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It's all to do with press regulation and the spin / spite of the nasty side of media and politics equally epitomised by Alistar Campbell that frankly puts most sane people off the whole idea of politics. It will blow over as most of these things do as outside of Westminster and media circles I don't think most people give a flying fig about the lot of them and their ideologies and self interest. I don't think any politician has had the countries interest in mind for a long time

Welcome along Damian I'm local to you and did EXACTLY what you've described, using my car in the same way plus I've done some track days and just started hill climbing too... Suffice to say, I love my new car and hobby. I've made some great friends and this forum is priceless IMO... the knowledgeable friendly members on here helped me change my cambelt last winter previoiusly I'd only bolted on a Weber carb and big bore exhausts to my old Mini 1275 and Mk1 Mexico back in the day! As has been said, you MUST join the club and come along to the meet ups, passenger rides, talk to the owners and get ready for enjoying cars again

Mmm, always had a soft spot for Esprit's

There`s a few of us in the 400+ club too Chassis copes admirably but has been considerably strengthened. I think I`m about 430bhp. As stated above the throttle isn`t an on off switch. It`s all about what you are used to as well. My daily drive had 507bhp and I was thinking of getting it supercharged but I`m very glad I didn`t and now love my Westie. Few things still need doing but isn`t that the case with every owner? When is the next Wilts/Hants meet and where? I`ll take you for a spin if it`s dry.

I'm definitely interested, should be able to get a 4 day trip signed off by the missus I don't have any space for luggage in the car though so just 3 pairs of pants and a toothbrush will have to do

Cherry, I was lucky enough to be driven around blyton by Jamie Morrow in the s2000 powered westfield........it was an experience I can tell you. They have really developed that car now, so much so, it's nearly equal to my cross-flow! Whatever westy you end up with Damian you will have great fun and get all the help you could possibly need from the WSCC brethren here. Good luck in your quest James

No one really needs to be in the 200+ club, but the truth is it's an absolute hoot to have the performance even if you rarely use all of it: i'm with whoever said buy as much as you can afford but with the caveat of making sure it remains driveable. Don't forget the design of these things is such that, in addition to accelerating quickly, they also stop and change direction quickly and in a very predictable manner which helps build confidence. If you've got a healthy bit of power there it also increases your opportunities to slot in a safe overtake which, on some of the roads I like to drive, can sometimes make the difference between having a nice stretch of clear tarmac vs. 10 miles stuck behind an OAP at 40 mph. The other consideration that hasn't been directly mentioned is the level of technology in the various cars: personally I find the "old school" approach of twin carbs has a certain appeal, but others like the extra power that can be extracted using injection, ecus, etc... Jon and pickmaster touched on it too, but to reiterate, don't fear "Q" plates. Many advantages over age related registrations!

Good morning Damian, I reflect everything mentioned above. I moved into the seven scene after owning many classics, MGBGT, MGB Roadster, Triumph Stag, several 70's and 80's minis... Etc. When it comes to modern tin tops they're a bit lifeless to drive. My Afla 156 GTA was ok, but I really found the S2000 a bit detached from reality. So more in it for the drive, as a practical and safer bike replacement also, hopefully, wasn't going to leave vital fluids everywhere. I started with a 1600 pinto Rovin Hood, was pretty good, but 85ish horses didn't last long. Then I moved to a 2.0 pinto, huge spec and a T3 turbo have me 217bhp. I found this far too much. I had the car 14 months and always found the chassis couldn't handle the power. I got my Westfield, 1800 Zetec on carbs, 150ish horses and it was so well balanced and a perfect drive. I drove 2.0 zetecs, injected 1800's, CVH's and other seven style cars and found the 1800 Zetec matched what I wanted each time. I've considered "just changing the cams" which could give me an easy 180ish and be a few hundred pound. But as a car I use to enjoy a summers day and have fun driving coastal roads it's rare I feel the need for more power. However I know of owners here that have over 250 horses, use their cars on track days and want more power and do everything to shed the odd kilo. So you need to think what you use the car for first. I considered getting a S2000 powered westfield for a couple of years, but I would never need that power and feel it would be too much for the chassis to handle... Well my driving ability at least! Good luck in your search and remember, buyers market! Believe me, you'll know the right car. When I got mine it was 7yrs old and had 1678 miles on the clock. Basically used for a show a year and to/from MOT. Not much else. I covered more than that in the first month of ownership! Stephen

go on Gary

Hi Damian, I'm in nearly the same situation as you. First thing is ask anything you don't understand about these on here - I have learnt plenty in a short time from the good folk on here and it saved me buying a possible lemon - i.e. the very first advert that caught my eye on ebay!! Second is get in touch with some locals and try some cars - even just sitting in some you start to notice things you want and then you have a chat then you REALLY start to notice things - I know now that I want floor mounted pedals and a seat that I fit - yes they are simple solutions but they also cost cash and time. Seen one you like but not quite right for you? Look at how much it is to change the bits you don't want. I am sure that every Westy has to be fettled to suit it's new owner that's part of the fun!! Get the engine you want too, think about why and what you are using it for. I tried one that was a really great car (and it scared the poop outta me!) but I knew I would get in trouble with it. As I am planning on using mine as an occasional 60 mile round trip commuter even through the winter, so I'm going to go for a lesser power and build my confidence up with one with as new a chassis as I can afford so I can upgrade at a later date. AND best of all - this is definately a buyers market - ALL the cars I have been interested in in the last 2 months have still been for sale so these definately aren't investment cars (i came from classic Vw's which are) older doesn't add to their value - specification and good build finish does so take your time and enjoy your hunting!! Oh and I am still looking but am looking at one next week so keep your sticky mitts off it!!

The wishbones whilst covered in surface rust should rub down and clean up ok eventually to allow them to be re-used although one side is much worse than the other suggesting it's been sat for a while with one corner in the bushes. I'm also a bit perplexed at the moment by the selection of rod ends and have my suspicions that at some time the arms may have been re-tapped with a different thread. The parts list suggests that everything should be UNF, which is true for most of what I have, except the track rod ends at the hub are BSP for the lower and Metric for the upper?! With the steering rack off the car, I also too the chance to strip and clean it ready to eventually go back on again but I was confused to see what at fist appeared to be a clamp around the preload nut. Cleaning back the dirt and unscrewing it soon revealed some horrors that lay beneath it. Getting a replacement casting would be out of the question so the only chance would be to attempt a repair. There's only one person locally who I could think of with the skills to repair such damage to Aluminium so after swapping a few emails with Martin at MJS fabrication it was dropped off to him for repair. The plan was agreed to mill off the boss, then make a replacement which could be welded into it's place. This was also complicated by the fact that all this would have to be done with the rack gear still in place as the Uj's on the end of the rack have been welded on after it's assembly and so preventing any chance of the gears removal. The results exceeded my expectations.

IMakes For a great read :-)