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Visited ProDev Engineering, Carmarthen to see the ex-OMEX Richard Wragg to see the finishing touches to my engine build and bring it home for installation. I can wholeheartedly recommend Richard as an engine builder who can build to his spec or adapt to a one off. As a note he supplies both Burton Power and MST with their Zetec and Duratec engines! From a 68K ex mondeo 2.0 Zetec oily lump to a rebuilt forged 8000 rpm 230 bhp zinger... just waiting on BGH uprated gearbox and its all systems go for install!18 points
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Hi all I wanted to introduce an old familiar face some of you knew. As some will know I made the decision to sell my Yellow zetec in the hope of something quicker and more fitting to my ideal Westfield. This all started on the long way north starting line, Julie and Glenn approached me with a car they knew for sale, Over the weekend they spoke more about it and the idea grew. The following week my old car was collected by its new owner, and I rang Julies contact, Barry Wilson. Now the car in question was built by the late Steve Pitt (Bugman), a 2018 Sport 250. Barry had bought it following Steve’s sad passing, and then sat on it for the past few years. I read Steve’s amazing build diary and soon realised what an intricate person he was, everything was done to perfection. Admittedly there were a few electrical choices that weren't great but Barry has been slowly going through the car removing them. After a few visits to see the car and work out what needed doing to bring it back to its former glory, a deal was made and huge thanks to Barry who got it running for me. I had it collected and delivered this week and started straight away preparing it for its first MOT in years. The headlights weren’t working neither were the indicators, this was down to some wiring add ons Steve did years back. I checked the manual and sorted both issues, bolt checked and then booked an MOT. Drove to MOT station and had a few misfires on the way, also lost boost (turns out the pipe wasn’t tight enough) MOT passed with no issues so I headed for home… that’s where the misfire started again, this time however it got worse to where it sounds like an old Impreza. Managed to limp home, and started testing and checking plugs/coils. 1 plug seemed to be an issue so I ordered a set and collected today, popped them in along with some injector cleaner and hit the key Hey presto she’s alive and sounding great. A few jobs later, mainly checking brakes and suspension, a little clean and it was time for its first drive! Sooo nervous but very excited too. It went perfectly, there is little too much pre load on the rear suspension as it seems to bang the spring down over bumps but I’ll see if I can wind it back a bit. but overall really pleased, it has the power and looks I’ve wanted and has the potential for my own touches along the way. So I’d like to say a huge thanks to Julie and Glen for putting me in touch with Barry. And thanks to the rabble of mates who have helped over the last few days via messages. Ben/Rob/Gavin and Tim. i look forward to lots of adventures with it!14 points
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My car has been off the road since November, having a winter (into spring and summer!) refresh. To be honest I kind of regret starting it, I've got a pretty hectic life with work, family and a constant list of things to get done in the house, it always slips down the priority list. But, when I finally get time to start pottering, I really enjoy it, even if it is half an hour here or there. As i'm so tight on space in my garage, i haven't really been able to take any decent photos during the process, oh how i dream for a proper workshop. Anyway, here I am in July, it's still not finished. I need to get myself some motivation to get it over the line. I'm sure as soon as I'm back behind the wheel, the spark will reignite and I'll fall back in love with it again. Or, I'll sell it and buy an Elise 🤣 What I've done; Front wishbones refurbished, new powder coat and polybushes. New ball joints and drag links. Shocks serviced and springs powder coated. Steering rack refurbed with new powerflex mounts. Uprights stripped and repainted. Steering column stripped and repainted. New wheel bearings. New Wema fuel gauge and sender. Tidied wiring behind dash generally. Body stripped and repainted in Wimbledon white with BRG stripe, backed with a generous coat of stone chip to alleviate any potential crazing. New manifold aperture formed neatly to pipes. New rubber bonnet mounts & catches. New nosecone grille and westfield badge colour matched to body. Bonnet vents redone. Carbon aeroscreen repainted gloss black. Roll bar repainted. LED headlights. New side repeaters and front indicators. Headlight bowls stripped and painted gloss black. Stick on plate replaced with legal (ahem) nose mounted item. New rear lights, mounts and wiring connections. Rear number plate moved and new LED plate light. New 7x13 & 6x13 minilite reps in go faster gold. Toyo R888R tyres all round. Whats left to do; Fit Carbon NV arch covers. Fit cycle wing stays. Carbon NV front cycle wings. Fit aeroscreen & mirrors. Corner weight, 4 wheel alignment, ride height Redo bonnet foam as i'm not entirely happy with it. Reinstall exhaust packing as its stupid loud. Mount 6 point harness strap on passenger side for sprog. Fit trickle charger connection into dash. Clean diff, new oil and extend breather. Give it a bl00dy clean!! Now i've listed it all out, i realise how far I have come in all honesty. My initial self imposed deadline of 6th July has come and gone, and now i'm just trying to get it to a point where i can get it MOT'd and back on the road. Before i know it, Autumn will be back and it will go back into hibernation. Anyway, her she is in her current state of 'half finished', still covered in dust after paint. I'm really happy with how the paint has turned out and the 'green on off white' is exactly what i wanted to achieve, i'm a sucker for go faster gold wheels too. I was trying for a fusion of old school colours with some modern details thrown in. A big thanks to a number of members who have helped me out with bits and bobs and snippets of advice, this club really is fantastic. I won't mention by name, but you know who you are 😎13 points
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Thanks to Sean for delivering the Devon and Somerset Area flag to me recently, good to finally have it available for events. It only had a spike with it and a rather large base which you fill with water, so I thought I would make something more compact from bits and bobs I had around the garage, but mainly some aluminium tube from a broken camping chair, some threaded rod and a couple of blocks of wood. (EDIT aswell as the bit from the spike that the flag mounts on). After a couple of false starts, this one works well, just needs a sand down and a coat or two of paint.13 points
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This is just a dump of various images I took on Sunday. Please feel free to add any you took if you were there too. They are just a tiny sample of the hundreds of beautiful cars on show. Favourites for me were the £30 million 250 GTO owned by Nick Mason, the F40LM, the beautiful McLaren F1 and MP-4/5B F1 car. I also loved the Lanzante McLarens, colour scheme is spectacular! Surprisingly, I was also quite impressed by the McMurtry Spéirling. It just seemed to be very well thought out and engineered, nice and small and achieved alot more with 1000bhp than other ICE and Electric cars achieved with 1500 or 2000bhp. I confess I wasn’t taken by the Red Bull RB17 Hypercar. Whilst no doubt amazingly engineered and unbelievably fast, it just looks huge and quite fussy. Compared to the stunning McLaren F1…. Well to me there is no comparison. The last two shots are quite special to me. The first one was, I think, in 2007 when my son was five, and then this year. He wanted to make sure his car was in shot to show he was now driving himself to Goodwood 😊 Finally, a couple of vids from the day (or should I say firstly as they appeared before the images 🤪)11 points
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I've been meaning to do this for a while, here's a little write up of the trackday a few of us took part in at Donington on Monday. This is a mixture of how it went and some things to help those who've yet to take the plunge! As this was a Javelin event I'd taken advantage of our Clubs exclusive 5% discount, plus I'd had some loyalty points from last year which reduced the cost to about £280 from £299. A track evening is about half this price. I always add insurance cover for 5 trackdays to my annual insurance renewal so a quick call to Howden on the Friday had my car covered with one of these. It's normally far cheaper to do this if you do more than one event a year. for example, a one off track day insurance for my car (valued at £25k) is about £120 but when I add five at renewal it adds about £100-£120 total to the renewal price (£20 ish per track day). Being a Javelin day, the driver briefing is done online the day before, answering some easy questions on track etiquette, what the flags mean etc. This means driver signing on is very slick, normally less than 10mins gets you your wrist band and car sticker. Other organisers may have a face to face briefings at the track. I'd arrived at about 8am (track opens at 730) to find Ben and Nathan already there. Joolz and Claire arrived shortly afterwards. We'd pitched in on the day to secure a garage (just £40 between us). Nathan, Joolz and Claire had trailered their cars there, but Ben and I had both driven with the passenger seats full of essentials, this is an example of what I normally take. At 9am it was time for the sighter lap. Essentially this is a single file (no overtaking allowed) familiarisation lap of the circuit following a marshal at relatively low speed. Once this was completed, the track started in earnest..... sadly for us, that's when the hours rain commenced 😂 Being on semi slicks and with no roof we sat the first hour out until the track dried. We always delay our first drive for 30mins anyway as it allows the more excitable drivers to get the adrenaline out of their system! I'd been a bit worried about my noise levels as it was the first time on track since my ITB's were fitted. My induction noise at 9,000rpm is VERY, VERY loud, noticeably louder than a similar Zetec engined car for instance... my fears were realised, on my 12th lap I was duly black flagged for noise (102.3dB vs the 98dB limit)! I was touching the rev limiter in 4th directly under the newly calibrated dB meter on the pit straight 😂 You are allowed one chance in these circumstances so we put on our thinking caps over a breakfast buttie.... Amusingly, Ben had also been black flagged in his MNR but it was a case of mistaken identity for him (another red "sevenesque" car) as I was the real culprit 😂. Here's Ben telling the marshal "it's not me, it's Rob!" 😂😂 By this time we'd been joined by Garry, Glynn, Steve, Alistair, Michael, Hedley and Tony who'd all come along to watch. We were walking back to the garage after breakfast when we spotted some 300mm lengths of discarded closed cell foam (about 40mm thick, 100mm wide)... a plan was hatched! 10 minutes with some helping hands, gaffer tape and cable ties, and hey presto, I had my extra sound proofing under the V8 bonnet on the intake side! I headed back out to do some lappery, short shifting 3rd, 4th and 5th as I passed the DB meter and no black flag!!!! I'll be looking for a more permanent solution for the next one 😂 Nathan had hit some troubles by this stage in his 1600cc, 270bhp RLM Hyabusa powered MNR. Having only had the car a few weeks and it being effectively stood for 5 years (MOT mileage only), he'd discovered a misfire above 8500rpm. Despite a team effort to remove/clean the fuel filter and change his spark plugs the issue didn't improve. We believe it's probably a coil pack but sadly we couldn't fix it so he settled for some gentler laps. After the 1 hour lunch break, I set out giving some passenger rides for a couple of 17 year old petrolheads I'd invited (we have to get the younger generation interested in our daft cars!). One was my neighbours son and the other is a budding Instagram photographer I know, both enjoyed it (well I couldn't hear any screaming at least!). Passengers can normally sign on during these events as long as they have ID and a helmet, it's just £10 for a wrist band so is a cheap way for novices to experience the cars and circuit. You can also book in extra drivers like Joolz and Claire do as they share the driving of their track only zetec Westfield. Later on I also took Ben out for a few laps (as a registered driver, you can also be a passenger). Ben has done a lot more track days than I have and is very quick and consistent so it was great to get some feedback on the car and my technique. His bike engined car is a lot lighter and mlre agile than mine but he was impressed with the power and the neutral chassis balance. Seems he was enjoying it anyway 😂 As a track day is not a race, most organisers will not allow live lap timing, however you can run an action camera (as long as it's securely fitted) that will also record speed and time. I also run a free app on my phone (with the display off) called Racechrono which gives rudimentary telemetry. With my Gopro attached and Racechrono app running in the background I can then get telemetry plus footage of my laps to help improve my technique. A here's an idea of the sort of info the free Racechrono app can give. This was my fastest lap of the day with overlays for speed, lateral G and longitudinal G. Amazing to see the car pulling over 1G at 100mph down the Craner Curves.... that's the part of the track where I realise I'm not a Lewis or a Max 😂 The car performed faultlessly all day and despite me having to short shift in a couple of areas I knocked 3 seconds off my personal best, completed over 60 laps and managed a respectable 10mpg.... Despite the MegaS2000 probably not being the most track biased Westfield (she's quite heavy), old rear tyres (secondhand Kumho V70's that are past their best), running in "Peak District cake chasing" softish road settings, and my lack of talent, we were only about 3 seconds off the slick shod, race spec 3.7 V6 Ginetta G55. On my fastest laps we were also keeping a well driven 620r very honest, easily passing the Caterham Academy cars (who were there testing), noticeably quicker than the sole Ariel Atom, driving by the M2 Cup cars, and not embarrassingly far off the incredibly quick slick shod Radicals. Another great thing with a track day is the photos you can get. Some organisers charge for these, some don't. Javelin photos are free to download from Flickr within a days or so making a great keepsake. All in all a fantastic day! Having fun on track and loads of laughs with mates in the garage is what makes these events so brilliant. If you're debating whether to go and do a track day, I would highly recommend it. Get insured (optional, but gives peace of mind), spanner check your car, stick a helmet on and go have some fun! It's really the only place you can fully explore the incredibly high limits of our amazing cars.10 points
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Awesome turn out for the Devon and Somerset area meet this evening. Having left Dartford at 15.10 I was fully expecting to be late, but I was home by 18.22, out again by 18.45 and after an enthusiastic drive over the Blackdown Hills I arrived at 19.26 to a car park full of lovely cars. In the end we had fourteen, including two Robin Hoods and Dave’s Elise. In the mix too was Matt’s insane orange 505bhp Locust, absolutely mental! 🤣 We had met the Somerset Kits and Classic UK chaps at Malvern and discussed getting together, so it was great to see Matt and Trevor in their matching Ali and red cars. Our resident fire safety officer Gareth was in attendance with a box full of fire sticks; after the discussion on discounts on the forum we just decided it was easier to do a group buy and hand them out at tonight’s meeting to save postage. Thanks Gareth for your fine negotiation and logistics efforts! Nice food and drink in the bar, then we retired outside to enjoy the weather in the beer garden. We headed off a little earlier than normal to catch the last of the light; Dan Gs lights were apparently much better after an upgrade (new bulbs??), I know Jens had a fantastic drive home and I really enjoyed a fast blat back across the Blackdowns with Dan and Matt. Thanks All. Next stop Powderham on 13th/14th July. 🤞🤞 for some more of this weather.10 points
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@Steve Bosworth what a stunning car you have bought there from @tuonokid58 we will look forward to seeing it out and about for some years to come. Here it is in all its glory. Fresh from the Alps trip was Ian in Bagpuss with stickers showing all the alpine passes he drove and tales of the trip for us. Fresh from the chrome platers was Andrew with his V8 and the air filter 8 cars in total meeting at Quackers A lengthy catch up over breakfast at Quackers, it seems ages since we all met We had a steady run up to the Ladybower Dams with lovely views over the hills, all looking very green I might add. We arrived at Bird Cafe, Hathersage, rearranged the furniture and had lunch There was talk of ice cream so we made our way over to the Pavillion Cafe, parked away from the cricket match and enjoyed our ice creams and cakes on the pavillion, yum yum. Parked at the Pavillion, Baslow More of the hairy legs on show than normal, someone had ripped his shorts alighting from his car, oops It's been a fabulouso day again, great to see everyone and be back out in the Peak District with those wonderful views, albeit not on the most exciting of routes but I will have more time to plan next time and normal service will resume. It is the car meet at GBS, Ollerton next Friday evening so if the weather is good we hope to see you there, thanks for coming everyone xxxx9 points
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We (Dorset area plus Somerset, Devon & Cornwall area this year) are having our regular display area representing the WSCC at this show. It is always a great weekend with a large number of vehicles of all types on display, from steam engines up to modern classics. Organised by the Crashbox and Classic Car Club, the Historic Vehicle Gathering is the largest car show in the South West and one of the largest in the country.9 points
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Hi All, i have recently purchased my first Westfield after previously owning a Robin Hood. I believe it’s a pre lit, it has a few teething problems but hopefully won’t take much to get sorted. Are there any known issues with the pre lits? And does anyone recognise the car as it has some WSCC paperwork.9 points
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Just wanted to pass my thanks onto@Westfield Chesil Limited and the parts team for excellent service again. On the way home from the Peaks on Sunday I noticed the offside cycle wing vibrating more than normal..... oh yes, the dreaded wing stay failure 🤦♂️ Anyhoo, new one ordered Monday and it's on my doorstep on Wednesday morning! Just in time to get fitted at the weekend for the trackday at Donington on Monday 👍8 points
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A mate has 2 tickets for the England v Spain final on Sunday. He paid £360 each, including flights but he didn't realise when he bought them months ago that it was going to be the same day as his wedding 🤦🤦 If you're interested, he is looking for someone to take his place? It's at Guildford Registry Office, at 3pm. The bride's name is Sarah, she's 5'7" & quite attractive. Come on England! 🏴 ⚽🍺️8 points
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BY POPULAR REQUEST! I suppose it's a waste of time asking you guys not to laugh? 😂 WARNING, CONTAINS BAD LANGUAGE! I have to confess, the only reason I managed that is because I'm off my t**s on painkillers for my knackered knee! Definitely easier for me getting in through the side. Couldn't post video here so had to load to YouTube8 points
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Managed to go to track before holiday to test Electric Power Steering in my Westfield Aerorace . Uppercase in E P S for purpose Its really SOMETHING. Yes, its adds approc 8 kg , but takes away approx 50-80% of fatique (not only hands fatigue) after hot day on winding track . And not taking away as I was affraid of, but _adding_ front wheel feeling- not tensioned hands ale more prone to read imputs from front wheels. Next job it to make the same for road Westfield, might be not so easy because of hanging pedals instead of floor mounted, but need to try. Oh yes , Snapshot : It was Trackday differnt from others : Half day : timeattack formula - few 10min sessions and best lap from all counts. Next - sth like "hillclimb" with autocross together , here called SuperOS , sum of all three drives plus penalties (touching cones etc) counts : Really happy with Westfield handling, and results Now just I started to feel understeer on corner entry, even I softened max front ARB and front dumpers. That for future to manage.8 points
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Huge thank you to @Marcus Barlow - Show and Events Co-ordinatorWHAT a weekend!!! Way back in January this trip was posted on the forum and we thought shall we go for it ? it hadn’t been run in over 16yrs so the opportunity couldn’t be missed , struggling to get time off work the original plan was just to do the first day and head home on the Sunday morning 🙁 BUT then we thought life is too short and grab what you can with both hands when it arises 😋 the best decision by far. Some texts to and from @Julie Hall - WSCC AO Representative about the Sunday nights accommodation and next thing we know the trip adds another days adventure onto the weekend. The five month wait seemed to take forever but the excitement kept on building when we met people to talk to about the upcoming trip. Well the weekend finally arrived and WOW it didn’t disappoint, the roads were fabulously, the weather was glorious but the bunch of people were AMAZING . Here’s a few of the many photos that were taken over the weekend but like many have said they don’t catch the atmosphere and buzz that was in the air when your around great people ,having a great time ,in great surroundings. Saturday morning at the start point Our travels begin…… now we’re off the main roads and into the unknown 😱 the obligatory cake stop then more amazing roads that were so busy!!! NOT the Holiday Inn express was so much more than what was expected and our evening meal was beautiful the following day bought more amazing roads and the hart side pass is worth a mention 😜 crossing the border into bonnie Scotland with @Andy Westwood@neptuneand @ianali with ice lollies to cool down Bamburgh castle on the way home and following @Julie Hall - WSCC AO Representative in the peaks before we leave them on our final leg home what a weekend and what an amazing experience!!!!!!! to all you guys and gals for making this happen and being there we praise and thank you from the bottom of our hearts, to the people that are now reading this and thinking I wish I’d done it 🤔 next time it comes along grab the opportunity with both hands , jump in with both feet and sod work! Life is not a rehearsal ! enjoy it while you can…….. Thank you WSCC take care luv Andy & Becky8 points
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We decided relatively late on (a couple of months back) and just went for the day. I think you could easily spend two days there, one watching the cars up the hill and another exploring the paddocks and stands, and potentially the rally stages too. So much to see. Might camp over next year. My biggest challenge was the fact that Sunday was my wedding anniversary. I’m getting comfortable in the dog house 😱😱🤣🤣7 points
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We have been fortunate to have the Westfield Speed Series visit our area four times in recent months, with rounds at Mallory (March and June) and Curborough (double header last weekend). Just wanted to say a huge thanks to all the competitors and WSCC members we have met for being so friendly and helpful (answering our daft questions! 😂) to those of us that keep to the roads and/or dabble with a track day or two. At some point, @HB46443 and I (with the help of some experts!) will try and do a little video on what you need (kit, small modifications etc) and how easy it is to enter your road going Westfield into a Sprint or Hillclimb. It's a great alternative to track days, all same circuits but with nothing else on track with you to inadvertently spoil your day! I would really encourage you to go along and watch an event near you if you can. Seeing versions of your own car competing on equal terms with single seaters, modifieds, classics, hot hatches and modern sports cars is great fun. The friendly paddocks are a delight, being able to freely chat to the drivers and get up close to the cars is getting more unusual these days (try to do that at the BTCC or F1!). Here is a copy of the calendar, hopefully you'll find a round near you! I've scoured YouTube for some videos for your viewing pleasure! Highlights from June with a few minor "offs" and lock ups Highlights from March. Some in car footage from a 350Z at the Mallory round in June. Caterham in car footage from the event in March. Again from the March round.... really shows the incredible speed of the single seaters! Fisher Fury (a clothed "seven") at the same event7 points
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Wired up the DRL's. Used the same controller as I've used on a few Mx5 installs and it's never let me down, though required a couple of resistors to work properly. It was fine with a incandescent bulb, but wouldn't recognise the leds. Hardest part was threading the cable up through the sleeve to the headlamps, but I was determined to do it.6 points
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Side wind deflectors from Westfield £160 or some 5mm polycarbonate sheet from work - free to a good home. Stainless liftoff hinges left & right hand - Amazon £12. I knocked out the hinge pin, machined them to size to suit the windscreen then drilled & fitted a 3mm grub screw to secure. Tried and tested today, much satisfaction in the process of making and the end result6 points
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187 bhp. 2L Zetec blacktop with Omer throttle bodies. Wasn’t after power just after a smooth, safe tune with no breakup. Very pleased.6 points
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Wow, so much still to learn, you get to see a kit car stripped down to its very innards like nowhere else I have ever seen. We bought our car, rather than built it, so this tour was especially useful. Most components are designed and manufactured on site, from brake calipers and suspension to the cosmetic stuff like doors, just everything is included. Every last bit of your car is covered on this tour, really worth doing, it's very personalised as Richard himself is the guide. As kit car owners our tour lasted a bit longer because we went more in depth. He built the factory, he runs the factory and he is a success. Homemade cake and coffee was available before and after, always a winner with us lot. Thank you to the club for covering our entrance fees, thank you to the guys that turned up, it was such a shame that more people couldn't experience it. I will send Ruth and Richard a thank you from us all. Next up is a run out with them to Belvoir, near Grantham so we will look forward to that. The Westfields lined up And a cheeky photo of our lovely new exhaust6 points
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