JohnCh

Mazda, is there a way to create an ignore list based on geography so I don’t have to read posts like this over the winter? :jester: Thanks, John

$8000 does sound really low. The R300 comes with the 6–speed which is about 2500GBP directly from Caterham. My guess is that the price of the R300 Duratec (which must be pretty basic given the 175hp output) will be similar to the outgoing SVT, which I think was about $11-12k with a 6-speed. I’m sure someone here will chime in with the actual price. As for currency fluctuations, it’s a tricky game. Go back just 4 months to July 18th and the GBP was worth $2, or 33% more than today. If Caterham USA were to adjust the price down from the July numbers to account for the renewed strength of the USD and keep their margins constant, then the poor guy who bought his car 4 months ago would have just taken a massive depreciation hit. His $60,000 car in July would now cost just $45,000 new, which means his car’s resale value took an additional $15k hit. I don’t think he would be very happy. Tying the price of the car directly to the GBP also means that the car price keeps changing while the potential buyer is deciding whether or not to purchase. My bet is that the sales cycle for a se7en is fairly long. Sure some people make the decision quickly, but based on what I have seen on the various forums, people seem to think about the purchase for quite a while before placing an order. Throwing currency fluctuations into the mix increases the complexity of the buy decisions. If the GBP is decreasing, then the buyer may hold off making the purchase because he’s hoping the price will fall further if he waits just a little longer. Long sales cycles are not good for sellers due to externalities that can affect the purchase (customer faces unexpected expenses, has a job change, wife files for divorce because he is spending too much time obsessing about the se7en rather than paying attention her, etc.) If the USD is declining, then the level of the financial commitment is increasing before the customer’s eyes and he may find himself priced out of the market by the time he is mentally ready to pull the trigger. -John

Congratulations Hank! Sounds like you are off to a great start. If you are looking for inspiration, this site lists about 50 Westfield-related sites, many of which have detailed build logs. Very good resource. Kitcat, there is at least one other Magabusa in the States. Dennis Palatov, of dp1 fame, built one several years ago (build blog here). Last I heard it was in the San Diego area, but not sure where it is now. -John

I had some made as well. I heard from a several people who had used oversized wind wings and swore by their effectiveness, so I made several mockups out of cardboard (and later MDF) to experiment with size and shape. I finally settled on the combo that reduced the buffeting the most and then took the template to a local plastics shop that made a pair out of Lexan. They attach to the stock sidescreen mounts on the windscreen pillar using a spare set of sidescreen hinges I had lying around. They work extremely well. Although not as effective as sidescreens, they make the cockpit comfortable at very high speeds, yet they allow enough air movement that the cockpit doesn’t overheat at lower speeds on warm days. There is a little more information and pictures at the bottom of this page. -John

Typical Mazda. Never missing an opportunity to up his post count :jester: -John

Hi John, Nothing wrong with a Crossflow (Kent). I used to have one and although they may not make a ton of power, they still have enough to be entertaining, and no 4-banger sounds better. A Westfield very similar to the one you describe just sold a couple of weeks ago for (I believe) $14k. The ad is here. I can put you in touch with the seller if you like. Ian7 brings up a great point about 45DCOEs and the Kent 244 cam. Are you sure those are the right parts? All the Yarwood cars I've heard about have the Kent 234 and 40DCOEs, which is a very tractable combo. -John

I would go with the shorter 1st gear as well. The 1828rpm drop is still pretty damn short. Another gear calculator to check out is on this page. It enables you to perform an A-B comparison and will also calculate optimal shift points if you enter torque data from a dyno sheet. My Motogadget tach/speedo also has a gear display that is calculated from road and engine speed. It works great with a normal gearbox, but with a sequential it would be nice to have a sensor on the gearbox. Without it I imagine it could be a little confusing when approaching a stop light with the clutch disengaged. “Did I just down shift 4 times to first, or 3 times to 2nd?” -John

That's why I have one on the Westfield I'd rather annoy the brain dead, cell phone talking, latte sipping SUV driver -- and we have a lot of those where I live -- than have him run over me because he didn't notice that funny looking little car ahead had stopped. -John

I have a similar device from Cadent Technologies and agree that it is very effective. Previously when someone was following me really closely to get a better look at the car, I would have to tap the brakes 3 or 4 times before they clued in and backed off. Now I rarely have to tap the brakes more than once. It certainly seems to get people's attention. -John

That cockpit looks downright luxurious! My tintop isn't that nice -John

I agree. I haven’t seen the S1 in person, but I have gone over a Superformance Cobra pretty closely. The workmanship and attention to detail on that car were very impressive. Tom, any pictures of the interior? -John

True, but Mazda gearboxes are a little bulky, so depending on the car, the 6-speed may not fit without chassis modifications. The 1st gear in that gearbox is also really short. At 3.815 it is even shorter than a stock Type-9 1st gear (3.65) which, speaking from personal experience, is absolutely useless with a Duratec. They do shift great though. -John

I’m curious about the 170hp spec Duratec. It isn’t shown on the UK site. I wonder if that is a US-only engine, or if the website announcement revealed a little more information that CC UK intended? -John

I follow your art just fine. Great idea! I'd love some of the Delrin bushings if you have enough left over for a pair of SPAs. I'll send you a PM. Thanks, John

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I'm interested in learning more about this mod. How did you do this? Thanks, John

I carry this with a few extra CO2 cartridges. Saves over 30lb. from the rear of the car and supposedly work pretty well. I haven't had to use it yet, but hopefully it is enough to get me to a gas station. -John

Do a search on WSCC for Mickmade. His parts are highly regarded and reasonably priced. Mick, I didn't realize you are selling to the States now. I need to chat with you about a dash for my Westfield -John

Winter is also known as Upgrade Season. If you can’t drive your car, then you can at least throw away piles of money in an attempt to make it better. -John

What Al said! It looks like a lot of new pavement has been laid down this summer. How are the roads? 107 degrees?? I bet you wish you still had your 1/2 hood yesterday Today is the run down to the sea, so the temps should be much cooler. Looking forward to seeing the next round of photos. -John

Do you still have the Lucas inertia starter (see picture below)? If so, pull it (should be really easy if it is like the setup in my old crossflow-powered Westfield) and see of the spring on the shaft has broken. This happened to me and produced a similar sound. I replaced it with a gear reduction starter from Dave Bean Engineering. Much lighter and worked great. http://www.pegasusautoracing.com/Images/L/1140.JPG -John

Back on topic: I believe 11Budlite lives in Wolcott. If you are nearby, then it might worth a PM to see if you can get together and see his car in the flesh. Back off topic : I didn't realize Scott also has a 951. I must admit that I am a bit surprised there are 4 of us on the forum. Are any others going to crawl out of the woodwork? -John

Welcome CJ! I also have a 944 turbo and can empathize with the upcoming clutch job. For those that don't know, Porsche decided that clutch replacement would also be a good time to take most of the car apart for a thorough inspection. Depending on the year, the book rate is either 16 or 20 hours. :banghead: If you have the skill and equipment, then I think the Locust is a great project. People are doing some very interesting things out there, and you'll find a lot of support on the USA Locust forum that Mazda mentioned as well as LocustBuilders in the UK. Regarding registration, where in New England are you located? Odds are someone here is also from your state and can weigh in with their experiences. -John

I had the pleasure of briefly meeting him at the local vintage races a few years ago. I’m not one for autographs, but couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have our picture taken with him. Very, very nice guy. Saw him walking around the paddock later that day, and was struck by the fact he never stopped smiling, and was happy to have a word with anyone who approached to say hello. A class act, and a great driver. -John

I have a Safecraft 2.5lb halon fire extinguisher and had to use it once. The fact that I had an extinguisher in the car saved me from certain disaster, and the thanks to the halon, there was no additional damage to anything else under the bonnet. As for mounting location, I initially mounted it to a bracket attached to the front of the passenger seat, but SWMBO didn’t like it there because it made it harder to get in/out of the car. I then moved it to the rear bulkhead between the seats. One of these days I need to replace the stock flimsy mounting bracket with a billet unit that is more up to the task of keeping it in place in an accident. -John

I recently switched from the Toyo T1-S to the R-888. The biggest surprise for me was that they grip better in cold temperatures (mid-upper 40’s) even before they get any heat into them than the T1-S in the same conditions. Prior to the T1-S I had AO32Rs and those did not stick well at all when the temps dropped. Given that I use the car all year round, good cold temp grip is important to me. Regarding noise, the R888 certainly isn’t quiet, but it’s fine in a se7en where the other noises drown it out to a faint whine. -John