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Still not stopped grinning, another fantastic day in the Peaks! i hadn’t intended to be out playing today, but when the PM from andrew arrived this week, not just with “I’ve got a spare seat on Saturday”, but you can drive if you want! All plans for garage work shot out the window. I nearly drove over to the Baslow meeting point then and there, just to be ready. Oh how addictive it is, that V8; I could even hear Andrew chuckling as the throttle may just have accidentally got blipped a little at nearly every bridge. No doubt engine wise, it’s a very different character to 9k screamers, but a very seductive one, none the less.

For those that don't know, I am now the club's Sponsorship Liaison officer for the Speed Series since taking over the role mid last year. This years Speed Series sponsors are:- Northampton Motorsport (title sponsor) SBD motorsport A Plan Insurance (Thatcham) Aerodynamix Siltech Racing Westfield Sport Cars GGR Communications plus new additions this year :- Force Racing Wheels Triple M Motorsport AB Performance 3J Driveline fPod Intelligent Race Fuel Bowsers Contact details can be found on the sponsors page on the main website here . Have a look at their websites and browse their products and services that they offer. Please keep an eye on the page for additional sponsors in due course. Best wishes John

We met in Baslow and promptly dumped Big Foot as Dave jumped into Andrew's car. We took a short drive in search of coffee and a real fire, with a cracking view out of the window. The driver of the SEiGHT parked in the safe and correct manner and I parked like I was on the sea front, only we don't have any sea in Derbyshire, well not in the last 330 million years anyway. The view The pub dates back to 1597 is claimed to be the highest pub in Derbyshire at 1300 feet. (Cat and Fiddle is in Cheshire - just) It has a real fire And barmaids that make you laugh. 'Come and have a sit in my car', I offered, so she did. Her reaction? 'there are no doors, there is no roof, urgh, I couldn't sit in that all day'. Oh dear. She was polishing the copper pots and was a bit concerned that she might get polish in the coffee, don't worry, we had cat poo (Kopi Luwak) on the go last week, polish is the last of our worries. Next we went not to the Knights Table, but to the Rambler Inn, a slight change of plan. Dave just about managed to get his grinning face into the car, I would say he was enjoying it rather a lot. We took a route up the Winnats Pass and down Mam Nick, taking in some of the best scenery the Peak District has to offer. The Rambler Inn No reverse parking today. Kinder Scout in the background. The Great Ridge in the foreground Some had healthy salad And some needed crampons to climb their lunch. The Mam Tor burger. Is this a left hand drive Westfield or has Dave got in the wrong side? Watch this space there could be a Honda engine for sale soon. After lunch Andrew demanded dessert and it would have been rude to refuse after he had come all this way, so we went to the pool cafe in Hathersage, a regular haunt for Glen and I after we have taken up our new hobby of outdoor swimming. It just happens to have a nice cafe attached to it. The outdoor pool The inevitable happened, millionaires shortbread, rhubarb flapjack and fresh baked scones. A great big thank you has to go to Andrew today, not just for driving 2 hours to get to the start point, but for inviting Dave to share his car too. I think Dave now wants heated seats and a change of engine. Thank you to Dave for putting the current upgrades on hold for a day and here's to V8's and plenty of bridges to drive under.

No, they're not. There are different procedures and there are more systems to go wrong but doing things like oil, plugs, coolant and pads should still be in range of an average home mechanic. Yes the occasional special tool may be needed but anyone with Sierra calipers on the back of an SEi already has the wind in tool. It's about a tenner. Or a good pair of long nose pliers and some elbow grease will do in a pinch. And as much as I dislike Mile Brewer I am quite fond of watching Ed China work his way through an issue on what most laymen would consider to be an impossible problem. May favourite was the S2000 with malfunctioning VTEC. The S2000 enthusiast that Mike bought it from couldn't figure it out. Ed applied some logic and followed a process and got it sussed for almost zero cost. Yes I know Ed has every tool under the sun but even without,opening the fluid pump and seeing full of goo would tip off most of us even though on the face of it the VTEC system is thought of as hugely complicated. When Ed broke it down it was beautifully simple. My point is, much of it is do-able without breaking the bank. All it needs is a little effort, a logical mind, a workshop manual and the internet!

That's 156 more running runs than I could cope with @IanK (Bagpuss) Ski runs are another matter, but only 6 days last season:

Hi Bob, its been a while, I hope you're keeping well. the firewall on your car was a very elegent solution which I like a lot, thank you for the photos. for our UK racing regulations the firewall needs to provide a complete seal between the driver and engine compartment to create a barrier against fuel spillage or fire. On this car the body is from the JW4 Mk2 so lacks the air ducts that were fitted to Mk3 body on your JW4 and my blue car. The rear engine cover on the mk2 is much lower than the Mk3 so the cylinder head of the engine sits in the airstream for cooling rather than enclosed within the bodywork. my hope is that a simple flat aluminium closing plate will be sufficent behind the seats cut to match the curve of the body, but I may need to get creative with carboard first to get the shape right.

Clio 172 - Supercharged MOT till June 2019 Currently Sorn. Engine- 182 Engine, rocker cover painted white, block painted black.- Rotrex Supercharger kit with associated boost pipes.- Gen90 ECU- Toyosport Intercooler- Custom Roose Motorsport hoses- Samco Coolant hose kit- Magnecor Leads- Mocal Oil Cooler- Mocal Catch Tank- ARP Rod Bolts- K-Tec / Vibratec Solid Engine Mounts- Matched Inlets- K-Tec 3.5" Recessed Supersports exhaust- Megane Injectors- 102k miles, new cambelt, dephaser, aux belt, megane keyweyed pulley and megane crank bolt fitted and timed by Dan@SJM- Powdercoated inlets, fuel rail guard, engine mount and brackets- Bosch S4 battery- Air con delete- Nimbus heatshield- Mapped by RS Tuning, Rolling Roaded at 248.7bhp and 220 ft lb.- 105,800 milesTransmission - New Gearbox- Gripper LS Diff- PMS Race Shifter / Gear linkageHandling- AST 5100 Coilovers with custom spring rates- Northloopcup / BIGASH Roll Centre Kit- Whiteline ARB- Eibach Hubcentric Spacers (16mm front, 5mm rear)- PMS Solid Top Mounts and Strut Brace- Eibach Camber bolts- -2.5 deg camber at the front, 10 mins toe. -1 deg camber at rear- PMS Stud and Nut kit fitted- 15 Speedline Williams wheels with Dunlop Direzza 03g tyres- Cup wishbones fittedBraking- Brembo 4 pots (Megane 225)- Custom HEL braided lines- Custom Chris Powell Brembo brake brackets- ABS delete (incl. Loom), full Cup brake lines and MC setup fitted- Ferodo DS1.1s, Ferodo DS2500s rear.- Brembo grooved HCs (Front)- Renault OEM Discs (Rear)- ATE Super Blue Racing brake fluid- Fog lights removed and no arch liners- brake ductsInterior- 2x Sparco Evo 3 Bucket Seats- OMP Subframes- OMP 3" Harnesses- Custom Oreca / Renaultsport 330mm Steering Wheel- OMP boss- 6 point Roll Cage- K-Tec Rear Boot Mat- Renaultsport Front Mats- Sony CD Player with Ipod Connector- White Dash Strips & Gear Insert- Alcantara Handbrake Cover- Rear Strut BraceExterior - Cup Splitter- Trophy Spoiler- Renault Sport 197 Badge- Porsche 'Bee Sting' Aerial- Lockable Aerocatches It will come with a spare set of black 15" speedline williams wheels with Dunlop Direzza 03g tyres (plenty of tread) and the standard set of 172 wheels with some pirelli p-zeros (although these are a bit "time expired"). £6995

An inter-area mystery run using rally-style ‘tulip’ instructions in a route-book to navigate (at your own pace) 200 miles of twisty, fun and scenic B-roads and single-tracks covering three counties off the M74 south of Glasgow . Some of the roads are absolute gems of Westie-ness. Starting at Happendon Services on the M74, cars leave 1-2 minutes apart, for a full day’s drive to Peebles, the destination. The route can on occasion cross over itself, so it's not unusual to see fellow Westies on the run coming the other way, making you second-guess your navigation. Some of the roads will be new to even the McWesties. Included is a sealed envelope with a map and waypoints to rejoin the route if you go astray, and the destination if you get horribly lost. There’s staggered fuel stops and a lunch break where there is a variety of shops/cafes to grab a bite, and a blether about the morning leg. It’s easier if you have a navigator alongside you, but it can be done solo with a bit of multi-tasking. A working re-settable trip-meter speedo (GPS is highly discouraged and not in the spirit of the run) and a pen is all that is required, and a clipboard is recommended to hold the route book from blowing away. If you don’t have a trip-meter, it can be done with your mileometer and simple addition, or perhaps rig up a cycle computer. Don’t forget your smiles, and some wet-weather protection just in case. The more cars the merrier, and this type of event runs better with a decent turn-out. To make it a cosmopolitan event, we would love to see Westfields joining from areas south of the border - come up for the weekend or maybe you could make the event the start or end of a Scotland driving holiday, and if returning south the next day from Peebles the A708 is a must. Peebles has a variety of hotel, B&B and campsite accommodation for those who wish to stay over on the Saturday night, and a choice of pubs and restaurants where everyone can meet up that night to ‘de-brief’ over a pint or two. Itinerary - Saturday 24th August 0900 - Meet at Happendon Services, M74 (Cairn Lodge) 0930 - Drivers/crew briefing 1000 - First car away, order drawn from hat Lunch - depending on start order and pace - 1200-1330-ish Finish - Peebles, depending on lots of things! - 1530-1700-ish Any questions? - ask below or PM me, no question is too daft. Up for the challenge? - then have your name added to the list below

WSCC CAR DATA SHEET INFO: Built or Bought: Bought Year: 2008 Area: Devon Donor engine/gearbox: Rover V8 Model: SEiGHT Mileage: 5008 Use: 99% road use, very occasional track day car Registration: VX58KXM *** NOW CORRECTLY REGISTERED ON THE V5C AS 4556cc *** BODY WORK Black/Green gel coat/3M wrap V8 bonnet Ducted nosecone Carbon fibre wrap cycle wings Twin exhaust rear valance Westfield carbon fibre effect rear light clusters Detachable rear arches Carbon fibre effect rear arch protectors Carbon fibre effect dash New carbon effect 53/4” headlights LED daytime running lights Plays-Kool carbon fibre effect front indicator pods Westfield powder coated roll bar Detachable, lockable boot box INTERIOR Westfield Sports Seats customised matching green/black on runners TRS 3” five point harness Westfield RaceTech Dash 2 digital dash Carbon fibre effect panels Battery cut out switch Westfield black carpet set Removable OMP steering wheel with RaceTech boss Fire extinguisher & quick fix tyre repair ENGINE AND DRIVE TRAIN Fully rebuilt 4.6 Rover V8, by V8 Developments, Spalding 240+ BHP and massive torque Fully reconditioned LT77 Rover 5 speed gearbox Baffled sump; LSD 13 row oil cooler Long range fuel tank Weber 500 (Edelbrock) four-barrel carb on Edelbrock manifold Mallory distributor with Magnecor leads, new coil K&N air filter, ‘pancake’ style Power Performance custom stainless exhaust, Westfield V8 sports boxes & chrome tails Uprated cooling system – high efficiency radiator and silicone hoses Westfield wide track front wishbones Adjustable front & rear shocks and ride height Vented disks all round, AP Racing 4 pot front/ Polo rear brake calipers Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2 black wheels with Toyo 205/50/15 888’s OTHER Full wet weather gear, inc side screens and hood Hard wired CTEC battery charger/conditioner New Yuasa battery Engine and gearbox rebuild by specialists V8 Developments, Spalding, Lincs Geometry and suspension set-up by ex-Lotus race development engineer at TLC, Attleborough, Norfolk (copies of diagnostics available) MOT to 21 June 2019 Currently SORN Commentary I bought this, my fourth Westfield, in the dark, on a filthy wet February day in 2014 from a trader for £13,500 basing my decision largely on the written description, specification and photos. It had 750 miles on the clock, looked great and sounded ok. Got it back at the workshop, up on the ramps and reality set in. I’m surprised it had any mileage at all, given that the alignment was so poor that all four wheels were pointing in different directions and it was virtually undriveable! However, it had - as in the words of the old Morecambe & Wise sketch with André Previn – all the right ‘parts’ but not necessarily in the right order. Since then I’ve spent at least the same amount again putting the car right. Poor panel fittings, loose suspension components, an underslung exhaust almost touching the ground, overheating problems, oil leaks, thrown in with some dodgy electrical connections…. It has taken me four years to get it to the state it is in now. I’ve done 130 miles in it since the engine rebuild and gearbox re-furb, sorting out one or two minor snags. They often say Rover V8’s always leak a bit here and there. Not this one. So it still needs running in, but I’m entirely happy with it now and that it’s entirely fit for purpose. I will be including 6 litres of 20:50 Valvoline VR1 Race Oil, new oil filter and copper sump washer in the sale as whoever buys this Westy will need to complete the running in process. I'm looking for what I originally paid for the car: £13,500 or nearest offer. In the meantime, I’m looking for my next project…ideally an older Westfield in any state, unused, forgotten or even one with minor accident damage could be considered……. Or possibly even something newer on which I can stick a personal 64 plate! I would consider an exchange/swap, with/without cash balance….Any takers? If you need more photos or info please PM me or email 474gareth.hd@gmail.com or 07771 683133

Hello everyone, I've been in the classic car scene for 15+ years....mainly MK1 Capri.. various cars and engine packages from 1.6l to 350+ bhp YB track cars. I had been toying with the idea of going Coyote V8 but the costs just didn't add up. I've had a clear out, just keeping one car for occasionally track use and road runs. 1972 cologne arched MK1 running a 2.9 V6. So I'm on the lookout for a car that can handle itself on the track as it's number 1 job and go for that occasional road run. The amount of kit cars in Ireland I'd very limited therefore I will be purchasing in the UK hopefully this Spring. (I not going to mention the B word) Looking back forward to the experience and thank you for building such a great a community. Padraig

I am on a diet Gary . It may not be noticeable as I still wear my 6 pack protector over the top Oh and I dont do mince pies , unless there is more brandy butter than pies

It’s dark and chilly up here, back in there tomorrow, enjoying the wiring lol

Get back in the garage . You havent got time to be on here. Switzerland is nearly upon you !!

Or is it Moondarin

Good time to learn Mandarin?

Bit of a thread drift but....... .......and don't tell my eldest, she is!

Well done John, looks like you've been a busy bee.

Quick Google Mr Wilf and this means I own it and you Can you own a piece of the moon? In 1967 the U.S. and the Soviet Union negotiated the Outer Space Treaty, which states that no nation can own a piece of the moon or an asteroid. ... But anyone can buy a deed to land on the moon right now. The Lunar Registry ("Earth's leading lunar real-estate agency") sells such deeds on its website for about $20 an acre.

Hi Smokey Been a while since I checked in...looks fantastic! Here are a few pics of the firewall I made for my JW4 when I had it. Very simple and rests on the rails and still lets the air flow from the NACA duct under the seat to the engine bay. All the best MMB

What , do you think the Americans might get to the moon this time round ?

As I have found the process of swapping my engine quite challenging, I decided that now was the time to put a plan together to bring the saga to a conclusion and thought I would share it, in case anyone else found it useful!

Cost has always been an issue 26 years ago @ 17 my insurance via the least reputable cheapest possible 3rd party was 400 on a £300 mini. My first word according to my mother was tractor. We had lorries, a tractor, digger and a forklift at home and I loved driving them all at any opertunity. Also any opertunity to weld, grind, or do any thing mechanical was a highlight. 13 I got my hands on a step through Suzuki 80, which was driven as often as possible for hours... my father never had any petrol for the chain saw ever again... My kids don’t have the motor opertunities as me but also are uninterested. iPads, Nintendo, phones, fortnite, minecraft... etc are way more exciting for a instant kick. Having a car was massively important for me and it was where my social life started. They are in constant contact with their mates and their phones are pinging all the time. I lived 3 miles out of town and most of my mates where 6 miles the other side so wheels where important. Before passing my test I’d converted £50 broken automatic mini to manual and rebuilt the engine. Being a mini it demanded constant fettle. Front drumsneeded adjusting weakly, grease nipples, rust, regular points , condencers, tune ups, all part of life. I loved that car... I learned so much.. far more than watching YouTube or playing a computer games.

They always empty bank accounts.

Never seen a Westie being used in a bank raid getaway car before as above

Shhhhhh, thats 'OUR' back up Tom Even though I didnt buy it

can you get in the westy after all the mince pies ??????

Sorry we can't make this one, have a great day, see you soon!