point, more to improve the driveability than anything. If anyone has any experience of remapping a VXR I'd be very interested to hear about it.
If this glut of Vauxhalls has dropped my credibility too much, hopefully my "toy" car will go some way to repairing the damage...
My brother and I helped our father build this Westfield 1800 Sport in 2001. All parts were new, which certainly made the build process a lot easier. After passing its SVA first time in August 2001 my Dad put around 5000 miles on it. However over the recent years he was finding that he was getting less and less use out of it, and decided that he needed a more practical replacement (his natural choice for that being a Porsche Boxster!) He went as far as getting some valuations from dealers, but in the end couldn't really stand to sell it given all the time we'd put into it. I jokingly suggested I'd look after it in my garage and run it if he wasn't sure what to do for now, which surprisingly he was actually game for! That was 5 months ago and I've been driving it as much as possible ever since.
Although not substantially quicker in a straight line than the VXR (~170BHP as against 240BHP, but obviously a lot lighter) the handling is in a completely different league. I have become somewhat used to the torque of the Astra, so I'm having to get out of some bad habits with regards to gear selection, but under the right conditions it is so much more rewarding to drive. Given this is my first rear wheel drive car I've still got a lot to learn, so I'm hoping to get on a trackday or two soon to get the most out of it.
Next on the job list will be new tyres (12 year old Avons are not the grippiest...) and a few electrical things over the winter. I'm toying with the idea of a wrap at some point too, although this would be more to increase the chances of people seeing you, which I've noticed is a bit of an issue with the dark blue body. I think it would be a shame to change it though as it doesn't seem to be too common a colour choice.
Everyone has to start their driving career somewhere, and I was fortunate enough to be given my Grandfather's Ford Fiesta (the one on the left) when I turned 17:
It was never going to win any drag races, but as a car to learn the basics of driving and maintenance on it was perfect. I ended up driving this car from 2003 up to half way through university (2006) when I needed to upgrade during my placement year. In a bit of a rush for a car I headed to the auctions and hastily ended up with this:
A 2001 Citroen Xsara 2.0 LX. Although not a complete dog, it's fair to say this car wasn't quite what I was after, and it definitely taught me a valuable lesson why you must not get carried away at an auction... £1350 for a 5 year old hatch seemed good value, but upon getting the keys from the desk I soon realised the reason for the low price- it was an automatic. This was of course no DSG-type affair, rather 4 "gears" of unmatched slushness, slowness and downright unreliability. I couldn't get on with the car and after 4 months craved for something more involved. Still, I only lost £50 at trade-in...
It's telling when an upgrade in handling, performance and dynamics comes in the form of a Vauxhall Astra. However, despite this car's less than stellar reputation I thoroughly loved it. The handling wasn't the best, but the performance was half decent from the 1.8 and it proved to be thoroughly reliable. After two years of ownership things were still going great with it, until a lack of concentration from another driver resulted in this:
The oncoming driver swerved onto my side of the road when somebody pulled out in front of him, which at 40mph was only going to end one way. Needless to say the car was written off, but it did at least stand up to the impact fairly well. Still enjoying the car up until this point, and having a limited budget, I made the mistake of trying to find a direct replacement, hoping for more of the same.
The larger engine (2.2) gave a little more torque but the performance was largely similar. The problem really though was that this car just hadn't been as well looked after as my 1.8, meaning it always felt second best. After 18 months (2010) I finally swapped it for the one I'd been waiting for:
Yes it's another Astra, but names are where the similarities between these cars end. I honestly think the VXR is viewed unfairly, as although it certainly lacks finesse, the power, grip and looks more than make up for it. I've had this car 3.5 years now and I won't be changing it any time soon.
I've changed the dash illumination from yellow/white to red/blue, but other than that it is standard. I'm toying with the idea of a remap at some point, more to improve the driveability than anything. If anyone has any experience of remapping a VXR I'd be very interested to hear about it.
If this glut of Vauxhalls has dropped my credibility too much, hopefully my "toy" car will go some way to repairing the damage...
My brother and I helped our father build this Westfield 1800 Sport in 2001. All parts were new, which certainly made the build process a lot easier. After passing its SVA first time in August 2001 my Dad put around 5000 miles on it. However over the recent years he was finding that he was getting less and less use out of it, and decided that he needed a more practical replacement (his natural choice for that being a Porsche Boxster!) He went as far as getting some valuations from dealers, but in the end couldn't really stand to sell it given all the time we'd put into it. I jokingly suggested I'd look after it in my garage and run it if he wasn't sure what to do for now, which surprisingly he was actually game for! That was 5 months ago and I've been driving it as much as possible ever since.
Although not substantially quicker in a straight line than the VXR (~170BHP as against 240BHP, but obviously a lot lighter) the handling is in a completely different league. I have become somewhat used to the torque of the Astra, so I'm having to get out of some bad habits with regards to gear selection, but under the right conditions it is so much more rewarding to drive. Given this is my first rear wheel drive car I've still got a lot to learn, so I'm hoping to get on a trackday or two soon to get the most out of it.
Next on the job list will be new tyres (12 year old Avons are not the grippiest...) and a few electrical things over the winter. I'm toying with the idea of a wrap at some point too, although this would be more to increase the chances of people seeing you, which I've noticed is a bit of an issue with the dark blue body. I think it would be a shame to change it though as it doesn't seem to be too common a colour choice.
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