A Different Westfield For Me. A Few Will Remember Tim Reid's Old Car, 1.6 Ecoboost Conversion & What I've Now Done

[Westygav]

I'd owned my previous impulse purchase Westfield for 2 years and although I loved that car and it is brilliant, I was starting to get itchy feet, but I wasn't sure for what exactly.  Maybe a completely different car, another different spec' Westfield, I just didn't know.  

 

Anyway, I was looking in the For Sale section on here one Tuesday morning and noticed Tim's old car which was currently owned by Dave.  When I first saw it, Dave had reduced the price from his original asking price. I personally find it difficult (pretty clueless actually) to understand the price points of our cars, simply due to the mass of variations out there and what value that gives to each car. However when I looked at the car I even thought to myself, that looks like a bargain. 

 

I had a quick flick through the build diary (Tim's) that morning, but I was busy with work and couldn't pay too much attention to it, but I kept thinking about the car during the day. That evening I was at football training with my son when my friend Steve called to ask if I'd seen the advert for the car, he obviously knew I was having itchy feet because we'd chatted numerous times about what to buy next, he was having similar itchy feet with his Westfield too. We had a chat and I knew if Steve was telling me about the car, which he'd extensively followed during the build process then it was worth giving Dave a call. 

 

I called Dave that evening and decided to buy it on the strength of that chat, the build thread and having a conversation with a couple of my friends in our community. After all, what did I have to lose? If I liked it, I'd either keep both Westfields, or sell my current one, or if I didn't like it, sell Dave's car. 

 

Dave was great to deal with, really nice chap and he needed the funds to setup his vehicle transport business. This was a blessing in disguise because he lives 3 hours away, but Kindly delivered the car to me as part of the sale. 

 

Rob (Hunter) told me the car was 'no garage queen' and when the car turned up he was right, she'd need a bit of tidying up here and there but nothing a bit of effort wouldn't sort out. 

 

Steve was with me when the car arrived and once I'd sorted out the paperwork with Dave and said our goodbyes, Steve and I jumped in the car for a drive.  Within a mile of my home, we hit the first national speed limit and 30 seconds later I knew my old Westfield was going up for sale. The car was rapid, the sound of the turbo, the power and the pull had Steve and I giggling like excited children. 

 

If you considered Dave's car for the price he originally wanted for it and thought no, you missed out on an amazing car for the money. If you looked again when he dropped the price and thought no again, then I am seriously lucky to have seen it when I did because the car as it was, for that money was an absolute bargain. 

 

But as I said, she needed a bit of fettling to make her look nice. First thing was to get the wishbones off and tidy them up, including the front and rear shocks. Nothing that a bit of time, effort and paint couldn't fix. 

 

The bodywork was a little dull in a few places and a couple of scratches here and there but some red t-cut and red polish really brought that to life again. I also added some rubber edge trimming to a few points around the car to finish that off.

 

The Image wheels were looking very tired and needed doing. Unfortunately no wheel refurbishing business wanted to touch them, because they're a three way split rim.  One business said they'd do it, so I dropped them off and went on holiday expecting them to be done on my return. Well no, that didn't happen. I received a call 2 days into my holiday to say they can't do them because THEY'RE A 3 WAY SPLIT RIM!!!! Which I replied, I know they are and you know they are because I told you they are and they were still a 3 wat split rim when I dropped them off (roll eyes)!

 

The only place that said they'd do them was Image Wheel themselves, but they wanted £700 + VAT! In the end I did them myself. Bought new bolts, prepped, masked, primed and sprayed them, without having to split the wheels. Cost me about £65 to do. 

 

Tyre's are a bit a headache for the 13inch rims. I bought new tyres for it and to get wide tyres on the back (235/45) the profile is low and not much option, but the car is balanced really well and the grip is excellent. I've also adjusted for the tyre profile differences and got the correct amount of rake from rear to the back, I just don't like the way it looks, it's definitely function over form. Once these rears wear down I'll, buy some 205/60 (like the front) and see if there's any difference in grip or handling levels. 

 

The Aim dash in the car is fantastic, unfortunately (initially) I decided to plug the laptop into it to see what it was all about and I went at it like a total idiot and an utter bull in China shop. Zero preparation and zero research on how the software works etc. In my idiotic haste I managed to wipe absolutely everything off it, including what channels from the ECU coming into the dash were doing what and what specific milliamp parameters were reading to activate different functions etc, I royally screwed it up. And after standing in my garage and screaming no no no no and shaking for 30 minutes, I set about trying to rectify my mistake. 

 

In the end it turned out to be a blessing in disguise (it took several hours). I learnt more about the car, the ECU and of course how the AIM software works. Because of that, I've added more functions to the AIM dash than before and set it up how I want it, plus if I want to change it, I can now easily do that. But most importantly, I've saved my current setup as a base, in the AIM cloud, on my laptop and on a data stick.......... I can't go through that anxiety again! 😄

 

I changed the pads on the car, they were good but more focused towards higher and constant temps on track and when coming to a stop they squealed a fair bit. New pads in and they're great and I've now got a spare set for trackdays. 

 

NEW HYBRID TURBO - Don't get me wrong, the car was already fast but being like most of use, wanting more and actually NEEDING more of anything usually don't really correlate to one an other. So I bought a X48R hybrid turbo from Pumaspeed and a set of uprated coilpacks too.

 

The X48R turbo is allegedly rated on the standard engine at 1.6 BAR boost for around 347bhp. Mine is running at 1.45BAR and it's absolutely fantastic, it's rather nippy to say the least! The car sounds sensational, I love the thing, I can't get enough of the turbo intake noise and then the dump. The way the car is setup and handles too, is simply sublime, which really complements the power the car now has.

 

I also cut the section out on the bonnet and added the grill to allow more air into the engine bay. With more Turbo power I expected more heat, plus I prefer the black grill over what Tim had on there before (Sorry Tim).

 

I ordered a full roll cage a while back from caged laser, I had one on my previous car. I like the cages, I personally prefer the look they give the car. To me, the cage adds to the lines of the car and stops them from looking a bit like a slipper. Plus, if something comes up the bonnet, it's nice to know that that the first thing it's now not going to hit is my helmet clad FACE! It took 4 weeks for it to be made and finally delivered, the delivery from Caged Laser could definitely be better, but not the end of the world, just a little frustrating over a few days. 

 

There's been a few other bits and pieces that I've done but that's basically about it. Come the winter there are several  bigger jobs that I'll be doing, but for now that'll do.

 

In a nutshell, I absolutely love this car it is simply phenomenal and I can't stop driving it. 

 

[LoneWolf]

Wow fantastic, it looks even better than before 🤩

Glad we'll see the car on the forum again 👍

[Captain Colonial]

Pure car porn. disgusting.

 

More please, a video methinks.

[Westygav]

I did think about doing a video then thought better of it, 60 & 70mph does come around very quickly. 

[Rob Hunter - Club Secretary]

Just for @Westygav and @Steve Bosworth (who now has Bugmans old car) can everyone please use your best, high pitched "Inbetweeners voice" and say out loud.... "Ecoboost Fwends" 😂

 

 

Seriously though, it's a stunning car and I'm so pleased you've found a car you've gelled with! 👍

[Flying Carrot Steve]

Your psi figures for the hybrid turbo, are they correct? 

[Westygav]

10 minutes ago, Flying Carrot Steve said:

Your psi figures for the hybrid turbo, are they correct? 

 

My quoted 1.45psi and 1.6psi are totally incorrect because I meant 1.45 BAR and 1.6 BAR. 😁 I did wonder why 0-60mph was 34 seconds!

 

I'll edit my post now. 

[DarrenK]

That is stunning, congrats 😎

[Westygav]

Thanks Darren

[Flying Carrot Steve]

13 minutes ago, Westygav said:

 

My quoted 1.45psi and 1.6psi are totally incorrect because I meant 1.45 BAR and 1.6 BAR. 😁 I did wonder why 0-60mph was 34 seconds!

 

I'll edit my post now. 

 

I suspected as much 😂🍺🍺

[Westygav]

4 minutes ago, Flying Carrot Steve said:

 

I suspected as much 😂🍺🍺

 

I actually knew what I was typing really with the PSI 'thing'. I just wanted to test who was the most eagle eyed on the forum.

 

Well done Steve you've won......eeerrmmm absolutely nothing.😃

[Flying Carrot Steve]

7 minutes ago, Westygav said:

 

I actually knew what I was typing really with the PSI 'thing'. I just wanted to test who was the most eagle eyed on the forum.

 

Well done Steve you've won......eeerrmmm absolutely nothing.😃

 

Amazing!  I can't wait to receive absolutely nothing in the post! 🍺

 

Absolutely gorgeous car too btw. I have a turbo Zetec, runs up to about 1.1 PSI, sorry I mean BAR, and that makes it more than fast enough for me 👍😁

[Westygav]

Thanks Steve

 

It's definitely quick that's for sure and more than enough for me. Doing 80-90mph and putting my foot down, I can't count as fast as it now accelerates (in theory of course). 

[Rob Hunter - Club Secretary]

16 minutes ago, Westygav said:

Thanks Steve

 

It's definitely quick that's for sure and more than enough for me. Doing 80-90mph and putting my foot down, I can't count as fast as it now accelerates (in theory of course). 

 

Is it fast or are you just bad at counting?

[Westygav]

I’ll have you know, my counting these days is exceptional. I’ve been practicing since having the hybrid turbo fitted. Even learnt how to do my 10s times tables too.

 

I’m proper right clever on them maths digits, number and ffffiinnggsss nah ya know.