(Complete Novice) New Members from Rochester Kent

[SpikeB]

Hello,

 

We just wanted to say a quick hi…

 

My wife and I are new members from Rochester, Kent. We ordered our Westfield at the end of last year, an FW Special and we are getting very excited as our June 10th pickup date approaches.

 

I’ve been following the posts on your forum and it seems like you are such a friendly bunch of people, everyone is willing to help each other out. I’m pretty sure we are going to be asking for a lot of help as we build the car due to our phenomenal lack of experience with anything mechanical!! Up until February I only owned 3 or 4 spanners

 

Karrena (wife) and I have always had an interest in nice cars and traditionally bought BMW’s, actually we had a 335D MSport for 6 years and replaced that 2 years ago with a 335D X-Drive which is a lovely car but unfortunately as a 4WD lacks some excitement. I describe it as driving a computer on wheels! Don’t get me wrong it will blast around corners really quickly without any problems and has fantastic acceleration but it’s all too easy, dare I say it - boring!

 

So I was looking for something a little more exciting, it was at this point that I came up with the idea or buying a kit car for my 40th Birthday present. I had a look at a number of different makes, I’ve always liked the Seven style which basically put Westfield and Caterham in the frame. I also looked at this forum and really liked what I saw, in fact it was one of the deciding factors in choosing a Westfield!

 

I then went to see Simon at the factory fully intending to buy a Mega S2000, he assessed our skill level and experience (none in both cases) and swiftly talked me out of the Honda and into the FW Special. We bought the kit there and then. Since that point the excitement has been building! I think this increasing excitement is what has led to a number of upgrades I’ve added post purchase (the latest being throttle bodies). Simon has now promised my wife that he will ignore any future “how much is this upgrade….” type  emails   

 

So the car we have ordered is a orange FW Special with the following upgrades:

1. Limited Slip Diff
   
2. Wide track wishbones
   
3. Throttle Body
   
4. Uprated brakes
   
5. Heater (Karrena’s option!)
   
6. Sports Turbo seats
   
7. 4 point harness
   
8. 1/2 Cage
   
9. Countered Dash
   
10. Wider Tyres
    
11. Powder Coated Panels
    

(anything I've missed, what do people thing of the anti roll bars, worth it?)

 

I plan to create a “complete novice” build diary, should I do that on the Start Line or Tech Talk?

 

Anyway, I’ve rambled on long enough, I just wanted to say hello and I look forward to chatting with you in the future.

 

We really am a complete novices (I can just about fix my push bike) so I hope we're not too much of a pain with our future questions.

 

Steve & Karrena

[Kingster]

Hi and welcome!

 

I'd do a build diary in "tech talk" - and count it as an essential part of the build, as you will get plenty of help and info from our (as you have noticed) very friendly members

[Rhett Turner - Black Country AO]

Hello and Welcome, 

 

I agree keeping a build blog/diary is essential and can be really useful in the future to. 

 

Anti roll bars is a more difficult question, If it's going to be a poor road car they may not be needed if your going to do track days then it may be worth considering. I too pondered them and decided to go for them because building the car with them was going to be easier than adding them later. I'm not sure of the upgrade cost but protech dampers would be worth considering. 

[Kevin (Mr T)]

Welcome from the other side of the river and good luck! ☺

[Rory's Dad]

 Protechs are great and well worth adding to your list...

[Geoffrey Carter (Buttercup)]

 

You really will like it here. 

 

Its a nice place to live.

[Pistol Pete]

Welcome, while there isn't a Kent area (although there are a number of members south of the river) you are welcome to join in with the Essex Area. Monthly meets are second Sunday of the month at the Lodge in South wooden ferrers just the a130.

[DE04*]

Hi Steve and Karrena welcome,this is a very friendly club and I'm in Bexleyheath so not to far. Enjoy the build!!

[DE04*]

I do go to the Essex monthly meets,they are a nice and friendly bunch even if they are on the dark side . (of the river)

[binjoau]

Welcome! The cars going to be a blast!

[congorobot]

Welcome and enjoy your build!

If I was doing a build again I would definately set up a time lapse camera. It would make a nice short movie afterwards

[SootySport]

  from Essex.     Save the money on ARB's, not needed for road driving. After you have built the car, it will be a breeze to retrofit them.    Protechs, yes they are worth it.

Start thinking about buying tools, a good socket set for starters.

Keep an eye on the 'Events Trackdays Shows' forum, nothing to stop you both coming in your tintop for passenger rides whenever we go to Brands Hatch, Woodbridge, Sunday & evening drives or just a natter at the Essex meets.   

[Sand Dancer]

Hi - and welcome - virtually the same spec and colour as mine, except I didn't go for the anti roll bars.

I am at the other end of the build process and couldn't have done it with out the help of the forum.

Never be afraid to ask a question and post lots of pictures. - others can spot problems you may have overlooked

Enjoy your build

[SpikeB]

Thanks for the welcome guys, I'm interested in these protechs as three of you have mentioned it.

 

What's makes them different to the standard shocks?

 

I'm mainly planning on using the car as a road car with maybe one or two track days to get a understanding of my limits!

 

I've started to prepare the garage for the build, clearing out, painint the floor putting up racking and tool racks etc..

 

I've even bought some tools  I bought the Halfords Advanced 150 piece socket set!!

[SpikeB]

Hi - and welcome - virtually the same spec and colour as mine, except I didn't go for the anti roll bars.

I am at the other end of the build process and couldn't have done it with out the help of the forum.

Never be afraid to ask a question and post lots of pictures. - others can spot problems you may have overlooked

Enjoy your build

 

I've been following your blog with keen interest - it's a fantastic blog, you have plenty of pictures and an explanation of what you are doing. You are my alternative build manual  . I really felt sorry for you when you had to remove the fuel tank because of a fault.