New Eleven owner

[Chris59]

Ok, I'll try to post some pictures of my others toys, but only a few of them, or it may be long, as it include 35+ Triumphs, 4 MGs, 3 TVRs, 2 Jaguars, 2 Westfields, 1 Caterham, 1 Reliant, 1 Mini, 1 Range Rover, 1 Land Rover serie 3, 1 Riley, and the list goes on, + several motorbikes.....

Thanks for the steering wheel, I'll have a look on Westfield website.

[Splat]

Found this for you;

http://jacobengineering.co.uk/index.php ... ng-wheels/

[Chris59]

Funny, I've found the same website !

http://jacobengineering.co.uk/index.php ... ng-wheels/

Strangely, the westfield "red" steering wheel seems to be include for outside Uk Eleven kits, but, as my car was built for Uk market, it was sold with the ugly IVA compliant' black one (albeit very confortable).

Am I not good at searching on Westfield website ?

I can't find their own Eleven "red" steering wheel, as I really want to find a wheel colour to match the rest of the ulphostery.

[Westfield 129]

If you are 178 cm tall, you don't need to change anything other than the pedal adjustment. That's 5'10", which is tall enough to fit properly with just a seat back cushion (if even that). Unless you have very short legs, fitting the car should be no problem. My guess is that the original owner set the pedals incorrectly. If you are pushing the pedals, and the pedal face goes past straight up and down, you need to do some adjustment, if only to get the right mechanical advantage at the master cylinders.

If you still can't reach the pedals, please take the top off of the pedal box and send a picture of the pedals. They are probably at the wrong angle, and need to be adjusted forward (this is a common error). The pedal foot pads should be moved aft towards the seat and just past straight up and down, so that when depressed, they are straight up and down, and not slanted away.

Adjusting the rods to the master cylinders (unscrewing them at the pedal clevis) will fix this, unless the builder cut them too short. In that case, you can get new rods from any of the race specialty shops that sell race master cylinders like those form Wilwood Engineering. Purchase two new rods, and then cut them to length. The rods likely have to be longer to move the pedal face back towards the seat. If there is enough thread (there should be), you will be fine. If not, you will need new rods, and have to cut them a little to get the right angle. This is actually pretty easy to do. You dont have to move the master cylinders, and can do everythihg with the pedals in place from above.

As for the shifter, well, you can change it, but you should not have to. The fellow who owns the last RHD build I did is 6' tall and has a mildly bent back shift lever. He hasn't complained about the shifter position.

I once felt that the shifter on this car was too far back, but forgot about it once I started driving the car (I put 2500 miles on it prior to delivery). I never thought about the shifter position at all, even though I was also driving my early car with a Datsun transmission, which had the lever farther forward.

Installing Sunmate or Tempurfoam in 3 layer configuration into the squab of the bucket seats will make them far more comfortable.

If you are using the Westfield supplied straps, don't let the doors flop open anymore than about 45º or the straps will stretch and the door will flop open, breaking the $800 windshield... I like something a bit less stretch prone, like coated aviation wire with swedged ends, or double jack chain.

[Chris59]

Thanks W129 (do you have another name in real life ?), i'll follow your advice, once i'm sure to have understood every words

On the mechanical aspect, albeit my job is to restore/repair/prepare English classic cars (mainly Triumph) since several decades, I still have to learn a lot about Westfield, and nearly everything about the Eleven model.

I hope to be able to open the bonnet next week (I'm very busy during this time of the year, preparing cars for next rallies season), and to have a look to see how is made the pedal box.

The previous owner hoppened the bonnet once in front of me, everything is brand new, but I don't like the front bonnet "hinges" : imho, I'd rather modify this system to make real hinges in stainless steel.

Actually, I have no choice but to remove the bonnet and let it lying on the ground, not very good if you are alone to hold it !

[Splat]

The Westfield website only has a very small selection of parts for sale. You are quite right, the Eleven steering wheel is not listed. Also, most of the parts that are listed as "Available" are not available at all. Usually you will have to wait for 4-5 weeks whilst a part is manufactured. And beware, nowadays Westfield use outside suppliers to manufacture nearly all of their parts.

In this case a telephone call to Westfield will be required. I'm guessing that your spoken English is well up to it, but if you want any help, then send me a message!

I made a very simple and lightweight bonnet prop that will hold the bonnet open if there is no wind (ie, in the garage). I have also discovered that it is possible for one person to remove and refit both the front and rear bodywork if they are careful!

[Westfield 129]

The bonnet hinges are actually perfect for the application.

Occasionally, you might need to reinforce the bonnet at the hinges, but the lift off sysgtem is perfect.

If you want to open the bonnet and keep it on the car, all you need is a piece of string. Strong string, of course, with a hook or clip at each end.

You can then attach the string to the engine compartment at some component at the firewall (or you can 'glass or bolt in a fitting, long enough to let the hood flop forward, just past center, so that it stays on the car, open. I have been using this system for more than a decade, and have never lost a bonnet due to wind, and have only had the bonnet close, but not blow off the car or fall forward.

The rear clam shell will need a limiter strap as well. it can be permenantly installed.

The W11 is really a sports racing car, so KEEP IT SIMPLE. A string works better than a prop or a hinge system, and weighs less, and is definitely easy to store inside the door. It also means that the bonnet can come off in a moment which is important for servicing. The fewer systems you have on the car, the better.

And since it is a sports racer, you can get parts from the suppliers of vintage race equipment (shock absorbers, steering wheels, certain Spridget chassis bits, BMC A engine compeonents, springs and brake components), and the usual places that you go for your British sports cars.

The scuttle will need a pair of dzus slide clip fasteners inside, to replace the awkward to reach bolts and nuts. Install these inexpensive fasteners, and you can take off the scuttle in about a minute or less. If you do this right, you wont even have to drill a hole for the new clips. Pictures on the Westyxiownersbuildersdrivers site.

Funny... You have a bunch of British cars... I have a French car. Renault R5 Turbo 2. I am the Original owner (I ordered the car new ahd had it shipped back to the factory at Dieppe for the "options"). I have had it for more than 30 years. I also restore them for friends.

Call me Jan.

If you need any pictures, let me know.

I can go over the basic set up of your newly built W11. Doing this will make the car a lot nicer to drive,

[Simon Marks]

Hi,
I'm rather late to this thread, having been away from the computer this weekend.

I quickly found the issue of the "stretching straps" allowing the doors to flop to the ground on the vinyl straps supplied by Westfield Sports Cars. As I had already bought some matching vinyl from them for trimming jobs, I had a local trim shop make me up some more strap, but wrapping a 1"/25mm wide nylon ratchet strap with the vinyl. This looks the same as the original but the strap won't let the vinyl stretch. Mine are fixed the same as Si's - bolt through the rear bulkhead and onto the face of the door (as per the build guide).

Before fitting it into the car, I had my gearbox modified to shorten the rear extension (carried out by First Motion Transmissions in Baldock). This moved the lever position forward to very close to that of an MG 4 speed gearbox and alongside the steering wheel. I decided to do this when I saw the two pre-cut holes in the Westfield supplied transmission tunnel top - the Ford one would have been uncomfortably too far back.

Apparently the man that made "Lotusesque" steering wheels for Westfield is no longer able to carry out the work. Through Paul Matty Sports Cars in Bromsgrove (Sam Godfrey - a young man in the Stores there - sorted this out), I sourced a one-off that is actually a Mota-Lita wheel that has the right sort of shape and a red leather rim. I also have a "standard" red leather 12" wheel from Mota Lita but the boss area is very big and didn't look right.

I have modified my accelerator pedal by making up an aluminium carrier (braced back into the original pivot) to push the pivot forward to be in line with the brake and clutch ones. Initially, the accelerator was 35mm or so back and I struggled to reach it. Cranking the pedal (similar to blocking it) made the action peculiar as it lifted my foot from the floor as I pressed the pedal, so I had moved the pivot and straightened the pedal within two days of my shake down drive of the car!

I, too, am 1.70m (5'8") and have the standard Westfield bucket seats. My car has the lowered floor and the longest trips to date have only been 50 miles / 1 hour in one go and have given me no issue.

The world of Westfield Elevens is full of us all adding our own individualism and tailoring cars to our own particular needs. All these stories make very interesting reading and sometimes even add to the never-ending "jobs list".

Simon

[Westfield 129]

The throttle position has always been problematic. Having one's foot off the floor to press the throttle is certainly tiring.

I added bit of bent alloy, making a riser from the floor at the throttle. That fixed the problem, making a nice heal rest to press the throttle and heal/toe. This was relatively easy to make, and required no modification or relocation of the throttle pedal. This riser solution works well for those with a small shoe size, as you can make the riser the full width of the pedal box, and you can keep your heals on the floor to opperate all the pedals.

Another RHD car I worked on had an extension added to the pedal face to compensate for a smaller shoe size and to better position the throttle to cover the brake and throttle at the same time.

This particular part of the build is really a custom fit for the owner to accomplish. You can make it as simple or as complex as you wish.

Probably the best solution would be a new throttle pedal, custom cut, extended and welded. If you go this route, try not to bother the geometry of the lower part of the pedal that has the pivot and attach point for the throttle cable.

[Chris59]

Hello guys, once again, a lot to read, learn, and to, eventually, adopt on my own Eleven.

Thanks for the kind offer, Spalt, it may be usefull : I try my best to be understood when I write a message in English, but speaking is another matter

BTW, some replies to this thread are not easy to understand, sometimes I need to find translation on the net : I still have a lot to learn.

About the pedals positions, I still haven't look at this closely, as I can't get access to this car easily. Same apply to position of the gear lever, choice of adding a cushion behind my back or use adjustable bucket seats, etc ....

Simon, I really hope I'll not have to take the gearbox out to shortening the linkage ! My doors straps will be in my ulphosterer seewing machine very soon, with a nylon rybon, as suggested, good idea

Jan, many thanks for all, I'm proud to be a member of the Yahoo group !