Hello all! Chassis number question

[Gillinghampaul]

Hi, im new to westfields and pretty new to kit cars,

im looking at a few cars, do we know what the first parts of the chassis number should be? 

SA9WSL is this live axle and I at the end be independent? 

Also any idea on the differences in chassis between sports 2000 chassis and the megablade chassis? So I could identify which it is?

 

Many thanks

 

[Ian Kinder (Bagpuss) - Joint Peak District AO]

9 hours ago, Gillinghampaul said:

Hi, im new to westfields and pretty new to kit cars,

im looking at a few cars, do we know what the first parts of the chassis number should be? 

SA9WSL is this live axle and I at the end be independent? 

Also any idea on the differences in chassis between sports 2000 chassis and the megablade chassis? So I could identify which it is?

 

Many thanks

 

Welcome, you'll likely get an answer in Tech, rather than the start line. I've edited your post title to hopefully help.

 

[Gillinghampaul]

Thankyou, ill look at putting it in the tech section instead, im very very new to this forum!

 

Edit, i cant access much of the other sections at the moment,i dont know why

Edited 6 hours ago by Gillinghampaul
Update

[Ian Kinder (Bagpuss) - Joint Peak District AO]

10 minutes ago, Gillinghampaul said:

Thankyou, ill look at putting it in the tech section instead, im very very new to this forum!

 

Edit, i cant access much of the other sections at the moment,i dont know why

Some areas are locked down until you're a full member, you'll soon realise what a great club you've joined and the breadth and depth of knowledge it contains.

[Captain Colonial]

11 hours ago, Gillinghampaul said:

im looking at a few cars, do we know what the first parts of the chassis number should be? 

SA9WSL is this live axle and I at the end be independent? 

Also any idea on the differences in chassis between sports 2000 chassis and the megablade chassis? So I could identify which it is?

 

The format of the chassis numbers changed a few times over the years so there no definitive answer to that, although I’m sure you know what WSL stands for.

 

The chassis numbers won’t indicate if it’s a live axle or an independent as that information is not coded into the number.  A quick look under the back of the car will tell you.

 

Differences between the two chassis are rather subtle, so much so that it would be difficult to explain - a knowledgeable experienced Westfield enthusiast would be able to tell, but it wouldn’t jump out and scream at anyone else.

 

 

[Gillinghampaul]

Im looking at a car that looks to of been a home built sport 2000 in about 2001, but is now in megablade spec, it all looks good, i just expected to see a 1 or an i where the L is on the chassis number, and reg comes back as a sport 2000, not a megablade, engine number and chassis number all match stamped and logbook and the chassis in the engine area looks to be the same as megablade chassis i have seen, i know it completely possible for this conversion to have been done, it is a live axle, i was just hoping to find other evidence of it being a converted sport 2000 chassis that has been modified, unless sport 2000 could of been ordered from factory with bike engine mounts? 

Its a lovely car and im very excited to become a westie owner, and im almost definately being over cautious, but i am quite new so thought id see what the more experienced of you may think! 

 

Thankyou for the welcome so far too

[Euan Hoosearmy]

I've a homebuilt sport 2000 that's independent rear suspension. Sport 2000 was originally sold expecting a 2L Zetec Silvertop. So unless you have the original sales paperwork, it's going to be difficult to work out what was supplied from the factory vs changed after. Also the model description on the V5 seems to have more to do with what the builder put on the paperwork than anything else.

 

It's also worth looking at the bodywork, so you know what you're getting. Bodywork has changed a few times over the years. The simplest place to start is the bonnet....

 

If it's got 4 external clips holding the bonnet on, it's most likely "kit" bodywork.

 

If it's got two locating pins at the front of the bonnet and two clips at the back it's ZK bodywork

 

There's no better or worse, it's more that ZK bits won't always fit with "kit" bits, so you need to know what you have. There is a more comprehensive bodywork guide in the tech section which is worth every penny of the membership in terms of knowledge to keep a Westie running.

[Gillinghampaul]

There is very little to no original paperwork, original builder owned a few years then owned for around 20 years by current owner, its kit bodywork from your info too, i believe it was converted or built to bike spec by the first owner, 

Iv no reason to believe anything is wrong i have just heard you need to be carefull, the only things i noticed have been sport 2000 instead of megablade, and one of the "mot description" in a vehicle check said 1999cc so assumed it was a 2.0 at some point early on? 

Oh and the L instead of an i or a 1 on the 6 digit of the vin, but again quite easy to see how this was done, the builder might of used L to avoid confusion between i and 1? 

And from the helpfull replies so far, ill be joining as soon as i have bought the car! 

[Ian Kinder (Bagpuss) - Joint Peak District AO]

Others may suggest if it's a bike engine car you're after, the chassis will be heavier that a true factory megablade chassis. Though it's better than having a BEC with a car engine in!

 

 

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman)]

To the best of my knowledge, all BEC chassis are independent rear suspension. They also use a lighter gauge tube for the chassis and a slightly narrower tunnel, as there's no big car gearbox in it. Obviously, they also have the mounting brackets for an engine cradle, but that's the sort of thing that's easily retro fitted in a conversion.

 

All the factory bec info I've seen usually shows a single aluminium undertray, that encloses the tunnel too. Though again, not diffinitive as could be retro fitted to most models.

 

A well converted car to bike chassis is going to be OK, just a tiny bit heavier than an original BEC, also as it's not a factory Mega Blade, Mega Bird or Mega Busa, you'd expect the second hand value to be slightly softer. How much depends how good a conversion it is.

 

I would want to know why the V5 is incorrect though, I'd need to satisfy myself beyond all reasonable doubt that it was laziness/ignorance or incompetence, because the incorrect engine listed on the V5 could bite you hard if an insurance claim ever needed to be made on the car, for example.

 

Ideally, I'd want it sorting before sale, in case the swap hasn't been listed for more worrying reasons.

 

- Again, there's nothing in principle wrong with the swap, it's just making sure it's all nice and official!

[Gillinghampaul]

It all looke nice and official, the v5 shows the correct engine and engine size, the chassis number and vin looks good too, the mot descprtion was just a little comment on one of the car vehicle type check things, i dont know where it originates from? May be from the mot testers description? 

It is fairly priced and has been used well, but it is in my budget and allows me to tidy it up too, 

I hope to be jouning as a full member soon! 

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman)]

Sounds all good!

[Gillinghampaul]

I have joined, having the short term option is a really good idea, i am really hoping to buy the car but wont get to it for just over a week, just keep my fingers crossed it doesnt sell before that

 

[Euan Hoosearmy]

There's a steady supply of them out there... I missed on the first one I wanted. Didn't take too long to find another...

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman)]

12 minutes ago, Euan Hoosearmy said:

There's a steady supply of them out there... I missed on the first one I wanted. Didn't take too long to find another...

And some times, things like that can even end up working out for the best!