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So, today, I went for a drive in the Westie to meet another WSCC member and Westie builder. Weirdly he lives on one of my regular blat routes and never knew he was 100 yards off the road I travel on quite regularly. Fairly well hidden away from the main road in a very peaceful location................ until I turned up Today I went to see Chris Brading , who is now post - IVA and itching to get the strip down and final things done before enjoying the fruits of his labours, which are well documented in his build thread. Must make a special mention to both the dogs and the tortoise ........ Seems home from home. So, a few questions to which was quickly scribbled over #2 cup of tea . This was mainly because I wasnt expecting to be going to see him today and was a bit of a spur of the moment thing to help with roof and door poppers , so dropped the tools and poppers over to Chris to finish his hood and doors at his own pace. So Chris , full name please ? : Chris Brading Whats your occupation ? : I am a mechanical inspector for Oxford University Estates. Nothing fancy, just a job really. What made you decide to build a Westfield ? Always been into cars and in the early days ( 1982!) had a Mini 1275 GT , which didn't last long , so transplanted it into a Mk2 mini and it all fits the same ! Then marriage , 2 kids, dogs, cats and tortoise and 30 years later , wanted to build a car. Any plans in the car trip wise now its finished ? I did dream about going to the Nurburgring with my son, Ben , but it does look really narrow !!! Any planned mods for the car yet ?: No, not yet. Once the IVA changes are done, need to recover for a bit ! What did you think IVA was like ? Its was very stressful , but it did go really well . Other than a loose lock nut on a rose joint it went through easily. Carbon Fibre ?: Yes, I have the roll bar covers on , so a little bit so far for now. So, how helpful was the forum with your build and questions asked ?: It was a real help . It is the only forum I am on and to be honest, I am obsessed with it . It is a very useful place to be . So, with Chris not able to use his car, I said I would take him out for a loop round in mine, so to keep the enthusiasm going to get his car on the road and chase the DVLA for the reg number. Chris has done a great job on his car , with lots of personal touches , such as rear diagonal carbon ( he didnt mention that in the carbon question ?) rings on the roll bar . He should be understandably proud of his build and I hope he gets many enjoyable miles in the future with it . So, as was getting dark ( was almost when I got home) I bid farewell and hope to meet up when his car gets road legal for a blat out somewhere. Nice to meet you Chris and thanks for the tea's

Putting my Megablade up for sale as I hardly use it and have another itch am wanting to scratch. The car has a AB supplied 893 blade engine and FW rear with diffuser, V8 bonnet and nose all in very good condition with some new Carbon NV arches. I have owned the car for about four years in total. In the last few years I sorted it to do some upgrades and got a bit carried away. All the following parts that I have fitted have done less than 600 miles. Body- New full cage (caged), Tillet B6 carbon seats with runners (both sides), Schroth harnesses, lightweight steering column with Momo where and QR, Lipo-battery, Longacre wide mirror, SPA wing mirrors, FIA cut off, Lifeline extinguisher, Passenger footrest and driver heel bar. Engine- AB air-box, new self regulating fuel pump, Coolex radiator, Mocal catch tank. Handling- Fully Nylon bushed, Siltec widetrack, Procomp double adjustable shocks, Caterham staggered wheels fitted with Toyo 888, refurbished M16 callipers. I opted to keep the Westfied reverse gearbox as it suited my needs but had it rebuilt (7 bearings, 3 seals). At the same time I had the breathing mod done that is feed to the catch tank. Lot's more I have probably forgotten about and some terrible photos but only just decided to bite the bullet before I change my mind again. I have never tracked the car and have only used it this summer hence only 600 miles on the parts. The MOT runs out in May. On the last test it got two minors, first being pitted disks from lack of use but they are now perfect and the other being a oil leak. The leak was from the reverse gearbox before the rebuild and catch can mod and now there is no drips. Any question or requests for more/better phots call Steve, 07903958904. ASKING PRICE, SOLD Cheers.

Let's start with the 400 year old Austrian Coffee House Share your lunch with an Ibex to the sound of cuckoo clocks and cow bells And imagine that you are in the mountains The cafe is upstairs and downstairs is the shop full of imported goodies Andrew and us parked up in Bakewell, along with all the cyclists who were taking part in a British Cycling Cylco-Cross event. There were some nice expensive bicycles being titivated at the back of vans. Shortly after Big Foot arrived. A short walk through the pretty, tourist village of Bakewell and we all sat down to decide what to eat. That was the easy bit, sausages of course, with currywurst sauce and mustard. I think I/we had Kasekrainer and I had a Bratwurst, it was all very unusual.There was a smoky one and a spicy one in there somewhere too. It was the drink that got interesting. Dave had a KOPI LUWAK, which is a coffee, where the coffee berries are eaten and partly digested by the Asian Palm Civet (native cat). After gathering, these beans are thoroughly washed and sundried to leave an intense, yet delicate flavour. This process takes place on the islands of Sumatra, Java and Sulawesi, in the Indonesian archipelago. Us mere mortals just had coffee Next up was Caramel Apple Pie with ice cream for the boys, notice the old oak beam in the roof and how it sags. 'Glen, I am going to need a seriously bigger anorak' I went for the Apfelstrudel and cream, just excuse Dave's naughty hand going for the pie The conversation somehow went from the Wheeler Dealers program, restoring a Honda S2000 and the very good coverage of how to fix the engine when the VTech had stopped working, to horny sausage dogs and their inability to climb stairs, of which I am still laughing about now. Moving quickly on, we took a nice route over to a cafe with new owners who make their own cherry and walnut scones, a sure bet that will draw in the Westfield owners In the absence of a drone, Dave got inventive with his photography angles It was nice to put a silver lining on Dave's cloud, offer Andrew some relief from visiting relatives and Glen is pleased that my company was diluted by other people after putting up with me all week. Simon, I mentioned the Gluten Free sausages in the hope you and Michelle could come along, sorry we missed you. Thanks for a great day out, I am pining for next weekend already.

...and for what it’s worth, the Cat Poo Coffee was very nice, (Kopi Luwak If ive remembered the proper name right). Glad I’ve tried it after keep seeing it talked about on TV and in those “factoid” type snippets on the radio. Nice as it is though, hard to really justify the price on taste alone, if you dint know the “novelty” value. Tried it, done it, highly doubt I’d bother again I did try to explain to my pet cat what I’d had. He’s avoiding me now...

A little gem of a cafe, thanks for finding and sharing Julie and Glen! A good day, even if I was Westie less, had to drive along with the windows down, just to listen to Andrew's glorious V8 soundtrack. Thanks to all three of you, Julie, Glen, Andrew, needed a day like today, after last weeks worries.

I don't know what Glen and I were saying to each other in the cafe but he can stop standing at the drivers side of the car when you get your camera out Thank you Andrew and Dave for a fantastic day out. I even kept my wheels in the same plane as the car this week

Second victim, er club member has been met today, so will get this up later tonight

Cheers Gary. Will see how it goes, if it doesn't sell quick I might be tempted to buy some more goodies and put some more milage on it. Decisions, decisions.

Meeting up in Bakewell... (eventually, - after I went to the wrong car park, and then attempted to off-road, over a cyclo-cross course, Just before a race meet, to get to the right one!) It’s very hard not to get photos of everyone with a silly grin on their faces, when you long huge German sausages down in front of them! Mind you, I’m not sure if Julie was looking more “concerned” about her crusty curried sausages, or my Cat Poo Cafetierre that was sat in front of her And a final cake and coffee/tea stop of the day! The Stone Museum cafe does a lovely scone tea!

Thank you Julie and Glen for organising a lovely day out and to Dave Eastwood for coming. Just what was needed after the Christmas festivities. Happy New Year to all

LMC2018 Parade Lap The final lap of 3 with two other Dorset Area Westfields in shot some of the way. Not the best audio, too much wind but okay with headphones in the bends

NIce, did you take any car pics?

You are welcome Sir

In America the leader was an older man who had built things, which many saw as good, as previously much was spent on Space and armaments and the Country needed repairs. The new leader was called TOP TRUMPS. Older people cannot stand a lot of noise so when the young North Korean leader started playing with his very noisy rockets a shouting match ensued. However later they meet and discovered they shared a mutual interest in extravagant hairdos. They got on really well, the shouting stopped and everyone was pleased. A blonde lady called MS ORAL DESTINY had made films for people called adults. She said she and the American leader had been to a fair, but he said not. Some people thought this might be feck news. In America there were more guns than people and this made people so nervous they had to sleep with guns under their pillows. This nervousness resulted in many having to seek costly therapy from a private health system. Britain had very few guns which was just as well as our taxpayer funded health system couldn't afford readily accessible therapy. However Britain did have Gregs and comfort eating. Meanwhile in Russia the leader, PUTIN, (so named because he'd been put in the job for life) had been re-elected. He was ex-KGB (karate green belt). Another country to the south west of Russia had experienced a nuclear power station explosion some years earlier which created a radioactive cloud--the country was called NUKE RAIN. The eastern part of the country was mostly Russian speakers and was called CRIMEAREA. NUKE RAIN was quite bad at paying its gas bill to Russia so eventually PUTIN sent in the bailiffs to claim goods and they claimed the whole of CRIMEAREA. This upset Western politicians, and especially the EU, who had hoped to reach 50 states and be the same as America. The EU had wanted NUKE RAIN to join as it has passed the poverty criteria, but that seemed unlikely now it was just half a country. France had a new, young, energetic leader called RON MAC who was so young he was still at school. To reduce air pollution from cars and lorries RON increased fuel duty which many struggled to afford. The new tax went down with the poor about as well as the Guillotine at an 18 century Royal get-together. Before long the peasants were revolting (again) and buildings and cars were in flames creating more fumes than the tax was designed to avoid. RON then cancelled the new fuel duty; (when politicians do this it is NEVER A U-TURN and is called listening and responding to the needs of the electorate). In Britain much comfort eating had resulted in our becoming the fat man of Europe (a title that infuriated the Belgians who thought it was rightfully theirs). The only way to stop being the fat man of Europe was to leave. After Britain had voted to leave the EU in DAVID of CAMEROON's EU NEVERENDUM, the new leader MOTHER THERESA had activated the withdrawal procedure and the exit date was 29 March 2019. As the EU had never intended anyone to leave, the exit door was very narrow and a minimum 2 year process was in place to allow Britain to slim down and fit thru the exit door. Some, including our PM, thought a longer transition to exit would be best. However Britain had a leading Brexiteer, a slim, aristocratic gentleman called JAKE of GREASE MOB. He was convinced we should just push our way out on 29 March 2019. Some opposed the idea saying this would be a very damaging 'broken Brexit' while JAKE said there would only be superficial bruising and no lasting damage. The true nature of Brexit will be decided in the next few months. Only two things are clear; politics never ends but we pray to God that Brexit ends SOON. ============================================================================================

LMC 2018 was a unique experience, roll on 2020, hopefully do it all over again Good video Jon, think helmet camera captures the occasion better than my fixed camera coverage, if that makes any sense!

heaps more like this ....

The Spanish are big on hillclimbing, and the BEC cars from BRC, Speedcar and others are super quick. A road-legal one would be the nuts!

Went many years ago with WSCC for our honeymoon. Stayed in the ground of a chateau , which was great as we could do the race thing for a few hours , come away , do food and head back for the evening and nights . Away from the rabble and idiots too. Watching portaloos with running pee down the road into the campsite was not an appealing part we saw at Le Mans camps. Was a great few days . We went from Portsmouth to Caen on the speedcat on the way out and Cherbourg to Portsmouth on the return. It was biblically hot the year we went and was over 30 deg at night. We took a 2 man tent, sleeping bags and luggage in our car for 4 days worth and it is doable , although my latest wife is vertically challenged , so we had space in the footwell. Fun times of her 'surfing' in the car at toll booths trying to lob money in the catchers was a comedy on its own. http://www.chateau-de-chanteloup.com/en/

Give you a chance to check the clutch plate for contamination too and wear. It maybe drastic, but it was probably the only way to resolve and future proof bleeding as well. Also peace of mind that it is resolved

Wow, well at least that's conclusive evidence of your leak. I bought my pipe and fittings from retro ford in corby. They are extremely knowlegable and take telephone orders. Below shows both kits but i would speak to them and evenshow them the photo of your slave cylinder to be sure the fittings will be compatible.

Dammit - this forum is a dangerous place to browse when you're a bit bored.... I now know that my "Gel battery" is actually a Varley Redtop AGM (Adsorbent Glass Mat) battery, which prefers to be kept at full charge when not being used. I'm not convinced that my £15 Halfords trickle charger or my ancient Gunsons bench charger is up to the job, so I started browsing I now have a Ctek MXS 5.0 on the way from Amazon - good excuse for a couple of hours in the garage tomorrow

All home now, car away and warming up. 8 of us in 5 cars, sun shone and blue skies in Filey, and sun shone in our eyes on the way home. Fish and chips on the Coble landing and a milky coffee at Squires cafe. Where are we going next year?

Sitting now at 12.6 v and off charge , so that sounds a bit healthier @CraigHew

The info is there, the will to do the work is not that forthcoming (by me at least!)

Hi all, Here's my Christmas present; daughter home and having a drive of our family project car! Gary

Was supposed to be out in the car today to see @Tim (TimDave25) - Joint Thames Valley AO , my leader to drop some bits but due to a rubbish cold , I dont wish to share the germs. So, instead the lovely postie lady drops my new charger off. So, although the leads are pretty short ( you can get an extension cable) I used my lead I had already made up for the cars previously . Fixed on the wall and hey presto, we are now charging to get to optimisation. The battery was still at 12.3v after my Boxing Day drive. Still for £35 delivered with a 2 year warranty isnt too bad and the last one was about 10 to 12 years old. Sods law I feel crap as is perfect for a drive today

Great roads, Jeff, thanks.

Cracking run out to Llyn Brenig for breakfast then back through Clocaenog Forest. Jeff

Off my eldest lad. I love how boys never really grow up

We were in Bakewell today at the same time can't believe I didn't see this event this week Hopefully catch up soon the garage is calling tomorrow for the second half of my date with the chassis cleaning exercise. Happy new year