captzoom

I did not ever build a 4-cylinder car with a boot box option. That is definitely much smaller. The SEight's had a lot of advantages over the 4-cylinder kits, especially with the wide suspension options. Rob

Might be, I don't remember. I think it's the standard tank that was supplied in the SEight package. Seems like it holds apx 11-12 gallons. Here are the only two pix I have of it among the many I shot during construction. The flat bottom boot box might have been for the live-axle cars. I built this kit in year 2000/2001 while I was MD for the US Westfield importer/distributor (my second SEight, the first with the S2000 powertrain) and do not have any direct experience with the live-axle cars. Sorry I can't be more helpful about this.

Here are some (low-res reduced file size so I could send four) pix of the boot box. The lid is equipped with two keyed latches, and is mounted on slide-off hinges so it can be easily removed. There is a deeper area in the front of the box, ahead of the fuel tank, which I use to carry a rain suit, a compact "anorak" windbreaker with hood, a small tool roll, a towel, a couple of shop towels and an emergency tire inflator bottle. That load still leaves room for a couple of padded parkas and hats, or some carefully folded clothing baggage. If you have a convertible soft top its frame will fold up into the box and the fabric portion will fit inside the frame, still leaving room for the stuff in the deeper area of the box (I have a top which I only installed once and then put right back in the box since I prefer running with only little bug-deflector "aero screens" instead of the full windshield.) Note in the pic with the lid closed there is a hole in the leading edge of the box an lid, adjacent to the roll bar, for the top frame when folded down. This setup is not watertight but could probably be made so with a little work; I just drilled a couple of drain holes in the bottom of the box instead.[ATTACH=CONFIG]14093

If this is the lockable lid you want info about, let me know and I'll shoot a picture of the interior.

Have been away from this forum for quite a while, so missed this thread. I am in San Antonio and still enjoying my Westfield "Se7en" (see http://www.usa7s.net/vb/showthread.php?4222-My-Westfield-SEight2K on the USA7s forum). Rob

Looks like I'll be unable to attend this weekend after all. I appreciate the help in getting info. Have asked George to include me in e-mailing about future events so maybe I can plan ahead better. Gale, I just realized your address is Joplin, MO. Hope you and yours are OK after the very bad weather. Rob

Got a quick reply from George, as follows: "The event is on; the tour is Sunday 0900 through Monday noon, with an overnight stop at the Inn On The River in Glen Rose. Varied routes to choose from; less structured event--groups of several cars may choose. No fee other than the Inn fee (call and ask for Amy). Saturday night is a BBQ place across from the Best Western in Cresson; $9 for a BBQ plate or order from the menu. We are staying at the Best Western in Cresson. Tour mileage on Sunday probably 100+." I planned to go last year but got rained out (open trailer). Hope to be there for at least one day this time.

Thx for the help. I filled in the form and e-mailed it to the two individuals mentioned. We'll see if they respond. Pretty suspicious that no recent or official word posted from the alleged organizers about whether this event is actually going to happen, just old e-mails found and posted by others...

Thanks for the reply. I couldn't open the 2011FestEntry.doc file. What happens if I just show up at the Cresson or Glen Rose hotel at start time Sunday or Monday? thx

What about tour only? Can't make it for Thurs, Fri and Sat. Anty info? Fee? Forms? thx

Might be interested, probably two-day tour. Solo, trailering.

Any late news on this event? Still on? Did not find a link or attach't for the registration form. Might make the tour days. What is the registration and schedule/itinerary for tour? thx,

Hoping to participate on Saturday 24 Oct (and am assuming the original 30 Sep announcement that event will be held on 25th and 25th is an error). Probably unable to arrive on Friday or stay for Sunday. Need to know time and place for Saturday meeting and departure, and also proposed lunch stop (in case I'm running late). Will trailer parking be available at departure site? If not, where to park it? Thx

Hey, Loren! Got the tour info. Hoping to be there on Saturday, maybe Friday too. Rob

Turns out I could have used a flat bonnet rather than the one with the bubble, see pix below. The license plate might retract at 100+, but I can't tell from the cockpit if it does or not. It is hinged to the nose cone and the black "struts" are actually small-diameter bungee cords. It can fold back flat to the bottom of the nose cone. The idea is to keep from bending the plate on driveways and ramps yet prevent undue attention from the police. It works. I don't have a lot of sump clearance, but it's behind the front wheel centerline instead of sticking way out front.

Thx for the compliments. There are several buildup shots in a long post I made 07/01/08 titled "Cockpit Heat Abatement" under the General Tech forum. Basic specs are Westfield SEight chassis (V-8 kit), with wide track front suspension, narrow track rear suspension, wide rear fenders, aluminum uprights/hubs, Bremsport vented 4-pot brakes, quick-steer rack, 4.09 gearing (to match S2000) LSD, V-8 aluminum radiator (ducted), 9.5" x 16" rear wheels (5" back spacing) and 7" x 15" front wheels. A number of modifications were made to the kit to accomodate personal requirements and preferences. The color is the standard Westfield yellow, which I have found matches the PPG "Penske Yellow" formula. Powertrain is stock Honda S2000 eng/trans except the driveshaft CV joints have been replaced with Spicer u-joints due to an inconvenient grenading habit. Honda ECU and wiring harness have been retained, but modified. I have been enjoying this car for some time. The S2000 engine is an ideal match to the Se7en and has been completely reliable in operation. If you need further specifics, pls let me know and I'll try to accomodate.

Thx for the compliments. There are several buildup shots in a long post I made 07/01/08 titled "Cockpit Heat Abatement" under the General Tech forum. Basic specs are Westfield SEight chassis (V-8 kit), with wide track front suspension, narrow track rear suspension, wide rear fenders, aluminum uprights/hubs, Bremsport vented 4-pot brakes, quick-steer rack, 4.09 gearing (to match S2000) LSD, V-8 aluminum radiator (ducted), 9.5" x 16" rear wheels (5" back spacing) and 7" x 15" front wheels. A number of modifications were made to the kit to accomodate personal requirements and preferences. The color is the standard Westfield yellow, which I have found matches the PPG "Penske Yellow" formula. Powertrain is stock Honda S2000 eng/trans except the driveshaft CV joints have been replaced with Spicer u-joints due to an inconvenient grenading habit. Honda ECU and wiring harness have been retained, but modified. I have been enjoying this car for some time. The S2000 engine is an ideal match to the Se7en and has been completely reliable in operation. If you need further specifics, pls let me know and I'll try to accomodate.

A little late posting this... Westfield SEight with Honda S2000 powertrain

One of the Automotivation guys told me he was very interested in chassis and suspension design and wanted to get some books on the subject. I have been searching for some suspension design software to send him but haven't found it yet (hard to find anything now,since we're in the middle of a home remodel process). I'm sure they'll be very grateful for the books.

There were a lot of questions, especially during and after the rides about how to build one of these vehicles. Like most folks, these guys had no concept of the performance available from a "Seven". The spirit of these wounded warriors was very inspiring. It was an honor and a privilege to associate with them. Thanks to Loren for making it happen.

Concur sealing all gap and holes btwn engine compt and cockpit is very important. Should be done at rear bulkhead and tunnel too (including shifter and handbrake. This is basic, but worth repeating. I don't think cloth duct tape is a useful product for this work, aluminum foil tape is better though not as good as forming a piece of aluminum to make a seal. In the same category (IMHO) using Reflectix is a less permanent fix than buying the good stuff from ThermoTec or equivalent. The material is much more expensive, but this is a job you do not want to have to do over...worth the higher materials cost up front. (Probably works a lot better too and is approved for use in aircraft firewalls, which should tell you something.) Rob

I considered NACA inlets into the footwells but instead chose to bring fresh air from the front of the car to avoid debris from the front tires and heat from proximity to exhaust system on pax side. The NACA inlet seen in the nose of my car delivers cool air to the engine air filter. Since the pix were taken I have added copper window screen to the fresh air ducts (clamped under the rubber 45-degree elbows where they slip over the flexble stainless tubing) to keep road debris, insects, flying squirrels, etc out of the footwells. Putting NACA ducts through the side panels on the Westfield is somewhat more difficult than on a Lotus/Cat/Birkin because of the triple-wall construction. There is the fibreglass exterior skin, a semi-stressed aluminum panel attached to the outboard side of the frame tubes, and a thin unstressed aly interior covering panel inboard of the frame tubes. The space between these panels would be another good location for insulation, but the air gap between them, combined with a heat-reflective shield attached to the outer skin behind the exhaust/catalytic converter system made me think additional insulation here would be unneccessary (see Manik's comments for testimonial confirmation). Picture below. My experience is that a lot of heat comes into the cockpit up the sides of the car from underneath, and is further heated en route by the side-mounted exhaust. It seems worse when running a full windscreen. This phenomonon was especially evident in previous 7s with V8 engines because there was an exhaust pipe on my side of the car. Since I am usually solo in my Westfield I run a half tonneau cover, which should help some. Has anyone else noticed this problem and found a good fix? The aeroscreen on my car is a Westfield part, specified as clear acrylic rather than the dark tinted stuff they normally supply, so my inspection and registration stickers are visible to keep the police happy. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1070912184_xhst02.jpg

John, access panel is for the oil filter (visible in shot of engine/headers before side panel installation). Thank for all compliments. rgds, Rob

Today on the Se7ens board a question was posted about how to cut down on cabin heat. I posted a note saying how I had configured my car for Texas summer use. It was then suggested by a fellow Westfield owner that I start a thread on the subject here. So, in the hopes that others will also post their ideas, here's what I sent to the Se7ens group, along with some pictures (mostly shot during construction a few years ago): Don't know if it'll work on a Caterham, but my Westfield is cool enough in the cockpit, even though an 80 degree day here would be considered almost cold. Typical summertime here runs mid-high 90's, so it was built to cope. I covered the firewall, rear bulkhead panel, trans tunnel sides and top with ThermoTec foil/ceramic fiber insulation (glued in place to the aluminum sheet); the vertical firewall face and the trans tunnel top and sides were insulated on both inside and outside surfaces. There is a considerable amount of heat radiated from the differential, so the rear bulkhead is insulated. I placed stainless steel boat ventilator louvers on the lower area of the front side panels adjacent to the exhaust headers, and had the exhaust headers inside the bodywork coated in and out with JetHot ceramic coating. A major improvement was made by incorporating fresh air vents from the front of the car into each footwell. These were constructed using flexible stainless steel tubing (insulated where it passes near the exhaust) and controlled using 5.0 Mustang throttle bodies (had a few of these laying around) mounted to the firewall and operated by bicycle shifter levers/cables. Additional comfort was provided by constructing my seat backs using a poly mesh fabric. A very lightweight composite duct system pipes fresh air from above the tunnel in the cockpit to the seat backs, boosted by banks of computer cooling fans. The Westfield bonnet has a pair of triangular vents on its top side which eject engine heat. These outlets are the source of most of my discomfort since I run a minimal aeroscreen rather than a full windshield and the hot air flows over my forehead and top of my head at speed. Maybe I need a cap made out of the ThermoTec stuff. If I were a bit shorter I could probably avoid this. My floor panels are bare aluminum, no carpet or mats, and the cockpit side panels, tunnel and rear bulkhead have only a glued-on thin vinyl covering, with only the ThermoTec foil material beneath it. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/296341518_DSCN4731.JPG http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/64418459_DSCN4829.JPG http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1008788489_DSCN4838.JPG http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/810945004_DSCN5258.JPG http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/432752585_DSCN3581.JPG http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1557471549_DSCN3591.JPG http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1083131252_fr qtr02.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/2005071080_Headers02.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1369083378_RRSE2k_constr025.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1090144633_RSvent control.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/403076346_RSvent footwell.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/659962101_RSvent inlet.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1501884310_RSvent valve.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1790694357_LSvent valve.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1670297221_DSCN2463.JPG</p><p> </p><p> http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1636672411_dshaft4.jpg

After signing up for this group in Oct, 2006, I finally got around to overhauling my computer. Now I am able to log in to this website. My car is a Westfield SEight powered by Honda S2000.[/img][img]http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1050105169_DSCN5250.JPG