Jools Posted January 19, 2003 Share Posted January 19, 2003 All, I am a new Westfield owner who took ownership of the car 8 months ago from a friend who I understand bought it from the guy who built it. No service history available, in fact I know little or nothing about the car, other than it spent the last three years before I bought it off the road merely sitting idle in a garage. The car is the first of the wide-bodied design and is an SE model from 95/96 I believe and on a Q plate. It has a 1.7 ltr cross flow engine, a 4-speed Ford gearbox, a Mk II rear axle, fitted with twin 40’s and has an oil cooler as well. It had two pot brake callipers and rear drums fitted and runs on 13” 3-spoke alloys from a Fiesta RS Turbo. The suspension is ride and height adjustable, made by Spax. What I plan to do is fit a Vauxhall 2.0 ltr 16V engine (The only part I have at home already) with a Ford 5-speed box and fit a LSD to the rear axle. I would like to fit the biggest and widest wheels appropriate. I would also like to have a more modern dashboard, as the one I have has really old fashioned looking switches, with the rev and speedo clocks more in the middle of the dash. I would also like to convert the rear brakes to disk and if required, fit bigger brakes to the front end. I have recently upgraded the head light units to H4 halogen type instead of the fixed beam units that were fitted, but would like to do something with the rear lights to make them more modern looking. The car has a fog light fitted, but no reverse light. The car has one drivers side mirror fitted, but I would like to fit two new mirrors. Also required would be some kind of change gear light/indicator. I have seen rear stone guards on similar cars and feel I would need to consider these for my own car. Lastly I’m not sure about the suspension, will I need to upgrade it to cope with the larger engine? With all the above in mind, I would be grateful for any guidance on what I plan to do and if it is doable or not. Furthermore any advice on sourcing the various parts I would need for my pending upgrade, both the essential parts (running gear, exhaust, new loom, etc) and the nice to have parts (dash and rear lights, etc) will be gratefully received. When finished the car will be used for fast road use and track day activities. Thanks in advance for any help that is offered. Jools Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterg Posted January 19, 2003 Share Posted January 19, 2003 First of all Jools welcome to the Club if there's one place to find out what you need to know it's here! A young fella called Blatman might be along in a minute to help guide you but he will be pleased you've seen the light and chosen the Vx route he will also recommend you do a SEARCH of the extensive archives from all the forums on this site as some if not all of the questions have been asked already......just ensure you tick the 'and older' box Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Stanton Posted January 19, 2003 Share Posted January 19, 2003 Jools Almost everything you are looking at doing is doable You will find many of the answers to your queries already posted somewhere on this forum I would suggest initially to do a search on the boardroom to find out more Your conversion ideas have been done by many before you The one area you may have difficulty with or perhaps re-consider as not necessary is the conversion of rear brakes from drums to disks. Do not let upgrade of front disks lead you down the path of vented solid discs get plenty of cooling on a Westfield and were designed originally for a Cortina weighing three times as much, if not more Oh and don't forget to join the WSCC Good Luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterg Posted January 19, 2003 Share Posted January 19, 2003 Just one or several things to mention while we're waiting for Blatman et al to come along... the wide body cars started becoming available in late 1989/early 1990 so your car may be older than you think OR it's just not one of the first ones..... a shift light can be fitted to pretty much any car but the exact make/model will depend on the ignition system - some systems can come with their own (Weber Alpha/Omex) and other you'll have to buy a third party light and wire it in. for uprated brakes, again do a search but most get hem from either Hi-Spec or CAT Motorsport (their website is on the links page of WSCC). the suspension shouldn't need upgrading just 'cos of the engine change unless it already isn't that good - at worst you probably only need new shocks (AVO are best). if you want to fit another mirror do so although obviously you will have to find which model is fitted first so you can get a match for it Last but by no means least, please don't just fit the biggest wheels/tyres that you can get as these cars are all about handling and anything bigger than 205 width will spoil it - again this has been discussed to death over the last year so please do a search of these forums before you start up another hornet's nest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterg Posted January 19, 2003 Share Posted January 19, 2003 I would suggest initially to do a search on the boardroom to find out more beat you to it Mr Stanton Oh and don't forget to join the WSCC Doh! I forgot that one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike H Posted January 19, 2003 Share Posted January 19, 2003 Hi Jools No experience of SE cars, but I do know someone who has converted from drum to disk - check out 'Conrad's Castle' his website gives details of how he did just that. He also did the xflow-VX swap you're after, his site is: Conrads Castle As for the suspension, have a dig round the archives and you'll see most people swear by AVO shocks rather than Spax and you would need to talk to CAT Motorsport (on links page) about you specific requirements. cheers Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted January 19, 2003 Share Posted January 19, 2003 I'm back............ As the chaps have said, do a search of the archives, 'cos most of this has been covered extensively, and as it's Sunday night, I guess we're all feeling a bit lazy As for the suspension upgrades, I think you need to check what rate springs you have up front. There is a good chance that you may need some heavier springs up front, although there is an equally good chance that what you have will be adequate. Upgrading the Spax to a set of bog standard AVO replacements will show a huge inprovement in ride quality. Wheel size is a personal thing, so why not tell us what sizes you have in mind, and we can then advise you as to what we think about your choices. Try to avoid going all "Max Power" on us though........ Oh, and Welcome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jools Posted January 22, 2003 Author Share Posted January 22, 2003 All, Thanks very much for the welcome and feedback. I am offshore Denmark right now and our Sat comms have taken a beating with all the bad weather lately, but were back on line now. I will do the searches recommend by you all and see what I can learn. Had a lot of Mk II Escorts over the years to play with. I am a regional organiser for the Subaru Impreza Drivers club and have spent the last few years battering around tracks in the all wheel drive variety of car. When I bought my Prodrive Sti last year I promised I wouldn't kill it on the track, like previous cars, so enter the Westy! I had to learn and change the driving style a wee bit….! It's very quick as it is and can show many a car a clean pair of heals as it is in its relatively un-set up mode. But I want to learn about them and set it up best I can. Don't want to go the Max Power route, but need a little bit more grunt on the track. Right now the Speed 6's, and the like, pull away on the straights, but I get them every time under braking and on the back corners of Knockhill, then of course we come to another straight…. I can't get the power down on the hairpin, what with no LSD, so then they come back at me every time on the home straight. Just don't have the legs with the cross flow and I have a mate with a nicely tuned 16V engine. It's actually built by the tuning company…their name begins with Irr…? Used to see it all over Opel Manta's and the like. Regarding tyres I have 205/60/13 and 185/60/13 fitted. No reason, other than this is the size of tyre it came with, but I would like to fit 15's, as this enhances visual appearance. Also I'm sure they won't hurt the handling either…I hope? Hence the comment; "I would like to fit the biggest and widest wheels appropriate". I have actually mailed Westfield for info and prices on what I want to do to get a benchmark on the costing involved. Would you guys have the Spax re-built or binned and get something new/better ?? Thanks again people and I'll keep you informed of my plans so you can keep me right… Jools Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterg Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 Sat Comms! blimey you sure you're not in the Gulf Right now the Speed 6's, and the like, pull away on the straights, but I get them every time under braking unfortunately, unless you have a turbo cossie in the car this pretty much inevitable....try doing a track day at Goodwood or somewhere else with a decent long straight and unless you have very long gearing you'll always run out of top end before something like a Speed 6 It's actually built by the tuning company…their name begins with Irr…? Used to see it all over Opel Manta's and the like you probably mean IRMSCHER, well respected Opel tuner although they're probably better known over here for 'Max Power' type spoilers and bodykits and finally Esther, bin the Spax shocks and get a set of AVO - have a word with Andy @ CAT Motorsport (details on the links page Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 As for wheels and tyres, my personal preference for track work is 205-60-13's rear, and 186-60-13's front. There are a number of reasons why I prefer them. 1. Much less unsprung weight than a 15" wheel and tyre combination. An important consideration on such a lightweight car. 2. I believe that the 13" wheels are more predictable and more progressive on the limit. The have better feel, IMO. 3. 13" tyres will be *much* cheaper than 15" equivalents, and the choice of either Yoko AO21's, AO32's, or crossply Avon ACB10's is all you'll ever need, unless you are racing in a class which doeasn't allow them........ Oh yeah, bin the Spax, buy the "standard" AVO's (or even the slightly more expensive alloy AVO's) from CAT, and transform the feel of the car........AVO's are rebuildable (unlike the Spax), so you'll only ever buy 1 set (in theory), and the turnaround is quick. My last set were rebuilt within 7 days, and that includes the postal "delay"......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Kirk Posted January 23, 2003 Share Posted January 23, 2003 Jools Burton-Power do a rear disc conversion kit(Part # BKESC12) for the escort MK2 axle at £320 excluding the dreaded vat its all bolt on so no welding skills required.It utilises sierra calipers so you maintain a mechanical handbrake mechanism. Burton tel 02085542281 HTH Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jools Posted February 1, 2003 Author Share Posted February 1, 2003 Sent Westfield an e-mail 2 weeks ago, with a letter attached, looking for info and prices on the above. I have spoken with them 4 times now and I'm still waiting for a response from their people. Is this normal? And where else can I but mirrors, dashboard, wiring loom etc? After being away for 3 weeks and now getting ready to go home for the same period, I was hoping to progress the car a bit in my time off. Jools Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Stanton Posted February 1, 2003 Share Posted February 1, 2003 mirrors, dashboard, wiring loom etc? Try calling Plays Kool and Cat Motorsport if you need some options Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jools Posted February 2, 2003 Author Share Posted February 2, 2003 Mark, Any contact details handy, as I'm offshore DK right now. Many thanks, Jools Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quick_Learner Posted February 2, 2003 Share Posted February 2, 2003 www.plays-kool.co.uk http://www.catmotorsport.co.uk QL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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