Who knows lots about Westy's?

Rag_It · Post by **Rag_It** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 3:04 pm

Contemplating heading down to pick one up but it's in Plymouth, so a small drive back up!!!

Anyway, looking for someone with some sound knowledge and perhaps to give the guy a call for me! He sounds like a really nice guy and so nice i dont even want to bend him over on the price, but it looks like quite a beast - for my budget anyway.

Cheers,

Dave

renmure · Post by **renmure** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 4:06 pm

Me.

I would think about it for a while longer if I were you.

Jim

Post by ed » Mon Oct 02, 2006 4:09 pm

if i may ask...why is that?!

jj · Post by jj » Mon Oct 02, 2006 4:21 pm

If its a blue one it looks pretty schweet in the ad on PH, I thought they were more £ than that, looks cool.

ryallm · Post by **ryallm** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 4:21 pm

Rag_It wrote:Contemplating heading down to pick one up but it's in Plymouth, so a small drive back up!!!

Anyway, looking for someone with some sound knowledge and perhaps to give the guy a call for me! He sounds like a really nice guy and so nice i dont even want to bend him over on the price, but it looks like quite a beast - for my budget anyway.

Cheers,

Dave

I used to have a Westfiled which I bought second hand, and I have a friend who has built one. Building one from a kit is not as straightforward as you might think. There are plenty of ways to get things wrong - I have seen Westfields with ill fitting bodywork, hopeless suspension set up (mine would fit into this catagory when I bought it), dodgy electrics, and even the engine cooling plumbed in incorrectly. So, tread carefully, ask lost of questions to see if the builder knew what he was doing.

Having said all that, get a good one and they are huge fun. What sort of engine has the one you are looking at got? Mine had a Zetec, but I have always fancied the Seight - appealingly nuts

Mark

renmure · Post by **renmure** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 4:24 pm

Oops.
Bad timing as I am off up to Aberdeen till later and will reply then.

The link below is to a thread I started on the Westie forum after selling my car. The main jist of it was that a 7 was a great car when you fancied a Blast in the car and nothing else. Thats all well and good but is a wee bit compromised as far as the ownership experience goes. I got a lot of PM from folk who agreed and wouldnt get one again. My main point here was that if the toss up was between a Westie (type car) and an elise (type car) then to realise that there is lots more to it than just the price.

Jim

http://boardroom.wscc.co.uk/cgi-bin/iko ... 42200;st=0

mac · Post by **mac** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 4:43 pm

Dave,

Are you thinking about the westie instead of an elise/vx or as well as?

Mac

ryallm · Post by **ryallm** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 4:53 pm

Plymouth? Guess it must be this one:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/102600.htm

Looks a nice one, well priced for the spec, and should be plenty quick with the 175bhp Vauxhall engine. This engine can easily give a lot more than that too with a change of cams. It is an SE, not an SEi, which means a live rear axle. Nothing inherently wrong with that, but be aware it may skip about a bit on bumpy roads. Also the SE is narrower and shorter than the SEi inside (by about 3 inches each way) - if you are anywhere near 6ft or over you will struggle to fit in.

Mark

Rag_It · Post by **Rag_It** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 4:56 pm

Guys,

Consensus having spoken to Renmure (Jim) that i am being a tit! However, having weighed up my options in that I have no fun car at the moment, a Merc 190e - great for pimping, although no spinners or tinted glass like Shug's.

However, the VX was despite the slagging you all gave it, a decent car, and not being my style to loose money on cars (ex motortrade - think Swiss Tony! Not!) I think i need to get this out of my system now, and maybe when funds are slightly more free flowing then i know i will be back to the Lotus fold in some shape or form, hopefully a 340r or some type of mental S1 Exige. Maybe an S2 exige Honda powered! Stiring faction!

Anyway, http://boardroom.wscc.co.uk/cgi-bin/iko ... =9;t=45101 that is the car I am looking at, the guy is as genuine as they come, a perfectionist, and i dont realistically see me loosing a lot on this car in a year, exccept if it goes BANG!

My main issue is budget, having just bought a house, 5-7k is fine, couple of track days every quarter, and still have plenty of money left over to live a life! Trying to clear any form of debt so dont want a huge HP agreement on my back!

An Elise would be nice, and Steve's with some considerable power would have been ace, taken some gently gently at first but a challenge, and would have i think stopped the 'I am bored' stage after 4-6 months!

Sooooo in summary, I think the Westy will be a novelty that may wear thin, but hey shouldnt loose much at 6k and can then hopefully in a year or two get something not quite so raw.

I would like to think i havent asked for a flaming, merely expressing my thoughts, and look forward to the usual varied replies. Mac, to answer your question, yeah this will be my only car, not as well as the Elise, but hopefully the WHY? is answered!!

Dave

GregR · Post by **GregR** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 4:57 pm

ooft! You're thinking of driving up from Plymouth in those seats??!!

That's got my wee bag flinching at the thought of it!!

mac · Post by **mac** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 5:05 pm

Would that be your only car EXCLUDING the previously mentioned Merc????

If it's a fun garage car - then why not!

Mac

Rag_It · Post by **Rag_It** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 5:07 pm

I knew you would pick up on that - I dont count it as a car, its our bus! Steering wheel is big enough!

Andy G · Post by **Andy G** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 5:18 pm

Can totally understand where you are coming from. Having driven a couple of the SE'ers 7's on track recently, I was just blown away by how involved they make you feel, even if you are not going that quickly.

Getting back in to the Exige after that was like hopping back in to a 7-series BMW!

My concerns with these are that I don't think I'm technically minded enough to have a clue what to do if they go pear shaped, and the fact that someone built it would concern me also.

Still, best of luck with it all if you decide to purchase. Take it you've got a garage

Post by **simon** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 5:34 pm

Andy G wrote:the fact that someone built it would concern me also

Why? They have to go through the SVA process and are probably as good as/better built than by the factory.

Lazydonkey · Post by **Lazydonkey** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 5:37 pm

For that kinda money you can't really go wrong can you ? I'd say go for it, scratch the itch and see how you get on.

But then i'm an idiot.

Oh and Dave CS&S in Hamilton has a red X reg VX up for £8,999

Scottish Elises

Who knows lots about Westy's?

Who knows lots about Westy's?

Re: Who knows lots about Westy's?