Odin's_Beard Posted September 5, 2015 Share Posted September 5, 2015 Evenin' all, just thought i would say hello. Just joined the club with a view to buying my first Westfield. Having had a project for the last 8 years that i have made the typical enthusiastic new mistakes putting together i thought it would be prudent to join up nice and early and get a feel for things and find out a bit more the different models available. I think mine is going to be used mainly for the road on weekends rather than becoming some track day weapon, i am thinking of a Duratec power plant with the more comfortable fixtures and fittings for our lovely roads. I expect it will be a good few months before i can sell my last car to fund the Westie, but this seems like a really good place to absorb some knowledge and hopefully not end up making some horrendous mistakes by thinking with my heart and not my head! Anyways; hello all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murraymint Posted September 5, 2015 Share Posted September 5, 2015 Hi there and Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted September 5, 2015 Share Posted September 5, 2015 There's lots in here to digest, plenty of ideas to inspire and pictures to drool over. Oh and you'll find no one better at spending other peoples money for them than us. There will be fewer Westfields at the local meets as the nights draw in, but none the less, if you can make it along, it's a great chance for some tyre kicking and a look at the Westfields that do make it - most owners are only too happy to take you out for a quick spin to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mooch Posted September 5, 2015 Share Posted September 5, 2015 As a fellow Moonraker from near Malmesbury, are you anywhere close? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markcwalker Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 , good luck in your search ................ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dommo Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 Welcome - hope to see you at a meet soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odin's_Beard Posted September 6, 2015 Author Share Posted September 6, 2015 Cheers all, currently just outside Swindon at the moment but hoping to moving slightly further south in the county at the end of October. Been lurking for a good 6 months but now I have made up my mind to sell my current project i thought it would be a good idea to get full membership and start to pick people's brains. Specifically, can anyone point me to a good resource to explain the different models to me (I'm only interested in the 7 style ones)? As far as I can work out the SE is the standard body, the SEW is the wide body. An "I" indicates it has independent rear suspension and the lack of an "I" indicates a live rear axle. So what is different about the Classic & FW special editions and the Sport editions that are advertised on the Westfield website? I think I am after the 2.0 Sport by the looks of it, with the road refinements rather than track refinements. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoffrey Carter (Buttercup) Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 Not entirely sure on the Sport vs Special Edition thing, as they seem to have change the way they use the terms since my last price list; now, Special Edition seems to be used for the factory built or complete kit (modular build) cars, whilst Sport seems To be either factory built, or the starter kit package. Back on my last price list, Sport was the modular build, ie everything but fluids is included kit and then you just had the starter kit. But there wasn't anything in the Sport kit that specifically made it a Sport version, it still came with windscreen, roof etc. You'll need to check with the factory what the differences are I suspect. Otherwise, you've pretty much nailed it with the SEi, W etc. Its important to remember, that with the exception of certain named special edition* cars, pretty much any Westfield can have any combination of upgrade parts fitted, so look for what's there, don't assume. *The factory has done a small number of special edition cars over the years, such as the Sport Carbon, these did have certain packages of upgrades as standard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odin's_Beard Posted September 6, 2015 Author Share Posted September 6, 2015 Thanks Dave, I suspected as much. I've been drooling over the Madblatters duratec I the for sale section and he's not far from me either. Sadly I don't have a budget until I sell, but if it's gone by then I know that another will come along that's just right. I did consider getting a slightly older model with a pinto in it with a view to upgrading but although I think I'm up to it technically my new house has a tiny garage so my space for major work will be limited. Thanks for the welcome and all the info guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 Stamping your own signature on the car is fantastic, and where these sort of cars really score; worth bearing in mind though that some "upgrades" are done because you want the engineering challenge of doing them, not because they make any sort of financial or practical sense! Major engine changes sort of fall into that category, for most people.* As a very, very rough rule of thumb, club members have found over the years that it costs about £2000 on top of the price of the engine to swap from one make/type of engine to another! Yet the swap won't in most circumstances add anything like £2000 to the value of the car. Indeed on a previously really tidy car, if the bodywork is left with lots of holes, it might reduce the value, unless you spend more to get it looking cosmetically good again. *Of course, there will always be some that can manage to do the swap between a Ford Crossflow and a Jag V12 in their project car for Tuppence Ha'penny, but then you usually find they've got a back yard with an acre or two's worth of spare donor cars of all descriptions to rob bits from, and enough mates in the trade to get any fabrication or machining done for the price of a beer or two! For the rest of us it costs! However, changing wheels, brakes, roll bars, wide track suspension, springs/dampers, seats even whole dashboards etc is all quite easily done for reasonable money and either adds value to the car, or perhaps makes it more appealing. That said, if it's possible, I do often recommend leaving it for a summer and a winter before doing anything too major, just to give yourself the time to get to know the car and any foibles, but more importantly, to get to know how you'll actually use the car! I've know people buy a car expecting all summer pub lunches and blasts down leafy lanes, who've got addicted to track days. Equally, I know people who intended to be all hard core track days that have found themselves always off exploring the countries B roads. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odin's_Beard Posted September 6, 2015 Author Share Posted September 6, 2015 Thanks again Dave, I will definitely be taking your advice and just live with whichever car I get for a while. I'll probably get back 1/2 to 2/3 of what I spent on my last car project when it sells unless someone comes along who loves it for what I've done. But then we don't have these to sit in a garage as an investment really do we? Went out for a drive this afternoon in the lovely weather which was great fun with the windows down. Hope to do the same next year without a roof! Incidentally I will need to get my towing licence sorted; does anyone know where you can get intensive tuition and get the test cracked in a short period of days? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 Incidentally I will need to get my towing licence sorted; does anyone know where you can get intensive tuition and get the test cracked in a short period of days? Can't help with that one, Grandad Rights rule!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odin's_Beard Posted September 6, 2015 Author Share Posted September 6, 2015 Sadly just missed out, right year but got delayed taking my test which meant I fell the wrong side. Now I need to decipher the rules on towing and maximum gross weights and trailers with one or two axles.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SootySport Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 Odins Beard, yes there's a few different engine options, best to go for the most modern you can afford, FW bodywork is radically different to the others which are the classic style and they will look the same to most of us as well. Check out as many Westfields as you can in the next couple of months by going to meets & trackdays, there is an infinite number of options on our cars and mostly owner suited, a lot to take in. A good chassis, engine and bodywork is a good starter then all the rest can easily be changed to make it your own. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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