JohnCh

After building the Westfield 11, Chris Smith set out to build a copy of the Lotus 7 S3. He apparently did a good job. So good in fact that Caterham, who had purchased the rights to the design from Lotus, sued Westfield for infringing on that design. As part of the settlement, Westfield altered their version and began heading in a different direction (fiberglass tub & bonnet, widebody, IRS, etc.). Those early cars go by the name pre-lit, short for pre-litigation. -John

Actually so does this one. Rule number 5 reads: The full is available here. -John

The URL embedded in the link goes to your email provider, rather than the link shown in the text. This link will take you to the correct ebay listing. -John

Wasn't disputing it was a Westfield pre-lit, just pointing out inaccuracies in the ad. Unfortunately I was in pedant-mode this morning -John

That's a pre-lit, but it couldn't be an '81 as stated in the ad. Chris Smith built his first Eleven in '82 and founded the company in '83. I don't think the 7SE (pre-lit) was made until '84. Also, I'm pretty sure those are copies of the Series 3, not the Series 2. It's an interesting option for someone who wants a more vintage feeling se7en. -John

7 and 17 are also the same car. 17 was taken by the previous owner and 7 was taken after the ground up rebuild. -John

Mike, xflow7 discovered an easy fix for this. Begin reading this thread at post 9, and then view this post from Croc for the part numbers. -John

Based on the dog’s actions at the end of the last episode, I don’t think he was very impressed with the show either -John

RockAuto carries the WiX WL7064. I can't link to the results page, so just enter the part number in this search form and you'll find it. -John

Gert, are those new mirrors? I don't recall those on the car in Monterey. -John

You have PM! -John

Raceline is very hit and miss with email, but when you get them on the phone, they're quite helpful. -John

Adding to supersportsp's post, are you saying that the issue is acceleration based, not speed based? i.e. If you are cruising in 6th gear at 70mph does the steering still feel light, or do you need to be accelerating hard in 2nd or 3rd to experience this at that speed? -John

As others have said, there is something wrong with your setup. You should fix this before you begin experimenting with add-ons like a rear diffuser. Are you sure you are feeling lightness in the front end and not bad tracking/tramlining? This can be pretty disconcerting at speed. Assuming that is the problem, in addition to checking the alignment settings, also check your front & rear wheel bearings for excess play. As for alignment, below are the Westfield factory settings and what I am running on my car (SEiW with widetrack, no ARBs). The latter settings came from some racers in the UK who have experimented a lot both on and off track and they have transformed the handling of my car. They are a little aggressive for the street and do have some wear problems in the front, but the car feels far more planted, with much better turn in than stock. A few Westfield-specific things to consider: Front ride height should be set so the imaginary line between the inner and outer pivot points of the lower control arm is parallel to the ground Rake is critical. The more you stray from the recommended range of 15-20mm higher in the rear, the more problems you’ll have. The factory points for these measurements are in the build manual. Let me know if you don’t have this. Factory (Front/Rear): Camber: -0.25 to -0.5/-0.25 Toe: 10 min toe in/30 min toe in Rake (Rear-Front): 14mm My settings Camber: -2.5/-1.5 Toe: 15 min toe out/30 min toe in Rake: 20mm -John

Tom, are these the ones you mean?

Rob, mine were made to my specs. After hearing very good reports about the deflectors you bought, I experimented with mockups in various sizes and angles before settling on the final shape. -John

There are a few threads on here about my enormous wind deflectors. They aren’t particularly attractive and must make the car’s poor aerodynamics even worse (see below), but they work great and add a measure of protection. Specifically, there is a good chance that if I didn’t have those, my wife and I would have been killed or seriously injured on the way back from USA2005. The lexan deflector prevented a tire carcass from hitting me in the shoulder (best case) or head (worst case) at 70mph on a dark freeway. The deflector redirected the carcass so it “only” ripped off the driver’s side rear wing and cracked the tub. Had it hit me, we most likely would have crashed. I recently experimented with half doors that I mocked up out of cardboard and noticed a big difference compared to my deflectors. The half doors did a much better job reducing turbulence in the cockpit from about mid torso down, but they didn’t do much to stop the wind from hitting me square in the face – an area where my deflectors excel. The lack of wind through the lower part of the cabin with the half doors was nice, but I’m concerned that it would be a negative on warmer days when the hot air would just build up. I’ll probably continue to experiment in this area over the winter. http://john15.web.officelive.com/Documents/993westfield.jpg -John

Beautiful car. I'm almost afraid to ask this, but if $79k is "less than retail pricing" what is the full retail price for this spec? -John

That's the order. It will make sense when you look at the actual parts. The doubled up Belleville washers form a little spring and the delrin spacer on ball stud side reduces friction so the parts move smoothly. -John

From the recent Monterey trip. http://john15.web.officelive.com/Documents/group4.jpg http://john15.web.officelive.com/Documents/road.jpg -John

Yep That shot was taken on PNW2007. The daily ritual of installing/removing the car cover played havoc with the mirrors. No such problems since making the mod a couple of years ago. -John

Here is the thread. I've employed this fix and it works great. -John

Caterham 13"x6" wheels in silver rather than the more common anthracite. The picture was taken before I installed the center caps, which further alters the look. -John

All R-compound tires will throw up a lot of gravel. I run mudflaps up front which look a bit ungainly, but keep the gravel under control. http://john15.web.officelive.com/Documents/cyclewing.jpg -John

A couple of other choices in that size are the Avon CR500 and Toyo RA-1. I recently replaced a set of R888s with RA-1s on my car, and for the street, I prefer the latter. Although the R888 have better lateral and longitudinal grip, the softer sidewall of the RA-1 seems happier on a light car like a se7en – there is something about the handling that’s a little more engaging with that tire fitted. They also wear great. I put 3000 miles on them last month, and they still look new. BTW this is not a knock against the R888. I really like that tire and was hesitant to make the switch, but I was going on tour and decided the smart thing was to have the more rain friendly RA-1 on the car. Twobone, I think you mean 185/60-13. Toyo doesn't offer a 70 series in the R888 or RA-1. -John