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I know I've covered my early start on another thread, but please forgive me as that run deserves a few more pictures. It was magic 😄 Again I was disappointed not to add this road section onto the end of my NC250 route, but I was beaten by the bad weather and the ferry was off. So an early start was in order, to beat the bikers and campers up past Loch Lomond and through Glen Coe. Just me and my mate in his MK and we hit the road just before 7am. Our route took us North of Fort William on the A82, up to Invergarry where we joined the A87 for the Kyle of Lochalsh. The road climbs out of Invergarry and has magnificent views of Glen Garry and Loch Garry below, sorry no pictures as it was unusually empty and we were having too much fun on the sweeping bends. We've carried on West until Shiel Bridge and the start of Loch Duich, where Eilean Donan Castle is situated and I'm sure you are all aware. We then crossed the Shiel bridge onto an 'old military road' (the Highlands are full of these historic roads), which led us to the Ratagan pass, a road I'd never been on before, but will certainly be back. It was brilliant, great views and again empty as I think it's just enough off the beaten track for people not to know about it. https://maps.app.goo.gl/dZNsg5SgGrUSCqfP7 I could've driven that pass all day, but it had to come to an end at Bernera Beach, that had great views over to Skye. I alway tend to go back over a route once I'm home and this time discovered that there is a large ruined army barracks nearby, hence the old military road. Eventually we made it to the shop and cafe for the ferry, which is all run by locals. We got a very warm and genuine welcome from them which was really nice. The shop is situated higher up the hillside and offers great views of the ferry below and over the short stretch of water to Skye. After buying the obligatory stickers and fridge magnets, we headed down to the pier to await the ferry. The guy in this picture is a Dutch tourist on his first trip to Scotland. He absolutely loved the cars and our scenery and roads. He has a friend with a Donkervoort, that they have taken to the Alps. Once on Skye we headed to Broadford for fuel and then down to Armadale for the Calmac ferry over to Mallaig on the mainland. This is the view over to the mainland with Mallaig just visible. The cars were a big hit whilst waiting for the ferry, with one American over taking about cars and showing me pictures of his Plymouth back home. Once at Mallaig, we headed home via Fort Willam again, but instead of the usual route down Glencoe, we opted for the A828 to Connel Bridge. It is always a much quieter road and is along the coastline. We've then headed to Inveraray, where they do fantastic chips. All in all it was a fantastic run on some new roads that I can recommend 👍 I've done almost 1200mls this week alone and am using the Westy for what it was designed for, putting a smile on my face. Here's to some more adventures, weather permitting. Cheers

Wrong has been righted and the disappointment of last Tuesday gone. Now officially got the sticker 😁 Over 1100mls this week and getting exactly what I wanted from a Westfield 👍

That might be true. It also might not be true. Only one needs to be replaced. The other ones can be replaced at your leisure over the winter. In the meantime, if it’s not broken, don’t fix it, just get out and drive it.

Y Yes, I went to see the car on Sunday. It was in great condition, just a couple of small jobs to do. I’ve agreed a price in principle but need to shuffle some money and return in a couple of days for a dry test drive!

Definitely not me, I'm falling apart, my shut lines are all over the place, I'm sure these legs are from a different model of person too

I developed a nervous twitch after trying to get mine square. Don't get me started on the rear lights - if like me you think a laser level is a good tool to use to get them aligned, don't bother 😂😂

New to me, Westfield SEiW, turbo Mazda 1.8, 370hp on high boost. Mechanically not much I want to do to the car, but I would like to make a carbon tub and hood for the car. Any ideas if there are any moulds around?

Sadly whoever built it did it “by the book” and took the build manual as Gospel 🤣 I ended up building mine “by eye” which meant throwing away the rule book but I ended up with balanced looking wheel arch alignment. But getting all of the shut lines looking good just seemed impossible (replace the “u” with an “i” in shut lines to be more accurate) As others have inferred it is something that you tend to ignore once you start to enjoy the car for what it was designed to do (make you grin) 😁

Sadly I'm not in the UK this year for the Sept meet, however I might be around on the first week of December

Have you progressed?? You won’t regret it. Fantastic fun.

Thank you. I do have a ramp and happy to do most jobs but just don’t want to pay decent money and immediately have problems to fix. I’d at least like a few months of enjoyment before I have to start fixing things! I usually do so much research that the car is sold by the time I’m satisfied, I better book the viewing now!

In my experience, if a block has become porous or has a crack, it leaks after it’s warmed up as the block / crack expands. A core plug will expand as it heats up, getting tighter in the block. While changing a core plug is generally not difficult and a core plug is cheap (plus cost of fresh coolant), it rather depends on which one it is (there’s more than one) and what might be in the way of accessing it to change it. You might well have to remove an exhaust header or ancillary, or need access to a ramp, in order to get at it. Well done on doing comprehensive research before buying.

I've been pretending not to notice this on mine for over a year now.

they’re all like that. the only way to get a decent panel gap between the bonnet and scuttle is the fit the tub off centre. If you’re in any way OCD don’t measure the widths of the rear arches or the difference in height for the rear lights 😀

Work do shifted a week so I’m in Andy

It’s not on the block as I thought, it’s on the end of the passenger side head, not too bad to access. Problem is, from my reading, if one is going (from corrosion) the rest of them probably aren’t far behind.

Awesome @Craigieboy! Looks a fabulous drive, great pics and report, thanks 👍

I'm embarrassed to say it was my first visit. Been on the radar for years, but you just keep falling into the same old routine and routes. There really is soo much out there. Oh and no midges yesterday.

Love it. Last time I was at that ferry port I was nearly eaten by midges. Never seen so many

No, probably just chance! Though the all in one tub will have different issues, as well, as it’s a separate mould. Even the FW bodywork inherited the issues. The problem is the old factories, in both the Smith era and the Potenza era were determined, as far as possible to make bodywork relatively mix and match and with certain gotchas, (like the Kit/ZK differences) able to be interchange with any car from the early nineties through to the 2020’s. While convenient for owners, it meant that the original errors, dating from when the car was designed using clay bucks for the bodywork, remain baked in to this day. We call it character, and go for a blat! You soon forget.

@LoneWolf, Thursday the 5th December will be the Christmas Curry evening, so fingers crossed you can make it!

You or the Westfield?

Really? I thought you knew me better than that by now. 😝

And the mice say happy birthday too 👍 I used to love that show 😂

Happy belated birthday @Ian Kinder (Bagpuss) - Joint Peak District AO hope you had a great day and as @Craigieboysaid, thanks for all the advice, help and techy knowledge you pass on to all of us, it is indeed much appreciated 👍

Just make sure the core plug in question isn't behind the bellhousing as its an engine out job....

@Ian Kinder (Bagpuss) - Joint Peak District AO hope you had a great day yesterday. Thanks for all the online help and advice 👍

Happy birthday @Ian Kinder (Bagpuss) - Joint Peak District AO

Hope Fair wind and calm seas for your trip. Are you going on the Oban run next Sun.

Happy birthday Ian hope it’s a good one 👍

Happy birthday mate @Ian Kinder (Bagpuss) - Joint Peak District AO hope ya have a great day From Andy &debs xx

Happy birthday Ian, have a sooooper day, hope you get out in Bagpuss xxx Love from Glen and Julie xxxx🤩

Happy Birthday @Ian Kinder (Bagpuss) - Joint Peak District AO 🎂 😎

Happy Birthday Ian, have a great day!

Happy birthday mate 👍

Happy birthday Wonder Moggy! 👍 Bonus track for your stuffed companion:

Enjoy the day MrK! Happy Birthday Andy 🍾🥳🎁🎈🏎️🏎️🏎️

Happy birthday. 🎂🎊🎁

Happy Birthday Mr K. Have a great day. 🎂🎂🎂

Hope you have a great day Ian!

Make sure that it's not going into the oil. Check inside the oil cap for mayo. D

Hope it's better than last year!

It was once owned by ex-member @cjdad76 in Gloucestershire until he left the club in mid-2020. Apart from that, there’s a few threads regarding track days, various wheels and a radiator that needed changing, there’s nothing else of interest.

All valid points

A few thoughts: Photos of the engine compartment and interior will help. How many miles on the clock? The decals are very personal but a few of them might well put off perspective buyers (or their spouses). Rather like when selling a house, it’s often better to have a blank slate. You might have more interest if you remove them. While honesty in an ad is always a virtue, spending a bit of time and cash to sort the engine ticking issue can only reassure a buyer.

didnt really promote the sale of the car and just been enjoying it this summer Its available for sale now - just had mot yesterday and fresh oil

Have a great day @cjwood23 🎂🍺

Jez, this has taken an absolute age! Can definitely confirm that the ones in the earlier link are a direct match for the factory ones. I used 4 x 20mm peel rivets, they worked fine however the factory ones must've been about 4 x 10 or 12mm. No great issue though on one side the bodywork was close to the chassis behind. I also had to touch them up with a paint pen.

Hand brake will be very poor, and eventually barely work. This is the problem with aftermarket calipers. They simply have nothing like the budget required to make a proper working handbrake in a hydraulic calliper. That's why so many of us that have Hi Specs etc have upgraded back to Golf or Sierra. You are correct about the weight though. A cautionary tale; once, while in a group of four, driving through a small town, and part way down a very steep hill. One of the cars slammed on the brakes with smoke coming from under the bonnet - the inlet manifold actually, oil in there had caught fire. we all stopped and started jumping out to help. It was at the point I realised I couldn't take my foot off the brake, as the awful after market calliper hand brake mechanism wouldn't hold the car on the hill. Even in gear and turning the front wheels into the curb, to try and use it as a wheel chock, I had to sit there helplessly, while everyone else helped our stricken friend. Fortunately, the amount of oil burning was small, and nothing else caught fire, so it was out shortly after without extinguishers being needed. But I'll never forget or forgive the utter helplessness those piles of 💩 for rear brakes left me in at that moment. Two of the other three cars in that group have also changed to Golf rear calipers from the Hi Spec.