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ok so no snow today , sun is out but a wee bit fresh so washed her down and checked her over and replaced the std roll bar with a "westy FW style " one that I had made, added some stainless stone guards and had some lunch. Now some of you may or may not know but when I was introduced into this world , it destroyed my dads dream of owning a 7, he had put a deposit down only for mum to inform him a new car would require 3 seats !!!!!. So anyway while I have been building her , it was kept from my dad (no mean feat) and as he now has all sorts of health problems the rush was on to get completed and him out in her. So sun shining , car looking spik n span, full tank we had a little run down to the coast to surprise dad, mum had him out the back so pulled up in their drive and rang the bell, dad answered and was gobsmacked , so after a coffee and a million questions mum and me helped him into the car with dad duly buckled and wrapped up, we went for a wee blast, only about 10 miles or so. When we got back mum and me got him out and inside, well that was the start , he perked up a genuine smile on his face and an enthusiasm (not seen in a long time) for something. More coffee and tales from back in the day when mum and him were pre-gary and doing stage rallying, friends with healey 100/4 and 3000's or with 7's. and then all of a sudden a very timid question..... can we do it again? answer ...... OF COURSE WE CAN After dinner I drove home in in the evening sun in a world that seemed ok ... for a wee while, and boy did I enjoy today, about 100 miles or so Gary

I'l have as much stock as I can make and carry in a small plastic car

Out of interest what does everyone drive when not in their westfields? Im currently running a leon fr tdi, remapped and a few other bits done its about 210hp 300lbft. Got a ring trip this year in August and think i may need something a bit more racey though, don't fancy taking the westfield. Here's mine-

Good question. We do have electricity in the marquee but there are limited sockets. Also, it's not something we've considered before so there won't be any charging services nor importantly any one to keep an eye on things. Maybe for next year we could rig up a 6 way on the manned drop off for just such a thing? Obviously if someone is desperate we'd be able to sort something out I'm sure.

Me to mate.................... might cheat a bit if I need to

Someone has to have the balls to shout "LETS GO" otherwise folks will wander about like sheep. Then someone will say "i need petrol" so fill up when you arrive, not when it's time to leave.

I had skim read your rotrex build last night Gary. Very impressive. Shame there's not a kit out there. Yes I'd accepted long ago that the mx5 lump was going to end up boosted. In fact Id acquired a tdo4 turbo a while ago with a few other bits and pieces in preparation. I'm going to get in touch with Simon tomorrow to see about a visit. However it may be after stoneleigh as I expect they'll be busy preparing.

Very true. I'm going whatever the weather.

No - but it's orange!! I hadn't spotted your LOMO ones, the only feature the Touratech ones have extra is the securing D rings. They work out at £65 for D rings!

Don't bother looking at long range forecasts, I've never seen one yet that was accurate. I'll believe it when we get to Saturday.

I've had about the same from a tank, cruising to and from Stoneleigh in previous years. Though last year on the OEM Honda throttle body it was insane! The weather was really bad, very heavy rain and lots of standing water, so no heavy right foot, no letting it get into the VTEC zone, where it noticeably drinks more. And we probably did 50-60mph most of the way down on the motorway. I got to 170 miles on a tank and only stopped to fill up because it was late on a bank holiday Sunday and I didn't know when I'd get another chance. I reckon I'd have got a good 220 miles out of the one tank though, if I hadn't stopped!

Focking hell................... you might as well strap a 20ltr jerry can to the back of the car

Wow! Mind you, you do notice on many Westfields, there's a big difference in consumption between doing a steady sixty on a dual carriageway to cover the miles, and ahem, let's say "spirited" driving

SP1 1DA , martin

OK Dave should be about 8.15 . If we leave Knutsford on time !

Oh god, that one took me a second or two before it clicked, then I wished it hadn't!

you wont be alone on the fuel stops !!

Just a bit more help, although you'd figure it out anyway when you got close enough. That's the wrong end point. From Westhill Road, turn right at the roundabout, north on to Stoneleigh Road B4113, and the entrance is on your left side after about a mile. The show ground shows up on the map as a grid of streets almost completely surrounded by a river.

Salisbury to Stoneleigh Park 1st May 2016 7.30am Salisbury Market Square Ross, Brian, Martin, Alex 8.35am M4/A419 Swindon Esso garage A418 Thomas, Chris, James 9.25am A429 Foss Cross Foss services Mike 9.45am A429 Stow-On-The-Wold Mark 10.20am A429/M40 Junction 10.35am Stoneleigh Park Hope I have not missed anyone

Thanks Scott! Great advice Great Scott! Thanks advice :)

This is the one we use on our European tours, the proper dry bags and you can use the clip to attach it to the cage http://www.ewetsuits.com/acatalog/dry-bag-holdalls.html

Had a splendid 3 days away with Amanda in the Basque area last weekend. It is a truly beautiful area and we enjoyed the contrast of modern Bilbao architecture against the natural landscape of the Urdaibai estuary. Compared to the UK the absence of litter in this area of Spain is very noticeable and enviable. No litter on the streets, no waste or rubble dumped by the road or around waste bins. It's a habit and respect for the country which more of our population should adopt. Not being a massive fan of art and galleries, I am also surprised to say that I thoroughly recommend a visit to the Guggenheim, while some of the art I just do not understand, the much of it fascinating and stimulating. So no serious withdrawal symptoms after a weekend away from the garage, and I’ve started into the last few build tasks and some of the long to-do list. I completed fitting the carpets and re-fitting the seats. On each seat there is one bolt thread with a very messy spot of weld preventing the nuts being fitted. I've done my best to grind this off and re-cut the thread. I've not fixed this well enough yet, the nuts are still getting chewed up. Ok for now but something I will need to work on again post IVA. All in all the car is looking awesome. The brakes feel soft so I will bleed them again tomorrow, and I at the same time I will raise the rear ride height as this looks a little low. My latest question and one which I am still pondering - for those of you who have fitted the supplied bonnet clips. The build manual recommends putting a washer behind the panel to take pressure of the rivet and avoid cracking of the gel coat over time. However the inside of the side panel is inaccessible, due to the outside aluminium panel. So I’m thinking that I might be able to tape a washer to a piece of wire or batten and slide it down the gap, but I see no way of pushing hard against the inside of the panel while fixing the rivet. I could use a nut and bolt, but don't see how I would stop the nut from twisting. Any suggestions very welcome. Lastly I have been chasing up my IVA test application. I rang DVSA on Friday to find that they have not passed my application to the test centre because they had not linked it up with the payment. That's now corrected and I will call again on Monday to arrange a test date. Apparently the lead time should be 2 - 3 weeks.

Chin up, mines in a bit of state too thanks to a third party. Key thing is you are physically OK. Detachable Arch? Sorted Geo? Sorted Mental state? Will good friends, beer and lamb roast next Sunday fix that...?

Hi Rhys. I have sent the details to my colleague Phil. Looks a nice car.

I sold my Prodrive WRX last year, had it from new and kept it for 10 years - Only way it was 'affordable' was it only did 7k miles a year, wonderful to push hard in all weathers, very rewarding car to drive. Running costs were steep driven well it used to do 15-18mpg and as a daily driver was getting hard to justify with fuel and insurance. Was gutted to see it go but every now and then you do have to have a reality check ... now have a new Cooper S which is clearly slower but still fun to drive .. I do miss the flat four burble tho ...

Mine was just a standard turbo model but it's the one car I wish I'd kept. It's been about 7 years but every time I hear that flat four burble I wish I'd kept mine.

My 1999 Subaru RB5. Loved it but was bankrupting me. No. 421 I think. Must be nearly 12 years ago but I still miss it.

A Plan always ask me if the Westy has been modified and I always say yes. The problem is that they have a script to follow.