New member

[Weekend Warrior]

Hello all ,my names Steve and I've wanted a seven styled car for longer than I can remember .Ive been to the national kit car show the past few years and think that a Westfield it has to be .I was talking to the owner of the red and black Westfield with the full cage and the Honda 2 litre engine  next to your club tent and knew then I had to have one .The thing is will I fit I'm 6"2 and 16 stone ,I'm hoping a wide bodied with lower floor might accommodate me.

Im looking for a ready built car that would be suitable for road use and the occasional track day,(I'm only 15 mins from Rockingham )    I live in Rutland and would be interested in meeting up with someone to experience a drive, as a passenger of course,just to see any issues my size may have .

id ideally like a car that's well sorted mechanically and not overly worried about show standard cosmetics, Any thoughts or advice would be welcome .

 

 

 

steve

[Andy (Sycho)]

Steve it was good to meet you, it was me with the red & black car at Stoneleigh.

I'm sure you would fit no proplem, not sure where you local meet is but get along to it & try some cars for size.

Andy

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

Welcome!

There are larger drivers, both vertically and horizontally with Westfields! So don't worry too much, you'll be fine.

Depending on your personal preferences, and what suits you, a pretty much standard type car may be fine. (They've all had the lowered floors for a few years now). Sometimes though, where people are say, particularly long in the back, or so on. A few changes might need to be made.

Westfields are beautifully adapatable in this way sense though; there's a wide variety of seats available, to suit pretty much most body types/shapes. Additionally, the steering wheel can be spaced closer to you slightly to raise it, and with different shaped wheels available, it's possible to get flat bottomed wheels that give more knee clearance. So plenty that can be done to tweak it, and those are just the simple "bolt-on" jobs!

[Steve (sdh2903)]

Welcome. I'm 6ft 4 and 16 stone with stupid long legs and I fit (same chassis as the red/black car). The lowered floors help and there are a few other things that you can do to aid fit and comfort.

First thing are the seats. You need to try the various seats to see which suit your shape and give the most room. The Westfield sport turbo seats are lovely but just dont suit me. Whereas the JK composite fibreglass seats fit me like a glove and give me the best legroom.

Also the steering wheel and it's position make a difference. In iva trim with a 300mm wheel close to the dash was not comfortable. Post iva with a 280mm wheel on a quick release which is closer to me gives a lot more knee room.

Obviously all these things can be changed but at a cost so the more suitable you can find a car to start with the better.

 

[Kevin (Mr T)]

 Steve, from Essex. 

[Quinten]

Hi Steve, I think I am your local AO

I can re-assure you that with my 6'5" and 16 stone I have no problem fitting in my 1998 SEW (no lowered floor).  It does make a difference what pedal box (top mounted offers more space for us lanky ones) and transmission tunnel (narrow type 9) the chassis has.

Our meets are on the 2nd Monday of the month at Sywell and you'd be made more than welcome if you decide to pop round!

[Weekend Warrior]

 Thanks for the replies so far and a special thanks to Andy (Sycho) I was the bloke you let climb awkwardly into and out of your car and I did fit just, however I would really like a road trip out to get the true feel of the car before I commit .

Where would my local meet be closest to Rutland ?

budget wise I'd like to spend between 8 - 12 grand ,,I would rather have an older sorted car rather than pay for a newer basic put together car .

 

 

steve

 

 

 

[Weekend Warrior]

3 minutes ago, Quinten Uijldert - Northants AO said:

Hi Steve, I think I am your local AO

I can re-assure you that with my 6'5" and 16 stone I have no problem fitting in my 1998 SEW (no lowered floor).  It does make a difference what pedal box (top mounted offers more space for us lanky ones) and transmission tunnel (narrow type 9) the chassis has.

Our meets are on the 2nd Monday of the month at Sywell and you'd be made more than welcome if you decide to pop round!

Thanks Quinten ,

well I can't believe the location of your meet ,for the last year I've been doing the new development off Sywell road in Wellingborough,as luck should have it we have also got the first warehouse so will be there till Christmas . I will make the next meet thanks .

 

 

steve

[Quinten]

We may be at a different location for the next few meets due to the Hotel not having a very nice car parking area to mooch about members cars, but if you keep an eye on the forum and/or mailing list you will be informed as to the whereabout of the next one.

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

It's worth bearing in mind that the car you tried, Andy's, is a Mega S2000, this has a special extra wide transmission tunnel to accommodate the bulky Honda gearbox. As a result, it has amongst the narrowest drivers sides of all Westfield Wide bodied cars, with the possible exception of the SEiGHT, V8 engined cars, which are at least similar.

A standard chassis car (they call it the MT75 tunnel version) will have a bit more room on the driver side than what you sat in.

The Type 9 tunnel version that Quinten mentions, hasn't been available for a few years, but has a narrower tunnel again, though I thought the difference was in the passenger side and the drivers was much the same as an MT75 car. Never tried one side by side though, so not 100% on that!

[Quinten]

I don't know if my narrow type 9 is wider for driver, passenger or both, but I do know that I struggled as a passenger to make myself comfortable in a MT75 tunnel car.  Not driven one though, so can't say what the driver side is like.  Seats go a long way in creating space, especially thinner shell seats.

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

My understanding was that the type 9 chassis car and the MT75 chassis car have roughly the same width drivers side, but that the passenger side is narrower, whereas on the Type 9 like yours, it's more or less the same as the drivers.

I can fit in the passenger side of an MT75 car OK and I'm significantly heavier than you, but it does certainly feel smaller!

[Quinten]

Maybe a measuring session is required to settle this once and for all  

[Weekend Warrior]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2014-WESTFIELD-150-BLACK-TOP-ONLY-1250-MILES-/292116303896? 

Any thoughts on this one ,?

clearly not an enthusiasts car but could it be easily adapted for occasional trackday use and approx costs 

 

 

 

 

steve

[Kingster]

That looks very tidy and about as "standard" as you get for a Westfield (if there is such a thing!) - so would be a good 'blank canvas' if you have the funds.

By "standard" I mean it has few optional extras other than the FW bodywork - so single throttle body fuel injection, standard track front wishbones, probably no LSD, probably standard ratio MT75 gearbox (solid, reliable, but with horrible first gear ratio).

If you want a tidy road car, that would certainly fit the bill. But, if you want a car that would be better for fast road blats and the odd track day, then (in my opinion) it would benefit from individual throttle bodies (plus remap), better gearbox (BGH, SPC etc) , beefier roll bar (MSA spec), suspension set up (possibly wide-track and ARB's), maybe better/racier seats - and so will start to add up - maybe between £3-4k on the original cost depending on how you source the parts etc.

However, for a £12k budget you WILL find a well sorted car that will meet your requirements if you are patient - but it's your time & money at the end of the day!