Westfield Cobra seat certification

All things oily!
Simon Marks
Posts: 66
Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2015 2:05 pm

Re: Westfield Cobra seat certification

Post by Simon Marks »

Hi, Jason,

Well done on the pass. I really do like the royal blue colour.

I'm sorry that I missed your request for images of my IVA reflectors. I wouldn't have been much help as I had made a bumper type construction to hold the number plate / fog and reversing lights and was able to mount 2" diameter round reflectors on single instrument pods on the end of that. Jon has some smaller stick-on reflectors that are probably the neatest I have seen. Post IVA, I fitted Porsche 356 copy reflectors on mine which sit upright and proud of the bodywork on little posts and mimic items from the correct era.

I had a car trimmer wrap a 1" ratchet strap with red vinyl (that I got from Westfield) to give me non stretching door straps. They look stock and have worked without problems in temperatures up to 35 degrees.

I re-fabricated my door mirror mounts so that the bullet mirrors sit upright, rather than on their side. It was obvious to me that the passenger side item, if fitted on its side, would never angle in far enough to be anything other than an ornament! They now function as mirrors but will never match a modern car's field of view with such small glasses. I believe that Stephen H found some convex glasses for his which he says makes quite a difference. Trying these is on my "non-urgent" to do list.

I too struggle with noise. I passed the IVA with a smaller diameter link pipe containing an extra silencer, which I then encased with a 2" outer pipe. It still recorded 99dB(A) at the test. I have a new silencer to put on (as well as a second silencer that is already in a 2" link pipe) so I am hoping that this will bring it down sufficiently to be allowed to run at a track day at nearby Abingdon airfield - it currently tests at 101dB(A) on the original silencer and the organisers are unable to offer any leeway with their 100dB(A) at 3/4 maximum rpm - I declared 6,000rpm as maximum.

Good luck with your first run - I am sure you will enjoy it. I certainly did mine!

Simon
Westfield 129
Posts: 867
Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2011 4:20 am

Re: Westfield Cobra seat certification

Post by Westfield 129 »

The mirror problem is easily solved with convex mirrors. They are available from Vintage Spares, as I recall.

I put a truck type spot mirror in place of the flat glass in some applications. This gives a very wide view, and gets rid of any blind spots.
This wide field also takes care of the limited mirror movement on some installations.

I grew up using convex mirrors from Lucas (the ubiquitous "wing mirror". Life has come full circle, as I now have one of those on my Morgan, which is just about as old as my driving experience.
jonjh1964
Posts: 64
Joined: Sat Feb 18, 2017 10:10 pm

Re: Westfield Cobra seat certification

Post by jonjh1964 »

Your car looks superb in blue. I've just fitted my mirrors and had to extend the adjustment slots on the side mirrors (convex on off side) so I could see anything close to the car, perhaps it's because I'm a short arse. I'm not using the high level centre mirror and have fitted a vintage one direct to the scuttle. I've fitted my rear number plate in a similar way to you and stick on at the front, still awaiting DVLA confirmation of registration and assignment, so fingers crossed.

My examiner suggested that the maximum power for at A series was at 5,000 rpm, not the 6,000 on the BMC 'top trumps' that I'd put on the paper work, so I passed (just)- it was 101.7 at 4,500 rpm so I still need to sort out a better exhaust so I can use it on track days.
Redmax
Posts: 28
Joined: Tue Oct 04, 2016 2:51 pm

Re: Westfield Cobra seat certification

Post by Redmax »

Thanks for all the kind comments. :-)

Alleggerita - I put the Monza fuel flap on after the IVA test, it definitely wouldn't have passed as it is now.

I foresaw that the vinyl door stays would stretch so when I had some other trim done I also had some made up with ratchet strap material inside. They still stretch too much though. I suspect I haven't helped myself by putting the stay on the bottom of the door so it's discreetly out of the way, but I think that imposes the maximum force. I'm currently using antiqued leather strips, which look really nice but still stretch. They were OK until I put the mirrors on..!

I'll look at getting some convex mirrors sourced or made to fit the Westfield ones, that's a good idea. Failing that, Holden do a nice range of mirrors that would look good so I'll a look at those if I'm still not comfortable.

I've had the V5 through now so it's officially road-legal, just need a dry day now!
jonjh1964
Posts: 64
Joined: Sat Feb 18, 2017 10:10 pm

Re: Westfield Cobra seat certification

Post by jonjh1964 »

How long did the V5C take, I'm now in to my 3rd week of waiting..........
Redmax
Posts: 28
Joined: Tue Oct 04, 2016 2:51 pm

Re: Westfield Cobra seat certification

Post by Redmax »

My experience with V5 timescales was a bit misleading. I sent mine off on 19th Feb, but because I'd asked for a 1st April tax start they rang within a week to say they'd sit on it until nearer the time. I chased them on 20th March, and then I think I received it on something like the 27th March.

So if you've requested a 1st May tax start I suspect they're sitting on yours, if not you should get your V5 any day now.
jonjh1964
Posts: 64
Joined: Sat Feb 18, 2017 10:10 pm

Re: Westfield Cobra seat certification

Post by jonjh1964 »

I asked for 1 April - so hopefully soon.
Westfield 129
Posts: 867
Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2011 4:20 am

Re: Westfield Cobra seat certification

Post by Westfield 129 »

The original type reproduction of the old Raydot racing mirrors are available in convex. This is the easiest fix, if not the least expensive.

Also, a check of the auto supply stores can provide a truck stick on spot mirror that fits the Westfield supplied mirror. A bit extreme, but you can see EVERYTHING.
You may have to glue the mirror to a disc that fits inside the mirror rim to stabilize the spot mirror if it is not large enough to just replace the original flat glass.
I put the spot mirrors into the last build that I did here in the 'States. No problem with rear or side vision, and no blind spots.
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