Westfields... any experts?

SpeedFreak

SpeedFreak

SpeedFreak

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I have been having look on pistonheads and these seem amazing value for the performance. I am planning on a new car in January after I get my wedding out of the way and havve been toying with a few ideas.

My work commute is 10 miles on the motorway and I have a Rover 218 which is running well and reliable enough for those trips. My other half has an 04 plate corolla which is reliable and would be the motorway work horse for trips away etc. That got me thinking that maybe a car I could tinker with and uprgrade/mod bit by bit might be right for me and it's high time I treated myself.

So, with regards to Westfields, quite afew seem to be fitted with bike engines, but I really want to know what the ones fitted with the 1.7 zetecs are like if anyone has experienced them. Are there any engines that are just nice for me to get used to rear wheel drive with as an initial one to start out with?

Also, how do you evaluate overall value of the vehicle considering there are so many individually specced components used?

Thanks for any advice. Also,am I right in thinking that priced dip between december and february/march like a lot of convertables?
 
My kit car aspiration has been drawn from Westfields and Caterhams into locosts like the MK Indy. £6,000 will get you a fully built one with normally an R1 or Fireblade bike engine, or a 1.6 Ford Pinto.

Personally, im looking at one of these for my future (~2years) purchase.

Just re read your post... your looking at a lightweight high power to weight ratio rear drive car as a way of "getting used to RWD"??!?!?! You do realise thiese things are rockets, and will kill you if given the chance?
 
Skeeter said:
My kit car aspiration has been drawn from Westfields and Caterhams into locosts like the MK Indy. £6,000 will get you a fully built one with normally an R1 or Fireblade bike engine, or a 1.6 Ford Pinto.

Personally, im looking at one of these for my future (~2years) purchase.

Just re read your post... your looking at a lightweight high power to weight ratio rear drive car as a way of "getting used to RWD"??!?!?! You do realise thiese things are rockets, and will kill you if given the chance?
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I'm thinking of getting an MX-5 as an interim to get used to RWD, but obviously getting my first westfield I would be looking for something that isn't massively powered....relatively speaking. I'm not too worried about picking things up, I have grown up with scramblers, trikes and quads so i am used to things that can kill you in that sense. I'm also not an idiot when it comes to driving so would give the car the respect it deserves.
 
By all means get an MX5 or something in the mean time, but dont whatever you do get a 'soft' seven style car. If your goign to get one get a proper one. The bike and Car engines dont actually seem to be that far apart in performance. Its more a difference in gearbox (sequential, and changing every 2 seconds with a bike, h patern and easier to drive with a car). Both types are stupidly quick.

Im planning on going to the Kit Car meeting up near Covenrty in May to scope out whats about, and hopefully get rides in both a bike engined car and a car engined one.
 
Skeeter said:
My kit car aspiration has been drawn from Westfields and Caterhams into locosts like the MK Indy. £6,000 will get you a fully built one with normally an R1 or Fireblade bike engine, or a 1.6 Ford Pinto.

Personally, im looking at one of these for my future (~2years) purchase.

Just re read your post... your looking at a lightweight high power to weight ratio rear drive car as a way of "getting used to RWD"??!?!?! You do realise thiese things are rockets, and will kill you if given the chance?
Click to expand...

1.6 pinto?:confused: not really very commonly used. the 2.0 is bad enough let alone the 1.6!
 
I had a westie with a 1.8 Zetec engine in. 150bhp, went very very well. Handled like it was on rails, I had the odd spin in it too with only my pride damaged :o:D

would have loved to have a go in a bike engined one though!

Get on WSCC and get along to a local meet near you and get some passenger rides. That might give you some idea of the best engine to suit your needs :)
 
The real concern I would have with a purchase would be in determining the workmanship of construction, which isn't something you have to do with production vehicles. Is it a case of the more you pay the better or are there a lot of well built 5k bargains aroound?
 
olv said:
1.6 pinto?:confused: not really very commonly used. the 2.0 is bad enough let alone the 1.6!
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ROFL!

1.6 in a car that weighs 500kg is pleanty.

the MK Indy is specifically designed to take a 1.6 Pinto or Fireblade engine

From what ive read, theres a lot of people who take their joy in the bulding more than the driving. So there are a lot of people who build one evry year or so, to high standards, then sell them on to fund their next build. This is what I will be looking for.
 
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Skeeter said:
ROFL!

1.6 in a car that weighs 500kg is pleanty.

the MK Indy is specifically designed to take a 1.6 Pinto or Fireblade engine

From what ive read, theres a lot of people who take their joy in the bulding more than the driving. So there are a lot of people who build one evry year or so, to high standards, then sell them on to fund their next build. This is what I will be looking for.
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Pinto engined cars do not realistically weigh 500kg. It's not referred to as the 'boat anchor' for no reason. A pinto in any form is a bad choice for a seven car. It weighs a ton, produces a poor amount of power in standard trim and is not as tuneable as the newer zetec and vauxhall lumps. The only reason people still use them is because they get them for free with their donor Sierra and they are on a tight budget.

When a 2.0 Zetec can be had for a couple of hundred quid and can be bolted straight onto a type 9 gearbox you'd be mad to use a pinto. It takes a decent amount of effort to realise 150bhp from the 2.0 pinto (200bhp requires a big investment), where as the zetec will readily give up 160bhp+ on throttle bodies and 200bhp isn't a mamoth challenge.

Imo the 1.6 vauxhall ecotec engine is a much overlooked engine that is well worth using (that was going to be my engine of choice when i looked into building a seven). small and light, revy and 160bhp is fairly easily attainable on throttle bodies.

Anyway, in conclusion, pintos suck :p
 
Ex Westfield owner so can shed some light .

If yer buying anything ready built avoid pintos/xflows etc .. And although the rover engine is poplar (although more in cateringvans) i would avoid for the sake of the HG problems .

Depends on yer budget but look at Zetec 1.8 or 2.0 or the Xe lump or if u have abit more mula the duratec . On tbs the 1800 will do 170bhp with not to much work and the 2.0 will do close to 200 with the same work . (stage 2 head/cams/tb's etc )

Personaly i would avoid bike engined cars ... there fun and do feel abit quicker...but lack of torque and having to rev the nads off them all the time gets tiring quick . Adding a passenger really takes the edge off the performace .. Also harder to silence for sprints and trackdays often no reverse gear and require more work to keep on the road . Do try one but imho car engine kits are better .

Look for quality of build ... its a great pointer to what sort of car your gonna get ... atention to detail thats noticable means they have spent time in the places you cant see ..Do buy the mor bling cars with expensive 17/18" wheels..they look good but screw the handling ... 15" max really or better still 13" but they do limit the size of brakes you can have .

Look for cars with the proper roll bar not just the cosmetic hoop and avoid aeroscreens unless you like wearing a crash helemt in the car .. Also try and get one with full size doors as makes longer journeys a lot more comfortable .

There not as tail happy as everyone makes out ... and unless yer driving like a muppet they dont often step out ... but mine would light the tyres up in 1/2/3 and would spin in 5th in the wet so do require respect .. But there not as dangerous as some people say .

Avoid resprayed cars ...the colour is in the resin that makes the body so if its been sprayed its normally not for a good reason . make sure the seat is adjustable...a lot of people fit buckets bolted to the floor which aint handy if you let other people drive it or setting it up if yer a different size than the owner . There pretty tight inside ... and require small trainers or even racing boots .. dont think you can jump in and drive it in workboots or wellies .

In the 2 years i had mine i had 0 mechanical issues ...flew through MOT's and only things i had to replace were items i wanted on there ... There no different to owning a normal car ... Hope the above helps and good luck with whatever you buy

Persil
 
Thanks for that Persil, good to know. Does yours get much use? As said, I am interested in K Series engines because they are light and I can work on them (it's a given if you own a rover lol), but am open to suggestions. How easy is it to find a test drive in one of these then?
 
I'd recommend either a Rover K series VVC or a Honda K20A.

The Rover K is good because its light and powerful, in fact its power to weight is still unmatched. They are also cheap to buy and maintain. So cheap in fact that if you get a bad one you can just buy another and still be quids in compared to something like a K20A.

The Honda K20A will cost more from scrapyard ("cuz it from a Type R innit..") but there'll be hardly anything on the road that can touch you.
 
Skeeter said:
ROFL!

1.6 in a car that weighs 500kg is pleanty.

the MK Indy is specifically designed to take a 1.6 Pinto or Fireblade engine.
Click to expand...

The 1.6 Pinto is probably one of the least popular kit car engines IMO. It's gutless and extraordinarily heavy. Considering the 2.0 litre is just as common, if not more so, and costs no more you'd have to be mad to use a 1.6 boat anchor. If for some odd reason you need to meet some capacity limit and use old school iron, a 1.6 crossflow will put out similar or better power with much less weight and is a physically smaller engine so easier to get decent ground clearance.

zeppelin101 said:
Grab a K20, plenty of power, tuneable, and bullet proof.

Definitely one going in the kit I'm looking at for the future.
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The F20/K20 is a ballache to fit into a seven without a dry sump, they are exceptionally tall engines. They are also in a high state of tune from the factory, so they aren't particularly tuneable, at least not compared to engines that leave the factory in a lower state of tune.
 
You would want a dry sump on a K20A anyway if you intend to be tracking it (which is what a Westfield is for).

Most common mod for a K20A is a supercharger... :)
 
NathanE said:
You would want a dry sump on a K20A anyway if you intend to be tracking it (which is what a Westfield is for).

Most common mod for a K20A is a supercharger... :)
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But if you're tracking it you'd much rather a turbo, more useable as you'll be in top range and much better gains to be had.

tbh, in the kit I'm looking at a standard K20 will propel it from 0-60 in ~3.5s and it'll do ~160ish, a turbo would probably make it nervous to say the least.
 
zeppelin101 said:
But if you're tracking it you'd much rather a turbo, more useable as you'll be in top range and much better gains to be had.
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i'd have to disagree and say a supercharger would be much better for track work. having good low down tractability would be important for slow corners, and whilst having good top end power is also important, keeping a smooth, linear power delivery is what I would choose for the track.
 
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