2018 Update

It was a busy but not completely successful year for the Westfield.

At the start of the year I made a few minor changes to the car, with a thicker aluminium radiator and luxuries like a USB power supply, LED DRLs and a (removable) boot.

   

Test drive to Burton Dassett:

In May, my dad and I competed at the HCAAC sprint at Debden in the beautiful sunshine.

Video of my dad starting a run:

And on-board with my final run of the day:

Also in May we attended a Westfield Sportscar Club day at Curborough. Unfortunately the weather in the morning was not as kind, so we took the MX5 instead.

In June I took the Westfield on a tour around Europe. Unfortunately it broke down on a mountain in Austria when i left the ignition on with the engine off. This created a lot of stress to get it resolved, but I still had a great holiday and managed to stay in every planned location, although I am now much more familiar with Lienz than I had hoped to be!

          

After returning home, we went on a track day at Snetterton, which was shortened due to a number of other cars crashing and the evening light fading.

In October I competed in the second Debden sprint of the year:

And went on a drive to Wales before tucking the car away for the winter:

Christmas 2018 was spent building another, smaller Westfield! Lego sell a Caterham kit, which I painted and modified to build a replica of my own car.

The main change for 2019 will be some longer front shock absorbers to prevent the car hitting the ground quite so often. Hopefully that will allow even more adventures to come!

Spring ’17 Update

Shortly after my last post, the weather turned cold and the local roads were gritted and I sorn’ed the Westfield to help avoid getting it rusty. As I had planned a trip to Wales, I took the newer MX5 instead

Over the winter I did a few bits to the car:

Lightweight battery, plus a new air filter built up from hoses, barbs and a generic filter, using the original MAF sensor.

   New lighter parcel shelf, lighter dashboard with switch added to make a manual override for the cooling fan.

 

Tow straps front and rear, and a new driver’s harness to ensure it can meet MSA regulations.

 

Snetterton Track Day

At the end of March, I made the trip to Norfolk for a track day at Snetterton. The car ran brilliantly all day, the only issues being an exhaust clamp that came loose (Andrew Simpson had a spare in his boot), and a front indicator that stopped working.

  

Here are a couple of videos from the day:

The biggest limitation to track time was the engine temperature which would build up and take a while to dissipate. To help improve this, I later made small holes at the rear sides on the bonnet to let hot air out. From some very non-scientific testing, it seems to have helped a lot.

Debden Sprint

In early May, we took the Westfield to compete at the Debden sprint run by Herts County Auto & Aero Club. This was my Dad’s first ever time competing in a sprint, and my second (the first was about 10 years ago)

Here are some videos from the day:

Some external videos, including me almost spinning:

We finished the day 6th and 12th out of 13, and were surprised how well it went. Hopefully we will return later in the year!

Post IVA and On the Road

After the IVA, I had sent away the paperwork, but it took 6 weeks to get my registration documents through so I used the time to make a few improvements. These are the ones I can remember!

I fitted my new wheels and tyres. This should have been really easy, but the gaps between the cycle wings and front tyres is very small, so it took A LOT of tweaking and spacing to get correct. The rear appeared fine, but did rub very slightly when cornering.

 

The remaining problem was the speed sensor so I made a new bracket and moved this to the diff output which works much better.

I fitted a central brake light (cable ties are only to ensure the double sided tape stuck and are now removed)

I wanted to make sure the cooling was as effective as possible, so I added some ducting around the radiator to ensure the air goes through the radiator rather than under or over. This is formed from bent aluminium with a door seal to press against the nose cone.

 

I bought and fitted a new steering wheel to make it easier to get my legs in and out.

 

I also bought another sump and took it to Mulberry Fabrications (http://www.mulfab.co.uk/) to have it shortened by around 20mm. The standard sump is the lowest part of the car and scrapes on the ground leaving my garage as well as on bumpy roads.

Finally the registration documents arrived so I got the number plates made and went for a drive. This looks like the seaside, but is Burton Dassett, about 4 miles from my house. The people from the BMW were sitting on the floor in the other parking spaces eating a picnic, so I quickly stopped here for a photo!

The first problem I found was one of the handbrake bolts rubbing on the propshaft. I resolved this by cutting down the bolt slightly.

I went for a drive on one of the hottest days of the year. McDonalds has speed bumps, so I had to settle for a cold drink from the Costa drive through.

My helmet before and after cleaning off the dead bugs:

The next problem was the standard sump. I had noticed a small spot of oil in the garage so lifted the car up to find where it had come through. After looking around for a while and cleaning off the oil, I found that it was coming through the middle of the sump which had either worn through or cracked. (Wear shown below). I had been intending to change the sump over winter, but decided to do it now so I could use any remaining dry weather.

That brings things up to date. I have completed about 700 miles in just over a month including a trip to Stotfold and the Cotswolds, and am making use of any dry weather we have before winter sets in. Hopefully I still have a few more weeks to enjoy!

IVA Test – Passed!

I received email confirmation that I could book my IVA test so I phoned up, only to be told that the next available test in Kidderminster was 28th of August! As I had a finished car, I asked for alternatives and was given Friday 15th of July (about a week after the date I phoned) in Derby. This meant about a 70 mile drive rather than 40 miles, but worth it to get the earlier test.

So after final checks, aligning the headlights and calibrating the speedo, the car was ready for the IVA test.

 

On the 15th of July at 4am, my Dad turned up at my house with his Discovery and a trailer to tow the Westfield when it inevitably broke down. However the Westfield ran fine and at about 6am, we reached Derby and stopped at the Mcdonald’s down the road from the test centre.

The only problem I found on the way there was that the speed sensor was not picking up. This was a problem I had found on the driveway and found it difficult to pick up the speed correctly whilst preventing the sensor from rubbing on the propshaft. I did a few laps of the McDonalds car park and adjusted the sensor until it worked.

After breakfast, we drove to fill up with petrol and then to the test centre. I arrived early and started to get nervous that I was in the wrong place, until just before 8am when the roller door was opened by Roy the tester and his apprentice.

The test is conducted in the long building, moving the car forwards for each new test. There were a few minor problems such as sharp edges that I was allowed to cover as we went along. The ones I can think of were the ECU plate edges and the front shock pre load adjusters which had to be covered.

The emissions test went surprisingly well with no cat, and I got a receipt showing 0.59% CO vs a target of 3.5%

The other tests included things such as speedo calibration, light function and alignment, seat belts, steering lock, checking pipes and suspension, fuel filler locking and tethering, sharp edges, brakes etc.

They took lots of measurements shown below which will be used in the application for a registration number. Total weight with a tank of fuel but no passengers was 610kg.

At the end of the test, the tester went away to make some calculations as I covered the final sharp edge, and when he came back he presented me with an Individual Approval Certificate as the car had passed!

We packed everything up and then drove home again. The car had completed 140 miles with no major problems and passed the test so I was very happy with a successful day! Thanks to my dad for carrying tools and towing an empty trailer across the country. The most surprising thing was that I had driven 140 miles in a bright green car, with a crash helmet and no number plates and had been pulled over by the police exactly 0 times.

Since getting the car home, I have now put the other wheels and tyres on and sent off my application for an application form for road registration… Hopefully in a few weeks it will all be sorted and on the road.

IVA Preparation

My first IVA application got lost in the post and delayed things by 3 weeks, but everything is ready and the IVA test is booked… for Friday!

When I got a confirmation email through, I was asked to phone and book a date. The closest free slot at Kidderminster (closest station) was the end of August, so I asked if there were any alternatives and Derby had free slots Friday and Wednesday / tomorrow (but I need to be in work).

This is therefore a quick update of everything before the IVA.

Dashboard tidied up and holes made for the switches

 

Wiring tidied up and clipped down

Setting the geometry up (this is much more difficult in a single garage compared to how it was in Formula Student!

Brake fluid identification sticker added:

The steering column has a bit of wobble in it due to the bushing fit on the column. I therefore bought a roller bearing and have fitted this. The wobble has completely gone and the steering is even more free.

  

I have also bought a second sump from Ebay to get it cut down, to improve the ride height (sump is currently the lowest part and scrapes on the join between my garage and driveway). I had planned to do this after the IVA but due to various delays, this seemed like a good time. I will fit the modified sump after the IVA.

 

Due to the way I have wired the fog and hazard switches in, I had to redo them and pass the wiring through the dashboard.

 

Checked and tidied the rear end, including wiring and thread engagement, before putting the boot cover on.

   

After this, it has been a case of checking everything over, covering sharp edges and nuts, putting split pins in place and testing the car up and down the driveway.

Everything on the car is now ready for Friday, I just need to pack tools, spares and the paperwork.

Getting Close to the Finish

Progress has been good with the main problems solved and the car is now driveable.

I got tyres sorted for the new wheels:

Finished making the dashboard from 3mm MDF but it turned out very flimsy so I remade it from 6mm MDF. In order to meet radius requirements for padded edges, I have use fuel hose covered in soft foam, cut and glued to the edges of the dash.

 

Once all glued together, I painted over with flexible paint.

The gearstick gaitor was already sorted but I bought a larger handbrake gaitor. Unfortunately I had to cut and re-sew this slightly to get over the handle but it fits nicely.

 

Onto the more important items, I managed to find a different sized tube that fitted the column perfectly. The column and lambda sensor were then welded by the friend of a friend from work (Thanks Tom and Chris!). Once back, I painted the column in Ford Medium Steel Blue (I seem to have lots of it to match the Mondeo) and assembled the column with it’s bracket bolted to the chassis. (Alternator wiring still needs fixing out the way)

 

   Lambda sensor boss welded in place and reassembled to the car:

 

Then I assembled the dashboard to the car. I also had to spend some time calibrating the speed reading and water temperature for accuracy. initially I positioned the speed sensor to pick up 4 points per rotation of the propshaft but the frequency of this is too high for the speedo, so I had to move it slightly to ensure only 2 pick up points. It all seems to be working but I have no way to check the reading is correct.

 

As the car is now fully functional, I completed the paperwork and sent off for the IVA test. A month seems to be a typical wait but I expect this is the busiest time of the year so will probably be longer.

Now that everything is working, I drove the car backwards and forwards on the drive, checking that the speedo reads correctly and trying to clear some rust off the brake discs.

Now I am going over the car adding extra clips for the wiring, adjusting the rear brakes, ensuring sharp edges and bolt heads are covered, making sure that everything is tight. Hopefully the IVA won’t be too long and it can be on the road for summer.

 

 

Speedo and Steering Column

My digital speedo finally arrived! So using the supplied connectors, I wired it up and turned it on!

I did have a couple of issues though…

There is a single indicator warning light (although the manual is an older version and has 2) so connecting both indicators to this point means that they all flash instead of the desired side. This was easily resolved with some diodes.

Second issue was getting an RPM signal as the Mazda uses a direct connection to the igniter and the digital dash specifies not to do this, so I had to get a signal direct from the cam angle sensor.

Once all this was in place, I calibrated the different sensors to give sensible values based on the (very) limited reference points from Mazda.

Radish then came for an inspection.

Some odd jobs next including adjusting the pedal positions:

Putting the foam onto the driver’s seat:

Repainting the cam cover:

Torquing up various bolts and covering the relevant ones with rubber covers.

Drilling a hole for the steering column to pass through the bulkhead. I made this bigger than Westfield specify and it is only just big enough.

Now that all the electrics work, it was time to tidy up the wiring in the dashboard.

Arrggggh!

 

All of these wires were about 40 cm too long so I cut and re-soldered every one before insulating and covering in conduit.

Gradually getting there:

   

Bracket for the vehicle speed sensor which I will run off the joint from propshaft to diff.

As I will have no windscreen, I bought a new helmet which is also Snell approved. I could only find 1 helmet that fitted and it is XXL!

 

At the same time, I ordered some wheels which arrived a few days later:

Gear stick gaitor is now in place and bolted down and the tunnel top is now complete. I still need to sort out the handbrake gaitor as the movement is more than the original can work with.

The main part still missing is the steering column! I phoned Westfield after Easter to order the lower column and they told me that due to a supplier change, they couldn’t get one for AT LEAST 6 weeks (and with Westfield that means a lot more than 6 weeks). I told them that I was getting close to a finished car, and asked for any help in getting one or making my own but they weren’t very helpful and didn’t even want to tell me the spline pattern.

After a bit of research and some measurements, I found that the splines are 14mm with 36 splines. Thankfully, Car Builder Solutions do a column with this, although the length would be wrong. I ordered this, plus a tube also sold by CBS for extending the column.

Unfortunately, the tube requires drilling (or the column needs turning down) to fit and my local engineering company were not very interested in the work…

So another search and I found a tube on Ebay that was the right OD and ID. I ordered this and when it arrived it fitted perfectly! After cutting the column in half, it is all mocked up and ready for welding

 

Hopefully the welding will be done in the next couple of weeks so I will get on with other jobs for now. Here is my dashboard with a radiused edge added that I will cover in foam for a padded effect.

As I finished this, it started to hail heavily, in late April!

There are lots of bits still to tidy and prepare for IVA but I now have all the parts to make the car driveable, and it is time to look at booking the IVA test. Hopefully it will be on the road soon.

Aeroscreen, Seat and Tidying

Progress has been a bit slow for various reasons but this brings everything up to date.

My modified steering column has now arrived. I had expected the modification to involve making it longer to reach between the rack and upper column, but it was even shorter and turns out that I need a third section which I will order on Tuesday…

After making the aeroscreen mould, I decided to practice a couple of small fibreglass parts with a sharp bend in them. My main concern was that they would stick to the mould but they virtually fell out.

 

These parts were Ok but rather flimsy at only 3 ply thick 200g woven fibreglass matt.

Next was to actually make the aeroscreen which I did from 8 ply of the same material.

This came out generally well but I think left release agent on the mould so the screen didn’t come out as polished as I had hoped. Here is a photo of it placed on (wonky).

Then I sorted out the repeater indicators and straightened the cycle wings. At the same time, I covered the wiring and all other wiring that I had not already done.

 

I covered the sharp edges on the aeroscreen and the nose cone.

And wrapped the exhaust and clamps for the same purpose. Not sure what this wrap is made from but it made me have a massive sneeze attack!

I think I need to cut off the exposed mounting bracket due to the sharp edges.

I put the passenger seat into place and adjusted the harness.

Then I bolted the aeroscreen in place and attached the wing mirrors to the scuttle panel. It feels quite solid bolted down

Still need to sort out the steering column and speedo (which was meant to arrive this week), the rest is odd jobs like the centre mirror, tidying up, (re)painting and making sure everything is torqued up and sharp edges are covered. Monday and Tuesday should be a good chance to make some progress on this.

Cycle Wings, Dash and Other Jobs

Unfortunately I am still waiting for my speedo and lower steering column (which got forgotten under someone’s desk) from Westfield. I therefore decided to get on with as many other jobs as I could.

So next up was fitting the cycle wings. Firstly the brackets are bolted to the upper ball joint and the brake caliper bracket.

I decided to trial fit one of the wheels which was a good job as the bracket rubbed badly on the wheel rim (as in the wheel would barely turn). The bracket is meant to run close to the wheel and tyre but not this close.

This was resolved by bending the bracket with a rubber mallet and a lot of effort!

Once in position and repeated for the other side, I had to bend the outer ends of the brackets to get them flat. After this, I drilled holes in the brackets for the big head fasteners to pass through, assembled the fasteners to the brackets and using a combination of Superglue and sealant, I placed the cycle wings onto the fasteners. The idea then is to remove the cycle wings with the fasteners glued in place, however as the fasteners are radial, this took a few attempts to not dislodge them during removal.

Once removed, I fibreglassed over the fasteners to hold them permanently in place.

 

Once dry, I reattached the cycle wings which required drilling out the bracket holes slightly. The advantage of all this messing around is that the fasteners are invisible from the outside!

Still need to attach the indicator side repeaters…

 

I’m still waiting for the speedo but can at least half make the dashboard ready for when it arrives. Using a jigsaw, I cut the dash to shape and then cut out the lower edge. The space for the speedo is very tight above the steering column so I need to get this before going any further.

 

Then there was some more wiring to tidy up and the front indicators to fit to the nose cone. I will also attach the grille with cable tie mounts on the inside to avoid drilling through the edge of the nose.

   

Some other small jobs of attaching the VIN plate and finishing the battery mount.

 

Painting the “Westfield” on the grille with Ford Signal green paint which matches surprisingly well.

My plan was to finish all the functional jobs so that I had a working car, book the IVA test and then complete the tidying up jobs whilst I wait for the test. However as I don’t yet have my column or speedo, I got started and made an aeroscreen mould from aluminium. I have ordered some fibreglass, gel coat etc and will attempt to mould inside this.

  

And making a boot cover from plastic sheet wrapped in black vinyl and held on by Velcro and the harness eye bolts.

   

Based on the latest estimates from Westfield, my speedo and column should be ready within the next week but I shall continue the tidying and IVA prep until the actually arrive.

Exhaust, Roll Bar, Wheelarches and Wiring

The next job was to sort out the exhaust which turned out to be more of a challenge than I had expected as I needed an extra pipe to join to the manifold. The problem was that Westfield no longer sold these pipes!

Getting a pipe with a 30 or 45 degree bend is very easy but I needed a pipe with a 20 degree bend. I eventually managed to find the bend on http://www.pipewerx.com/ and also bought a straight section which I could cut down to get the bend in the correct position.

 

Thankfully after careful measuring and cutting to length, it all fitted perfectly.

At this point, I started the engine and ran it until the radiator fan started and then turned off. Everything seemed to warm up evenly but I still had a very small coolant leak from the thermostat bypass. The exhaust sealed perfectly and sounded very nice!

Radish was visiting and was suitably impressed

I continued to tidy up the wiring, cover everything in flexible conduit and create brackets for the expansion tank, fuse box and battery.

Then I fitted the MSA roll bar which required cutting the body slightly and a lot of careful positioning to get the rear mounts in to place.

It was also around this point that the garage light died and I couldn’t find a fluorescent tube almost 8′ long so I had to replace the whole light unit.

Back in the light and I fitted the rear wheel arches. Generally easy but some of the pre-drilled holes needed re-drilling.

 

I fitted the rear lights and then decided it was a good time for a photo or 2!

    

I have since continued tidying the wiring and fixing in place which has been a very slow process.

The next big jobs are fitting the front cycle wings, making a dashboard, fitting the new speedometer (when it arrives from Westfield) and the lower steering column (also when it arrives from Westfield).

Soon I will need to find somewhere for a test drive!