Planing to build in around 2 years, joined to gather info beforhand.

[Snurt]

Hello and greetings from Norway!

Im planing to do a build in around 2 years time when i saved up the capital to justify it.
Been wanting to do a build now for close to 15 years but a disorder that holds me from steady job and income makes it challenging.

The Westfield FW has been on my mind since i saw it first time and now is the time to start mapping out the build.
Westfield now offers a complete kit with a zetec engine, the zetec isn't appealing to me much tho. I aether want a newer engine design or source an engine thats more common in norway or sweeden. The duratec Volvo T5 comes to mind alongside some Saab and Opel engines.

Im pretty thorn between going the safe route or taking the chance on something that could be to challenging.
Its probably best to read trough the build logs to get both inspiration and a feeling of what's realistically possible.

Im happy for any advice and guidance i can get!

Best regards
Snurt

[Kingster]

1 hour ago, Snurt said:

Its probably best to read trough the build logs to get both inspiration and a feeling of what's realistically possible.

Absolutely 👍

 

…and welcome to the club!

[Boftus]

Welcome.

Something more common in Norway???

What about Tesla? Lol

 

[Snurt]

3 minutes ago, Boftus said:

Welcome.

Something more common in Norway???

What about Tesla? Lol

 

Or a TH!NK City. Worlds slowest and most unreliable Westfield:P

[Benrobson2999 - Kent AO]

Welcome

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

Welcome.

 

Alternative engine choices are pretty much going to come down to how much fabrication/development work you’re able to do, or if funds permit, have done, for you. Though keep in mind, if build funds are tight, going down a unique to you, engine path, is one of the fastest ways to add considerable expense to a build!

 

But, the key thing, over ruling everything else, is going to be what Norway allows in terms of kit built cars. We do have a few members out there, and I know the topic has come up, but I can’t recall the precise details.

 

Make sure you’ve investigated this before committing to any final engine choice though!

 

I know one or two UK builders who have used older Saab (turbo charged) engines, from the days when they were owned by GM, and could use the same gearbox bell housings as the GM C20XE etc. I know at least one member who was doing a build based around the five cylinder Volvo engine, too, but I’m not sure if it ever got finished, and that member hasn’t been around for years, sadly.

 

If I recall correctly, the German Westfield distributor used to offer a few more engine options than normal, though mainly VAG group based, from VW and Audi.

[Snurt]

Those are some strong points Dave Eastwood.
I know its fairly easy to get the kit-in-a-box and the MX-5 SDV road legal in Norway, the rules have changed recently, changed for the better. Earlier in Norway it was incredibly hard to get a build or modification road legal.
The local distributor has a SDV package that costs ~17.000 pounds + donor vehicle, it specifies a MX-5 NA but i wonder if a NB can be used.

SDV has some strong points, cancelling blinkers and a heater is really tempting, but that would probably be easy to fit to a kit-in-a-box. Westfield webpage does specify that the SDV cant come with the FW body, and from one of the buildlogs i read its since the axle of the donor is to bulky to fit the FW's fuel tank.

I wonder if there actually is money to be saved by going the donor vehicle route.
One of the reasons i don't want a build with a zetec is that the exhaust wil then be on the drivers side. On a duratec the exhaust wil exit on passenger side and hopefully distance a source of noise from the driver. Could be that I'm overly focused on that part but noise over time tends to get tedious.

[BenD]

welcome to the club you've come to the right place.

The mazda sdv can be built with the fw bodywork its to do with the fuel tank if i remember correctly. im sure @Stu Faulkner did it

also the exhaust will be on the drivers side with the mazda? assuming the car will be LHD. ill be honest i built a mazda sdv car and  my personal car wasnt much cheaper than building a zetec car. The parts from the donor sell well over here so made some money back from that but your then limited on wheel choice and offsets due to the 4x100 pcd. 

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

Yes Stu did it.

 

The problem with the FW shape car is that the fuel tank sits above the diff. On the Mazda SDV, it uses the older diffs that have the big cast aluminium arms across the top, these prevent the FW tank being fitted, and a ZK tank doesn't fit in the body shape.

 

Stu had a bespoke fuel tank made specially, to fit the available space. He's also not using a braced roll bar, so conveniently, the fuel filler cap could sit on top of the rear body work, where one of the rear roll bar stays would normally pass through.

[Mark (smokey mow)]

2 hours ago, Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Secretary said:

Yes Stu did it.

 

The problem with the FW shape car is that the fuel tank sits above the diff. On the Mazda SDV, it uses the older diffs that have the big cast aluminium arms across the top, these prevent the FW tank being fitted, and a ZK tank doesn't fit in the body shape.

 

Stu had a bespoke fuel tank made specially, to fit the available space. He's also not using a braced roll bar, so conveniently, the fuel filler cap could sit on top of the rear body work, where one of the rear roll bar stays would normally pass through.

Rather than having all the fabrication and packaging issues for the fuel tank, surely easiest route surely would be to buy the complete zetec kit with the FW bodywork (less the engine) and instead fit a Mazda engine and gearbox.