New Build Westfield Lotus X1

[David Lloyd]

Hi guys,

 

Just put a deposit down on a Lotus X1 at the factory. Is there anyone in the 3 counties (Herts, Beds, Bucks) and Oxfordshire area that is, or has, built one of these cars? Rebuilding an A series engine at the moment and sourcing parts.

 

Thanks in advance,

Dave Lloyd

High Wycombe 

[Gary Taylor]

Hi David and welcome. No experience of building an eleven but I’m sure the lads will be along soon to guide you.

meantime read the build diaries for encouragement 

[stephenh]

Welcome David, first you need to sign up for full membership, as you seem to be only on trial membership at the moment. I can assure you that you will find it excellent value for money. 

Secondly, lots of useful advice on building an XI in the X cars section of this forum. Not least (maybe!) my thread if you can find it from several years ago entitled "Building My XI".

Lastly for now, You will get excellent advice from a number of members who have built and in most cases still own Westfield XIs, not least Simon Marks who is very knowledgeable on these cars, and lives within the area you mention, not too far from Oxford if I remember correctly. 

[jonjh1964]

Welcome David,

 

Stephen is correct, Simon Marks is the Oxford AO and built his car about 4-5 years ago.  I built mine in 17-18, IVA'd at Exeter in Mar 18 and will be MOTing it for the first time in the New Year.  The build is reasonably straight forward, you'll need a Haynes Manual to supplement the build guide.  I'd recommend you join the WSCC, keep a build diary on the forum, ask as many questions as you need and enjoy time in the garage.

 

Jon

[Simon Marks - North Oxfordshire AO]

Hi, David,

 

Welcome along.  As has been said, you need to join the WSCC to fully tap into the knowledge that is here.  I do live just west of Oxford. 

 

The build guide is exactly that - a guide, rather than a manual but I found that combining that with a Haynes manual gave me all that I needed.  I carefully sorted out all my parts into the various sections of the build and used to lay each assembly out, read the books, sleep on it and then fitted/assembled the next day (after more daydreaming at work)!  Everything then went pretty well as I had hoped - and I didn't leave anything essential out!

 

By all means ask when you need anything and you will be willingly supported by the other XI owners / builders who are enthusiastic and happy to share their experiences.

 

One aspect that I enjoyed was tapping into the origins and history about the original Lotus Elevens.  Whilst my car does not, nor will ever have, any Lotus badging - it is a Westfield, after all, and to claim otherwise will attract the wrath of some dyed in the wool Lotus owners.  I have had some wonderful conversations with older enthusiasts who remember Lotus Elevens first time around and hare happy to chat about what I as announce as "Not a Lotus, but a Westfield - a respectful, re-engineered tribute".  It's also great to have a synergy with the various Lotus Elevens and Fifteens that are still competitive in Historic racing today.

 

Simon

[Morris]

Hi David,

 

I'm in South Herts (Borehamwood) and mid way through my build (Morris' XI Build).

 

I've recently completed self-assembling my A-Series (using Crafted Classics Tuning for machining/ dyno work and MED (mostly) for parts).

 

Just let me know if you need to know anything (whilst it is still fresh in my mind...😀), as being a relative novice I've struggled in places with following the 'Build Guide'.

 

Morris.

[DIY-Si]

Good evening David and welcome to the fold!

 

Whilst not quite in the right area, I'm up near Northampton, I collect my XI kit from the factory on the 22nd January. I have sort of started a build diary, as I've also been rebuilding my garage and starting to outfit it ready for its life as a workshop. I shall be documenting every step as I go, as I'm going off piste a bit with mine.

 

As has been said, I would strongly advise reading the build threads on here, as they will help you avoid problems ahead of time and give you a decent sense of what's required in building an XI. I've found them very useful, both for inspiration and for useful tips and tricks. In other areas, they will help you avoid the pitfalls of having a build guide, as others have discovered issues for us!