Thrustyjust Meets ................. #3

[Thrustyjust]

Hopefully if the next victim er club member sends me the  answer of the question he didnt answer in todays meeting , then I will get the 3rd person up later tonight 

So, whoever you are , let me know 

[Thrustyjust]

Oops , been a long day and stuck it here. Mods to the rescue please .................Doh...........

[Thrustyjust]

Well today was planned to be a visit during the Xmas break. But a combination of rubbish weather , a re-occurring cold which I felt I would be more than embarrassed if I passed it on , young family duties ( not me anymore hurrah !)  , eventually I got to meet half of my area organiser Tim. He is a whole person and glad to say I managed to get there today.  Sadly , although the weather looked promising , I chickened out and took the family wagon. Which actually was wise, with the heavy rain, snow and hail that would have caught me out on the way home.

So, today , may I introduce Tim Reid 

After a brew and what seemed like an assault course that anyone with feet bigger than a 10, you would not find a standing place in the garage . Tim is on his way through his engine change from a 2 ltr Zetec black top to a ecoboost 1600. Some might think this as a bit of a loss of capacity being wrong to do, but the ecoboost is the new toy on the (engine) block. The transplant is far from straight forward, with more sensors and fly by wire controls than you could shake a stick at. Really not for the feint hearted and I take my hat of to him of basically starting again with this, the Mk3 incarnation of the car.

So Tim, as the usual way , I have some jotted down questions and this time I had more than 30 seconds to think them up.

Occupation ?

   I am a telecoms Project Manager 

Why did you buy a Westfield ?

Its a long story , but I actually started looking at Tiger cars . They seemed a sensible car to buy , but looking into it they were pretty agricultural with their car designs and finish, so I dismissed them. I then saw Caterhams and Westfields and knowing that both cars had been crash tested ( including local members doing it without factory knowledge !)  gave me a sense of design and construction safety being put into the cars. Caterhams were out of the financial league, so a Westfield soon appeared.

What came first , the car or the club membership ?

The car came first and the club soon after

How long have you been in the club ?

I have been in the club now for 11 years

How long have you been an area organiser?

I have been here with Steve Thorne for 10 years after we took the reins from Adam Reeves ( remember him ?) 

Why change a perfectly good Zetec engine ?

Well, I have had the car for 11 years now and after  blowing one engine and always enjoying the tinkering, I thought about a big change. This is the Mk3 version of this car , from being a factory built car (Mk1)  , to buying from it first owner as a standard car. Blowing it up and replacing the engine and suspension and loosing weight (mk2) it was time to make it a bit more sprightly . With doing various driver training days I found a level that was only going to get better/ more enjoyable to look into a major engine transplant. 

Carbon Fibre ?

Oh yes, see over there, that shelf, is full of carbon parts ready to go onto the car when the time is right . I also have diffusers and actually skin my own parts in carbon , which looks very smart.

Was the engine change in budget?

After hysterical laughter and picking himself off the floor, Tim said. No, its not !! But actually its not too far away from where I financially expected it to be. What helped me out , getting round the financial controller ( wont say too much, incase Ruth does read this !! ) but selling all the parts first from the strip down , sort of built up the bank balance before I started buying things. It seemed to work pretty well but I am now in negative , as that monies gone and now wait for paydays ( like us all !!) 

Time frame for Completion ?

 I was planning a year to get the car finished and with all the chassis work taking longer to modify than expected and actually deciding to do all the electrics and electronics myself than farming that bit out , I am 18 months in so far and want to really finish before Stoneleigh , or the Thames Valley Orienteering event or ............well, the summer ............maybe. I do miss driving the car, but I really enjoy just spending time in the garage just tinkering and making progress with something. Whether its mechanical or electrical. the electrics in the beginning daunted me , but I know every wire colour and location now , so adding relays to the original loom , so I can fit push buttons on the dash and variable back lighting is quite in depth but well within my scope now I am the point of no return !

What do you do with your car ?

I have a built ( or well I always had but the Mk3 will be moreso) a track biased car that I can use on the road.  With all this lighter weight, 3 piece wheels and great looking Siltech suspension fitted to the car, the engine should the next part of the puzzle.

Any thing planned when the car is done ?

I wish to head back to the tracks I have driven in its various stages of changes and see how much this engine has made to the package I have created and probably relearn everything I have absorbed from previous driving trainer days .

So, after a little bit of a grilling, and removing myself from the obstacle course , I said cheerio to Tim.  He has not built his car from scratch but has rebuilt his car on now the third time, so can say he knows every nut and bolt on it. It will be a sensational car when it gets put back together. I just hope its soon as the better weather ( albeit not today sadly for me) isnt too far away . Being a family chap, time to tinker is only when the little ones are tucked up at night , which is just a fact of life for a lot of us. I am looking forward to a pax ride in the car to see what all these hair dryers on the engine blocks do to a Westfield as opposed to being normally aspirated.

 

 

[Ian Kinder (Bagpuss) - Joint Peak District AO]

Another great write up. Keep up the good work!

[Alan Cutler (Adge) - Dorset AO]

Good write up, enjoy these insights, well done. Keep em coming.

[Tim Reid]

It was a pleasure to meet you Justin and I like the write-up 

[Captain Colonial]

Great write up  Why aren’t these being copied and printed in WW?

Looking forward to the rest of the series when Thrustyjust meets....

> The taxman

> His doom

> The wrath of his fed-up partner

etc, etc, etc 

[Thrustyjust]

3 hours ago, AdgeC said:

Good write up, enjoy these insights, well done. Keep em coming.

Thanks Adge. Glad its interesting reading for some. I do enjoy meeting others and finding their side of the story. I have a victim list and you never know who's is the next target !! 

[Thrustyjust]

2 hours ago, Tim (TimDave25) - Joint Thames Valley AO said:

It was a pleasure to meet you Justin and I like the write-up 

Glad you do Tim. I don't think I over glamoured it, as that's not what its all about. More belts and braces and as we chatted. We could have chatted for hours though, but as you know I had to disappear off .  We obviously chat more than most being my leader 

[Thrustyjust]

58 minutes ago, Captain Colonial said:

Great write up  Why aren’t these being copied and printed in WW?

Looking forward to the rest of the series when Thrustyjust meets....

> The taxman

> His doom

> The wrath of his fed-up partner

etc, etc, etc 

Don't forget there are people here that could be on the list to avoid wanting to meet me too 

As for the fed up partner. She's fine with it, but the wife's wrath is something to avoid 

[Andy Banks]

59 minutes ago, Captain Colonial said:

Great write up  Why aren’t these being copied and printed in WW?

It has been suggested in the past, as long as folks are content, I certainly believe these should be in the mag.