SDV Mazda

[Stephen Osborne]

Hi....as a novice and potential owner I find the range of Westfield specifications somewhat bewildering. In a nutshell which attributes of a mainstream Westfield does an SDV Mazda version forego please? Many thanks for any guidance. Stephen.

[Mark (smokey mow)]

In many ways it doesn't forgo anything but when comparing alongside the modular "multi donor" car there are of course differences but many of these would not be obvious or visible when looking at a finished car.

chassis (including all suspension bracket positions) and bodywork is all identical with the exception of a few extra brackets on the SDV to accept the donor Mazda parts. Wishbones are different as these need to carry the mazda uprights rather than the cortina and ford/VW parts and wheels would be mazda fit rather than ford. The mazda diff is supported in the chassis by a cage which bolts to the same mounting points as found on the ford based cars and the steering column is from the mazda rather than Austin Allegro. You'll also find the handbrake in a better position on the SDV as its alongside the gearstick rather than under your elbow.

The Mazda SDV was designed as a "budget" build so depending on who built it there's a couple of areas to keep the costs down with an SDV.  The first is the exhaust, where you could either build with the original mazda manifold or spec the optional westfield 4-1 exhaust and the other is the dashboard which was intended to use the mx5 clocks or as a few of us have done you can fit a standard westfield dashboard.

For me i like the concept of the SDV as I know all the parts its built from are either going to be Mazda or Westfield. It may lack a bit of power as standard compared to the other offerings but as its built from donor parts sourced from a lightweight sportscar the overall weight of the car comes in notably less than those built with components sourced from family saloons.

[Stephen Osborne]

Many thanks for your reply......very helpful and much appreciated.

[Mark (smokey mow)]

4 minutes ago, Stephen Osborne said:

Many thanks for your reply......very helpful and much appreciated.

Happy to help