Stuart Davis AO - Devon Cornwall & Somerset Posted July 21, 2022 Share Posted July 21, 2022 Somewhat insanely, I drove the car into work from my parent’s house this morning. Wokingham to near Dartford up the M3 and around the M25. Left at 6am to avoid the traffic and it was fine, good fun on the occasional roundabouts and twisty bits. I don’t have side screens or even wind deflectors so it gets a bit blowy at 70mph, the ears are ringing nicely now. I certainly feel alive and awake this morning though. It put a smile on my face, plus a few other passing drivers who seemed to like the car. Hopefully traffic home this afternoon won’t be too bad. The car seems to run quite hot so I don’t want any overheating problems. It sat around 90 degrees, edging up to 95 at times even with the fan on. The gauge may well be inaccurate so I need to check that out with an IR gauge when I get the chance, perhaps it’s not an issue. But it’s only about 20 degrees out there currently, so I doubt it would cope with 30 plus. Need to see what improvements I can make. First experience of driving with the Lonsdale trainers today too. Positive result, they made life easier and I can even manage a vaguely successful/smooth attempt at heel and toe downshifts, but I would need some new words to describe the unusual parts of my right foot needed to achieve this 🤪. My brake pedal is much too low to make it an easy process, another item on the list of improvements! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Man On The Clapham Omnibus Posted July 21, 2022 Share Posted July 21, 2022 Smart looking car! When I bought my Westfield in 2003 it came from Brighton and I lived in Beaconsfield so the M23, M25, and M40 were on the itinerary. Like yours, this Pinto engined car had a tendency to run hot especially as it was a hot day. The inevitable stop-start traffic on the clockwise section around Leatherhead to Staines found my wife in the passenger seat getting hot coolant trickling down the bulkhead by her feet. It stopped if we were moving but started again in traffic. The fan was switched manually and it paradoxically seemed to aggravate the overheating even on the move. I got off the M25 and wriggled my way home on non-motorway routes with no further trouble. The chap from whom I bought the car didn't build it and wasn't au fait with automotive nuts 'n' bolts so he hadn't discovered the cause. The cause was a fundamental error by the builder who had fitted the electric fan the wrong way round so that when it was running it was sucking air out through the radiator matrix against the ram-air direction instead of forcing it through from outside and augmenting the natural air-flow! My first task the following day was to reverse the fan and reinstate the thermostatic switch that someone had bypassed in an attempt to cure the overheating! I avoided motorways as much as humanly possible after a few frightening moments due to not being seen, and now it is almost never driven on the roads at all as my great age makes me acutely aware of my vulnerability in such a fragile vehicle. Track days are safer! 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparksmart Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 Evening all, thought i'd add my little experience to this thread. After a long time searching and awaiting for the right car to finally, after many years commit too, i managed to bag myself exactly what i was looking for. And so on a sunny Saturday i set out to collect my new playmate from the Chilterns, with the journey back south to the surrey?kent borders an opportunity to acquaint myself with my new car. The plan was to avoid the m25 at all costs and take the slow roads through London whilst being followed by my friend who kindly drove me up in his van. After a quick consultation with waze and realising that was going to be a seriously long slow tedious drive my excitement failed to overcome, i succumbed to the daunting prospect of the m25 which uncharacteristically appeared to be flowing pretty well! What can i say, talk about a baptism of fire haha. All of a sudden i felt really rather tiny as i stretched its legs up the slip road followed by my mate who must of thought id lost my marbles! within minutes my face and chest were numb from the wind pounding me, i could hear nothing but the roar of the engine. my senses heightened as i became very aware of my surroundings....zoned in, driving like i hadn't driven for ages. the car and myself were alive. When myself and my mate pulled into Cobham services to grab a coffee i was beaming from ear to ear ,wind battered but exhilarated with the fresh knowledge that i must of had hidden masochistic tendencies. motorways are certainly not a westfields natural environment but for me that first lone drive was the drive that made me fall in love as well as make me realise i must be ever so slightly mental!! Also as an added bonus it also showed me that the car i'd just acquired was thankfully very very well put together ,the engine strong as an ox, no heating issues and everything i was hoping. p.s. treated her to some shiny carbon cycle wings a couple of days later for behaving so well😉 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Man On The Clapham Omnibus Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 Mine has swept wings too, I prefer the vintage Seven look. A sighting lap at Abingdon. Abingdon another day! Presumably the new wings are cycle style? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Davis AO - Devon Cornwall & Somerset Posted July 27, 2022 Author Share Posted July 27, 2022 8 hours ago, sparksmart said: Evening all, thought i'd add my little experience to this thread. After a long time searching and awaiting for the right car to finally, after many years commit too, i managed to bag myself exactly what i was looking for. And so on a sunny Saturday i set out to collect my new playmate from the Chilterns, with the journey back south to the surrey?kent borders an opportunity to acquaint myself with my new car. The plan was to avoid the m25 at all costs and take the slow roads through London whilst being followed by my friend who kindly drove me up in his van. After a quick consultation with waze and realising that was going to be a seriously long slow tedious drive my excitement failed to overcome, i succumbed to the daunting prospect of the m25 which uncharacteristically appeared to be flowing pretty well! What can i say, talk about a baptism of fire haha. All of a sudden i felt really rather tiny as i stretched its legs up the slip road followed by my mate who must of thought id lost my marbles! within minutes my face and chest were numb from the wind pounding me, i could hear nothing but the roar of the engine. my senses heightened as i became very aware of my surroundings....zoned in, driving like i hadn't driven for ages. the car and myself were alive. When myself and my mate pulled into Cobham services to grab a coffee i was beaming from ear to ear ,wind battered but exhilarated with the fresh knowledge that i must of had hidden masochistic tendencies. motorways are certainly not a westfields natural environment but for me that first lone drive was the drive that made me fall in love as well as make me realise i must be ever so slightly mental!! Also as an added bonus it also showed me that the car i'd just acquired was thankfully very very well put together ,the engine strong as an ox, no heating issues and everything i was hoping. p.s. treated her to some shiny carbon cycle wings a couple of days later for behaving so well😉 Great post, thanks 👍 Your comments completely match my own experiences. I owned my car for 14 years, sold it 14 years ago and have just bought it back so am still getting to know it again. Driving on the motorway certainly does make you feel very low, and hyper alert to big lorries and other hazards. Very much makes you feel alive, I agree! Regarding swept wings vs cycle wings, that’s one of the things I love about Westfields. They can be made to look anything from retro, almost Morgan-esque through a range of styles right up to out and out racer. I like them all, but do love mine with cycle wings on it now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Euan Hoosearmy Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 I had a lovely blast out a couple of weekends ago, I left home around 7am whilst it was still fairly cool and went cross-country to Petersfield, then Midhurst and down to Chichester. For the run home, I took the quick option of A27, A3(M) back to Petersfield before going back on the local roads for the final few miles home. It was actually quite fun, the day was starting to warm up by then and 80 (ish 🙂 ) MPH was comfortable enough, if a little noisy. Keeping the speed up stops the trucks seeming quite so daunting, I wouldn't want to be cruising on the slow lane in between the trucks at 55 or 60 mph! I'm also using the biker excuse of I have a loud exhaust so that you know I'm near! Temperature also has a big impact. A few months earlier thanks to some local road closures we had to run up the A3 from Petersfield to Guildford, whilst the Hindhead tunnel was fun, the cold made the journey far less enjoyable. By the time I got to Newlands Corner my right arm and right side of my head were frozen. In hindsight putting the doors on instead of using the wind deflectors might have been a sensible move..... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparksmart Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 12 hours ago, Man On The Clapham Omnibus said: Mine has swept wings too, I prefer the vintage Seven look. A sighting lap at Abingdon. Abingdon another day! Presumably the new wings are cycle style? Thanks for the comment, great pics! They are, however i don't disagree. I have to admit to kind of questioning my decision to swop them whenever i look at before pictures. That's not to say i don't love the new look, its just with the swooping wings it is in my opinion a very handsome looking machine without looking too aggressive Once i'd committed i wanted to follow through. Don't worry though the wings are staying in my possession and may very possibly make a return😉 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparksmart Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 9 hours ago, Euan Hoosearmy said: I had a lovely blast out a couple of weekends ago, I left home around 7am whilst it was still fairly cool and went cross-country to Petersfield, then Midhurst and down to Chichester. For the run home, I took the quick option of A27, A3(M) back to Petersfield before going back on the local roads for the final few miles home. It was actually quite fun, the day was starting to warm up by then and 80 (ish 🙂 ) MPH was comfortable enough, if a little noisy. Keeping the speed up stops the trucks seeming quite so daunting, I wouldn't want to be cruising on the slow lane in between the trucks at 55 or 60 mph! I'm also using the biker excuse of I have a loud exhaust so that you know I'm near! Temperature also has a big impact. A few months earlier thanks to some local road closures we had to run up the A3 from Petersfield to Guildford, whilst the Hindhead tunnel was fun, the cold made the journey far less enjoyable. By the time I got to Newlands Corner my right arm and right side of my head were frozen. In hindsight putting the doors on instead of using the wind deflectors might have been a sensible move..... Haha yes i quickly found that keeping away from the big stuff gave me some comfort, not that i needed much of an excuse to tickle the throttle now and again😇 think i might have a little jaunt down to Elstead mill with the missus for lunch one day just so i can have a quick blast through the Hindhead tunnel😉 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Euan Hoosearmy Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 @sparksmartthe tunnel has a strange effect on my Westfield, my speed keeps dropping off and I have to give the throttle a big kick to get back up to the limit. 🤪 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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