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Dirty old tramps are still a problem in Europe.....

The final breakdown of today brought out everyone's Hi-Vis and emergency triangles..... Paul had lighting issues..... And of course lots of helpful comments from rest of us!!!

He's even modelled for Album covers, back in the day: To wet your appetite for what's to come, I will show what happened when he was kidnapped and taken to a well known UK ECU Manufacturer. However let's stick with the international theme for a while longer....... He like's to stay up to date with WSCC topic, whist he's away: He likes his 'pop' too: However, once he's had a few, there's no stopping his misbehaviour. Here he is, interfering with the livestock - The 'Goat with a Scroat': All the cold running water, had an effect on him: Fortunately, married life, does seem to have calmed him down:

Thanks @IanK (Bagpuss) I love the Peaks and cake!

Ex member practicing his catalogue pose car entry

@Paul Hurdsfield was also struggling to set his go pro up

First C&C I've seen advertised at JP Exhausts, here in Congleton, but definitely something to be encouraged, I'm planning on going for a look; full details here. https://www.jpexhausts.co.uk/event-details/cars-coffee-morning "Time & Location 07 Sep, 09:30 – 13:30 JP Exhausts Ltd, Unit 2, Clarke Cable Site, Eaton Bank Trading Estate, Congleton CW12 1PJ, UK About the Event Bring your special vehicle and talk to other enthusiasts for the morning over a cup of coffee. On display will be a range of classic cars, supercars, race cars and bikes. All variations of Cars & Bikes welcome, open to individuals and car clubs."

I've always been of the mind that there's not much point in having hp you can't (real-world) use. I'm never going to be Rod Millen or Bruce Anstey (sorry, NZ references) so my cars and bikes have been powered more or less relevant to my ability. Of all 28 bikes I've had from 250cc 18,000rpm screamers to 900cc sport tourers, the bike that I could really chuck about and be B-road quick on (quick, not fast, there's a difference) was a 50hp gen-1 KLE500, partly because I felt confident it was never going to step out on me. I had a mate with a 1975 CB500/4 on chinese tyres who could run rings around modern sportbikes (mind you he had balls from a cannon!) Yeah, I'd love an extra 30hp in my Westfield as overtaking tends to be a military operation as she is, but any upgrades after that I'd spend my money on suspension, tyres and brakes - because £ for £ that'll get you quicker than hp. From what I've gathered, the sweet spot for fast-road Westfields is 160-180hp in a well sorted chassis - yes/no? The speed limit is 60mph, the trick to covering ground quick is to be able to do 60 everywhere! (haha, I talk a good game, truth is I simply can't think/drive as fast as I used to).

Went for a wander around the scottish ford show in dunfermline today with the wee one. Was really an 'all clubs welcome' show and was a good selection of machinery, although no westies, shame as it clashed with bo'ness. Some pics if anyones interested And my favourites of the day. Childhood dream car Stunning home restoration. Really unusual fiat 500 wagon with suicide doors And top of my want list at the minute.

Kevin, no one seems to have an argument with that so you are the winner 🏁 🎺 🏆 - despite a Boris Johnson like intervention by @Nemesis! Look out for a second mystery object appearing soon!

Having a run around the Selby area on Sunday 8th September and finishing here, https://www.themotorist.com. It's a cafe, prestige sales and workshop on the outskirts of Sherburn in Elmet. We'll meet at Rothwell Sports Centre, LS26 8EL at 12 noon.

Just a quick appreciation to the Parts team, after my last slight rant about WF. Ordered a part on Sunday night, it arrived and was fitted by midday on Wednesday, and that's with the Bank Holiday. Postage was much more reasonable also, it's a great improvement. Well done Patrick and the team.

Thank you, great photo Anthony

Marcus Barlow does Baileys !!

I will check with him

I'm glad you've not posted the pic of my holding his hand 😉

SORNED in August, shocking.😂 I've just checked with the DVLA:

Will be late getting there as my lad has his rugby till 8. Guess I should be there before 9. If dry I will try come in Westie. My garage is full of stuff to go to charity shop so may struggle getting Westie out! No excuse honest! Andy

i am 5-11 and 19 stone and fit in a narrow its all about the seat and the position of the seat. im not going to lie its snug but i dont move when on track 👍

What a lovely county, would be fantastic Westfield driving roads, your very lucky up there. Back home now and enjoyed our days out at some of the suggested places, didn’t go to them all though. Particularly liked the Grace Darling Museum in Bamburgh and the the castle that dominates the town, also visited Newton, Seahouses, parts of Hadrians Wall, the hills around Hexham. Alnwick and Holy Island.

@W Shep woke up with a bang just before we set off his fire extinguisher exploded in the underground car park😲

Troll mode On " That motor racing category, prizes the vehicle build and preparation, and the reaction time to the christmas tree rather than "actual" driving skills. This same people also race in banked left handers only... " Troll mode off. To the OP: What hot hatch are we talking about here? 270hp in 1200kg, isnt stupid power. It will feel fast, but if the car is half modern, and keeps some of its insulation and has a modern drivetrain, I can see why feels a bit "boring". However, Any westfield with around 180hp with a sensible gearing will feel STUPIDLY fast, and won't be boring, whatsoever. Bear that in mind. A tin top (any tin top, even a racing tin top) can't be compared to an Open wheel/open cockpit car. They are simply different animals. Think of it as a bike with 4 wheels rather than a car. Also, in theese kind of kit cars, is all about the feelings and sensations, not on pure speed. And I promise you... 70mph in a B road with a westfield, and you will feel you are flying.

^ That looks like good fun! And tea looks like a photo of a particularly bad nightmare. Fair play to you for getting that lot down, I can feel the lump in my throat just from the pics! 🤢

Today’s route.. 80 miles circular route without baggage. This looks a good one

That was my view too!

As an engineer, you'd probably be interested in the amount of closed loop torque control that manages the lash crossings and damps the jerks that you're missing. Turn that all off and it's as rough as a pre-USB car...

I will be there with a spare steering rack if @Greenstreak-Andy D still needs to help work out the steering issues.

Intriguing collection of vehicles. The lady passenger in the red Mk 1 Escort looked to be having a great day

not a good start to the day, spun out at hall bends, trashed the brand new steering rack. Stirling effort by all mange to rebuild her and make both races

Terrys caught the sun as well

So Mr Barber, how exactly did you manage to get on a WSCC tour?

A big thanks to all who came and supported and visited us at Bo’ness today, unfortunately I couldn’t have my westy there due to weather yesterday forcing me to take the regular car it was really good to see so many members coming past and saying hello and enthusing over their cars and we hope to see you out and about with us

Happy birthday Grandma Kinder. 50 was good, 51 was good, can't wait for your birthday next year.

Here's a few more pics of his adventures:

On your first point Steve - The thing about China and Asia as low cost manufacturers is we are 'somewhat' protected by tariffs, that quality standards are somewhat lower there, and the cost of transport (though you make a good point and there is no doubt something in what you say) Opening up the EU as a single market with the four freedoms though, created a (No Tariff) China in our backyard. The minimum wage in Bulgaria is about €200 a month, and there are many EU countries with a sub €500 Euro minimum wage. Now, if you are a manufacturer, or a service provider, where are you going to get the work done? Hence JLR cutting thousands of jobs here while building a new factory in Slovakia. The availability of cheaper labour on our doorstep, tariff free, can only have one effect! What that means for corporations is that they can make it somewhere the minimum wage is sub €500 a month, sell it somewhere the Minimum wage is €1600, at great profit. Now - I haven't mentioned the real magic of the four freedoms for corporations yet! Next they look at their profits and think, well where can I 'shift that to' where I will pay the least tax on it? the effective corporation tax paid by Apple in Ireland was identified by the EU as 0.005%. If you think this is a stretch I have seen it done, 100 staff in the UK, 5 staff in Cork, every sale 'technically' made in Cork, all legal under EU law. (On a separate note I think we should stop trading with China, it is a dictatorship, with concentration camps and slave labour, and got where it is by ignoring intellectual property rights and WTO rules) BTW I do hope we are having this discussion in the light-hearted spirit I mean it - I am not a rabid Brexiteer, I VEHEMENTLY oppose Brexiteer positions on immigration, and in any case, I still don't believe we will leave!

@wizzer Rather messy I should think. But you're missing the point. Regardless the horsepower, you're owning and driving something that very few people have, every Westfield has a soul of its own as very few are identical, every drive is a 'performance' of passion, sound and drama. Park a Westfield next to a Ferrari and more folk will talk to you, take pictures, and want to sit in yours than the Ferrari. That's the buzz. Whipping it around a twisty, technical b-road that would leave other cars in the ditch is the icing on the cake!

Ah, but does an S2000 have soul, or passion? My Westie has 115hp at the sparkplug, but she still gives me a semi each time I take her out.

Most likely in the short term Steve you are right, there may be a price to pay, but the chart shows a 40 year decline in the amount of what we make that ends up in people's pockets, do we let that continue indefinitely because of a short term impact? The fact that the EU is a low wage economy means we will never prosper AND will never be able to pay of our debt, all of our taxes are spent subsidising low wages. Your post also seems to assume that, because of tariffs, our exports to the EU will fall, but that our imports from the EU will stay the same, so everything will be more expensive - you can't have that argument both ways Steve. The EU is a highly protectionist organisation, and sometimes that is a double whammy. Firstly, the EU uses 40% of its income to subsidise farmers (millionaires most of them) not for what they do, but just because the own land. Then we are tied into buying the produce of those farms , because the EU imposes tariffs up to 35% on agricultural products from elsewhere. Cheaper Agricultural products are available worldwide, and out of the EU we can avail ourselves of those. Most important though is - how long does a no-deal last? They send us £1Bn of cars alone EVERY WEEK, and £1Bn of other goods EVERY DAY, so let us imagine some disruption, you know, all of the lorries parked on the M20. I have some bad news for the French farmers - those lorries were the same lorries that, on their way back, would be bringing French farm produce, which is now rotting at the farm gate, while our supermarkets identify other sources, and may never go back! We have a trade surplus with the rest of the world that has been blossoming for decades, we have a trade deficit with the EU that gets worse year on year, and Tariffs cost them more than they cost us.

If it wasn't dark, I'd post a picture. The day started well, I took the car for a jaunt up to the fringes of the Big Smoke to visit my Mother. The return trip took me near the Dartford Tunnel of Love, or hate if you have to actually use it. Even at 2.45 on a Friday it was well and truly fubared, solid traffic on the coast bound A2 trying to get off for the tunnel and the M25 tailed back for miles. The idle speed rose to 2k for no apparent reason (a carb rebuild is happening soon) so I sat there in the steaming heat for twenty minutes until breaking free to pick up my route towards Brands via Darenth to pick up my 6' 15 year old son. We managed to get past Brands when the car got really hot and rattly. We pulled over and inspected the obvious and boy was it hot! The walk back on ourselves to the garage we passed gave the car a chance to cool down and us two to have a chat at normal volume. Having topped the oil and the water, it started fine and we carried on. Some five miles later we had to pull in again, more heat, a bit of steam and very rattly something mechanical. When it had cooled some we poked about and I figured that the thermostat had got stuck as the bottom hose was cool to the touch. Girlfriend was called and she turned up within 45 minutes, thankfully not to far from home. The tools she brought let me whip the thermostat out, it was definitely stuck shut. More water and off we went, until about 4 miles short of home so we parked up, crammed into her MX5 and came home. I made dinner, calmed down (apart from when I splashed water all over me when washing the wok) and let the poor Westy cool down again. After dinner, with quiet lanes and cooler temperatures we went to get it again. It started fine so I whizzed it home now thinking that the water pump had failed. There's a ton of other projects that must take priority but having found Burtons sell new ones I'll at least order one. If it's not that, then I'm not entirely sure other than a head gasket issue. Time will tell. Oh well. That's old cars for you.

It didnt come with a duster though Chris? 😄