David Hansen

Shock and suspension choice topics can get a bit religious but I wanted to give you some feedback on my recent experience with SPAX. Given I own a Westfield I also belong to the very active Westfield Sports Car Club forum over in the UK. They have a frequent contributor over there DamperMan who is an engineer over at SPAX that owns an 2000's era Westfield and took a bit of care designing a set of shocks for this application. If you are a WSCC member (and you should be if you own a Westfield) he gives you 35% discount off retail rates which is pretty generous. I had a number of back and forth discussions about what I was trying to accomplish and I ended up with straight rate springs up front and a set of progressive wound springs in the rear. I ordered them up and they appeared at my door from England in about 14 days as I was in no particular rush so chose a cheaper shipping option. No VAT or taxes levied on the US customs side meant I was out the door for 617 GBP / $817 USD delivered to my door (4 shocks / 4 springs + assembly). You could easily use your current springs and deal with the assembly but I ended up changing the rates I wanted to use and this just seemed easier as springs are relatively inexpensive. The SPAX folks pre-assembled them at no extra charge for me and all I had to do was install them and adjust the ride height to set the proper rake. My old shocks were 30 years + old and tired as you would imagine. Technology has changed more than a bit as far as materials used and these new units are a far cry from the original ones fitted back in the day. Gas pressure and 28 clicks of adjustment and modern seal materials mean you should have years of enjoyment. Having a shock engineer willing to take the time to discuss your desired outcome was also a huge plus for the gang over at SPAX. It has made a huge difference in how my car rides and has breathed new life into the handling of the car. I plan on driving it a bit to allow for any break in sag and then corner weight and get a proper alignment but my initial impressions are that this is a good and reasonably priced upgrade if you are not looking for a 10/10ths race application and wanting to spend $$. Having a philosophical conversation with a wrenching buddy (who was mostly supervising and drinking my beer) that doing suspension upgrades are so much more rewarding than a water pump or alternator etc. The former you can go out and experience some (hopefully) positive and exciting change while the latter is just the car doing its job.

Congrats and welcome! I too am here just south of PDX so the 7's are strong around here. Keep us posted as to your progress.

Not trying to hijack the thread here but this seems the most appropriate place to pose this question. My new to me Westy has a shortened oil pan because the PO hit something. It is about even with the bottom of the bell housing and with a tall filter I am about 3.25 quarts of oil. Given I am using good synthetic oil and just really street driving for the remainder of this summer I am sure I will be just fine as I will keep an eye on the temps. I live in Portland and Ivey Engines are local to me and I know they make some huge oil pan but that might not be the best for a car that is not a 100% full time race car. I can solve the capacity issue by adding a big oil cooler and pick up a quart or so with the lines or I could try and find some other modified sump that has a bit more capacity. I don't think I am ready to go all dry sump yet as I am just getting into the car but as a longer term concern I wonder what the current wisdom is here?

ok - here you go and thanks for the opportunity to go out to the barn and appreciate my good fortune to find this car in my back yard... It is all very tidy. My plan is to go to the local tuner I know well and have them give it a rip on the dyno and make sure we are all in good tune and nothing dangerous has been programmed into the mix. Megasquirt!

Yes a crossflow - purportedly 1700 but I am uncertain how one would verify this (1600 vs 1700cc).

Greetings from the great PNW. Much like a lot of you I have been looking off and on for a bit now to find the right kind of car for me. I wanted something of a project, maybe a little unkempt but with good bones. I was ok with seven-ish and not ready to make a big plunge and go and buy something new like a Caterham yet. I prefer the simplicity of older cars and that is why I have felt that siren song of the seven. (say that 7 times fast). I have spent different times working very hard to find a car and missed out on a few in my range of mechanically sound (mostly) and just grubby enough and in the right ballpark price wise and the right timing. The stars finally aligned this last week. Let's be clear that I would not be here typing this today without this website so big props to Croc and his never ending scouring of the interwebs to find these cars and putting them all in one place for dreamers like myself can go out and finally find one. Big thanks as well to JohnCh who was kind enough to jump in and give me some low down details on the Westfield's of the Bob Yarwood vintage builds. Thank you! Over time I considered a number of cars and tried to put a deal together for a pre-lit Westfield out in Connecticut (I am in Oregon) and another up in Seattle only to find my new to me Westy in a town about 7 miles away from my home. Crazy you say - it can happen! Like any of us who purchase and care for these cars the PO was bit of a character in a good way, an engineer and a tinkerer. By the time I stumbled on to the Facebook Marketplace add it has been up for 3+ weeks and it had not sold. Part of me thought maybe something majorly wrong? Presented poorly? I had to find out myself. The PO spent about zero minutes cleaning up the car. Zero. Dusty, carpets needed a good vacuum and the interior was in need of a good scrub. This kind of grubby was right in my wheelhouse. He was very proud (and deservedly so) of the new fuel injection system he put on the car and was very excited to show to me and explain it. I was patient and listened gleaning bits of data on whether or not I could trust this bit of work and hearing more of the right bits to feel confident it was solid. Four individual throttle bodies sourced from a Suzuki Hayabusa, port fuel injection (with recently cleaned / tested injectors), custom fuel rail machined by him, wideband O2 sensor and a Megasquirt ECU running the show. It started immediately and ran nearly perfect from what could ascertain. The owner had a number of folks out to see the car initially and he was being very firm on price and they all ended up fading away. Secretly I don't think their "potential new owner" interviews went too well. Some demanded log books of maintenance and were turned off by the general appearance and or his unwillingness to let you test drive his baby (but he was willing to take for a rip down his favorite country road). All the tire kickers and seven owner wannabes faded to the background. I visited 3 times (it was close to home after all) and each time conversations got a bit more cordial, me asking the right questions and gaining trust. We had a few concerning issues, an oil leak and rear CV boots starting to crack and die from age. My last visit as we were getting down to brass tacks we had the car up in the air a bit with me crawling underneath (jack stands!) to ascertain the potential cause. Me figuring worst case rear main seal but wanted a look there regardless. She (the car) was obviously unhappy about potentially changing hands because she left puddle on the driveway where we rolled the car out to do the underbelly inspection. This was clearly to my advantage given the situation given this was beyond just a wet spot in the garage where the old car had been parked for more than a decade. Me - offering that I would be happy at a number around 10% off. Him - saying he would be much happier at around 5% off. Me - given all the know issues and possible unknown issues (it is a 34 year old car after all) I am good at 10% off him - so you would take the car at your price and walk at my price me - yes him - ok he would go talk to the boss me - great I departed and headed home for some family obligations and I got a text from the owner stating he wanted the 5% discount price. I texted back "ok- thanks" and let him stew. This is the fun part of the negotiation - who blinks first. He clearly did not have anyone else on the hook at the moment and it had been weeks on marketplace and I had spent the time and passed the "interview". A few hours later I responded back I would be happy to pay his asking price (5% off) if he would address both the oil leak and the cv boots. I quickly got a response that my offer in a cashiers check would be great and a deal was sealed. I did a proper test drive and handed over the check. Upon arrival home I started my list of items to be addressed. Water pump is failing - sounds like it has gravel for bearings and I sourced a new one for $45 (yeah) Oil leaks - turns out if you don't properly tighten down your oil filter it will spew everywhere and create a terrible mess. Judicious use of dollar store citrus cleaner in a pump sprayer and power washer will clean away all your sins. Fresh oil and filter and I have yet to see a drop of oil from this engine - amazing! Pod air filters for the throttle bodies looking tired - amazon to the rescue Brakes - will swap fluid and unknown pad type. These are the Ford M16 calipers and I will be happy to take recommendations here on pad types for front and rear. Tires and wheels - I am not 100% sold on the 15" wheels and the tires have aged out and will go soon. I am thinking 13" - 14" minilights or panasport type wheels unless I can find some other 4 x 108 wheels that are interesting. Not many choices in small sizes these days for either wheels or tires so not sure my direction yet. Condition - early Saturday morning I spent about 20 min with some Spray Away cleaner and a microfiber towel or two and it was 80% better looking. Still not polished but significantly better. I also did the same on the interior and the grubbiness started to fade away. Once I get the mechanicals sorted here shortly the buffer will come out to play and I am guessing a large majority of the scratches will disappear. So there is my story - happy to finally be one of the team and again thanks to those who have reached out and been supportive in the journey. Dave

*** UPDATE - With the help of member JohnCh providing some guidance I managed to secure this car. Occasionally you get an immediate win, and in this case the car had an oil leak that needed addressed and was a negotiating point in the sale. When getting the car home I discovered that the oil filter that had wiggled a bit loose creating a mess but that mess saved me $2k on the sale price. Since an oil change and cleanup nary a drip to be seen (yeah!). Looking forward to the adventure and many many thanks to Croc for making these exhaustive "cars for sale" lists because otherwise I would not have found this car that was literally in my back yard (7.4 miles to be exact). So can someone clue me into how a car built in 1990 is titled as a 1965? thank Dave Hi folks, I just went and viewed this car https://www.facebook.com/share/LLhSsxrQopt9B2ht/ It runs and drives nice but the gelcoat is crazing a bit in spots and the hood had an off where the owner forgot to fully latch it down. The good - It is about 14 miles from where I live - no shipping. 21 year second owner since 3,500 miles (now 14,xxx) - mature fellow Not tracked or raced runs and drives well - has had some attention from Ivey engines here in Portland. megasquirt with individual throttle bodies seem to function correctly and has good power - was dyno tuned car seems overall sorted mechanically Bad - Cosmetically about a 7 if I am honest. I am sure that the gelcoat could do with some serious polishing and the color and scratches would mostly disappear. Interior is not even detailed and showing age / wear commensurate with the years. Ugly green inserts in the seats. Hood will need refinished / painted as the scratches are too deep to polish out with any success. Tires need replacing because of age He is wanting $20k and I think it is a bit high for its current cosmetic condition. What do you all think? Dave

Ha- gotta have tunes in the workspace. All about the bass there....

Update - I though the Elan had to go but my wife (after driving it to the all British field meet here in Portland) has declared that the M100 Elan will stay and that she likes driving it. The British cars have slowly taken over and the current situation has the Allies winning! _____

Thanks for the thoughts. I am 5'9" and about 30" inseam and 174lbs so while not good for pro basketball I should likely fit the car. I have a Morgan 3 wheeler that is also a snug cockpit so I get the issues. You wear these cars don't you? Wife has blessed it and is a supporter of unique cars even as she drives her Model 3 performance to work every day. I think it is some sort of automotive yin/yang in her head that she is embracing the technology and I am becoming a luddite. The car is located in the Northeast and I am lining up Sports Car Services in Keene, NH to do a thorough pre purchase inspection. Mike Spring the service manager seemed to be a good guy and is certainly knowledgeable in regards to the BMC-a motors and what to look for. I want to enlist a neutral third party with nothing invested here in the sale to give it a clean bill of health. It won't be cheap but it may be the best $400-500 I have ever spent if it is a no go on this car. The hunt is exciting as you all know - just need to figure out how to get a reasonable price shipping from New Hampshire to Portland OR. :o) Dave

I am actually mechanically inclined and that is part of the allure of this vintage / powerplant combo. Any specific concerns of the Westfield kits of this early vintage (circa 1985) kits to be on the lookout for? Like you said - simple and a bit crude but that is part of the charm. thanks Dave

Hi folks. Became a member just now as these places of learning need support! There are so many flavors of 7's out there which is really pretty cool being able to find a car that scratches a particular itch. From true Lotus cars to Miata powered Westfields to Rotus 7's I have not seen such a variety while still being the same car. I am getting old and more analog by the day and cars that appeal to me are back to basics and pure. I lean toward momentum cars that pay dividends to the driver that can be smooth and consistent. I have too often seen folks out on the track that are good at mashing the throttle on the straights and eating brakes and tires in the turns. I have become smitten with a pre-litigation Westfield that is far from modern being fitted with a 1275 BMC-a engine and a silver seal 4 speed transmission. I know that BMC kept the "a" series in production for ages so I will assume with some reasonable care and feeding this should be a fine powerplant for this vehicle. What should I be looking out for here as I am so out of my depth with anything vintage British it is scary and the fact I am potentially doubling down on an "assembled" car in the Westfield I am looking for some advice. Please feel free to call me a fool or perhaps share some sage advice so I can find my way here. thanks Dave