HELP! - Westfield purchase.. advice required
Discussion
My lodger has £8.5k to spend and is edging towards a Westfield... I've told him to beg steal and borrow the difference to get a basic non-Q-plate Caterham, but he has spotted a 1998 factory finished 1600SE on autotrader for £8.5k.
I'm a bit concerned as it states it has a blueprinted engine and my lodger wants it as an everyday driver and needs something as reliable as possible.
Am I being unecesarily cautious?
Also, if there are any Westfield officionados out there,,, what should he be looking for at this price bracket and what are the pitfalls?
Many thanks
I'm a bit concerned as it states it has a blueprinted engine and my lodger wants it as an everyday driver and needs something as reliable as possible.
Am I being unecesarily cautious?
Also, if there are any Westfield officionados out there,,, what should he be looking for at this price bracket and what are the pitfalls?
Many thanks
ayjay said:
...I'm a bit concerned as it states it has a blueprinted engine and my lodger wants it as an everyday driver and needs something as reliable as possible.
Am I being unecesarily cautious? ...
Doesn't Blueprinting imply the engine has been rebuilt to as close to standard specification as possible, therefore just the sort of thing you should be looking for?
Guy Humpage said:I wasn't entirely sure what Blueprinting meant myself, but Google came to the rescue: www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oi=defmore&q=define:Blueprinting
Doesn't Blueprinting imply the engine has been rebuilt to as close to standard specification as possible, therefore just the sort of thing you should be looking for?
Google said:
The procedure of dismantling an engine, measuring, machining components, and reassembling it to the minimum factory tolerances. This procedure usually will provide more power and efficiency
stone said:
For £8.5k he's looking at a fairly good car.
Agreed. A friend of mine recently bought a Q-plated Westie with a Cosworth engine in for £5k..... it has been VERY well built, and goes like stink!
He has yet to take it out in anything but perfectly dry weather so far..... the back end is a little twitchy with the power that is available!
8.5K is rediculous for a 1600, and an SE at that. Bear in mind that westfield have pretty much remained unchanged since about 1989 when they stopped the Prelit model (looks more like a caterham) and started making their current style. The next major change came when ALL westfields came with the wide body which is reccommended, so basically if you get a post 1990 widebody you are buying an almost current design with full parts availability and back up. Condition, Spec, and build quality should be key, in preference to age and lack of Q reg.
Personally I'd go for an Sei with the independant rear suspension unless the budget was really tight (which it obviously ain't).
I bought a 2.5year old, 1800cc 175BHP zetec sei, full modular built kit with every extra and only 2000 miles on it, built by an aero engineer to standards far exceding the factory for 8.5K, I also paid 7K for a 230BHP 3.9 Seight V8 (it was 9 years old at time) with full leather interior etc, etc...... An then down at the other end of the power scale I got a tidy 1988 Prelit 1700cc Burton power X-flow, 2 owners from new (last one 10 years), with suspension tuned at lotus! for 3K!!! And you know what, it was just as much fun as any other westfield...which is the key to westfield (or indead any kitcar) ownership.
Your mate needs to try his hardest not to get scoldered with his first purchase, I know people who love the idea, but not the reality of it (how many just finished kits do you see for sale?), dip your toe in the water, hunt around and find a bargain, the're plenty out there to choose from.
Go on www.findit.co.uk or ebay, or piston heads classifieds and get searching, but don't get fixed with having to spend a particular amount, and certainly don't get fixed with the idea of him having to buy a caterham instead. (don't get my wrong, I love them but have had 4 westfields as I don't fit caterhams).
Personally I'd go for an Sei with the independant rear suspension unless the budget was really tight (which it obviously ain't).
I bought a 2.5year old, 1800cc 175BHP zetec sei, full modular built kit with every extra and only 2000 miles on it, built by an aero engineer to standards far exceding the factory for 8.5K, I also paid 7K for a 230BHP 3.9 Seight V8 (it was 9 years old at time) with full leather interior etc, etc...... An then down at the other end of the power scale I got a tidy 1988 Prelit 1700cc Burton power X-flow, 2 owners from new (last one 10 years), with suspension tuned at lotus! for 3K!!! And you know what, it was just as much fun as any other westfield...which is the key to westfield (or indead any kitcar) ownership.
Your mate needs to try his hardest not to get scoldered with his first purchase, I know people who love the idea, but not the reality of it (how many just finished kits do you see for sale?), dip your toe in the water, hunt around and find a bargain, the're plenty out there to choose from.
Go on www.findit.co.uk or ebay, or piston heads classifieds and get searching, but don't get fixed with having to spend a particular amount, and certainly don't get fixed with the idea of him having to buy a caterham instead. (don't get my wrong, I love them but have had 4 westfields as I don't fit caterhams).
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