JohnCh

As I believe someone mentioned on here before, Westfield plans to launch a one-make electric race series in the UK. They showed the chassis at the recent Autosport show in the UK (pics below were shamelessly stolen from a post on the WSCC boardroom.) Apparently the thick floor actually hides thin batteries. I’m not into electric cars myself (the sound of a proper engine screaming to redline is much of the fun) but I thought it was an interesting project worth mentioning. http://www.westfield-world.com/pictures/leccy2.jpg http://www.westfield-world.com/pictures/leccy3.jpg http://www.westfield-world.com/pictures/leccy4.jpg http://www.westfield-world.com/pictures/leccy1.jpg -John

Here's a picture of my old crossflow-powered Westfield with the shortest ITG filter available. There isn't space in there for tradtional trumpets, but TWM makes 12mm shorties that did the job. As you noted, you can always get a blank backing plate and drill it to create an offset. http://home.comcast.net/~cobar/images/itg.jpg -John

The Ozarks puts the tour out of reach for me (over 2100 miles away), so I am not pulling for it to win, but I must admit that those roads in Gert's route do look like fun! -John

Yep, Harrisburg. Lot's of options as well.

I just checked flights from Seattle. Only $340 round trip. Hmmm... -John

:7rain: Certainly appropriate for the weather we've had for the last couple of months :banghead:

I never heard of a Boss Hoss before so I did a search and found this on their website. I just don't know what to say... http://www.bosshoss.net/images/BIKES_TRIKES/BHC9ZZ4/BHC9ZZ4_13.jpg http://www.bosshoss.net/images/BIKES_TRIKES/BHC9ZZ4/BHC9ZZ4_11.jpg -John

There are several companies that make these now (usually marketed to the motorcycle industry). I’ve been using the SmartBlink from Cadent Technologies for over three years and am happy with it. It isn’t as adjustable as the unit you showed in that pressing the button for any length of time results in the same 15 second countdown clock, but it does have the same press to cancel and hazard functionality. The clock doesn’t start until you take your foot off the brake, and will reset itself every time you touch the pedal, but 15 seconds can be a little short in traffic at a slow moving intersection. SmartFlash is an optional feature that flashes your brakes three times in rapid succession before going solid upon every application. I went with this option and hooked the flasher up to my roll bar mounted brake light. It really seems to get the attention of the car approaching from behind -- a good thing in a se7en I went with this type of system because I wanted to simplify the dash (no more hazard switch needed) and I wanted pushbuttons on the steering wheel for the turn signals. -John

Keep in mind that was posted on a Porsche 993 forum. A lot of weight in the back half of the car is pretty standard over there -John

Beck 550 Spyder with a 360hp Subaru engine. Think it might be a handful? Click for pics and info -John

I agree with the comments regarding lack of shoulder room and boot space. The other area I think should be addressed is the roll bar. It looks great, but it needs to pass a tech inspection so it must have rear stays (see Mazda's outstanding drawing ) and sufficient height. It also needs triangulation if you go with a single hoop like in the later pictures. The aspect of the design that caught my attention in the beginning was the use of character lines. They gave the shape a better sensation of speed and kept my eye moving from front to back. -John

I think there are two reasons, one of which you highlight above "we dont have any cars on the road..." As Mazda pointed out earlier, people tend to gravitate towards the manufacturer whose car they have purchased. If you don’t have any customers with cars on the road, then you won’t find many singing your praises based on first-hand experience. Second, you are a frequent poster on the forum and many of those posts are a bit like advertising. I'm not criticizing, but when I look at the various manufacturers, I think you are the only one who posts as such. Therefore, I don’t think it would occur to many people to jump in on your behalf because you aren’t being represented. Dino, I like what I see with the Deman. There are some interesting design elements, and I’m glad you contribute here. However – and speaking strictly for myself – when I hear a manufacturer publicly complaining on this marque inclusive forum that they aren’t receiving sufficient support, it is a big turn off. It is really interesting that this thread, which started out with someone posting a new design for a se7en, has taken two rather strange tangents. Al, we may need you to step in again as the former President. Or perhaps the current President could step in this time? -John

There are several guys in the UK who run this engine in their Westfields. Might be worth your time to do a little reserach on the WSCC forum. Also, check out Chris Good's excellent site on his Cosworth-powered Westfield. -John

Given that Webster’s defines clone as “one that appears to be a copy of an original form” I don’t’ think it is fair to call the Westfield a clone either. As you may recall Caterham successfully sued Chris Smith and Westfield in the early ‘80s for infringing on a design they had purchased from Lotus. Consequently Westfield was forced to redesign their car so it was no longer a copy of that original form. Given that the courts of England and Caterham were satisfied that the newly redesigned Westfield no longer infringed on the Caterham-owned design – i.e. it was no longer a clone – then who are we to argue? Mike, thanks for giving me the opportunity to willingly make this clarification Sarcasm aside, let's not turn this forum into a "my car is better/worthier/better pedigreed than yours” debate. Colin Chapman and the Lotus engineers created a brilliant concept. Caterham purchased the rights to the design and continued to manufacturer it after Lotus cancelled production. Caterham and its engineers then did a great job over the years to improve the car and take it in a different direction. Gone was the budget sportscar with great performance that the average person could afford. Enter a giant killer whose average price puts it out of reach of most people (a decently optioned car is more than the US median income of $48k, the original 7 was well below the median income figures of its time). Over the years a number of firms have come along that have built their own cars inspired by the Lotus created concept. I find it difficult to refer to most of them as clones given that they have each introduced their own unique flair into the equation. Look at a Superformance S1, WCM Ultralite, Stalker, Westfield, Caterham CSR260, and a Lotus 7 side-by-side. Clones? I think not. They are clearly heavily influenced by the same formula but they are designs in their own right and should be celebrated as such. -John

You want to send it to Julian Turner, their MD. Chris sold Westfield to Potenza a year ago and is no longer with the company. I agree the car looks great. Any details? Is it your design, someone you know, or did you just find it on the web? How about a version with an equally modern windscreen? Thanks, John

I have. That's why I chose a '95. -John

That is a bit of a generalization. There are no 1st year issues with the '95 and in fact many people prefer it to the '96 because of the newer car's SAI issues and inability to be chipped. The most important advice is to buy a car with records and to have a PPI performed by a reputable shop. -John

270mm Alpha from Spa Technique. http://home.comcast.net/~cobar/updated_dash_05237.jpg -John

Congrats! Definitely join the PCA. Good group and the local chapters typically put on a number of events each year, ranging from track days, to tech sessions, to drives. Also check out Rennlist which is a good online community with plenty of tech advice. -John

I looked at their V8 setup (for a friend, not me...really) and that was much cheaper than I'd seen elsewhere, so I just assumed the same was true for the 4 cylinder. I should have looked more closely. If I am reading Jenvey's price list correctly, it appears their equivalent, but non-tapered set up is just under $1000 (361GBP for the TB, 60GBP for the airhorns, and 48GBP for the fuel rail). Oh well, at least the idea is interesting -John

These folks are the US agent for BigHead Fasteners. If they don't stock the right model, I bet they can get it for you. -John

Very interesting new throttle bodies available in the US. They aren’t the prettiest things, but the concept is interesting and they are (relatively) cheap. -John

I had a 1700 crossflow with a Kent 236 cam, and two 40DCOEs that put out about 115hp. I did a lot of research on increasing the power and had several e-mail exchanges with Roger King in the UK who was considered the top tuner for that engine. He told me that the Kent 246 cam with a 3D ignition system was very drivable and had as much low end torque as a Kent 236 with 2D ignition, but a properly built engine with head work and larger valves was at best ~160hp. Yes, I could tune for more with an even more aggressive cam and with steel internals, but streetability and reliability took hits. I looked into converting the car to fuel injection and the consensus was that although driveability would improve there wouldn’t be much of a hp gain. Feedback on the aluminum head was that it was best viewed as a handling upgrade. It pares off ~18lbs from pretty high up in the chassis which is a good thing. I really loved the crossflow and wanted to keep it – I’ve never heard a 4 cylinder engine that sounds better – but after looking at all my options and factoring in the costs, I decided to go with a Duratec. -John

I am aware of about a dozen, but I have only been able to hook up with half of those folks, and unfortunately very few of them seem to monitor this site. Seattle does have a pretty big car enthusiast community though, and lots of track opportunities if that is your thing. If not, then there are a lot of nice roads for day trips. Feel free to PM me if you want info on the area. -John

When I was researching the alloy head for my crossflow a few years ago, I was told that Pierce Manifolds was the manufacturer. Not sure if that is true, but they do carry it. -John