Bananaman Posted November 19, 2002 Posted November 19, 2002 Hello I am thinking of building myself the ultimate (to me) Westfield & was wondering if anybody had put a spread sheet together for their build that I could use as a basis for scaring me off this patiently stupid & costly idea . Andy Quote
Nick M Posted November 19, 2002 Posted November 19, 2002 If you can wait a couple of months I should have all my Westfield paperwork here in the US. I was going to pluck up the courage and itemise all the invoices to get to a total cost for my engine built / upgrade. If you like I can send you a copy of the finished article and you can see how much things really cost, and where not to make some of the mistakes I made... Quote
Bananaman Posted November 19, 2002 Author Posted November 19, 2002 Nick I would really apreciate this, i keep waivering between upgaring & building, i really need to do all the sums so that i can make an informed desicion. did you go for a light weight chassis & bodywork? Any other ideas? (wow thats a biggie ) Andy How long did it take you to build, will my missus leave me? Quote
Nick M Posted November 19, 2002 Posted November 19, 2002 My car is a 1996 SEiW - normal chassis and fix wheel arch bodywork (not the light weight version). It originally had a Xflow in it and I junked that in favour of a 1.6 16v Vauxhall engine but in doing so I ended up changing a lot of things along the way - brakes, gearbox, fuel tank and plumbing, instruments, suspension, fitted a LSD, etc., etc. The original build took 3 months, and realistically it would have been a month quicker if a) Westfield had given me all of the right parts in the first place and b) we hadn't left the bodywork sitting in the back garden so that it cured in not quite the right position ! 2 weeks of tweaking it gently into place in a super-heated garage (in July !! sorted that one but it's worth noting that you have to be careful. The rebuild, however, took 18 months That was mainly due to lack of time, lack of funds and minimal enthusiasm to go and work in a cold garage during the winter months !! It was eventually finished in July of this year and it has to be said it was worth the wait !! A new build would have been easier in some ways because you always end up spending a lot of time undoing one thing in order to improve it or change it. The wiring for example took me nearly 4 weeks to finish, but there's now around 80' less wire (and weight ! ) in the car than there was before. With a new car I'd have been tempted to get a bespoke loom made up rather than spending time undoing miles of tape and then wrapping the wires back up again. It really does depend on how much of the car you think you need, or rather want, to change. Quote
jonlewis Posted November 20, 2002 Posted November 20, 2002 Banana.... I have posted in your other thread. Will let you have mine over the weekend. A bit of CEC modifying will need to be done as heavy engine costs etc are not in there. Quote
Bananaman Posted November 20, 2002 Author Posted November 20, 2002 Nick I recon that you save about 40kg by fitting the light weight chassis & bodywork. Sounds like the easyest way to save weight? With the Duratec & a few ally bits & bobs should be able to get the car down to 520-530kg, not bad for a CEC? with inproved handelling & an engine that is more tuneable (190 as a starting point 360bhp/tonne ) the world is my sardine . Andy P.S. did you go for a 6 point harness for driver? & what seats have you got? Quote
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