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Hi and views sought on my first car I'm about to buy!


DGTi

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I'd also check the water pump.... is hard to tell for sure from those pics, but it looks like the outlet from the water pump is angled (not perpendicular) to the block. If it is, that's the wrong water pump for a Silvertop with a three pulley belt. If it's the wrong pump it will be running backwards.... You need the pump from an Escort, not a Mondeo.

 

I've a standard 2L Silvertop with twin Webers. It's been dyno'd (by previous owner) at 160 BHP. You can get to 180-190 but need to "invest" a little to get there... if that's been done, that's a bonus. 160 goes very nicely, at some point, I will upgrade it...

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Wow good eye thank you - I agree it does look angled. If it is the wrong one and running backwards is it just less efficient at circulating the coolant?

I'm assuming it would still be doing enough to prevent overheating / damage?

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Yeah, going backwards it's less efficient at moving the water around. 

 

Mine had been running with the wrong pump for a few years before I got it and corrected it. It's not had any issues from it, but it did have some other plumbing issues like the bypass output being piped straight to the rad so the engine always struggled to get warm in the first place.

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8 hours ago, DGTi said:

Hello, My names Andy and I'm in the process of buying a Westie (hopefully)

I've been stalking the forums for quite a while now but having seen a car that I'm interested in buying I thought it would be a good time to sign up, plus I have a question I am hoping you can help with! 🙂

 

The car I am looking at is a 2004 SEIW with a 2.0l Zetec engine. It has a reasonable amount of modification carried out and is probably 90% what I am after. On checking the MOT history for the car I noticed that the mileage hasn't changed since 2017.

Being that the car will be made up from various new / used parts I'm not overly concerned with the mileage as long as it is in good mechanical condition and it has got a good amount of build / service history with it, however the seller has stated that the 'Speedo wasn't working when he purchased it and he hasn't been able to fix it, but accepted the car based on the condition, and that this is a fairly common issue'.

 

I've read a few posts regarding issues with damp and the digital Odometer displays not showing (I'm not sure if this is digital) but I can't see it as a common issue as such. 

 

Is this something that is to be expected or would it raise a flag with more experienced members? 

 

The car is based around 300 miles from me, but 10 minutes (luckily) from my father in law so he is going to have a look at it this evening.

 

Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated - Thanks in advance, 

Andy 

 

This company can supply a replacement screen kit for the Speedo. A few members have done a write up about it.Screenshot_20240813-202234.thumb.png.1426da1b4209b76fc16a0f5933e02fa7.png

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Hi Andy, take your time. Do some homework,13k is a lot of money.

If in the future you want injection its a big thing.

Looks a lovely well looked after car.

I'm happy with mine, but if id have done more homework and not been as pig-headed.

I may have taken a different path.

Great fun though.

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^^^ what he said…

 

£13k is strong money for a silvertop on carbs. It would need to be in exceptional condition to be worth that in my view. 
 

There’s plenty of choice, take your time and take an expert (if possible) with you. Those who know these cars, know what to look for (water pump being a good example!)

 

It looks like it has a Raceline exhaust which might suggest engine mods (required for claimed bhp on carbs). 
 

You mention driving without a screen- that’s no issue as the aeroscreen should work well BUT I would always recommend wearing a helmet in a caged car. 

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  • Ian Kinder (Bagpuss) - Joint Peak District AO changed the title to Hi and views sought on my first car I'm about to buy!

Hi!

The car popped up on my Facebook Marketplace feed this morning as I'm located reasonably close to it.

Buy it via that platform and save yourself £500 😉

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

13k gets you ALOT of Westfield at the moment and whilst the sales slow down in winter they do still pop up at even better value and not much of the season left anyways.....don't rush.

Like others have said injection would be expected at that price and more turn key reliability, powers and drivability. (He says after breaking down at the weekend😁) good luck with the hunt......I'd be looking at terrys s2000 that's a bargain

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On 14/08/2024 at 07:50, Kingster said:

 

You mention driving without a screen- that’s no issue as the aeroscreen should work well BUT I would always recommend wearing a helmet in a caged car. 

 

I sometimes drive my caged car without a helmet but have to admit it's not sensible. Your cage can kill you if you have an off. Ironically I never let my son be a passenger without a helmet. 

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Afternoon everyone, thanks for all the advice and feedback

 

It’s been a busy couple of weeks since I posted but ultimately I bought the car… possibly a decision of the heart more than the head, but of what I have seen up to that point it seemed to be about right given the parts list and spec which fitted the bill of what I was looking for with most of the components. (I will now avoid the cars for sale section and autotrader like the plague for fear of seeing something better for the money!! Haha) luckily I’d seen the Facebook advert before I went down and managed to begin the conversation from the £12.5k price and managed to work the viewing and collection well with a visit to family and the purchase of a car trailer along the way!

 

It looks like a really tidy initial build with very neat wiring from some of the others I've seen, and the engine is of a good spec with reasonable upgrades although the paperwork trail wasn’t complete there was information on the cams and some receipts from Dunnell and Burton along with a dyno (all be it a few years old now) showing 197 BHP @  the fly wheel – which I do take with a pinch of salt but at least shows the work that has gone into it.

 

The car drives well, and having got the carbs set up runs superbly now. I don’t think the car has seen much use since it was sold to the owner before this one, the front tyres are 2015 dated and well-treaded.

 

Having had a short stint on a track with it I have also discovered that the header tank pressure cap was faulty as the coolant bubbled over as discovered from the hot dripping on my leg! 😅 A quick fix with a new cap seems to have resolved the issue but also shows that the car probably hasn’t been driven hard in recent times being that I managed to do that on one of my first proper outings!

 

It could do with some TLC in places with a few chips in the gelcoat and some crazing on the bonnet; I’m hoping I can get these tidied up easily enough as they are all on removable panels (bonnet / arch) but ultimately they don’t affect the drivability; which is great and puts a smile on my face!

 

I’ve got a list of things to keep my busy over the winter which is also good, including figuring out why the speedo isn’t working (although the mileage does display the speed & mileage don’t register) and the water pump which does come out at an angle so I imagine that it’s circulating the wrong way which won’t help as noted above.

 

Thanks again

Andy 

 

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Well done and good luck with your purchase. 

 

You sound quite technically minded and tbh I derive almost as much pleasure out in the garage tinkering with the Westy as I do driving it.

 

Take care

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When you do the water pump, have a look at the thermostat housing, if it's a plastic one, look at replacing it with an alloy one (there's been some recent threads on these) or a water rail (more expensive, more work). 

 

There's not a lot of clearance between the bulkhead and the thermostat housing and if you hit a big enough pothole, they get together and the housing loses (snaps).... and dumps your coolant for you.

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Congratulations on the purchase, 200bhp in a Westfield is a whole heap of fun!

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If it’s your first “seven” type car, do be careful with the loud pedal until you get used to it! 
 

Even if you have had performance cars in the past, 200bhp in something so light can go wrong very quickly 👍

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