XI purchase

[Morris 140]

Hi,

I am new to the forum as I am on the verge of buying an XI kit from Westfield.

I have arranged to go to the factory at the end of this month to go through the options list, but unfortunately Westfield haven't had a demonstrator for a number of years, although I did drive it when I visited them about 15 years ago!

I would therefore really like to have a look at a car before committing myself to an order to see if I still fit etc. as I don't remember how much of a squash it was when I sat in their car.

Would there be anyone in the forum who would be willing to show me around their car (before 20th July) so that I can get some pointers prior to visiting the factory (I live in Borehamwood (WD6)).

Many thanks.

Kind regards.

Morris.

[Nick - Joint North East AO 448]

I've got a brand new fully built one for sale, save yourself the hassle of the build.  

Don't under estimate the time and effort / cost of doing that. 

PM if you' like to chat.

[Simon Marks - North Oxfordshire AO 263]

Hi, Morris,

I live just west of Oxford.  You would be most welcome to come over to mine for a look - and I'll take you out for a run in it.  If that suits, please send me a pm and we'll sort out a day / time.

Simon

[Mark S 1]

I am in the final stages of my XI build, and live 5 miles north of Hertford. Car yet to be IVA'd, and seats currently loose, but you could sit in it, and get a feel for the " interesting" aspects of the build. I have a 7 as well.

 

[Morris 140]

Hi Mark,

Many thanks for the invite for me to see your car. I've already arranged to see one this coming week, but given the stage you are at in your build I'm sure I shall contact you at some point to pick your brains!

Cheers.

Morris.

[Mark S 1]

That's fine. Prior to purchase it is worth looking at alternative exhaust manifolds, as the fabrication of the Westfield manifold supplied with my kit was dire. I had one made  elsewhere rather than use the Westfield one. Whilst Westfield would not take the supplied manifold back for cash, they did suggest that I might send it back and have a credit for further parts. I haven't done this yet, but worth exploring the options prior to purchase. Same with the electric fan supplied. I have used a "suck" version on mine, and am now stuck with the original "blow" version. Once again, you might be able to leave this out of the kit and have another item in its place.

Edited July 15, 2018 by Mark S

[Morris 140]

It's interesting to hear this Mark. I would have thought that most anomalies with building the kit would have been incorporated back into production or build instructions by now, but I guess the Eleven is more of a sideline product compared to the Seven which is built in much higher numbers. Anyway I'll see how my factory visit goes on 30th, following which I'll be ordering and assembling my garage, finding a suitable MG etc etc.!

[stephenh 860]

Morris, the build guide was written by a customer of Westfield, in 2005/6. Copyright date is 2006!

Regarding the exhaust manifold, the quality of welding on mine was dire, but I wouldn't say that it would be necessary to have your own made. I got a local competent engineer to re-weld around the pipe-to-flange joints, and it was fine.

[stephenh 860]

Morris, I'm not sure if you can receive personal messages as a trial club member, but if so I've sent you a pm which you might like to read.

[Morris 140]

Stephen. Yes thank you I received your PM, it appears that I cannot send them though! Your build diary looks great, I'll have a read through it when I have some more time. Re the build manual being written in 2006, that implies that how to prepare to meet IVA requirements comes from reading the IVA manual and from the experiences of other builders? 

[stephenh 860]

Yes, I think that would be fair to say. The build manual was written long before the IVA was introduced.

[jonjh1964 567]

Having built an FW Special Edition and an Eleven I'd say that there's not much between then from a mechanical/electric perspective.  With all the aluminium and bodywork already fitted the Eleven was slightly easier from that perspective but did need some thought on things like the IVA and refurbishing/overhauling the donor parts.  They both took me about the same amount of time to build, the manual for the Eleven does need a more interpreting and you also need a Haynes MG Midget Manual.  Parts for the MG Midget are a little harder to source but the MGOC and MOSS Europe plus a few specialist breakers and suppliers mean there's very little you can't get reasonably quickly.  Also with an increasing number of recent Eleven builds there are now some build blogs and owners who can (and do) help a lot.

One tip would be to ask Westfield to supply you with a pot of gelcoat from when they lay-up the bodywork as you'll need some to fill the holes in the bonnet where you bolt on the IVA headlight pods and it will guarantee a colour match.

[robhume 166]

Good point about the gelcoat Jon.

When I enquired about a RAL or BS number to match the colour, the best, or worst they could

come up with was dark blue. 

[Chris Smith 113]

Try Quantum in Kidderminster. They make the grip bodies and would know tha number.

[Chris Smith 113]

01562741320