West7se

True, hadn`t thought of that. Erm I dont have a clue about mine, without getting it on a weigh bridge. I have spent a fair amount of time (and money.....) making it lighter. Will edit my own post with a guesstimate . For those that only know the wheel bhp, can we agree on what percentage is lost in the driveline, I was under the impression that around 20 to 25% was somewhere near, but I will stand corrected if someone has a formula to work it out with. Rich

Had an idea regarding this thread, how about we all post the bhp of our cars then after a period we will be able to see what the average power of the 7 is for the USA7`s forum members, maybe that figure what ever it may be is the ultimate?...... Just a bit of fun. I did a very rough count the other day and got 147 ish bhp. I will start 110bhp @ flywheel Weight around 550 kg??..... Rich

All pms recieved and sent back. If you havent used this file host before, click the `free user` button to take you to the download. If anyone is really struggling to get the files, PM me back where I can help you further. Rich PS - I would be grateful for any comments on his build, would you have done things differently?, not fitted that paticular part or perhaps gone about it in a different way?.

Yes its an odd word, can be used to describe many things like I think that bloke is DAFT for not changing his tyres to better ones The bill they sent me is just plain DAFT He really is a DAFT person The best way to describe it would be " NOT LOGICAL"

Ditto for the front indicators, didnt like the big pods as per the standard issue. Small pair of motorcylce led ones fitted. http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/6025/pic0045.jpg

yes you are correct, the light output in the past has been poor. I have to say the current generation are much much better. The first set I made for the volvo used 5mm red ones at about 1000 mcd, and I had around 20 per side to make up a cluster. Today that same 5mm led produces 12000. Also you dont need separate leds for the brake/tail lights as you can use the same led to do both (simple case of resistors to limit the current on the tail lights). Instead of making the clusters now, I buy the unit from a supplier. An example of my indicator one is below http://www.ultraleds.co.uk/3821156ba15s-amber-indicator-bulb-pair-p-1648.html Rich

Not my link, but a great video for the R500. [/url]

Yeah that was quick. I take it you have all seen the Cat R500 going around the topgear track?, couldn`t see it on the video section though. See if I can find a link, I did have it myself but youtube removed the link due to copyright issues. Rich EDIT, R500 link posted in the 7 vids section

I feel the shape should be oval or similar. http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/5416/gtr60.jpg

Always loved the Ultima, a real classic looking GT car, I wonder who the driver was, its not stiggy as this driver has his visor up......

Hi all. I have here a series of TV programmes that follows a chap who buys a kit from Westfield. It follows him from the day the parts turn up in crates to acually racing the car , its 15 episodes long (about 30mins each) . With respect to the board rules , should anyone wanting this please PM me. The files are in .rar format and stored on a file share site. Files extract to .avi. If you dont have the winrar extraction program I will also supply this with your files . Link to more info - http://www.i2itelevision.com/racing-car.php Richard.

Hi all, I have a PDF file of this manual written by Haynes, its 45 meg in size and covers a full strip down and rebuild including where and what to do when tuning. Please PM me should you require a copy, its stored on a file share site. Rich

Do many of you use these to replace the tungsten equivalent?. Being into electronics for years, I started making these before they were commerially available. For those lightweight freaks like me, getting rid of the original wiring loom (usually taken from a production car) was a huge saving in weight. Using these does involve a few mods to things like indicators which rely on current to flash its relay at a sensible speed, either by using ballast resistors or a custom flasher, also they far outlast a `normal bulb` I have had these fitted to my Volvo and have not had to replace anything in 8 years. Since the early days of high brightness LED`s they have come on leaps and bounds in terms of true colour control and are mostly used here in commertial vehicles such as buses and lorries, though many top end car manufactures are using them now. Rich

I like it, not seen that concept before. Appears easy to get in and out when someone parks too close in a carpark, just wondering as to wether it would pass certain `side impact` tests that we have, given the the entire side of the car is separate to the main shell of the body. Good idea though. Rich

Thats true, but you would be suprised as to what gets past the authorities here. For example a tv comic used to have P3 NIS as his car reg (Paul Kaye aka Denis Penis). Rich

Same, wings ie just took my volvo as an example. http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/870/9374233.gif Rich

correct, the material that surrounds the wheels are called wings, on the 7 I would call my front ones cycle wings Rich

Estate car - Station wagon

Congrats, you have done it, well done and just one day from the estimate.

I have a question. Whilst reading about the westy for sale on ebay ( the dodgy seller one) there are several mentions of "lowball offer ", what is this. Is it the lowest amount you are willing to pay whilst giving yourself a top line budget?

Great job Flibbie, I have always used rattle cans. I actually painted an entire car with them - an expensive way of doing it granted but the finish was as equal as a compressor would have been. For me the secret of rattlecans is the temperature of the can, i will often heat up the can in hot water to raise the pressure even in summer. As with any paint job, its only as good as the preparation done to the bodywork, but rattlecans are great. I have found in the last 5 years that cellulose has now been replaced by acrilic and I dont think its as good at holding the finish as cellulose would have done, although it sprays and goes on fine in the beginning. I am planning on painting the 7 this summer with cans, not found a colour I like yet.......

Hi all, another cool thread. I am sure I can help out with this one. oilteq - I do not know the English word for the vertical motorcycle event that Americans call a “hill climb.” This depends on the surface on which the event is held. Hillclimb - Run on an uphill sealed surface (ie: tarmac) , the competitors run one at a time and timed to the nearest 100th second. Sprint - exactly the same as Hillclimb but run on the flat ( or as flat as most venues get anyway) Autotest - An event run around cones in a disused or closed carpark, again timed to the 100th second. Trials - run generally on grass/ mud competitors must traverse the route without incurring any penalties, bikes ofen have to climb over large rocks and other akward obsticles. Circuit racing - thats what it says really. Group of cars together, first past the flag wins. If I think of anymoe I will post them. The jubilee question was good and something I have wondered about as well. I coundn`t find much except this link. After reading this we are still no nearer to the answer http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Phrases-and-Sayings/Question644721.html

Thanks folks, I did already know of the tyre scrub and possible understeer issues, perhaps as Ian7 says I need to look at the causes of the backlash first. After paging through 600 odd pages of various ford and locost sites, the general views are that the backlash is caused by the pinion not mating with the crownwheel correctly. As I mentioned I have not yet stipped the unit down, but the adjustment is via a collapseable bush apparently. The diff still operates ok apart from the cluck when taking up the backlash, it has an oil leak between the front and main cases, but thats just a gasket issue which I am not worried about at this stage, getting back to the locked diff thing, I did find a thread on the locost site asking the very same question as myself. As you have all said its not really an option for general use of the car, but there were a few posts actually questioning the need even for an LSD on such a light car, which I thought was interesting. The thread is below. http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=24764 I also took the liberty of coping the text from a post that describes how to set the diff up for loads etc. Copied text> "I don't know the specifications for the diff you're using, but below should give you an idea of what your looking for. I'm a Technician at a Ford dealer and regularly work on diffs. Been doing it for 20 years or so. Apoligies if some of this is old hat for some, but for the benifit of anyone else who may be interested, here goes. Normally if the gearset doesn't have too many miles or any abnormal noise I'd re-use them. If you're just replacing seals and bearings and no abnormal noises were present. I'd re-use the originally pinion depth shim. Pinion depth is how far the pinion engages into the ring gear. It remains the same with the original gear set and original case, but if anything is changed it needs to be re-set. A bit beyond this proceedure. The amount of force that's required to rotate the pinion flange is the pinion preload. Its measured with a spring scale(like for wieghing fish) and a short bar and a bit of math or with a dial type torque wrench on the pinion nut. The pinion preload is generally between 8 inch pounds and 16 inch pounds. (2 ft lbs is way too much thats 24 inch pounds. a bit much for the small diffs we would use) It's measured with just the pinion, bearings, seal, flange and nut installed. Not the ring gear. All measurements are made with the bearings lubricated in new clean oil. If you need more preload tighten the pinion nut. If you go too far, pull it apart and get another collapsable spacer. They don't stetch or spring back, once they're crushed thats it. I always use a new collapsable spacer. They are only a few dollars so why risk ruining the cost of everything else you just done over a dollar or two. Some diffs use shims instead of a collapsable spacer, but the same thing applies, add or subtract shims until you get the correct preload. To explain carrier bearing preload. A certain amount of shims will just eliminate any play. The specified preload is the extra amount or thickness of shim that will need to be added beyond that. If threaded adjusters are used then they are generally torqued to a certain amount- I recall something in the order of 60 foot pounds for larger diffs. Its not a bad idea to keep track of what was originally there as its usually not too far off. Now the total gear back lash is adjusted by taking shims from one side and adding them to the other. Always keeping the same total thickness. The back lash is measured with a dial indicator on a ring gear tooth. Its gernerally in the range of 0.008 inch to 0.016 inch Larger gearsets are usually in the higher range smaller in the lower. You need this play or distance between the gears to allow for heat expansion and to give the gears a bit of room to move against each other. No need to get too picky yet as this may be re-adjusted in the next step. You just try to get it some where in the middle of the specs. Then a paste like marking compound is painted on the ring gear teeth. It can be anything that'll stick but can be wiped or rubbed of by the gear teeth. The real stuff is lead based so be careful. I've used chalk, blueing while its still wet, and crayon. It sometimes pays to be inventive here. Rotate the gears against each other and apply a bit of force. Your looking at the convex drive side of the ring gear. What gets wiped off is the point the gears are sliding against each other. The aim is to have the area of contact in the center of the gear and the back lash within the specified range. Dependant on the pattern it may be necesary to adjust the pinion depth. I usually aim to be in the low side of the specs to allow for wwear.The correct setting of pinion depth is quite a bit more involved as is reading the contact patterns and knowing what to adjust. It wouldn't be harmfull to make an adjustment the wrong way if things are done in small amounts. Just keep track of where you started in case you have to go the other way. Hope that helps."

Hi all I am just after some thoughts on the idea of a welded up open diff. I know folks do it to `drift cars`, but has anyone ever done this on a live axle seven? The reason for asking is that I have the live axle open MK2 Escort diff and it has huge amounts of backlash in it, now I have not stripped it yet so I am not sure what parts have worn, but you can spin the wheels between 12 o`clock to about 2 o`clock before the backlash is taken up. I can`t really afford an LSD to be honest and this wacky idea came into my head. Your comments for and against welcome. Cheers

Yes love half doors. As someone else here has already mentioned, I made mine from the original full doors ( only because I really could not justify the price that some companies want for these). Keeps me a bit warmer and stop a lot of the crap from the kickup off the front wheels from getting in the car. Well worth fitting them in my view.