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£10,000 to spend and don't know where to start...help :)


Sundaydrive

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Hello All,

 

This is my first post on the forum and my first time on WSCC, so hello to you all and I truly hope you can point me in the right direction.

 

To cut to the chase, I have decided to buy a Westfield for long Sunday drives, popping into the office now and again and also maybe 1 or 2 track days a year.

I have £10,000 to spend and no a clue where to start.

 

Initially I looked at the Used Westfield's on Piston Heads, put in a search up to £10,000 covering all models nationally and so far I have found:

 

1800 Zetec:   dual Jenvey throttle bodies and MBE ECU / MT75 gearbox

 

SEI WIDEBODY 1800zetec on webbers / MT75 GEARBOX WITH QUICKSHIFT LINKAGE, LSD, FULLY INDEPENDANT SUSPENSION WITH DISCS ALL ROUND, GAZ ADJUSTABLR SHOCKS

 

1997 FACTORY BUILT SEI WIDEBODY 1800 ZETEC / FUEL INJECTED. MT75 GEARBOX. FULLY ADJUSTABLE IND. SUSPENSION

 

Westfield SEI Zetec 2.0i Wide Body 

 

Westfield Sei Wide Body (2005) / 2.0 pinto engine and twin 40 carbs

 

I am by no means mechanically minded and no font of knowledge on different car specs.

 

I just want a nice, honest little Westy that will suit me on narrow country lanes, sweeping open roads, keep me safe if there is a bit of rain and allow for an enjoyable toy. 

 

I am just so confused by all the engine specs, suspension specs, gear box specs, shock specs. 

 

I would hate to buy something with more than I need or equally not buy the right thing.

 

Any pointers on the basics I need to look for would be greatly appreciated.

 

Many thanks.

 

:)

 

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Hi and welcome, great first post :)

 

Short advice to start with:

 

> Have a read of these:

 

http://forum.wscc.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic/42064-purchasing-a-westfield/

 

http://forum.wscc.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic/37182-what-to-look-for-when-buying-a-westie/

 

> Get yourself to a local meet and talk to some owners - pretty sure Martin van Zeller's your local man, but I think you just missed his local monthly meet last night :(:

 

http://www.wscc.co.uk/local.htm

 

> Hold on and come to the National Kit Car Show at Stoneleigh (Warwickshire) on the 4-5 of May, where you'll see hundreds of Westfields, talk to lots of owners, and get a clearer idea in your mind - definitely worth the trip.

 

Lots more advice from others to follow, but it's a start - good luck! :t-up: That budget will buy you something great.

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Hi there,  Name would help.    Every Westfield is different but you can narrow down what you need by -

1.  Bike engine car or car engine car, if you are biker then you may want a 4 wheeled bike but I guess you mean relaxed motoring for you, so a car engine for you.

2.  Size and power of engine,  an occasional track car is what you want so an 1800cc or 2000cc.

3.  Weather equipment, that means hood and doors,  they are  still draughty and wet and hard to get in and out of the car,  it's no modern cabriolet.

4.  Wide body or Narrow,  the wide or SEIW and SEW have a couple of inches extra room in each direction.  SEI and SE are the narrow cars.

The rest is owners preferred technical tweaks, don't get hung up on that.

 

A visit to your local area meet will help out with your selection.

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Hi Scott,

 

Thank you for the swift reply, I will have a good read through the links and look to hook up with local members.

 

I am also like a kid at Christmas....now I have made the decision to buy, I want it...something...anything yesterday just so I can get out there :)

 

Many thanks,

 

Ben.

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Hi Sooty Sport.

 

Thanks for your reply. My name is Ben...not sure why it does not appear in my profile as it is there when I go to edit my profile? I am also new to forums so possibly not doing something right.

 

You are correct that I would be looking for a car engine. 1800 or 2000 litre so we are on the same page there. One of my criteria is to buy something with the full weather gear and internal heaters....I also expect it to be as you mentioned. The weather gear is there as an emergency if we get caught short on a Sunday drive, I would not really intend on heading out in the wet to start with. As I am only 5'10" and of slim build (ish...) I can't see the need for a wide body (other than handling.....?) My wife is also of a smaller size but the garage will accommodate both narrow and wide.

 

I am therefore I suppose on the hunt for a 1.8 - 2.0 car engined (Ztec?) narrow bodied version with full weather gear for under £10,000.

 

I shall continue my search but might well be back for advice later :

 

Thanks,

 

Ben.

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Good man Ben, I know exactly how you feel.  The money is burning a hole in your pocket, but please take your time, choose wisely, do the research and don't be afraid to walk away until you get your dream motor.  There's no one right answer, but lots of choice.

 

One final thing - don't be afraid to travel to find it.  It's almost a standing joke in here that the amount you want your car is directly proportional to the distance it is located away from you. ;)

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Yes Ben, you should be OK in a narrow but there are not that may for sale.  Wide cars do give you a bit more elbow room and are more plentiful.  As Scott says Stoneleigh Show is coming up and there will be a couple of hundred Westfields on show.   Most owners are more than happy for you to try one for size as it were and maybe a passenger ride, we do in Essex.

 

Happy Hunting.

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As I am only 5'10" and of slim build (ish...) I can't see the need for a wide body (other than handling.....?) My wife is also of a smaller size but the garage will accommodate both narrow and wide.

 

I am therefore I suppose on the hunt for a 1.8 - 2.0 car engined (Ztec?) narrow bodied version with full weather gear for under £10,000.

 

Hi Ben

 

For your budget pretty much all the cars (unless something a bit special) you'll be looking at will be wide bodied as that body style came out in 1989/90 and the majority of cars built after that would have been wides.

 

As said above, get yourself to Stoneleigh if you possibly can so you can see how the models differ (no two cars are alike anyway)and choose the one you prefer (personally I prefer the wide mainly for aesthetic reasons)

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Hi Ben, I was in a similar position up until early March.  I was looking for about 6 months on and off, and earnestly looking since the New Year.

 

My budget was the same, i narrowed it down to a well specced 1.8/2.0 on throttle bodies, i didn't want the potential hassle of carbs (waits for flack from the carbs brigade :d ), I also decided upon a windcsreen rather than aeroscreen as i wasn't and have no intention of tracking or speed series/sprinting.

 

I toyed with getting a V8 for the shear grunt and awesome sound track, and nearly broke the budget by a lot to buy one. 

 

In the end I found something that fitted 80% of my want/needs list and bought a Duratec Sport 2000, and I love it.

 

I have to say that I actually viewed and tried 6 different cars all over England before i found mine.  There is more choice now but the prices appear to have gone up!

 

Yorkshire is a big county (as a Yorkshireman I know this as a fact), so the local rep/club might not actually be based in West Yorkshire, so it might pay you to look up some other areas meets. If you are in S.Yorks you are more than welcome to look at mine, a bit of a trek but you are welcome.

 

By the way, i took the wet weather gear off mine bar the doors, if it rains while i'm out I will get wet!

 

Cheers

 

Ian

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Unless you are going to use all year round then I would not worry about full wet gear, if you are worried about getting caught in a shower now and then a half hood and side screens/doors would be fine. I've been heavy showers with just the half hood and wind deflectors and apart from the odd drip it was quite ok.

 

A set of doors and a half hood will set up back in the region of £500 so just take this into account. 

 

With the half hood it is more important to have an RAC type roll bar as a minimum for the extra height (head clearance), in fact if you want to track it occasionally I would advise going for the RAC roll bar as a minimum anyway. (first bit of advise I picked up at a local meet)  

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Where in Yorkshire are you ?????

You can always give me a ring on 07767836234 and get an opinion

I live in York

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You can always give me a ring on 07767836234 and get an opinion

 

Terry? An opinion? Unpossible. :p  ;)  :d  :yes:

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Yanto, Scott, Terry, Peterg and Scooty.

 

Thanks for all your replies, and offers of advice folks. I will certainly look out my local members club and Stoneleigh is a great option. I really do not mind the drive. Time now to go through all the ones available currently, narrow down and get out to see them.

 

I tell my kids so often to just 'calm down and be patient'...shame I can't always do the same myself :)

 

Cheers,

 

Ben.

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Ben,  Welcome and what an excellent first post.

 

You can have a pick of cars with a budget of £10,000, good luck in your quest.  

 

I bought mine a sunday drive and its just's great fun - plenty of pace when wanted and I can go competing in it!

 

Welcome to the club and have fun :-) 

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