NVP66S

Boy, it's pretty obvious that Peter Egan is no longer doing these trips and writing for R&T about them. I well remember getting my subscription copy and reading his story about assembling and driving the Westfield Eleven from SoCal to Middle America. Damn I wanted one of those cars.

So, you're a member of the non-jogging, non-tennis philosophy: "If nominated, I will not run. If elected I will not serve." And, XCAR, why would you want to turn a wrench in a really bad way? Now seriously, I think modern public office is something decent people don't want to do.

I looked at these before deciding on a Westfield. I was thinking of the trike version at the time. http://www.doveracing.net/cars/sve-tr1ke

If it is the alternator light (which I do not know on your specific car), the operation is pretty simple, once explained. One side of the light is tied to the battery (+) and the other side to the regulator output. When the engine is not turning, the light is on because the regulator side is LOW and the battery side is HIGH. At some low RPM, the alternator puts out enough voltage to nearly match the battery HIGH, so the light goes out. If the alternator slowly fails, this voltage is reached at a higher engine speed, so the light stays on longer. The other possibility is that it's the oil pressure light. Does your car have an oil pressure gauge? Dan

I noticed that the announcer in the suspension video just glossed over the fact that the A arms are unequal length. Of course the more modern version is the turbo encabulator. (or maybe this should go in the 'jokes' thread)

Lots of very nice cars, thanks for sharing. The Westfield is obvious (to me) and the other seven is your Caterham?

Westfields have come a long way recently. The factory assembled cars are Ford based, but the kits have several options. I built mine in 2014 and it used double A-arms all around that are designed by Westfield and supplied with the kit. There is a selection of shocks depending on whether you want a street or track car. I chose the Miata based car that uses the drivetrain, electricals, uprights, and brakes from the Mazda. That version is supplied through Flyin' Miata, who do the builder support. https://www.flyinmiata.com/westfield/specs.php All US Westfields are imported by Manik, and if you get any option other than the Miata, they also provide the builder support and you deal directly with them. http://www.manikllc.com/ The Honda S2000 is an easy horsepower upgrade, or you can use the turbo Mazdaspeed, but you would be doing more head scratching on that. FM's demo car is a turbo. But all this talk is about the sevenesque cars. Your OP header suggests you are more interested in the eleven. Which is it, and where are you? There are lots of friendly folks on this forum that would let you kick the tires on their various cars.

To my knowledge, you can't buy a new Westfield if you are in the U.S. Are you thinking of a kit or a used car? The Westfield SEiW is more akin to the Caterrham than the 11.

Does anyone know how this story unfolded? It would add to our experience base. Thanks, Dan

One of our family traditions is to watch the 'Turkeys Away" episode of WKRP in Cincinnati. It sets the mood quite well.

Here's a photo of my Miata engine with the Mazda motor mount still attached.

Page 4 of my build thread has some photos of the Miata engine mounted in my Westfield. http://www.usa7s.net/vb/showthread.php?9488-Westfield-build-diary/page4&highlight=Westfield+build There is also a custom mount that supports the back of the transmission. They don't use any of the mounts from the Miata, as they are custom made by the Westfield factory.

Very nice! I've never been very good at shaping sheet metal. One thing I did differently from the plans was to make the IP removable. Instead of pop rivets, I used RivNuts so that the panel can be unscrewed to work on it. Dan

I really like Wankel engines. [insert story here on the US Navy paying me to design a Mazda rotary installation that ran underwater with 100% EGR] I had the engine out of my Lotus Elan for overhaul, and while the engine bay was empty, I dangled a Mazda 12A rotary in there with thoughts of converting it. Nah, I decided to leave the Lotus as a real Lotus. It would have fit nicely except for the exhaust ports running straight into the chassis. Looks like that's not a problem with the Westfield. I hope it's a success in the marketplace. Tom, did they say how much it weighs?

Several years back I calculated that the Space Shuttle would weigh 6 lb less if the tires were filled with Helium instead of Nitrogen. Of course it would all leak out by the time it needed to land. But if you did that to a race car.....

I had a Mercedes SLK before getting the 7 bug. Then I bought a Miata as a donor for the Westfield and loved it so much that I traded my SLK for another Miata. So now my big, heavy comfortable car is a Miata and my even more fun car is the seven. I do not miss the SLK.

Shane: I hope your mending process is proceeding apace. In your first comment on this thread, you said you don't know about the seat. There are a few easy things. First, that aluminum sheet tub is not so bad if supported correctly. Nothing poking up under it or behind it. Support it on the sides and not the center. That will allow it to bend down in the middle if you overload it in negative Z axis. Bending it or tearing it absorbs energy (a good thing). Second (I think this is already true of the various sevens) make sure the belt attachments go to the chassis, not the seat. You don't want your body mass trying to pull the seat away from the chassis, because maybe it will. Third, there is a very good energy absorbing foam on the market. It's variously called temper foam or memory foam. Your body heat causes it to deform to the shape of your butt, and in an impact it distributes the load to your entire butt, not just the bony bits. I get mine here: http://www.seatfoam.com/aviation.htm Dan

When that MGF was in current production, I saw several of them lined up outside one of Roush's buildings. I asked the Roush engineer that I was working with: "What's up with the MGs?" He told me they were stuffing V8 engines into them for certification in the US market. Too bad that never got to production.

2014 Westfield SEiW with stock 1.8 liter Mazda drivetrain (except shortened driveshaft), 5 gal gas and spare tire, 1380 lbm. That was certified weight that I got during the registration and title process.

Kitcat: Do you really get only 14-18 MPG, or is that mixed with track mileage? I read about 24 MPG when strictly on public roads. I mostly agree with the comments and will add that if you buy a kit built car to look very closely at build quality. As for insurance, I just added mine to my State Farm policy on my other car. It costs more for the Westfield, but most of the difference is in the added replacement coverage. My wife likes to ride in my 7, but the wind buffeting on a 75 MPH hiway is tiresome after only a few miles. You can price a new Westfield kit here: https://www.flyinmiata.com/westfield/configurator.php but you have to build it As for difficulty of driving, my car has a Miata drivetrain and it drives just like a Miata except it's 1000 lbm lighter (you go through the gears faster). That means it's harder to abuse the clutch. As for driving in traffic, psychologically, it's about like riding a motorcycle. You're lower than on a bike, but have more 'stuff' around you. Try posting on the California Caterham Club site. It's likely someone there will welcome a visit from you. http://californiacaterhamclub.com/

At the back of every traffic jam is a guy who thinks he's Stirling Moss.

Just for reference, crating and shipping my Westfield kit added $6K to the cost. That didn't include the drivetrain, instruments, and wiring. It was done by a factory supported shipper that does them routinely, so you aren't likely to get a better price.

Oh man... that's terrible. Dave was very good to me when I had my Elan. There are a lot of us who would like to help but are nowhere near N. CA. If there's a kickstarter or gofundme or Paypal account, I'm sure we could come up with some financial contributions. Dan

My hat's off to your craftsmanship. well done!