My Westfield Megablade
Discussion
After a very long time lurking in the shadows I thought it was time to introduce myself and my weekend toy...my 2001 Westfield Megablade.
After an extensive period of searching the popular classified ads websites (considering everything from a Ford Racing Puma to a Porsche 996) I stumbled upon this fine example of a Westfield on another forum. I made contact with the seller, who was a nice chap down in the Worcester area and a couple of weeks later after a test drive and appraisal the car was mine. Despite collection day being a cold February day I couldn't contain my excitement and off I went with the help of my Father to pick up my new pride and joy.
On arrival, Westfield was sat there in the owners garage waiting to start it's new adventure. We pushed it out of the garage (no reverse gear on these things) and to my disappointment it wouldn't start...the battery was dead! Anyway, bodywork off...battery changed and we were on our way home!
On the way home back to leafy Cheshire I quickly became acquainted with the sequential gearbox, non-cancelling indicators and no heating whilst traveling at 70mph on the motorway on a chilly winter morning.
Since collecting the car I've taken the opportunity to use it whenever the weather is half decent, It sailed through it's first MOT with me last summer (with no advisories) and I've serviced it too (which was a doddle).
Some of the old vinyl decals have been removed and replaced with Westfield logo's. The diffuser has also been removed and I've made a new cover for the rear area behind the seats. Yesterday I also changed the wheels/tyres from the old Minilites...was never keen on the silver wheels with orange bodywork look! Future plans are....Fit full rollcage, replace red mirrors with carbon fibre mirrors, replace rear bodywork with newer FW Style body.
For those interested the specification is as follows:
2001 Factory built Westfield Megablade, currently at 9000 miles.
Powered by a 1994 Honda Fireblade CRB900RR-R 893CC engine.
Engine recently rebuilt by AB Motorsport, featuring DynoJetted Carbs, AB Motorsport composite airbox, estimated at approx 125-130bhp.
Full stainless steel 4-2-1 exhaust manifold and repackable silencer.
Lightweight Competition Chassis with RAC spec welded roll bar.
Lightweight Competition Bodywork (sectioned to assist with maintenance)
Front & Rear Anti Roll Bars (front now removed)
Rear Nitron fully adjustable Coilovers
Front Protech fully adjustable Coilovers
4 Pot Westfield Aluminium Calipers (Front)
Aluminium uprights
Quaiffe LSD fitted to ford 3.36 diff
Willans 4 point harnesses
Westfield trimmed lightweight bucket seats
Team Dynamics Pro-race 1.2 15" x 7" Black alloys fitted with Toyo T1r Tyres.
I have a feeling the car may have previously been owned by a fellow Pistonheads forum member as there was a Pistonheads logo badge attached to the dashboard.
Anyway, today promises to be a lovely sunny day...so all being well I'll be heading out for a spin!
Paul.
After an extensive period of searching the popular classified ads websites (considering everything from a Ford Racing Puma to a Porsche 996) I stumbled upon this fine example of a Westfield on another forum. I made contact with the seller, who was a nice chap down in the Worcester area and a couple of weeks later after a test drive and appraisal the car was mine. Despite collection day being a cold February day I couldn't contain my excitement and off I went with the help of my Father to pick up my new pride and joy.
On arrival, Westfield was sat there in the owners garage waiting to start it's new adventure. We pushed it out of the garage (no reverse gear on these things) and to my disappointment it wouldn't start...the battery was dead! Anyway, bodywork off...battery changed and we were on our way home!
On the way home back to leafy Cheshire I quickly became acquainted with the sequential gearbox, non-cancelling indicators and no heating whilst traveling at 70mph on the motorway on a chilly winter morning.
Since collecting the car I've taken the opportunity to use it whenever the weather is half decent, It sailed through it's first MOT with me last summer (with no advisories) and I've serviced it too (which was a doddle).
Some of the old vinyl decals have been removed and replaced with Westfield logo's. The diffuser has also been removed and I've made a new cover for the rear area behind the seats. Yesterday I also changed the wheels/tyres from the old Minilites...was never keen on the silver wheels with orange bodywork look! Future plans are....Fit full rollcage, replace red mirrors with carbon fibre mirrors, replace rear bodywork with newer FW Style body.
For those interested the specification is as follows:
2001 Factory built Westfield Megablade, currently at 9000 miles.
Powered by a 1994 Honda Fireblade CRB900RR-R 893CC engine.
Engine recently rebuilt by AB Motorsport, featuring DynoJetted Carbs, AB Motorsport composite airbox, estimated at approx 125-130bhp.
Full stainless steel 4-2-1 exhaust manifold and repackable silencer.
Lightweight Competition Chassis with RAC spec welded roll bar.
Lightweight Competition Bodywork (sectioned to assist with maintenance)
Front & Rear Anti Roll Bars (front now removed)
Rear Nitron fully adjustable Coilovers
Front Protech fully adjustable Coilovers
4 Pot Westfield Aluminium Calipers (Front)
Aluminium uprights
Quaiffe LSD fitted to ford 3.36 diff
Willans 4 point harnesses
Westfield trimmed lightweight bucket seats
Team Dynamics Pro-race 1.2 15" x 7" Black alloys fitted with Toyo T1r Tyres.
I have a feeling the car may have previously been owned by a fellow Pistonheads forum member as there was a Pistonheads logo badge attached to the dashboard.
Anyway, today promises to be a lovely sunny day...so all being well I'll be heading out for a spin!
Paul.
A quick update since my last post...
Recently took the Westie to Oulton Park for a novice track day! My first proper track day and I loved it! Met some great people, including a nice guy with a Mclaren MP4-12C who I shared my garage with!
I was pleased to pass the static sound test without any issues (something that had been playing on my mind prior to the track day).
The Westie was amazing fun and handled perfectly for the morning sessions...then disaster struck...towards the end of my final morning session I had issues with 2nd gear; it kept jumping out during acceleration and became difficult to downshift. I decided to retire for the day and limped home whilst I still could...thankfully I don't live to far away.
I've now sourced some replacement transmission parts (complete main shaft, counter shaft, selector drum and forks) all in great condition so I'll be removing the engine and stripping the transmission once I'm back in the country next week. I've also purchased a replacement clutch and gasket/seal set from Honda so I'll be doing this at the same time!
Updates to follow with pictures once I'm done, but here are a few photo's from the track day:
Regards,
Paul.
Recently took the Westie to Oulton Park for a novice track day! My first proper track day and I loved it! Met some great people, including a nice guy with a Mclaren MP4-12C who I shared my garage with!
I was pleased to pass the static sound test without any issues (something that had been playing on my mind prior to the track day).
The Westie was amazing fun and handled perfectly for the morning sessions...then disaster struck...towards the end of my final morning session I had issues with 2nd gear; it kept jumping out during acceleration and became difficult to downshift. I decided to retire for the day and limped home whilst I still could...thankfully I don't live to far away.
I've now sourced some replacement transmission parts (complete main shaft, counter shaft, selector drum and forks) all in great condition so I'll be removing the engine and stripping the transmission once I'm back in the country next week. I've also purchased a replacement clutch and gasket/seal set from Honda so I'll be doing this at the same time!
Updates to follow with pictures once I'm done, but here are a few photo's from the track day:
Regards,
Paul.
last week in the short spell of decent weather (that we call summer) I bit the bullet and started the process of removing the engine to repair the broken transmission!
All went well and the new transmission (main shaft, counter shaft, shift drum and forks) went in with no issues! On splitting the cases it was easy to see what was causing the box to slip out of 2nd...a large chunk had worn away from the shift drum groove and the corresponding shift fork had several large gouges in it. The engagement dogs on the gear were also rather worn....as to be expected from a 23 year old engine :-)
I've reassembled the engine and just need to refit the replacement clutch and water pump when I get time over the weekend and pop the engine back in then It'll be good to go again (once the summer weather improves).
Anyway, here's a few photos for those who are interested:
![](https://thumbsnap.com/t/ns7Ol4Ya.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/bsVssu7w" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/t/bsVssu7w.jpg)
![](https://thumbsnap.com/t/rPpyaoAM.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/pIPtRIzN" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/t/pIPtRIzN.jpg)
All went well and the new transmission (main shaft, counter shaft, shift drum and forks) went in with no issues! On splitting the cases it was easy to see what was causing the box to slip out of 2nd...a large chunk had worn away from the shift drum groove and the corresponding shift fork had several large gouges in it. The engagement dogs on the gear were also rather worn....as to be expected from a 23 year old engine :-)
I've reassembled the engine and just need to refit the replacement clutch and water pump when I get time over the weekend and pop the engine back in then It'll be good to go again (once the summer weather improves).
Anyway, here's a few photos for those who are interested:
Edited by Paul1984 on Wednesday 2nd August 11:55
Edited by Paul1984 on Wednesday 2nd August 12:02
Mine did the same. I changed from the carbs to injection using 954 throttle bodies and a megasquirt, that gave me a power increase and the gearbox started popping out of 2nd and 4th. I dropped my spare engine in and that was popping out of 2nd. I replaced the gearbox with a later 919 gearbox which is apparently stronger but you also need to fit a 919 clutch basket and clutch cover. It does change a lot smoother and the gears are backwards!
It’s been a while since I’ve posted...The upgrade-itis bug took hold of me and I purchased a full FIA approved roll cage from Playskool motorsport. The Westie has the race chassis so the old RAC bar is welded In...just waiting on a couple of brackets for the rear struts to arrive and then I’ll get fitting! Further pics will follow once I get started :-)
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff