scannon

More pictures with the distractions, please.

I have a good 1.8 liter Miata engine for sale with 86k miles on it. Mileage was verified via Carfax. Sounds and runs very well and has even compression. Good engine for a Seven project or a replacement engine for a Miata. Includes intake and exhaust manifolds but does not include the starter and alternator. Asking $550 plus shipping from 80516. I have driven the car a bit and made a video of start up and idling and a couple of throttle blips.

I have a Caterham but I have driven FM's Westfield several times and found it to be a delightful car. The first time I drove it it was powered by a stock 1.6 Miata engine and I was surprised at the quickness of the car. It now has a turbo 1.8 and it is blindingly quick. I actually liked the steering of the Westfield better than my Caterham, less effort and better feel. The pedal setup was better for heel/toe work as well but some judicious bending of the pedals in the Caterham fixed that. Had the Westfield designed for Miata components been available when I bought my Caterham I probably would have bought the Westfield based mainly on the price. I saw the FM Westfield in several stages of it's assembly and was impressed with the quality and design of the kit. I do like the look of the Caterham better than the Westfield but that probably wouldn't have kept me from buying one.

They didn't oil the gasket on the filter, probably had a leak after they started it. They also used jack stands when the lift would have been much easier cause, you know, we all have lifts in our garages, right?

I have the space if you have the money. You can drive it any time you are in the area. I'll take care of keeping it well driven and lubricated so the seals don't dry out.

In those days people were considered smart enough to keep their limbs out of things like that without being told or guarded. They took responsibility for their own actions and didn't sue for their own stupid acts.:rant:

Thanks, that one worked for me. I couldn't find it by searching on ebay as I was looking for a 2002 Caterham, not a '67 Lotus 7, go figure.

This is weird, I've clicked on the link in the 1st post in this thread twice now and both times it took me to the ebay ad for the Westfield XI. Anyone else have this problem?

Someone has made a modern version of this with the same type drive system. It's been awhile since I saw the video but it was smaller and lighter perhaps built on a snowmobile chassis. Did a Google search but couldn't find it.

http://www.flixxy.com/snow-vehicle-concept.htm

From the Tesla website: 375 volt AC induction air-cooled electric motor with variable frequency drive. Output 248 peak horsepower (185kW) and 276 ft/lbs (375 nm) of torque. Redline 14,000 rpm.

I drove through that nasty front twice, once on the way to Roanoke and again on the way back. It was nice in Roanoke for the few hours we were there and loading the car and kit but about half way back up the W. Virginia Turnpike the rain hit with a vengeance. We didn't see much good Fall weather the whole 5 days. For a major portion of the trip we couldn't see anything more than 100' in front of us, often much less.

Iron (but sore) butt, tired man. Speaking of iron butts, during the freezing drizzle today I saw four motorcycles out there. Temp was showing 28F on the mirror readout and there was freezing very light rain falling. The weeds and grass on the side of the road were frozen but the ground warmth must have kept the rain from freezing to the road surface. One guy on a sport bike with no windshield or fairings passed me and I watched him for awhile. He would take his feet off the pegs and get them close to the pavement when going over the bridges. The guy on the HD had windshield and fairings but had his hands clasped together on the gas tank and was steering by leaning his body. He didn't put his feet close to the road over the bridges. He had a Washington state plate on the bike. The other two bikes were going the other way on the interstate so I didn't get a close look at them.

Made it back to Erie today with the car and kit intact. 3,300 miles in 5 days with about 5 hours of sunshine and the rest in pouring rain and freezing drizzle. I think it will be worth it when the car is finished. Now to chill a bit.

I've had a ride in several of FM's in house conversions and they are very impressive. However, if I feel the need for more power in the Italia it will be via turbo. I like doen it to em with a four banger. I do have time on my hands, I'm on long term disability soon to be fully retired. I needed a project to keep me busy this winter. I decided the space ship project wasn't interesting enough so I looked around and found the Italia.

Eh, er, um, well, another gay car. This one comes with a complete, uninstalled Simpson Design body kit called the Italia. See http://www.simpsondesign.net/italia.htm for pictures of what it will look like when done. This will be my winter project besides what I need to do on the Caterham.

Actually the brick has been proven to have a lower Cd than a Caterham by quite a bit. There is a magazine article about some wind tunnel testing Caterham did a few years ago that shows some of the addons they used to try to get the Cd down some as well as negate some of the front end lift. I tried to post them but they were too large. I sent them to Mazda who was going to shrink them and make them available, Mazda did you ever post them?

Thanks for the offer, but Roanoke is as far East as I will be going. I want to be 300 miles West of Roanoke before I stop for the night.

I've purchased a winter project car in Roanoke, VA and am leaving Denver Wednesday AM early. I plan to be in Roanoke mid-day Friday, pick up the car and start back West the same day. Trying to do this in 5 days of 600 miles per day. I know it is short notice, but I can haul a Seven or a Miata sized car for a reasonable bit of gas money if someone needs one moved Eastward. Its a 7 x 14 enclosed trailer with 72" between the cables that pull up the ramp. Anyone interested call me at 303-661-9914. Any advice?

I took a look at that system and I don't have space for it anywhere along my current steering column. The heat from the turbo would probably fry the motor and electronics as well since the turbo sits right next to the column.

Mazda, What electric power steering unit are you planning to use and where does it mount? I've been considering power steering for my car as well. I met a Stalker owner the other day who had installed a Chevette rack with a pump from IIRC, a Toyota or Lexus. My mod plans for the winter are: Finish up the Brooklands screen's mount and get them on the car. Try again on the ceramic coating of exhaust manifold, turbo casting and downpipe. Install rev light. And if there are funds left over, a set of Minilite style wheels.

A different Tesla showed up at our local C&C today. This makes 5 different ones I have seen locally this year. The owner was giving rides and I asked him if I could possibly drive it as well. He explained the systems and then took me out for a few miles and turned it over to me. The car is awesome, far better than the four Elises I have driven in the past. Acceleration is massive, the instant torque of the electric motor sets you right back in the seat and never lets up. I was able to make several full throttle (rheostat?) runs up to about 90 mph. A real g-force junkie's kind of car. The handling was also very well sorted. I took it through some high speed 90* bends that were quite bumpy and it handled them very well indeed. The ride is also much better than the Elise yet seemed as tossable and well planted without the choppiness of the Elise. The regen system is also interesting. When you let off the throttle it goes into regen and slows you quite quickly. The brake lights come on so you don't surprise the cars behind you. The owner told me that the system is designed to bring you to one mph without using the brakes in normal driving. If you don't want to slow down too much you just feather the throttle. If you need to stop quicker, use the brakes as well. It was very easy to adapt to. In Colorado up until the end of the year, the state is giving a $43,000 tax credit if you buy one of these and the Feds are offering an $8,000 tax credit. Both can be spread over 5 years. Now, if I could only afford the $110,000 price of entry. That's me in the photos coming in from the drive with a smile on my face and then trying to extricate myself from the driver seat. It's a little easier to get in and out of than the Caterham, but not by much. I think I could learn to live with it. I also got a ride in a new Jaguar XKR Coupe. Acceleration in that car was also awesome as it should be with 510 HP and 461 lb ft of torque. The lady who owns it had no problems flooring it but has no clue about cornering so she slowed to little old lady speeds at the slightest curves. Strange since she has owned Corvettes and other high end sports cars most of her life. She is married to the guy with the Tesla.

Rob, Great looking car, love the color. How about some pictures from under the hood and some specs?

Mike, I got them from RMSC. I just took a look at them and they are more than just a simple angle iron. They have a U channel that sits inside the channel at the inside bottom of the scuttle and uses the two studs holding the scuttle. It goes up about 2.5" just under the skin of the scuttle where the holes with welded nuts line up with the bolts coming through from the windscreen stanchions. IIRC they were relatively cheap (for Caterham parts ). They seriously shorten the time for change over not to mention not having to get a wrench up in the dash with all those electrics just waiting for a chance to let the smoke out of the wires. They require removing the black vinyl coated ali pieces that round the corner between the dash and the side panel. Be very careful and disconnect your battery. As I was pulling out the one on the driver side I caught one of the hot wires from the headlight flasher switch between the ali skin and the piece I was removing. Major outlet of smoke from the wires and I had to replace several of them. I have never gotten around to putting those pieces back in as you can see from the pictures below. You could make your own using a piece of ali or steel and some rivnuts if you have access to a sheet metal brake.

Aerodynamics are far more important at high speed than car weight. 150 in an S2000 or any modern high performance car is very different than 178 in a Se7en type car which has a higher Cd than a brick.