Thinking Of Building A Westfield - A Couple Of Questions

[cjwood23]

Hi guys!

Been lurking for a while and thought I should introduce myself.

My name's Chris and I've recently had to give up SCUBA diving on health grounds - luckily nothing that affects driving!

So I've flogged all my kit and need a new hobby

Had a TVR until recently but have sold that to help with our recent house move.

Only downside is our new place has a single garage (previously had a double garage - but two bedrooms and two kids meant we needed a bigger house!!).

Have been thinking about building a kit for ages, and hoping now is the time.

Have been think of the SDV (probably MX5).

Obviously need to get a donor to strip - also considered one of the donor packs listed on MX5 heaven - anyone used these?

Am hoping to use a 1.8 either MKI or II - are there any issues with the MKII 1.8 diff fitting the chassis?

With the price of the starter kit being £3k, do I need to get the completion pack or can I source my own bits etc to finish it off?

Main things really (that I can see...) will be:

Lighting

Springs/dampers

Seats

Belts

Mirrors

Steering rack (is this an escort item??)

Dash

Does that about cover it?

Also what sort of budget should I be aiming at?

Or, would I be better going for the 'multi donor' starter kit? (slightly higher outlay).

Thanks

Chris

Edited February 8, 2012 by cjwood23

[Captain Colonial]

First of all, welcome! You're in the right place and asking some good questions that will get great answers.

SmokeyMow will be along shortly to help you along and point you towards some excellent build threads and blogs. In addition, there's a few build threads on the go in the Chat area that are crammed full of excellent stuff that would apply to your dreams.

Once you make the choice to proceed, join us as a WSCC member and you'll get full access to search the forums that can provide invaluable assistance from people who have already been there, done that, got the T-shirt!

Best of luck!

[peterm135]

Also what sort of budget should I be aiming at?

That really depends on the spec you want,

I have found i wanted some things, didn't go with my first choice, regretted it and have bought them as upgrades !

On the up side i have almost enough stuff to build a second car now

[Mooch]

Hi, Chris, Welcome to the Boardroom.

You'll find a number of us have gone down the MX5 SDV route. Have a look at Kugawestis's and Dommo's build blogs which appear regularly on these pages they are currently doing a couple of very nice builds. I did the 1.6 version, mainly because my brother had a thoroughly loved MX5 1.6 Mk 1 that had only done 20k over 10 years with loads of service history and a new clutch but failing subframes that would not get through the next MOT, so it made sense for me to use this as my donor. I got the car for £600 and made around £300 selling on bits I didn't need (splitting this with my brother) - there's a thriving e-bay market for MX5 bits. The rearview mirror even made £18! Some have completely covered their donor costs in this way - the trade off is that the palletised kits are usually guaranteed, but you won't recoup any costs.

The 1.8 engine is a bit bigger than the 1.6 and needs a few tweaks to engine mounts and body panel flanges, but nothing onerous. It's a bit heavier than the 1.6, but has more power so I suspect things even out (note that the later 1.6s were detuned so they did not overshadow the 1.8) - however, I've yet to see the two side by side. I know mine is no slouch, even with only 114 horse powers.

The build was great fun - I 'work from home' so was able to spend a lot of time in the garage pretending I was in the office (Blackberrys are good things) - it was addictive stuff. Donor arrived in Feb 11, starter kit the next month and it was road legal in mid Oct 11. There are some super people on this forum who will go out of their way to help, whatever the problem (Hi, Smokey, Dean and TigBrother et al!) Unlike these guys, I used the donor instruments and 'curvy' dash, which makes me the odd one out, I think - the others all seem to have gone for a more traditional westfield flat dash which is a bit more work and adds around £400 or so for the dials etc, but it does look good. If I did it again, I'd go down this route but didn't have the confidence on this project, which was my first ever build.

As for the cost, I bought the whole Westfield package - starter and completion kit - and build a stock version. My aim was to get it on the road and then succumb to upgrade-itis. I did the whole thing, including donor, kit, IVA test registration, tax, suspension set up etc and all the peripherals like tools and fluids for a fraction over £11k. For that, I have a honey of a car that puts a huge smile on my face (and, incidentally, anyone who sees it whizzing by) and has all the reliability (touches wood) of the original car, but with around 1000lbs less weight to trouble the lovely lighteight free-revving engine and cracking gearbox that made the original car such a winner. Oh...and no Q plate....

Go on....you know you want to.........!

[XTR2Turbo]

I think someone was selling an SDV kit a few weeks back for much less than cost. Would be cheapest way to build.

Also Westfield have 15% off all kits if ordered before end of Feb

[Mooch]

Good point - should add that my costs were with a 10% discount on the Westfield kit.

[dombanks]

Hi there

i did the SDV route using a sierra. i only bought the starter kit and sourced all the other bits my self. I think doing this has both advantages and disadvantages.

the advantages were you can customise the car to what you want also this means you can source the bits cheaper such as buying a set of JK's was less than the normal seats. or you could get bits from ebay or the parts section. also you can spread your costs out a little as you dont have to buy it all in one go.

the disadvantage for me was sometimes as a bit wasnt there you had to source it and wait for delivery, sometimes it wasnt obvious what you needed and with a complete kit its sort of (ish) all there. often i ended up just going to WF anyway for bits. I think getting it all from westfield makes it a little easier. I did buy bits wrong as well and then had to rebuy them and sell the wrong bit on.

for me i really liked going down this route and if i was to do it again i would consider doing the same thing again

[Mark (smokey mow)]

Hi Chris,

I think Mike (mooch) has already covered most things very well so I’ll try not to repeat, there’s a lot of stuff in the archives but unfortunately you need to be a member to search, but have a read of this thread as a starter.

http://forum.wscc.co...post__p__908772

My car was built from an MX5 heaven Donor pack. They allowed me to tailor it’s contents and pick and choose what I had. I wanted to use brand new brakes etc. so they knocked that of the price. As mentioned already the disadvantage of that route is that you can’t recoup any of the cost of parts you don’t use, but you also don’t have a rusty mx5 to store and you can start building right away.

Budget wise, don’t believe Westfield’s hype that you can build an SDV for £8,445. I haven’t seen it done yet. Current price of the SDV starter kit is 3150, but bear in mind that powder coating of the chassis and wishbones is charged extra at £220 and £80 and to my knowledge you can’t actually buy them unfinished to get it done yourself it is cheeper to then buy the completion package rather than buying the parts individually but at £5295 you may prefer to do as I did and source the parts individually to help spread the cost. Other costs to consider are the Fluids and all the small bits and pieces, hose clips and extra screws etc that really add up! And of course the IVA test and registration which IIRC is around £450 to VOSA and £200 for the DVLA. So realistically I doubt you could get one on the road for less than £10K. My build deviated a long way from “the standard” and owed me about £15K buy the time it first hit the road.

Page 7 of the price list will give you an idea of the list of other parts you’ll need to source if you don’t get the completion package.

Many will tell you the cheapest route to ownership is to buy one already built and they’re right, but some of us prefer the enjoyment and satisfaction of having built our own cars. Craig’s part finished SDV does represent good value as a part finished project if you want something with a lot of the hard work done, but still budget for the extra parts it will need maybe another £1K and then the testing and first reg fees. So potentially on the road for £6.5K.

Going back to your other questions, there’s no difference to my knowledge between the Mk1 and Mk2 1800 diffs so either will fit fine. The early 1600’s however are different and have a shorter diff nose.

For me I like the appeal of the SDV over the multi donor cars. Mazda parts are plentiful, you get a better set of gear ratios in the gearbox as standard than compared to the ford offerings and it starts and drives just as easily as the mx5 upon which it’s based, but has the power there when you want to use it.

For an idea of performance this is mine running at Snetterton last year. Engine has been tweeked slightly from the stock 1600, so is making around the same/ slightly more than a stock 1800.

Mark

[Dommo]

I think the Mk2s have different uprights compared to the Mk1, but Westfield can accommodate this. If you use a later model donor you'll also need a catalytic converter, £275 extra.

The only problem with a single garage is storage of the parts whilst you're building. I just about took apart the donor vehicle in mine, but haven't struggled for width building the car up.

There's a budget page on my blog below which might help. If I was doing it all again, I'd definitely invest in more air tools, and allocate more money towards service items.

I originally planned 12.3k for my build and have already managed to surpass that. I think I've got another 1.5k to go. It can definitely be done cheaper than mine of course! I'm going for things like the FW front end, digital dash and the like. Could it be done for 9k? Probably, if you're really strict with yourself and had a donor that needed no bits replacing.

It's definitely rewarding building the car from scratch though, and I hope it's all worth it in the end!

[Westie66]

Hi Chris

I used a mk2.5 donor which is rare so had to find my way a little. Overall is wasn't too bad and I got everything together. Now I have finished the build I have had a couple of messages from people asking about issues using a later donor and I can throw a list of issues together for anyone who asks. You can get some really good deals on insurance Cat C and D cars and they can have low milage. Mine was a 2004 car so I got the VVT engine with good power output.

[cjwood23]

Thanks for the info guys!

Are there any owenrs of a Mazda SDV in the Cannock/Stafford area? If so would you mind if I had a look at your cars?

Tried contacting the Cannock region through their website but no joy at the moment in a reply (maybe gone into spam!).

[CRAIGR]

Hi CJ

Welcome to the forum

If my sdv is of any interest to you feel free to contact me on the number in the thread below. If not good luck with your search.

http://forum.wscc.co.uk/forum/index.php?/topic/91092-mazda-sdv-seiw/

[KugaWestie]

Its definitely a great experience, and I am well on the way to getting my build complete. I bought my kit more or less unstarted from Craig ^^^, and his kit does represent good value if you fancied taking a part completed kit.

I have a build blog running here http://forum.wscc.co...s-build-thread/ and Dommo has one running here http://forum.wscc.co...-build-started/ We are both building using 1.8 Mark One donors

There is plenty of help and advice on here, and I have received lots of help from "been there got the t Shirt" builders on my journey, and I am sure I will need a bit more

A single garage is tight as Dommo says - you will get an idea from our diaries. I stored my tub, bonnet, scuttle and lots of other pieces outside in the back garden under a tarpaulin for a while until I could sensibly get them on the car.

Budget creep will happen, as "upgradeitus" will kick in during the build - it has with me.

Other things to consider are the state of the engine (either donor pack or breaking a car) as if you plan on building a keeper, this is worth looking at carefully to make sure you get a decent engine in the car to last you, rather than have to pull it all out in a couple of years for a rebuild.

The wiring loom is time consuming and a bit daunting at first as you re-use/adapt the Mazda loom, but again, lots of help and advice is on hand here to get you through it.

The other good thing about building your own is that you learn everything about the car as you go.

I have not got mine built yet, but cannot wait to get it done now.

HTH

[stephenh]

Hi Chris,

I dont have a Mazda engined car, mine is a duratec. However I'm wondering if I know you, from your boardroom name? You're welcome to have a run out in my car when the weather is better if you like.

All the best,

StephenH.

[cjwood23]

Hi Chris,

I dont have a Mazda engined car, mine is a duratec. However I'm wondering if I know you, from your boardroom name? You're welcome to have a run out in my car when the weather is better if you like.

All the best,

StephenH.

Hi Stephen,

Thanks for the reply and offer of a run-out.

Not sure if we know each other - you may have seen me post on LCB.