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...I'll let you come up with the punch line. So I figure it's about time I start a build thread for one of the slowest Westfield builds ever. It might actually motivate me to move a little quicker! I picked up a 1991 1.6 MX5 back in October 2014, picked up my Westfield starter kit in February 2015. A garage (house) move later and it's been progressing very slowly since then! So a few shots from along the way so far: The donor: Kit collection: Moving garage (that's how low a Subaru sits with half a Mazda in the boot and and a Westie chassis on the roof...): Painting a few bits and pieces while saving up some cash for the more expensive bits (who doesn't want purple driveshafts??): Installing the panels (apologies to the purists, it's fake carbon fibre wrap - I'm on a tight budget!): Of course, a mandatory action shot of me looking like an idiot: Tunnel sides haven't been fitted yet. I've got the handbrake in using riv nuts and countersunk bolts so looks nice and tidy at the moment and shouldn't impede too much on the tunnel space! P.S. I also want to thank the Westfield team for their quick turnaround with any errors or missing bits, even a year after collection. As soon as I've noticed anything wrong, it's been at my door the next day. Customer service how it should be! I also want to thank my good friends Stephen and Elena, without whom, the (little) progress so far would have been much slower!

Similar to other baffle designs this will fit the sump of either the 1.6 or 1.8 MX5's to hopefully help retain the oil around the pick-up pipe. I designed this for a standard uncut sump and it fits below the standard baffles but it could also possibly be shortened for a cut-sump. I had two spares made in addition to one for my own car and this is the last spare. The Viton Rubber Flaps shown in some of the pictures are not included but these can be bought from ebay etc. Some minor fettling will be required to make this fit as the slots could benefit from being enlarged slightly to ease fitting the Viton flaps.

Clearing out after the build need the space. I can bring the dash to shrewsbury in a few weeks time if that’s closer for pick up. All prices include postage Mazda sdv dash board £40 Ono reverse and fog light £15 ono Front indicator stalks £20 Ono mx5 1.6 water pump and block gasket £20 (new)

So I think I have finished my build! It has taken 1 year 4 months since I bought the Mazda. Can anyone see anything glaringly obvious that looks like an IVA fail? I am chancing it with the front indicators, is this a bad move? Steering wheel pad not fitted yet. Any advice would be appreciated

I am having a lot of trouble with my mx5 1.8 mk1 engine. It has a coolant reroute and I have rebuilt the cylinder head. It ran when I took it out the car The engine runs fine and the timing seems to be fine. Every time I run the engine it seems to over heats on idle. The coolant just comes out the overflow on the expansion tank if left running. If I turn it off when I see it building up in the expansion tank it beltches it out the overflow. I have checked the thermostat in hot water and it is fine and I can feel the water moving through the pipes at the silicone bends in the 32mm pipe. I had the head skimmed and new put another new head gasket on in case it was that the other day. The water pump is defo working, it is new and it chucked coolant out the back of the block when I tested it. The fan is running and is strongly pulling area through the radiator. When I looked at the old and new thermostat I did notice that they were different. I don't know if this is the fault. This is he next bit to replace again but I don't want to keep throwing money at this engine. If anyone has any advice or ideas as to the cause please let me know. The car is practically finished bar this problem e.g. There is some special technique for bleeding it properly. It's driving me mad. I'm hoping it is just a small problem. Any advice would be much appreciated thanks Bellow are the pictures of the reroute and thermostat (old on bottom new on top)

So I thought it about time to start writing the build blog. After selling my first Westfield (SE xflow) to help with the deposit for a house with a garage, I now need to fill that garage! So mazda SDV kit has been ordered pick up on the 5th march. I went for lime green with black wheel arches back and front. I will also be buying a full cage. I want that extra little bit of protection and I love the racey look. Picked up a 1994 1.8 eunos v-spec with the LSD. Only down point is that not only have I filled a dust bin with rust and crud that relentlessly drops out of every mazda orifice but being a v spec it has so many electrical extras the wiring loom is going to be a nightmare. Anyways, the mazda has been completely stripped to nothing and now its just prepping for the arrival of the rest of the kit. When I had the last westie (only for a year) I got plenty of experience rebuilding carbs and trying to make the xflow run a bit better. Also after a spectacular failure of the MOT replacing all the front end bushes with a few extra upgrades. Ready for a new challenge now and will need all the help I can get. Living in Inverness means that that its not the most ideal place for picking up parts and advice. I am trying to do a quite tightly budgeted build. I will be going for an aero screen to minimise the cost of wipers, heaters etc. At the moment I have ordered a few bits ontop of the started kit: Powder coated chassis and suspension parts Exterior panels Detatchable arches Full cage provision Short range fuel tank Fuel tank straps Nose grill Silencer and cat 1800 exhaust manifold silencer mounting kit GRP dash Halogen lamp kit Radiator bracket As I live in Inverness it is a massive trek to the Westfield factory and a pain to get stuff delivered. If anyone can think of anything that I cant pick up local or mail order please let me know. Westfield isn’t the cheapest place to buy parts from so I am trying to minimise my spend there. on the donor engine, I am planning on buying an engine gasket kit and new pulleys, giving it a full service and paint. Brakes need refurb, new clutch slave and clutch, coolant reroute, any other suggestions would be much appreciated. advice on a reliable sump shortening design? Looking forward to all the advice/ telling me iv done it wrong. Iv not written a blog before so will try to keep up with it and make it as interesting as possible. Donor car engine out not much left of it now