manik

I can tell you there are no 'loopholes' regarding the importation of any vehicle or kit into Canada. Unless it is already 15 years old (or older) and registered. Otherwise, you can only import a base chassis with bodywork, which must be pre-approved by TC before it hits Canadian customs. Almost all of the cars coming into Canada presently are being imported illegally and Transport Canada does seize shipments. tm

Here is another, higher quality Westfield drift video from the London Motorsport show: http://www.vimeo.com/1406479 Anyone know how to embed a Vimeo video? tm

OT I suppose, but I generally use Firefox 3.0 and am quite happy with it. As an aside, checking my server logs, the manikllc.com website is viewed by 1.1% of visitors using Opera (vs. 37% for Firefox and 58% for MS Internet Explorer). I wonder if this is correlates to the amount of development (and functionality) of each browser? tm

I've had the pleasure of riding in Rob's Westie. I was unable to tell that the exhaust header, collector or outlet pipe from the Honda engine were but inches from my person. Very impressive insulation! I should also point out that Rob's design and implementation of the seats & fans is really phenomenal. You cam also just make out some very handy side compartments for the driver and passenger's wallet, cell phone, etc. tm

http://www.artemisimages.com/big/ppih0496.jpg Dan Morgan driving his Lotus Ford to a second place finish in 1966 with a time of 13:9.8. This photo is part of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb archive. www.artemisimages.com

Keep forgetting to update this thread. I can confirm this is a highly modified Westfield in Japan. I believe the nosecone is the same, but otherwise all new aluminum & fiberglass bodywork. The owner does some pretty wild stuff. For example: http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/45729112_p1.jpg http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1281973999_p8.jpg http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/2022942016_p3.jpg tm

FWD Message: -------------------------------------- Tentative plans have been made for The All British Track Day at Eagles Raceway in Decatur. The Drivers Edge Driving School will conduct classroom time as well as in car instruction. There will be 4 - 20 minute driving sessions The cost will be $195 per car - we need a minimum of 50 cars to make this event happen. The dates available are either August 2 or August 9. The event will start approximately 10 a.m and end around 4 p.m. Please advise what date is preferred . I would appreciate if you could send out an "EMAIL BLAST" to all your members. I need an indication by this coming Thursday evening of how many and who will participate. If there is enough interest this event will happen. Any questions please feel free to e-mail me jagsndogs1@sbcglobal.net or call me @ 469-569-9882. Steven Ward

Sorry to drag this topic back to life, but I like this picture. It's certainly one way to do it. Perhaps the owner is on here? http://ww3.startribune.com/blogimages/classiccars/WheelsWings/LotusKnockoff.jpg

Yeah, that's about par for the course on a complete Westfield kit. I know some of the guys at the factory will work the weekend building a car for customers. Not bad for two guys and two days. Granted they have all the cool tools onhand to do it, but you get the point. tm

Skip, With regards to the Top Gear stunt build, there were many, many items on their car which were already preassembled and otherwise built. There is no way you could build a Caterham (or Westfield) from scratch in a day. I can guarantee you the car had been previously assembled at the factory, and dis-assembled for the show. Fortunately, you can spec out a Westfield kit to be as built as you like it. Anything from a complete kit, up to a rolling chassis (here in the U.S. anyway). I would say the Westfield is probably targeted to the person who wants to do more of the building themselves, rather than final assembly. Nothing wrong with either approach though. tm

The Westfield speedometer is clocked by a hall-effect sensor mounted on the rear axle. To use the Hayabusa dash, you would have to recalibrate/compensate for the wheel size difference and diff. I've seen some guys go with a 'Universal Signal Interface from Dakota Digital http://www.dakotadigital.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=product/product_id=126 Have a look down the forum for the Bike Engined Sevens subsection. They might be able to give you some additional ideas. There's no one way to do things naturally tm

Henry, The Megabusa comes with a chassis wiring loom, but because of the proprietary plus on the Suzuki harness, you will need it, along with the ECU and Hayabusa dash cluster for error codes, troubleshooting, etc. The Megabusa kit comes with a full set of gauges, so you will not need the Hayabusa cluster mounted on the dash, although you could certainly mount it if you liked the look. We have an engine builder that can supply a custom engine harness. You need the full set of Hayabusa sensors and ECU and harness to get the engine fired up. Wheel-wise, you need to use wheels that have the correct PCD (4x108) and offset (ranges from et24 to et35). While they are available, they are not overly common in the U.S. There is a might greater selection out of the U.K., and certainly Westfield supply the optimum package. The 13" race wheels are probably the most used for the Megabusa because of weight, but there are at least two Megabusas here in the states that are running 15" wheels. Same offset and PCD apply. tm

I believe it's the Japanese equivalent of a Locost. Only, much more expensive because it's Japanese. And rotary turbo. Really odd that it is LHD in Japan... http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3274/2344852128_b1717526cf.jpg

Oooh, this forum looks fun. http://www.activeboard.com/forum.spark?forumID=99460&subForumID=392256&p=2 Removing the speed limiter on the Hayabusa for a Clubman is irrelevant. You'll never get there with aerodynamics, right? The better mod is the one that produces more torque. I should point out the company Sportbike Center outlined in one of the links above just built a Busa engine for a customer of ours. The owner is a trained electronic engineer, and knows his way around the Hayabusa engine and ECU. He's also got a patent on some fuel system bits for the Hayabusa. He also runs Drag Bike Direct if that give you any indication of the type of engines he builds. Fun stuff! tm

The Megabusa comes with a Westfield reversing box as standard, and the intake from the Hayabusa is not used, so there is no issue with the bonnet. BusaLoco, have you swapped out the xtal in your ECU? There is a rather good, and unbiased(?) build log over here in the U.K.: http://www.megabusa.co.uk/ tm

More like 'seized by U.S. customs'. It either gets exported back out of the U.S., or crushed. The potential buyer will likely not have access to the car before buying it. The seats and aeroscreen can be had from U.K. suppliers at less than the MOG pricing. tm

Hi Jeff, Welcome aboard. I'd love to find out what all has been done to your Hayabusa. As John noted, the halfshafts really shouldn't be breaking. There are some uprated replacements though, and I'll drop you an email directly. tm

Yeah, the former owner invested close to $10K in this car within the past 18 months. His wife didn't like the fact it messed up her hair, so away it went. Should be a steal for someone.

I like the high bidder's previous purchase on April 6th...

The HiSpec brakes are really nice. They are are on the new Westfield factory race cars. All billet design. tm

Loren, I'd also be interested in seeing that car in your avitar. Looks pretty fun... tm

Some nice shots of Bill Cardell at Thunderhill last month in the (now) Turbo Westfield. http://gotbluemilk.com/web080421/12/index.html tm

Hi Avery, Although my comments may be a bit biased, I'll try to confine myself to the Westfield. The mileage on the Miata donor parts are not an issue. Everything was rebuilt, and the engine was essentially rebuilt, save new rings and bearings. The general consensus is that a good running, well maintained Miata engine is almost better off being left alone. The fiberglass parts on the Westfield are of two benefits - they are pre-colored in the gel coat so there is no painting needed, and if you ever do need to repair them, it is easier and less expensive than a new aluminum part. The results on eBay are typical, I'm afraid. There are no real buyers on eBay, particularly for these types of cars. I do invite you to try out the Westfield at VIR. I think you will find it immensely enjoyable. tm

Didn't get any video of this myself (too busy holding on for dear life), but this gives you some good in-car footage. tom

Wasn't that shot in Forrest Gump?