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Hi everyone, Few weeks ago acquired a 2006 - 1800 Zetec widebody Westy. Nice clean very low millage car (500 miles) the previous owner/builder didn't really drive as much as intended after building and classic themed in blue with a tan interior. Really clean car, even underneath was like new. First go at one owning one of these, I'm really enjoying my Westfield so far and really pleased with the content and answers on this forum. Many upgrades and tweaks on the to-do list for over winter already! Black roll bar I added to make it safer for use straight away as previous owner/builder decided not to fit one, to personal preference. I'm after a chromed JAP style and some side screens to make it a little bit neater. Cheers

Diff, gearbox, wheels/tyres aside, and assuming the car is set up properly, my response would go like this (based on experience of each type): 130bhp for a road only car. That way you use it all the time and it makes for the most rewarding on the road experience. Windscreen with wind deflectors, sunnies on, still the quickest car out there. 180bhp for road and track. Rewarding and reliable, much more on the road starts to become unusable. 220bhp+ for track only and competition. Then you're into how much you can use based on your talent and what tyres you choose to run.

I'm in the process of fitting a 'Tea' button in the garage, push it and someone brings a cup of tea. I'm not having much luck with it at the moment as it's more of a 'push it and someone swears' button. If you fix your car in the McDonands drive-though it works though.

Looking at data logs, I was a better driver at 165bhp than 260bhp, then again better at 260bhp than 335bhp. Car gets quicker, driver gets slower

Point to add here - following on from other thread discussing power and dynos at length - my 185 might not be the same as Adam's 185 as they were no doubt measured on different dynos etc. But all I know is my car now drives and feels way better than it did with a 168bhp (allegedly) Silvertop. So regardless of headline figure, my "bum" dyno says it's more for sure! However, no idea if I'd like or need a further hike in power/torque - but we shall see

:-( Mine has 0bhp, and sits on a stand begging to be finished :-(

these threads often end up with people agreeing to disagree. I think that is the beauty with Westfields, there is a car there to suit everyone from a classic 100bhp tuned crossflow to a 400 hp turbo / supercharged monster. I think it is also worth remembering that more power does not always equate to more fun. Sweet handling, feedback and working a car have their appeal too. However most people coming to these cars probably want acceleration as well as handling. And acceleration in the A / B road sweet spot for overtaking from 40 to 70 mph not a meaningless 0-60. If you look at the upgrades that people make to their cars having lived with them for a while and the compromise that we make in comfort and useability for performance and handling and compare to other readily available affordable performance cars on the road as benchmark, the 'sweet' spot for a car on the road and also track use does IMHO seem to be around the 180 - 210bhp mark.

I'm keeping my eyes open for minilites!

Bad day - got a bit carried away - sorry!

Point of order, you can't use all the power and all the revs beyond the likes of 180bhp unless you speed. Mine is 221bhp and while I love bumbling along at below 3000 rpm, enjoying the induction sound and farts from the exhaust, when I use the loud pedal even in fractional amounts, the closing speeds become dangerous. Mine is unusual as it'll do 50mph in first and over 90 in third. If you do use all the revs, and therefore all the power, it's for the briefest of moments up to 70mph. Unless you've got a v8 where your power peaks at 5000rpm of course. But thanks for the driving lesson though.

Sorry guys that was my senior moment! Its class A2 with a Zetec

Point of order, as I tell my Mrs the accelerator is not an on/off switch it can be moderated to any point in between (that is a lie - she is a very sedate driver), My point is that; even for a numpty like me 180 plus is not unusable, in fact the more you have the more usable it becomes as overtaking becomes easier, but if a driver does find it unusable then it is the driver's fault, not the car's

I thought A2 as well, but then again I may have misread things!

A2 surely Terry? He's definitely not a novice, and it's a 1.8 engine...

its usually on the end of the springs near the spring seats

Didn't realise the amount of sh*t from a cow relate to the cows colour

The seats have been ok as usually someone sat in it helping deflect it

Why not? Should be loads of fun in the wet!

Yes, the tank is already out as I need to have the axle out. Not much of a car left now edited to add: The welder that did my link pipe for your exhaust does aluminium (amongst others)... time to pay him a visit

Is the tank coming out Q? If so, I get it to an alloy welder and get it blanked off properly. If not, your proposed solution is fine. Just make it a good quality high pressure hose and fittings!

Mine is a V8 Developments 4.6 stroked to 5.1 litre, Stage 3 heads, balanced, lightened flywheel, Jenvey TBs JE Developments dry sump, I currently have it slightly de-tuned to run on ordinary un-leaded. RR figures for this year were (at the wheels): 330 bhp prior to de-tune 300 bhp now. Interestingly V8 Developments bench dyno'd this engine as a 4.6l and recorded 380 bhp, going to 5.1 hasn't unleashed many if any more hp, it does have a restrictive (quiet) exhaust on it though. I've not noticed any drop in performance on the road as you can't use full throttle most of the time, interestingly the peak torque figure only slightly from 380 to 370 lbft (IIRC). with over 200 lbft available from 1200 rpm, I have the limiter set at 5600 rpm although the engine is good for 6500. Of course I take BHP figures with a pinch of salt, so all I would say about mine is that it is more than sufficient for a Westfield, what actually matters is how the engine behaves and it's driveability, the cars set up and of course the driver, I'm not a fast driver, nor talented so the car is never pushed to it's limits with me. Overtaking is a doddle even in 5th, 1st gear is for moving it around on tickover unless you like the smell of burning rubber and an empty wallet, and driving in the wet, yes, carefully. Your trip into the Dolemites sounds perfect for the car ETA; the cars spec and set up is a credit to the builder, I didn't build it.

But did you know that Westfield built the lunar rover car, but it was actually filmed in a quarry near Dudley at night. If you look closely you can see the wheels are off a Thwaites dumper and the antenna is really a stainless stell colander from Woolworths. That's why Woolworths closed down in truth, Doris from hardware was going to spill the beans but she had an accident with her Stannah stair lift when two strange men had just serviced it and so many others she told feared for their lives, so they did a crap job forcing the company to go bankrupt. It is true, I read it on the internet

Have I tuned into a different forum........ What about more power? It sorts our 9 out of 10 problems in my opinion.

yes well if its held on the sunday we will be there it sounds good

178bhp not enough, 180bhp too much

The perfect power figure for a westfield is, of course, whatever the cross flow engine can muster :-)

At a gnats under 170bhp in ours, the power to skill ratio is more than high enough to cause trouble if I forget myself.

At a trackday last week at Rockingham, there was a youngish lad driving a Narrow bodied car running a Zetec engine on carbs, which he estimated was putting out around 165bhp. Aside from track orientated tyres (not slicks) the car was pretty standard, Spax shocks, M16 brakes etc.. However, he was passing with ease all the other, slightly more powerful, Westfields there and a chap running a turbo-charged and highly developed Locost which was putting out high 200's in terms of power also struggled to keep up I believe that the lad had a bit of race experience behind him in other marques and it was clear that he was skilled enough (and brave enough) to enter and exit corners much quicker than most cars there. He said that he was taking the part of the track that took in the corner of the banked oval flat out and pushing 130mph before braking for the hairpin. Watching him drive I didn't doubt it Even guys driving Radicals doing some pre-race testing were clearly lifting off there. His car even had a windscreen! This brought home just what a difference driver skill can make