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CVH Power


chrisbin

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Been looking around for a decent Westie for a reasonable price (surprise, surprise!;) - and seen a nice one using 1.6 CVH unit with webbers and competition exhaust - sorry, no more detail yet.

Whats the considered opinion of you experts...??!!

Is it a good starting point, or should I be trying to get more funds together for something different...??????

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Steve Richards asked a similar question for his son about 2 weeks ago so have a search under CVH in the forum archive - basically the replies said it's an OK engine but won't win any mad power battles.....and his son bought the car and is pleased with it so far but is on the steep slippery slope to financial ruin when he realises that you're never satisfied with how the car is and it 'would be a little better with this improvement/enhancement/extra"  :)  have fun  :D  :p

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Having had the CVH powered Westfield mentioned by Peter for a week now, I can confirm that all is very well indeed.

This car is surprisingly nippy (OK it is not as fast as my 1800 SpeedSport but then I would be furious if it was!!;) and knowing what I know now, if my son hadn't bought the car then I would have done.

The CVH engine is reliable enough, develops adequate power for it's capacity, is easy and cost effective to maintain.

For fun for money value it would be difficult to beat. To win hillclimbs/sprints/race series it will need lots of work on the head and other areas in which case perhaps a higher starting point would make more sense (1800/2000 Zetec for example). For fast road use and occasional track days it would be great.

We have only had it for a week but have had several blasts out in it and it hasn't missed  beat.

simcar5.jpg

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Thanks Guys for those comprehensive replies!

Fast Road and occasional track days is exactly the requirement, plus reasonable running costs!

Cheers

Just have to convince the other half now....!!! :(

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For what its worth, Mike Topp won the 750 Motor Club kit car series usinga CVH powered Westfield on a single downdraught carb. No doubt Mr Stanton will be along to recommend Ferraday Engineering shortly. In the meantime have a look here:

www.procomp.co.uk and www.mtmotorsport.co.uk

John

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I've had my CVH for 14 months now.  It's been an incredibly good engine in my opinion.  I have had many moments of horror, but it's turned out that there has been nothing wrong with the engine at all!  From my experience, it's best not to judge the CVH on the usual symptoms of iminant failure.

For example:  I had a little white scum in the oil filler cap appear, (UH OH!! sounds like head crack or gasket - coolant getting into the oil!!!;),  but actually it was condensation forming in the rocker cover when I left it through the winter.  As soon as I started driving it regularly again, the scum disapeared.

There was another time where it went back to westfield for a COMPLETE engine re-build,  as the engine kept suddenly stopping & it looked like I had fuel in the main engine oil.  It turned out that there were no compression problems at all!  Sounds incredibly daft, but it was infact a faulty fuel pump! The fuel pump would cut out and of course starve the carbs.   The petrol gets into the oil because I have twin webers and it's actually a characteristic.  Some people will disagree, but fuel seems to get into the oil of every CVH with twin webbers I've ever seen!

It's generally reliable though.

However CVH can display signs of premature cam wear,  not quite sure why, but I remember reading somewhere about there being a slight error in the design, and for some reason the cam life is less than most engines.  But mine's been ok so far.

Performance wise it's not the most agile beast around,  in fact in it's standard form (i.e. road cam, normal head) my CVH is definitely not what I would call fast.  Although it's great for cruising up Country lanes,  and plenty powerful enough for the road.  But I wouldn't expect that sudden g-force pull in the back you get with say a VX 2.0 litre.

Cheers

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Good ev'nin Mr Loudon (John)

Yep had my CVH on the road for over 10 years now and thankfully its been a reliable little unit and economical to run - been to le Mans and back 3 times countless track days and third season of Speed Series.

Yep as a very satisfied customer I have no problems in saying take a look at Ferriday Engineering www.ferriday.co.uk

Don't look to win any land speed records with a CVH though.  ;)  :D  :)  :cool:

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Er, stephenwolf, do ya need to top up your coolant level?  That tank looks a mite low or your running pure water!

You might want to get some side clips on that battery too.  The guy who had my car before me had the same battery setup and the battery toppled over on its side in a hard right hander.  My baby has the bodywork acid stains to prove it.  :(

I'm sure you're already planning to paint that rocker cover to match too.

Yep, CVH no rocket, but it's quick enough for fast road and odd track days, and very reliable.  Enjoy!

WenchCVH.jpg

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Sadly, it's not my car but my son's and although I am itching to get my hands on it, it his and I must stand back and concentrate on my own Westfield so although painting the cam cover would be high on my list, I have a feeling it is low on his!

The water is still under investigation. As soon as the engine starts, the level comes up to the right place and I am assured by a couple of local club members that this is 'normal'. Personally, I would have suspected an air lock but am assured that this is not the case - the jury is still out!

It doesn't show on the photograph but the battery sits in a 1/3rd inch high aluminium trough rivetted to the base of the scuttle so I think it is safe but thanks for the warning.

I like the appearance of your engine compartment by the way and it confirms that a matching cam cover is required.

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I like the appearance of your engine compartment by the way and it confirms that a matching cam cover is required.

yeah, and twin carbs eh Steve  :D  :D

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Thanks for all the responses!

One point made to me was what about emissions performance, and likely req'ts of future MOT tests...?

Will CVH be clean enough ?

I'm probably asking how long is a piece of string but....... ???

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I wouldn't worry about emissions. As long as the car is properly registered as a Westfield kit car on the registration documents (don't touch it if it's still registered as the donor) there should be no requirement to meet any emissions regulations other than a visible smoke test.

The general consensus is that kit cars are exempt from emissions testing at MOT other than visible smoke, although interpretation seems to vary among MOT inspectors.

Legislation may change in the future - who knows? but is very unlikely to affect vehicles which are already registered retrospectively because this would seriously annoy folk.

In any case, the CVH engine was designed at a time when manufacturers were starting to think about emissions (although there was a bit of a U-turn when the government in their wisdom decided that catalytic converters were the way to go) so compared with a Pinto or Crossflow, for example, it should run pretty clean.

Kevin

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There was another time where it went back to westfield for a COMPLETE engine re-build,  as the engine kept suddenly stopping & it looked like I had fuel in the main engine oil.  It turned out that there were no compression problems at all!  Sounds incredibly daft, but it was infact a faulty fuel pump! The fuel pump would cut out and of course starve the carbs.

Which is precisely what has happened to me with my Facet SS fuel pump!  I've just replaced it and also had to muck about with the fuse box as there was a ground wire problem too.  But it's nice to know that I haven't been the only one to get stranded by a CVH with an intermittent fuel pump problem!

Cheers,

CC

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I run a cvh and it has been an absolute dream,I've never driven any of the real monsters but it certainly seems fast enough to me,even after 3 years.It is quit heavily modified with 135bhp but even still.It doesn't hurt to know it was designed to run on unleaded either  and its light unlike some of the other older engines.

                       Guyon

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