nefarious_ Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 Finally bit the bullet and signed up for full membership, so I thought I'd better stop lurking in the shadows and say hello properly. Today was my fist proper drive out fo the season, so it seemed like an ideal moment! I've actually had my Westfield nearly a year, and have already had some help from you guys on here re: my rear brakes (a persuded me to abandon my efforts to convert the rear to vented discs, and instead just get the handbrake working properly!). I guess, first up I'll intoduce the car: Its a SEiW, professionally built in 2005 by a garage up in Sterling Since then its had the engine tuned with the following bits: Vauxhall XE, Coscast head, built by Pete MasonOverbored to 86.5mmAcurlite high compression pistons (11.6:1 CR)Steel conrods with ARP boltsGround and balanced crankCustom ported headDouble valve springsSolid lifter buckets with top hat shimsCustom valvles"Ultimate road" cams - 304 deg inlet, 290 deg exhaustVernier pulleysSBD tapped throttle bodiesDTA Pro ECUSBD 4-2-1 stainless manifoldSBD allow low-line sump 224.5bhp @7949rpm, 162.7lbft @6135rpm Car runs 888s and since the above photo has had 6-point harnesses and a few lightweight bits (battery, alternator) added. Current weight is about 560kg wet. It mostly gets used for track fun (although I've also clocked up over 2k road miles in 9 months), which because I live in Edinburgh, mostly means pounding round Knockhill. Hoping to put in a few more road miles this year, as I'm planning to sell my TVR (after 5 years of fun), and am going to be racing a Formula Ford this season (so I'm not going to be going short on track time). So that's me. Hello! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Dastardly Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 Welcome. The Scottish lot are a pretty good bunch, or at least seemed to be the once I met them More photo's would be good.....+ a couple of the trevor Sounds like you're going to have a busy summer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterm135 Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 Welcome from a fellow xe owner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7sRWild Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 Welcome from the Canada contingent....more pics required... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nefarious_ Posted February 3, 2013 Author Share Posted February 3, 2013 More photo's would be good.....+ a couple of the trevor I'm a bit crap with taking photos, but I'll endevour to get some more uploaded. In the meantime, here are some TVR ones from an event at edinburgh airport: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rab (bombero) Reid Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 Hi Neil! Ha, finally signed up! Just realised that I'd completely forgotten to get pics to you of my rear brake set-up...you still needing them? Anyway, welcome and hope to see you soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nefarious_ Posted February 3, 2013 Author Share Posted February 3, 2013 Hi Neil! Ha, finally signed up! Just realised that I'd completely forgotten to get pics to you of my rear brake set-up...you still needing them? Anyway, welcome and hope to see you soon! Hey Rab! Haven't got a whole lot further with the brake experiments (FF preparations have kind of got in the way!) - had the car out today to bed in the new pads, and gave the rear calipers another bleed, and everything *seems* to be working, but I won't really know until I can take some comparative disc temp readings. If you've got some pics or could easily take some , send 'em over - its all useful info. Once you get up and running for the year, we could maybe do some comparative measurement. Mmmm...data...lovely data.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burlers Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 Hello from another fellow XE owner; great choice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmac800 Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 And hello from yet another XE owner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martyblues Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 what the devil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marto303 Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 Welcome nefarious lovely looking westie you have there, have you moved from the cerb to a westie or are you running both? I just wondered what your views on the two different cars were as I have both myself. For me the Cerbera is an awesum car but just doesn't give me the same thrill as the westfield, I think having moved from sports bikes to cars a westfield is about as close as you can get to that bike rush. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norman Verona Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 Welcome. Nice looking car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s2rrr Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 Norman its got an XE inside heehee :d its bound to look nice. Welcome Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nefarious_ Posted February 3, 2013 Author Share Posted February 3, 2013 Welcome nefarious lovely looking westie you have there, have you moved from the cerb to a westie or are you running both? I just wondered what your views on the two different cars were as I have both myself. For me the Cerbera is an awesum car but just doesn't give me the same thrill as the westfield, I think having moved from sports bikes to cars a westfield is about as close as you can get to that bike rush. Currently running both. Meant to be part of my supposedly perfect 4- car garage (+ Jag XJR and Clio 182). The reality is that the TVR and the Westie are actually too close in terms to the role they perform (garage tinkering, trackdays, high-day afternoon blasts), so I'm 99% sure the TVR is going to move onwards this year. It's a bit sad to say, as it's been 5 years of love and toil (inc body-off chassis refurb, total rewire, engine out several times, and uncountable weeks of my life spent tweeking and fiddling), but hey, that's what I like - constantly pottering in the garage making things *just* how I like it...and then changing my mind and doing something different. It's probably the no.1 thing I like most about the Westie - the rules aren't written. If I want to change the brakes, for example, I can just measure what will physically fit, make up some suitable mounts, and just get on with it. On the TVR (or pretty mcuh any other car), you have to follow somebody else's upgrade path or pay someone to make something bespoke (but still stay within the bound of what's considered "acceptable" if you ever want to sell it again). The other thing I love about the Westie is just how goddamn cheap everything is. I'd previously felt pretty smug with the TVR when I bought things like coil packs and HT leads and they cost me a fraction of what our exotica-owning brethrin have to pay. But it all pales into insignificance when you get a set of brake dics for under a ton (have you tried to get rear discs for the Cerb recently? - 400 notes). I've also had a whole season of trackdays on a single set on tyres. Ok I've got through two sets of brake pads, but at £65 a pair, I couldn't care less. It's great! Not To say I don't love the TVR with all my heart. I've nearly cracked the two-ton twice now, and that's a trick the Westie won't pull. I love the little red-top lump, but it doesn't have the evil, force-of-nature, tap-straight-into-your-synaptic-function presence of the AJP8. The Westie turns heads, but the Cerb sends old ladies scuttling for cover in nearby doorways. Oh, and the family can come too (well, so long as my daughter stays under 4'5"), so there are trips that I can use it for that I aboslutely couldn't use the Westie (no matter how much I pleaded with the Mrs). If I could keep both, I really would. But if I'm honest with myself, the TVR project is finished now - it just works. There's nothing much more to fiddle with, and TBH it's just not getting the use it deserves (new toy syndrome playing its part no doubt). Plus, with a season of racing in front of me, I just can't justify it financially. Both glorious british cars, encapsulating the "conceived-in-a-pub, built-in-a-shed" mentality, and both pushing all those little boy buttons we all need pressing, but addressing two totally different functions with slightly different ethoses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marto303 Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 Currently running both. Meant to be part of my supposedly perfect 4- car garage (+ Jag XJR and Clio 182). The reality is that the TVR and the Westie are actually too close in terms to the role they perform (garage tinkering, trackdays, high-day afternoon blasts), so I'm 99% sure the TVR is going to move onwards this year. It's a bit sad to say, as it's been 5 years of love and toil (inc body-off chassis refurb, total rewire, engine out several times, and uncountable weeks of my life spent tweeking and fiddling), but hey, that's what I like - constantly pottering in the garage making things *just* how I like it...and then changing my mind and doing something different. It's probably the no.1 thing I like most about the Westie - the rules aren't written. If I want to change the brakes, for example, I can just measure what will physically fit, make up some suitable mounts, and just get on with it. On the TVR (or pretty mcuh any other car), you have to follow somebody else's upgrade path or pay someone to make something bespoke (but still stay within the bound of what's considered "acceptable" if you ever want to sell it again). The other thing I love about the Westie is just how goddamn cheap everything is. I'd previously felt pretty smug with the TVR when I bought things like coil packs and HT leads and they cost me a fraction of what our exotica-owning brethrin have to pay. But it all pales into insignificance when you get a set of brake dics for under a ton (have you tried to get rear discs for the Cerb recently? - 400 notes). I've also had a whole season of trackdays on a single set on tyres. Ok I've got through two sets of brake pads, but at £65 a pair, I couldn't care less. It's great! Not To say I don't love the TVR with all my heart. I've nearly cracked the two-ton twice now, and that's a trick the Westie won't pull. I love the little red-top lump, but it doesn't have the evil, force-of-nature, tap-straight-into-your-synaptic-function presence of the AJP8. The Westie turns heads, but the Cerb sends old ladies scuttling for cover in nearby doorways. Oh, and the family can come too (well, so long as my daughter stays under 4'5"), so there are trips that I can use it for that I aboslutely couldn't use the Westie (no matter how much I pleaded with the Mrs). If I could keep both, I really would. But if I'm honest with myself, the TVR project is finished now - it just works. There's nothing much more to fiddle with, and TBH it's just not getting the use it deserves (new toy syndrome playing its part no doubt). Plus, with a season of racing in front of me, I just can't justify it financially. Both glorious british cars, encapsulating the "conceived-in-a-pub, built-in-a-shed" mentality, and both pushing all those little boy buttons we all need pressing, but addressing two totally different functions with slightly different ethoses. I think you've hit the nail on the head there, mine will also be moving on in the spring hopfully for many of the same reasons, then I can concentrate on the westie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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