Westfield Seight

[andy665]

Fine run down to the National Kitcar Show at Stoneleigh on Sunday, all A roads and an early start meant an opportunity for some sensible fun on the way down.

Whilst standing start acceleration is compromised by the narrow 205 section rear tyres the in-gear acceleration is completely savage and the V8s willingness to rev out to 6500 is surprising

It was a very enjoyable show with a hugely impressive outside display put on by the Westfield Owners Club - very impressed with the standard of build of every single Westfield that was present

One thing that does let my car down is the seats, 13 years old and starting to look a little tatty. I did consider having them re-trimmed but on chatting with the guys on the Intatrim stand I decided to opt for a new pair. Chose their brand new seat design and wimped out and opted for heated bases and backrests too, will make the car more usable on cold but dry winter runs out. Whilst the seat is chosen I have opted to take the car to them so they can look at it and come up with some ideas in terms of materials, pattern, colours and stitching etc. Current line of thinking is to utilise the material BMW used on the Z1 seats, sort of a wetsuit like material that would be practical for the car

[andy665]

Nothing more dramatic than a change of oil and filters - such an easy car to work on, 5 mins and bonnet and nose cone is off.

Wanting to keep everything in tip top condition saw me spending £18 per litre on Millers Competition oil but see it as an investment more than a cost

[andy665]

In anticipation of the new seats arriving shortly I needed to change the retaining method for the carbon half doors. These were retained by a cobbled together securing bolt attached to each seat over which the elastic cord attaches - crude but effective.

Not wanting to drill holes in brand new seats and attach bolts to I pondered and after much searching found some pretty subtle hooks that could be attached to the chassis rails that not only will keep the new seats unscathed but also easier to use. Erring on the cautious side I have also added "reserve" hooks invisibly under the chassis rail just in case the primary ones fail.

As the original cord was looking a little tired I order and fitted new black and red cord to tie in with the colour scheme





After seeing a very impressive demonstration on a test rig and talking to a UK distributor I have treated the oil to a treatment of Faher Anti-friction HD, whilst the engine in the car will never be refined the difference in smoothness and general reduction in the feeling of internal friction is pretty noticeable. Not usually a believer in claims made by these additives but the test rig demo was deeply impressive and the low key way they are going on with the business prompted me to give it a try. The communication subsequently from Chris at Ashford Classic Cars has been superb and shows a commitment to really being interested in what customers are experiencing with he product

Last but by no means least the car has been featured in the new issue of the Westfield Owners Club magazine

[Spike85]

Thats awesome Andy

[Jue]

Very nice

[andy665]

Few more improvements. Swapped to a new steering wheel, same size and still with the quick release hub but new wheel has a bit more "squish" in the rim and is a lot more comfortable. Also fitted it with my custom etched centre cap

Less obvious is the fact that I removed the half doors, spent hours cleaning off the old rubber edging and applied new - does not look that different but to me, its a lot neater and fresher than it was before

[Rab W19]

ALL THE CARBON

looks great bud, what plans you got for the future?
how do those tyres handle the power or more so the torque? would a stickier tyre along the lines of the Toyo R888 be more suited?

[Derekh929]

Wow Andy I can see why you don't need another V8 with that in the garage that looks like a load of fun in deed love the look and what's under the hood, enjoy

[andy665]

Originally Posted by Rab W19

ALL THE CARBON

looks great bud, what plans you got for the future?
how do those tyres handle the power or more so the torque? would a stickier tyre along the lines of the Toyo R888 be more suited?

A rare case of the carbon actually being carbon on this

Plans for the future - have new custom seats on order that will be heated, new harnesses and whilst the old seats at out a freshen up of the interior, maybe replacing the transmission tunnel top and side panels with carbon fibre items

The car was built to a very high spec so I'm conscious that anything I do to it has to be of equally high spec / quality to maintain its overall integrity

Tyres are Federal 595 RS-R - a road legal track tyre much like the R888's but probably a better tyre, certainly do not have any traction issues in normal driving

Originally Posted by Derekh929

Wow Andy I can see why you don't need another V8 with that in the garage that looks like a load of fun in deed love the look and what's under the hood, enjoy

It is huge fun but its also amazing how quickly you get used to the performance - it no longer feels "that" quick. Done over 1,000 miles in it since collecting in late Feb so its getting used more than its ever done - only did 9,000 miles in its first 14 years

[andy665]

Few more jobs ticked off the list at the weekend

New seats arrived from Intatrim (custom designed to my spec), as did the new FIA approved Scroth harnesses.

As the harnesses came with all new fixing bolts and eyelets I obviously wanted these fitted - problem number one the left hand side passenger eyelet cannot be removed without removing the rollbar. Rather than seeing this as a problem I took it as an opportunity to remove it, clean it, paint it and tidy up all the fixing bolts which were a bit grubby. As the rollbar removal meant removal of rear wheels it made sense to have a check of everything and clean anything that was looking a bit dirty



Old seats out saw the opportunity to repaint and tidy up the interior (pictures make paint look patchy - its not, just were its still drying)



New seats fitted and as I went for heated bases and backrests I took the plunge and wired them in (electrics are not my strong point) - following instructions and thinking logically about the cabling means its all neat and tidy (wiring running in transmission tunnel and two position switches neatly integrated (I think) in the dashboard



As the Stack display had a few issues this had been sent off for a full stripdown and repair, I requested that the white face be replaced with black as I think its more in keeping with the rest of the car