Sul Posted February 9, 2003 Share Posted February 9, 2003 Hello all I am hoping somebody maybe able to help me. I'm looking to purchase my first Westfield or c******m (no offence meant by using the 'C' word). I know absolutely nothing about either manufacturer, at the moment. The models I am looking at are the Megabusa and the Cat R300. The Megabusa is the most tempting at present due to its slightly cheaper cost, it's motorbike engine, (as I am also a keen biker), and I believe its quicker. This week or next I am planning on visiting both factories to have a look at the cars in detail. Any additional advice anyone can give would be greatly appreciated. All the best Sul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FATBOY Posted February 9, 2003 Share Posted February 9, 2003 ......don't forget to look at the Birkins as well. What works well in a motorcycle is not particularly suited to a car. Personally, I have many reservation with bike engined cars and I think you'll see quite a few back on the market when the reality starts to dawn on the owners. I should stress, this is MY opinion and if you do a search of this site (and join the WSCC) you'll find more balanced views. ......you could get a good second hand Harley Davidson for the price of a Megablade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul M Posted February 9, 2003 Share Posted February 9, 2003 Drive both cars, sit down with a calculator and compare them pound for pound, compare comfort, A wide bodied catering van costs considerably more than a SEI wide. Think about upgrade costs ( see the post on £2500 for an extra 25 BHP @ C****ham. Compare the attitude of staff at both companies when theyh are dealing with you. I did all of the above and bought a Westfield Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sul Posted February 9, 2003 Author Share Posted February 9, 2003 Thanks for the advice guys. I will probably look stupid here but what is 'Birkins'?? One major point I forgot to mention is that before I can proceed to buy I need to sell my existing toy. If anyones interested, it's a Mitsubishi Evo V11 FQ-300 in silver, official UK car no. 185 of 210, only 2MONTHS old, only 990 miles. Send me an e-mail if your interested. If I don't go for the bike engined cars, what models would you recommend? What are the views on the SEight?? Thanks again for any advice. Sul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Stanton Posted February 9, 2003 Share Posted February 9, 2003 What are the views on the SEight?? Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice Just not enough of em on the roads (IMHO) Rumbler over screamer anyday for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markg Posted February 9, 2003 Share Posted February 9, 2003 get an seight mines not finished yet but it wont be too long! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FATBOY Posted February 9, 2003 Share Posted February 9, 2003 I will probably look stupid here but what is 'Birkins'?? .........Birkins are essentially what Catterhams should be if they spent any time on listening to potential customers. Have a look HERE and see what you think. In my opinion a decently built Westfield is potentially the better car, but I'm biased. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markg Posted February 9, 2003 Share Posted February 9, 2003 birkins are south african sevens! nice , but nowhere near an seight!!! you will get bored with a birkin but not a seight! so go and buy one or at least get a ride in one!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sul Posted February 9, 2003 Author Share Posted February 9, 2003 Again thanks for your comments. So it seems I must test drive a SEight and a Megabusa. Well, I thought I could call myself a 'car nut' but I hadn't even heard of Birkin!!! Thanks for the link Fatboy. Looks interesting, so I will be ringing them in the morning too. Cheers for now Sul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sul Posted February 10, 2003 Author Share Posted February 10, 2003 Can anyone supply me with performance figures for the SEight, 0-6o, 0-100, top speed, kerb weight etc. I have managed to find figures on the Megabusa. Thanks in advance Sul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busapower2001 Posted February 10, 2003 Share Posted February 10, 2003 Sul, Don't be put off on the bike engined front. There are many of us out there! Look here at the Bike Engined Cars Yahoo Group for your bike engined car advocates!! The group has been going for 2 years now (it is not restricted by manufacturer) so you'll find plenty of BEC specific advice and experience there. As for other choices of Engine.... You have essentially Vauxhall XE (or possibly the more recent Ecotec variety), the Vauxhall Zetec and the already mentioned Rover V8, as well as the Honda Blackbird and Suzuki Hayabusa bike engines. I personally (not on the road yet but very soon I hope! ;-) ) never seriously even looked at C******m's since I didn't like "their look" compared to the Westie, I thought them overpriced and I had no hang up's on Levi 501's front. I first got the 7'esque bug from a friend who bought a very well spec'd second hand SE narrow bodied XE Westie running Weber 45 carbs. I remember being a passenger in it and that alone was enough too hook me on "7" theme! Cutting a long story short I looked at engine choice for the Westie. Not wishing to start a flaming war (do a search as it has all gone before this post! (bikes vs XE, Zetec, V8) I settled on the XE based on my friends experience (including the fact that taking an XE with it's cos(worth)cast and ported head as standard produced oodles of power just by slapping on a pair of Weber 45 carb's), and that the Zetec's at the time (approx 4-5 years ago) weren't available in the high states of tune they are these days. I'd discounted the V8 since it appeared to be too much of brute with it's enormous torque and went against the bhp/tonne grain of Chapman's philosphy - despite having a deliciously seductive exhaust note ( ). Having saved my pennies I was about to order a XE Westie when along came the bike engined revolution. It seemed the logical next step in the bhp/tonne stakes and also came with intoxicating sequential shift and a bike engined sound track as spin off benefits! I took up Westfield's offer of a test drive with bacon butty/tea slurping at the Curborough (Staffs) sprint circuit in both the Megabird and Megabusa. I was impressed. The bird was great fun and my XE friend had been through the same process and commented that the bird felt no quicker than his XE, but that the busa was a different kettle of fish! Well I luved the bird and as to the busa... it got rained off so I never got to drive it.. but I'd already pretty much settled on the busa before turning up with it's torque figure, so shortly after I placed my order for a busa. Perhaps in some peoples opinions a little rash, but driving the Megabird had dismissed most of my doubts (and by this time I already had the confidence in the generic Westfiled product). The only remaining issue being the question of long term reliability with the engine and 'box having to haul around at least double the all up weight of the Hayabusa bike. Something I took a bit of a punt on having deliberated on the issue a lot, talked with Westfield and watched some of the 750MC bike engined races. As I said at the start (not wishing to deflect from this board) take a look at the bike engined board and there you'll find a wealth of bike engined experience both race/road and track. Whatever engine you decide upon there is no getting away from the fact that the Westfield is a quality product, the staff are very friendly, welcoming and helpful and I am sure your never look back! Naturally you should do your own research and visit C******m, Birkin and all the other 7'sque manufactures but for me starting and stopping my search at Westfield was enough.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobM Posted February 10, 2003 Share Posted February 10, 2003 Hi Sul, I was in much the same boat, but decided to keep my toy (Jap import Evo VII, GEMS with antilag etc) and build as cheap as I could. My now finished Megablade is every bit as good as I expected it to be, but to be honest it's a bit more driveable than I expected! Result being every dry day I get I'm out playing the hooligan in it. Completely different beast to the Evo but tremendous fun. Very tail happy, no ABS, no power steering, no AYC etc, and even noisier. Much less torque of course, but the Blade engine sounds fantastic, and the torque's ample given the weight of the car. You need to go for a test drive in a BEC, and have a look round the BEC Yahoo Group already mentioned. The "they'll never last" stuff is beginning to sound like the comments on the Jap engines in the 70's... Of course the engine's more fragile than a 100bhp X-Flow, but it's a bit of an unfair comparison! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sul Posted February 10, 2003 Author Share Posted February 10, 2003 Busapower and Bob M thanks for your experiences and advice. I can't seem to get the link to the BEC Group to work, will try again tomorrow. Bob M your build site looks amazing! I will read it in detail tomorrow. Must goto bed now 01;15 and a busy day ahead BUT this is intoxicating. I could stay on here all night! Cheers Sul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sul Posted February 10, 2003 Author Share Posted February 10, 2003 Another question to anyone who could please give me an opinion. What is the standard and the quality like for a FACTORY build on a Megabusa and the SEight? Unfortunately I don't have the skill or the patience to build my own car. Or is it worth buying in component form and taking it to an independent specialist to be built? If so, who would you recommend and would this be much more expensive? Thanks Sul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMS Posted February 10, 2003 Share Posted February 10, 2003 I have both a factory built SEiGHT and a self built Megablade so am very fortunate to be able to compare a rumbler and screamer regularly. On build quality, the factory build seems very good. There were a couple of niggles like excessive scratching on the bonnet and badly stitched steering wheel but these were both replaced in double quick time. The only problem I found that hasn't been fixed is that whoever fitted the boot cover seems to have got a little confused as to which way round the hinges should go and failed to attempt to cover up the holes of their first, abortive attempt. Since, this is invisible unless you open the boot, I'm not terribly bothered. Overall, though, I was pretty impressed especially when compared to some elements of my home build - but then I was a complete novice! On driveability, a lot of it depends on what you want to use the car for. The SEiGHT is much more the everyday car being considerably more controllable at low revs when trawling around in traffic. That said, let it go on an open road and it still scares the S*** out of me. It also has a #### of a lot more torque than the 'blade but I have little chance to use it at the moment with a speed limit over here of 40! The only problem with it is the underslung exhaust which means that its ground clearance is more compromised than its side exit brothers. Performance-wise, they are similar. The SEiGHT does 60 in about 4 secs and apparently will go beyond 130. Kerb weight is about 675kg IIRC. The 'blade also does 60 in about 4, but has a lower top speed and weighs in at under 500kg. The main downsides of the 'blade are the somewhat agricultural mechanical reverse (go for nothing or an electric one) and the embarrassment of stalling in traffic. Also, you will want to keep weight to an absolute minimum so avoid a full windscreen - and, thus, you won't be able to use weather gear. The upsides? Well, revving to ridiculous levels, the noise, the 6-speed sequential box, the amazingly lightweight go-kart feel to the handling....the list goes on. In summary, they're both f_cking amazing so just hurry up and get one If I had to chose, then the rumble of a V8 has to win, though. Final point. I initially looked at a Cateringvan (I'm really, really, really sorry ) but found the attitude of the guys at the showroom to be a little below expectations. Despite the fact that I was ready to spend ludicrous amounts of money with them, they still came across as arrogant, self-important, self-absorbed t_ssers. They even needed considerable encouragement to trust me with one of cars! The guys at Westfield, however, couldn't have been more different and were ready to satisfy my every desire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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