Early (pre-lit) Westfield

[craig chima]

Have a really nice RHD early Westfield that I am selling that needs only some minor finishing and TLC to be a really great car. For those who don't know, early Westies are virtually identically to S2 and S3 Lotus 7's chassis dimensionally (hence the lawsuit which forced them to change the later cars) and are very hard to tell from original cars. This was going to be a vintage race car project until plans changed and so now the car is for sale.

 

The car has a very strong running Ford crossflow motor built on 711M block and twin Dellortos. The motor starts and idles easily and pulls strong without any smoke and runs cool. It has a standard 4 speed trans with alloy bellhousing and new starter. Also has a nicely done header and exhaust system that runs all the way to the back of the car (minimizes noise).

 

There is a dual-circuit brake system (i.e. separate front and rear master cylinders -- both are new) with bias bar setup and a Fuel Safe Lotus 7 type fuel cell (these are now $2000) and new electric fuel pump so the car could easily do track days. Shocks are adjustable ride height and adjustable rebound Spax, and the front end is all Lotus/Triumph components per original cars (uprights, calipers, rack, hubs, etc) and the rear is all Sprite based (diff, housing, pumpkin, brakes, etc) which makes maintenance and parts-finding a breeze).

 

All lights, signals, and gauges (tach, speedo, water temp, oil temp) work perfectly as does the horn. The interior and rear parcel area is done in a very nice red vinyl with white piping as per an original Lotus with a bench-type seat that will comfortably fit a 6' driver with up to 32" inseam. There is also a very nice Moto-Lita steering wheel and new plexiglass wind wings with the windshield.

 

The chassis is straight and perfect and was recently restored and the car has all new aluminum skins that look excellent with the 13 x 6 Minilite knock-off wheels and Pirelli P400 tires that are in excellent condition.

 

This is easily a $16000-$17000 car when finished and needs only some minor TLC and finishing to get to that point. As mentioned above, I was originally going to make into a vintage race car (with pre-crossflow 1500) and hence there is no cutout in the hood for the air cleaners (air cleaners included) but I can easily do that for a prospective buyer. The rear fenders are not great but are certainly salvageable by good body man, or new fiberglass fenders can be purchased from several sources for under $500/pr including shipping. I will include the front cycle fenders shown in the pictures or if the buyer prefers will include a nice set of clamshells and appropriate brackets but then holes will need drilled in the side skins. But aside from painting the fiberglass ($1000 to $1500 tops) and some TLC, this car is ready to enjoy as it runs and drives great. I have priced it extremely aggressively at $12,600 as-is, and it is located in Akron, OH. I am also happy to finish as specified by prospective buyer, including fenders, paint, potential rollbar installation, etc so please contact me with your interests. Craig Chima, CC Motorsports (330) 807-0742 or chima97@aol.com

[craig chima]

Pictures

[Kitcat]

For those who do not know, Craig is one of the preminent Lotus 7/Caterham experts in the U.S. He rebuilds Lotus se7ens, restores them, races them in Vintage and SCCA racing etc, etc. He has a large shop in Akron that I have visited many times. I have always been impressed with his skill and attention to detail. He typically has 5-7 projects going at any one time, not all Se7ens, plenty of other mainstream and oddball English cars of similar vintage.