I have a cunning plan - but need to know how much my Wide Kit etc is worth 2nd hand?

[M@r]{]

Hey Guys

I'm toying with the idea of going for a complete revised suspension setup.  However it's not cheap so unless I can get some money back from selling what's on there, it is something that will have to wait.  So is there a market for completely front end suspension setup?  Includes Westfields Wide Track, uprights, hubs, Westfield ARB.  Also the back suspension inc ARB.   And a rough idea of how much I would get for the various parts?  It's all in good condition and done less than a 1000 miles.  

 

Thanks in advance

[Kingster]

Always difficult to price these things up. Widetrack front wishbones will be popular. But the rest will be all dependent on who is building what at the time. 

As a rule of thumb, desirable bits in very good condition can fetch up to 2/3 new price and less “shiftable” parts maybe 1/3 new or less.

Also depends on time. More time can get you top dollar, but if you need to sell quick that equates to a lower price. 

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

There's certainly a market. Prices, ok that's a bit of a trickier one.

You will certainly get the best return by braking it down into "modules", rather than whole front ends, or rear ends, etc.

So a front wide track kit at the right price, will have lots of appeal, all round. Front uprights and hubs. A more limited market, but still plenty out there that either want to upgrade from cast iron etc, or are building  a new kit, and don't mind having second hand bits. (For registration on a Q plate). Rear suspension on the other hand is a bit trickier, as obviously, all kits come with it. But people do often want bits to replace accident damaged parts, so there are a few buyers out there.

[NigelO]

I might be interested in the alloy uprights, as long as they come with everything else I need (I'm guessing hubs, calipers, wing stays etc) - depends what price you're thinking of (too much and I'll stick with my heavy Sierra uprights and start jogging instead...  )

[Kingster]

2 hours ago, NigelO said:

I might be interested in the alloy uprights, as long as they come with everything else I need (I'm guessing hubs, calipers, wing stays etc) - depends what price you're thinking of (too much and I'll stick with my heavy Sierra uprights and start jogging instead...  )

I did think you might be interested!

This is exactly what I went for. Widetrack conversion with alloy uprights and hubs. Made a big positive difference to the car and can recommend it. As long as the price is right that is 

edit: for Sierra to Cortina geometry swap you need different bottom wishbones too. Hence why I went widetrack at the same time as uprights. Also if you have Protech shocks, they can easily be converted to the required length

[M@r]{]

Thanks all for the responses.  So it looks like I could sell them on, but I need to have an idea of what I could realistically sell them for?  The widetrack kit from Westfield is just over £550, the uprights and hubs are another £500 iirc.  I wouldn't be looking to sell the dampers, discs or calipers.    I'm literally scraping the barrel with budget right now as I've already massively blown it.  I'm likely to park this until next year, however if I can be confident I could sell this stuff at the right amount and I have a good month at work, I could do some man maths and try to justify having it done whilst it's with AB Performance.

[NigelO]

I already have a custom widetrack front end - top and bottom wishbones fabricated by ProComp - the uppers have just been made to allow some caster adjustment. I also have the correct length Protech shocks, dyno tested and re-valved by ProComp

Are you saying that the lower wishbones I've currently got fitted will not be suitable for the Westfield alloy uprights, due to a different geometry? Also, my shocks are correct for the lower wishbones - will they be wrong for Mark's?

In my innocence, I assumed the uprights would be a straight swap for what I currently have - looks like the cost is creeping up already if it involves wishbones, shock mods and a new geometry setup

[NigelO]

6 minutes ago, M@r]{ said:

I wouldn't be looking to sell the dampers, discs or calipers.  

Which probably makes it unrealistic for me, as I don't want to be spending on new calipers (I assume the calipers on Westfield alloy uprights are Wilwood or a derivative?)

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

Willwood are popular aftermarket upgrades for cars with original Ford OEM calipers, like the M16 fronts, but Westfield only sell Hi Spec and AP Racing - Though the latter seem to be being phased out. So the majority or modern Westfields not on donor vehicle brakes are on Hi Spec.

Sadly there no Glass’s guide to either second hand Westfield prices, or parts prices. Parts especially can be priced all over the place. A safeish bet is to assume around 2/3 for things like widetrack and front uprights/hubs. As Chris said. With things like the rear wishbones, there is demand, but it’s low. I hate to say it, but essentially, you’re waiting for someone to bend a set and need replacements cheap. (Cheap, because they’re not going through insurance, and paying for it themselves.) Sadly, we’re coming up on the right time of year for that sort of demand. I suspect if you can get 50% of what they’d cost to buy new, you’d have done very well.

The best thing is to have a look back through the parts for sale section, at what actually sold, and work from there.

Is your budgeting including a proper geo set up after the mods? (I suspect so, as it sounds like you might be having the work done?)

 

[Kingster]

38 minutes ago, NigelO said:

Are you saying that the lower wishbones I've currently got fitted will not be suitable for the Westfield alloy uprights

Yes that’s exactly what I’m saying. 

Sierra and Westfield uprights are very different. Westfield follow Cortina geometry. You’d also need the cycle wing brackets.

The cost mounts up and is only worth it if you want multiple “pluses”. For me it was widetrack, lightness and easier adjustment. Sounds like you already have two out of three! 

[NigelO]

2 hours ago, Chris King - Webmaster and Joint North East AO said:

For me it was widetrack, lightness and easier adjustment. Sounds like you already have two out of three! 

Yes, I already have widetrack and probably more adjustability than most cars (now that I have caster adjustment)

My aim was for a bit less weight, but it sounds like by the time I'd factored in new calipers and another full geo setup,  I think the biggest weight loss would be from my wallet....

[Kingster]

36 minutes ago, NigelO said:

Yes, I already have widetrack and probably more adjustability than most cars (now that I have caster adjustment)

My aim was for a bit less weight, but it sounds like by the time I'd factored in new calipers and another full geo setup,  I think the biggest weight loss would be from my wallet....

It would indeed!

if you happen on some wilwood powerlite calipers, I have a set of Sierra adaptors for them that you can have. 

[NigelO]

3 hours ago, Chris King - Webmaster and Joint North East AO said:

if you happen on some wilwood powerlite calipers, I have a set of Sierra adaptors for them that you can have. 

Very useful to know - thanks. Just been looking at the range of M16 replacements from Wilwood - tempting, but probably not worth the effort without doing uprights and associated gubbins at the same time

My M16s are pretty good - quite a bit of pedal effort required, but they seem to have plenty of retardation and a decent amount of feel

[AdamR]

The main thing you'd gain by fitting Wilwoods is weight saving in a critical area - about 3.5kg per side. That would be by far the biggest gain of all the upgrades talked about in this thread (unless having more steering lock is your priority  ). Edit: Realised you already have widetrack, but still, looking at what engine you have in I'd imagine your car is pretty well-specced? Calipers would be up my upgrade list!

You would actually end up with 'worse' brakes (more pedal force required) as the piston area is reduced compared with M16s.

Edit again: I'm getting confused Basically Wilwoods are a huge upgrade over M16s. Widetrack isn't much of an upgrade over standard unless you need more steering lock for any reason. ARBs often confuse things handling-wise and make it bumpy on the road, very few drivers give the car enough beans to need them.

[NigelO]

LOL - you're having a bit of a disagreement with yourself there Adam!

I quite fancy the idea of Wilwoods, especially if I can get a straight swap with the dirty great M16s