Cycle wings - or not.

[corsechris]

That's got a genuine, classy, old-school look and it might be a shame to 'spoil' it. I know the current fashion is to make them look all race-track & carbon bling (guilty-ish) but nowt wrong with that look at all.

[Yanto]

having had two previous cars with cycle wings, my current car has clamshells and i prefer the look of them, especially with chrome - the classic look.  I also prefer them for keeping the muck from kicking up too far and mine also has a fantastic turning circle, unlike the other cars! 

[Kingster]

As a stripped out aeroscreen type I'd usually say carbon cycle wings. 

But your car looks great as it is and so I'd say stick with the clamshells as they suit the car as a whole. 

Agree with 13" minilites and 5 ¾ " headlights too. 

[John K]

29 minutes ago, Chris King - Webmaster and Joint North East AO said:

5 ¾ " headlights too

Still say 7" - but what can I say, I'm compensating...

And @5even7, this is kinda how it goes here

One question,

20 opinions,

All of them right...

[BigSkyBrad]

@5even7 My car is the same black with full chrome as yours but with cycle wings - and I am so jealous, I couldn't find the right car at the right price with clamshells. Had been looking for almost a year, but most of the clamshell cars at the time were rough/long-in-the-tooth.

I say go to cycle wings, and I'll buy your clamshells if they're mint!  See far-right car in pic for inspiration

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

Regardless of whether your personal preference is for cycle wings or clams, it does always seem a shame that so many. Wry traditional looking Westfields , with clams, end up being bought and converted. I sometimes wonder if by the time the conversion was finished, it wouldn't have just been cheaper to buy a modern looking car to begin with.

So much "history" of early cars is just swept away, with a wrap finish and a dose of carbon.

FWIW, I love the look of both style of cars, but the colour scheme, interior, and most of the details on yours, do scream clamshells. Fully agree with the comments on the wheels though, they don't quite gel. Minilights obviously work well, but a set of Caterham, "Prisoner" style wheels would look awesome with the exterior/interior colour scheme.

[John K]

They are still in fashion with gentlemen of a certain age...

And try to ignore the other midlife crisis lurking in the background - Grizlee couldn't help himself 

[Captain Colonial]

20 hours ago, 5even7 said:

Thanks again, those wheels do look good.

My cars currently on 7x15 wheels with 195/50/15 tyres, should I keep the same side or go smaller?

I had thought of going for 13" wheels but any comments would be appreciated.

The original recommended wheel size for narrows was 14x6 ET20, which is effectively what I bought (ET23) with 6mm spacers at the front to compensate for the wheel stud length.  Watch the offset carefully!  Plenty of road tyre choice on 14s and 15s, less so on 13s depending on size.

[GaryD1971]

I've yet to see a clamshell clad car that doesn't look right. Mine has cycle wings at the moment, but I would not rule out changing them in the near future. The original post picture looks fantastic in that colour scheme and the clams really look right. I'd leave it as it is with a wheel style change if it was mine. And I wish it was...

[Grizzlee]

On 07/08/2017 at 19:15, John K said:

They are still in fashion with gentlemen of a certain age...

And try to ignore the other midlife crisis lurking in the background - Grizlee couldn't help himself 

I've told you before, there's nothing wrong with a Vauxhall Corsa 

[Rory's Dad]

I'll disagree with Scott too .

7" headlights look nice and traditional IMO and I'd stick with 15" wheels for the same reason. Minilites would be fine.

[John K]

2 hours ago, Rory's Dad said:

and I'd stick with 15" wheels for the same reason

Did you mean 15" or 13" ? 

Wheels are even more of a personal choice than headlights but I would usually think 13" was more 'traditional'...

[Rory's Dad]

I would expect the 15" wheels would be more comfortable/traditional.  13" wheels look more racy IMO.

[Vogalogue]

Looks fantastic as it stands to me.. - although I agree on the wheels!

I love that interior, and the Crossflow puts mine to shame!

[5even7]

..... 3 Years later.

 

After much deliberation I finally decided to update the look of my now 26 year old narrow body Westfield and thought I'd share my progress.

 

I initially wanted to do an engine swap as the 1700 crossflow had started to seem a little less exciting than it did when I built it back in 1994 and I fancied something with a little more grunt.

 

The trouble was that my car with it's clamshell wings and classic chrome didn't (in my eyes) have the look of something sporty so I decided to try and give the car a more modern Westfield look.

 

I had already bought some Caterham prisoner edition wheels a couple of years ago so although not exactly modern I had to go with them. They fit perfectly with no spacers and I do like them.

 

I wanted to fit the later style metro mirrors so bought some later style pillars. I know people have fitted these to narrow bodied cars in the past but after comparing them to my old ones I just couldn't see how they would neatly fit without modifying them and cutting the screen fillet.

 

You can see the difference in this photo.

 

I eventually made my own pillars by modifying an old set and painting them black. The mirrors fit exactly the same way as the Westfield ones and I could still use the standard screen fillet.

 

 

 

I never did like the old 'goalpost' type roll bar as I always thought it needed a larger diameter tube and the radius on the corners always looked too tight. I fitted a later style wide body roll bar. these are really just for show as they just bolt on from underneath with a single high tensile bolt at either end. It's a tight fit but just slots inside the body.

 

I decided to remove the hood completely and make my own boot lid / storage box. Westfield never did these for the narrow cars as far as I know so I designed and made my own version from GRP by making some plugs and moulds. I designed it to sit neatly around my roll bar and its lockable so quite handy as well.

 

 

 

 

I removed the tan interior and changed it to black re-covering the dash and carpeting the side panels and tunnel. I also treated it to a new Momo steering wheel which I'd had for ages but never got around to fitting.

 

I bought some second hand wishbones which i painted black and fitted them with a new set of Spax shocks and black springs that I'd had sitting in my loft for several years. I've kept all the chrome from the car just in case I ever want to go back.

 

I tried to fit some Caterham indicator pods but found they pointed slightly downwards? when fitted to the Westfield lamp brackets. Rather than buy some more I made my own from GRP making a plug and mould, I also fitted smaller 5 3/4" black headlamps as well.

 

The old Custom Chrome exhaust had lasted really well but I doubt if it had much if any wadding left in it so I purchase a new re-packable stainless silencer and made a stainless link pipe.

 

A common problem with narrow body cars is the limited availability of suitable seats due to the base and shoulder width restrictions (38cm on my car). I decided I liked the look of the GRP style race seats but couldn't find any with the right dimensions that I liked so decided to have a go at making some myself. These took ages to mock up, make moulds, make bases and finish but they fit me and the car perfectly.

 

 

 

 

Although this all started as an engine swap idea I still have the crossflow, I removed and re-built it anyway as it will probably still be in for at least another couple of years.

 

I did contemplate going for a colour change on the body but eventually decided to keep it black, I re-painted the whole car and yes did finally go with the cycle wings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paul.