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Author Topic: westfield q's  (Read 2493 times)

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05omegav6

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westfield q's
« on: 17 January 2012, 01:16:24 »

Evening all, brother and I are trying to decide between a weekend boat and a weekend car. In a flash of inspiration, a Westfield kit sprang to mind, Bro was thinking along the lines of an Astra GSi turbo ::).

A couple of questions:

1: Are the kits complete, ie just need engine/box/bits and bobs?
2: Can you use any donor, or does it have to be a Sierra?
3: Realistically, how long do they take to build?
4: What are the hidden costs?

I know Kevin Wood has working experience of these, any pointers appreciated :y

TIA Al. :y
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dad1uk

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Re: westfield q's
« Reply #1 on: 17 January 2012, 07:44:06 »

Mr Wood is the man on this one :)

I'm sure he will be a long soon :y
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Re: westfield q's
« Reply #2 on: 17 January 2012, 08:05:23 »

Kits are far from complete unless you buy a finsihed car.

For me, if considering a seven type kit, I would not be going down the Westfield route as its not exactly a product that has been improved or developed.

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Kevin Wood

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Re: westfield q's
« Reply #3 on: 17 January 2012, 15:02:51 »

I'm not sure I'd go for one currently, but not for the same reasons. :-\

1) They will sell you essentially "a car in a box" i.e. all the bits you need to build one down to the last nut and bolt, but for about a grand or two less than a new factory built one that's IVA'd, registered, debugged to a great enough extent that it will at least drive, and on the road, as far as I can recall, so that's a mug's game, IMHO.

You can buy a modular kit where you get most of the bits required in a number of stages to spread the cost. You always used to be able to do a Q plated modular kit where you could supply the mechanical bits from a donor instead of new.

You can buy a starter kit which is basically just chassis, bodywork and the other Westfield specific bits, leaving you to make your own choices about all the other stuff.

2) The traditional SEI kit was based on no single donor. Sierra bits at the back to support an IRS setup and Cortina at the front because the McPherson strut upright on the Sierra is both pig ugly and unduly heavy when botched into a double wishbone arrangement. Power train is again a mixed bag due to no RWD Fords ever getting a decent enough engine(IMHO).

They do a Sierra "single donor vehicle" kit that contains said botch. Can't really see the point as you won't want to be using the engine out of a Sierra (unless it's a cossie).

They also do a Mazda MX 5 based SDV kit which is much better based on the quick run around I've had in one. At least the Mazda running gear is reasonably light and you'll end up with a decent car at the end. Upgrade options from then on might be limited, although there are tuning options for the Mazda engines.

Unless you specifically want to base it on a single donor it's probably best not to, in many respects. Reasons for building a single donor kit would be to avoid a Q plate (without declaring it new) and .. well, that's about it really.

3) Mine took a year at quite a leisurely rate but it depends what route you take. "Car in a box" would take a couple of weeks whereas stripping a single donor, refurbishing parts to a decent standard and then building would clearly take much longer.

4) Again, depends what route you take. There will be plenty, though. ;)

With a kit car there is every option available from a labour of love starting with some lengths of square section tube and a welder, and hopefully ending with a car, to slapping down £20k+ and having it on the road in time for spring, and anything in-between. I guess mine was in the middle. I think the first thing you need to decide is where you want to be on that scale.

They can be very much better value 2nd hand, so have a think about how much you really want to build it yourself, as opposed to buy on 2nd hand and tweak / upgrade.
« Last Edit: 17 January 2012, 15:05:02 by Kevin Wood »
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r1

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Re: westfield q's
« Reply #4 on: 17 January 2012, 18:53:21 »

would have thought that a zetec with the correct box would be the way forward.

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Webby the Bear

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Re: westfield q's
« Reply #5 on: 17 January 2012, 19:01:14 »

No idea on what your budget is but there's only one kit car you can have... a GT4O replica!!!  :y
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Re: westfield q's
« Reply #6 on: 17 January 2012, 19:19:34 »

Don't Westfields have faulty steering? They insist you drive into grass banks ;D.   When you are not reversing up dual carriageways that is.

Isn' that right, Mr Wood :P.  What state is yours in currently?
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Kevin Wood

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Re: westfield q's
« Reply #7 on: 17 January 2012, 22:41:33 »

Don't Westfields have faulty steering? They insist you drive into grass banks ;D.   When you are not reversing up dual carriageways that is.

Isn' that right, Mr Wood :P.  What state is yours in currently?

Awaiting parts. The correct parts, hence my reservation. ::)

I will say, having put a negative spin on it, on second reading, that building and owning it has been a great experience and, much like Omega ownership, has made me many new friends and given me a lot of fun wielding both the spanner, the steering wheel, and the pint glass. :y
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Webby the Bear

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Re: westfield q's
« Reply #8 on: 17 January 2012, 22:57:44 »

Don't Westfields have faulty steering? They insist you drive into grass banks ;D.   When you are not reversing up dual carriageways that is.

Isn' that right, Mr Wood :P.  What state is yours in currently?

Awaiting parts. The correct parts, hence my reservation. ::)

I will say, having put a negative spin on it, on second reading, that building and owning it has been a great experience and, much like Omega ownership, has made me many new friends and given me a lot of fun wielding both the spanner, the steering wheel, and the pint glass. :y

What life is all about I do declare  :y :y :y :y :y

I met a guy last weekend who is in to Monster Trucks. Personally never been remotely interested, but after talking to him find myself looking them up and spending time watching vids on the Tube  :y :y :y
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05omegav6

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Re: westfield q's
« Reply #9 on: 18 January 2012, 18:31:38 »

Thanks for the input :y

Quote
2) The traditional SEI kit was based on no single donor. Sierra bits at the back to support an IRS setup and Cortina at the front because the McPherson strut upright on the Sierra is both pig ugly and unduly heavy when botched into a double wishbone arrangement. Power train is again a mixed bag due to no RWD Fords ever getting a decent enough engine(IMHO).


The suspension side of things makes sense, though I notice that you can buy various suspension components from Westfield, including the front uprights/hubs. Would a Cologne V6 fit? Thinking the 24v lump as that bolts straight onto the Type 9 'box and the Granada Cosworths had an LSD as standard iirc :-\. Alternatively a 2.8 with better carbs than the Solex one, (there used to be a Webber twin upgrade kit for these) :-\.

Having said that, there is a supercharger kit for the MX5 engine... 8) (if it fits of course), and me being a bit portly, lightness might be best... :P

Quote
Reasons for building a single donor kit would be to avoid a Q plate (without declaring it new) and .. well, that's about it really.

What is the thinking here? Is it on one hand " I've just reshelled my MX5/Sierra" and on the other " I've just built a new car" with all that that implies... :-\

I personally would prefer to go down the BIY route rather than a factory fresh one, purely for the satisfaction of doing it.

Plenty of food for thought here, space will be the single biggest constraint I think. :-\

Don't Westfields have faulty steering? They insist you drive into grass banks ;D.   When you are not reversing up dual carriageways that is.

Isn' that right, Mr Wood :P.  What state is yours in currently?

Awaiting parts. The correct parts, hence my reservation. ::)

I will say, having put a negative spin on it, on second reading, that building and owning it has been a great experience and, much like Omega ownership, has made me many new friends and given me a lot of fun wielding both the spanner, the steering wheel, and the pint glass. :y

which is precisely what makes such things worthwhile IMHO :y
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aaronjb

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Re: westfield q's
« Reply #10 on: 18 January 2012, 18:56:37 »

If you enjoy spanner wielding and think you'll get as much enjoyment out of the build as you will the drive, then build yourself. If not, buy one. At least that's the conclusion I came to (and I'm building a car - well, when the chassis arrives)

Forget the Cologne V6 - from memory it's enormously heavy? And if you're thinking V6/V8 then perhaps the Dax Rush might be a better idea - I believe it's got a much more generous engine bay (and a new BMW based version is almost ready).. plenty of folks throw Rover V8s and others into the Rush, not to mention turbocharged bike engines..

Though the kit probably isn't quite as 'plug 'n play' as the Westie!
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05omegav6

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Re: westfield q's
« Reply #11 on: 18 January 2012, 19:29:37 »

Quote
Forget the Cologne V6 - from memory it's enormously heavy?

Thought that might be the case, they are cast iron after all ::). Only had that engine in 6 of the seven Granadas that I've owned, so kind of biased towards it ::). There are plenty of newer alloy four pots around that would be suitable, so not the end of the world :y

Had a brief look at the Dax, for that sort of car, I'd probably get a Monaro :y.
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aaronjb

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Re: westfield q's
« Reply #12 on: 18 January 2012, 20:47:04 »

There's a big difference between a Monaro and a Rush though - one has four seats and a roof, for a start :) Then again, at the other end of the engine spectrum, Duncan's turbo Hayabusa powered Rush is insanely fast (second or third fastest of anything around the TG track, I think?).

Though a Westie is inarguably more 'right' than a Rush in that it's much more 'period'. I'd happily own either if I could fit in one ;D
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05omegav6

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Re: westfield q's
« Reply #13 on: 18 January 2012, 20:53:01 »

There's a big difference between a Monaro and a Rush though - one has four seats and a roof, for a start :) Then again, at the other end of the engine spectrum, Duncan's turbo Hayabusa powered Rush is insanely fast (second or third fastest of anything around the TG track, I think?).

Though a Westie is inarguably more 'right' than a Rush in that it's much more 'period'. I'd happily own either if I could fit in one ;D
I think I need to get the tape measure out, given that I'm a mere 16.5 stone and 6'2" :-\
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aaronjb

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Re: westfield q's
« Reply #14 on: 18 January 2012, 21:00:51 »

Ah you'll fit fine most likely.. height isn't an issue in the Westy from what I know, it's erm 'girth' that's the issue. And I seem to be tipping the scales north of 28st at the moment :-/ At 16.5st you'll probably be just fine.

I think the Dax is wider than the Westfield - I don't know if Westfield do a 'widebody' version like Caterham, though.
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