darve Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Hi all I've been a lurker for a while and felt it was time to get on board and become a member! It's been a dream of mine for a while to build a kit car and various research/build diaries have leant me towards a westie. The dream will hopefully become a reality about the back end of next year but wanted to ask a few questions even at this early stage I built a garage last year, so some progress has been made I'm weighing up the options of various build options and would like some help from those who know a hell of a lot more than I do. Obviously, there are a lot of parts that would come in a complete kit, but I'm wondering whether there would be a signifcant cost saving of purchasing the starter kit from westfield and then sourcing the engine/gearbox and many other parts elsewhere. E.g. recon gearbox, engine from scrappy, etc. Looking at possibly a duratec build. Many thanks and I hope to become a long term member here Oh, I'm going to a westfield experience day on Sunday so that should be fun Darve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistol Pete Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Welcome Darve, always good to have new Essex members. Pop along to the Essex meet on the second Sunday at the Lodge in South Woodham Ferrers. Others will be along shortly to answer your question - been a long time since we built ours so well out of touch. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark (smokey mow) Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Welcome to the club Darve If you can as Pete mentioned, pop along to the Lodge on the 11th and if you're lucky they'll be some westfield's there. Mine's taxed from tomorrow so all being well I'll be driving it there As I've found with my latest build there are some significant savings to be made by being patient and sourcing parts second hand through ebay and the forum, but sometimes you do need to wait a while for the right bits to come along. When I built my SDV I only bought the starter kit and not the completion kit, I wanted the flexability to do things differently, but it did work out more expensive for me that way as Westfield do discount the cost of the completion kit compared to the individual price of the parts. Enjoy yourself Sunday, I did a similar experience with them at Millbrook a couple of years back now and it was an excellent day. It's always fun when it's someone elses tyres you're shreading. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darve Posted February 29, 2012 Author Share Posted February 29, 2012 Would this be a good engine for a first build. forum.wscc.co.uk/forum/index.php?/topic/92931-complete-pinto/ I know I mentioned the duratec above but looking at all options at the moment. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 That engine sounds a good way into a budget build, at a quick scan, it effectively comes with all the engine end of the induction/ignition system as a working package, and being a Pinto, it'll mean you won't need a Cat plus fuel injection and engine management to get it through IVA emissions testing, the way you would with a recent Duratec. That saves you money too! (plus if you do upgrade to a Duratec later down the line, the exhaust is already on the right side of the car!) First off, you say you've always wanted to build a kit, which is great, they're a fantastically rewarding project, though they can have you pulling your hair out at times. What I would say though, is build one 'cause you want to build one; it's not a cheap route to car ownership. It will end up costing more than just buying the equivalent car, ready built, second hand. That said, like many, having built one, I'd love to build another, it's addictive As far as the cheapest way to build goes, it sort of depends on your timescale, probably the quickest most cost effective builds these days are the MX5 based Single Donor Cars, due to the savings both of getting most parts from one Donor, which you can still sell the bits you don't need from, and the discounted "completion" kit prices from Westfield. If time isn't an issue though, the traditional multidoner vehicle will ultimately give you the most flexibility, and if you're patient, you'll pick up many of the Donor parts very cheaply. But getting them at the right price will take time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darve Posted March 1, 2012 Author Share Posted March 1, 2012 What do you guys recon of this for a donor? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/140709943251?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649 Quite like the idea of the mx-5 route actually!! I am limited for space although a family member may be persuaded to led a driveway to break the car on The mileage does seem pretty high though - or is that not really something to worry about? Do low mileage write offs come up very often? or are there any better places other than fleabay. I've seen your posts about mx5 pallets smokey so that is always another option. TIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark (smokey mow) Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Sound's like you need to come and meet me Darve, and check out my collection of Mx5 based Westfield's IMO the mazda is a great engine, light, revvy and perfectly suited for a road car, plus they're cheep Depending on what the ebay one goes for it could be a good buy, the bodies normally die long before the engines. I'd been watching this on ebay last week which would have been perfect for you. If you watch ebay and pistonheads there's plenty of cheep MX5's around, the eunos (jap imports) are probably the slightly better buy as they seem to start rusting before the uk. I wouldn't be too concerned about the mileage providing it's not burning oil, everything else is pretty simple to fix, under £500 (here's another example)should get you a useable donor either with accident damage or MOT failure etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darve Posted March 1, 2012 Author Share Posted March 1, 2012 Thanks for all your help so far guys. Mark - you seem the Mx5 guru around here. Would the 1.8 1998 model be ok then? Some WF literature I read said up to 1995...thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark (smokey mow) Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Thanks for all your help so far guys. Mark - you seem the Mx5 guru around here. Would the 1.8 1998 model be ok then? Some WF literature I read said up to 1995...thanks When Westfield first released the Mazda SDV it was developed around the 1600 Mk1. They then did some fettling that allowed the use of the 1800 engine (basically the diff is bigger), and now you can also use the MK2 as a donor as well although I believe you need to advise westfield of this at the time of ordering so the rack mounts are set in the correct position for the Mk2 uprights. Most builders seem to be favouring the 1800 engine as you get 133bhp (Mk1) or 140bhp (Mk2) as standard. Personally I love my 1600 (114bhp) although mine is fettled and now makes about the same power as an 1800. Just stear away from the 1995-97 1600 as they only had 88bhp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darve Posted March 4, 2012 Author Share Posted March 4, 2012 Experience day was excellent. lashed it down all day but still great fun. i neeeeeed one of these cars:-) . on that note, smokey, you will be glad to hear I'm now the proud owner of a 1.8 mx5 :-) :-) :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark (smokey mow) Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Experience day was excellent. lashed it down all day but still great fun. i neeeeeed one of these cars:-) . on that note, smokey, you will be glad to hear I'm now the proud owner of a 1.8 mx5 :-) :-) :-) Not the best of day's for it, but I guess the weather made it alot easier to get the back end out Did you buy the MX5 on eBay in the end? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRAIGR Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Just buy my part built sdv darve and save yourself time and money Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KugaWestie Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Experience day was excellent. lashed it down all day but still great fun. i neeeeeed one of these cars:-) . on that note, smokey, you will be glad to hear I'm now the proud owner of a 1.8 mx5 :-) :-) :-) Ahh let the fun begin - enjoy the build process - I am Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darve Posted March 4, 2012 Author Share Posted March 4, 2012 out and spin out lol. the instructors are very good and make it look very easy. got some satisfying donuts by the end of the day :-) yeah, hopefully the seller will come though. seems reasonable over text. will be speaking to him tomorrow. hope to pick it up next weekend. it's not taxed. any ideas on collecting? don't have a tow bar and my dads cars can't tow the weight. I guess the best way is to tax for six months then sorn and get 5 months back. any suggestions guys? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark (smokey mow) Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 it's not taxed. any ideas on collecting? don't have a tow bar and my dads cars can't tow the weight. I guess the best way is to tax for six months then sorn and get 5 months back. any suggestions guys? It's cheeper to tax it for a year and claim back 11 months. If you buy 6 month tax disc it's more expensive and they pay back the unused months at the lower 12 month rate. Considering one months road tax is only going to cost you £17 it's probably the easiest way of getting the car back home again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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