Older westfields
ell_bkr - 27/2/09 at 03:56 PM
Hi all, my first thread here and i'm sure it wont be my last 
I'm currently in the market for my first kit car. Unfortunatley i have a rather low budget of around 3 to 4k.
On looking around it appears that the tiger cat e1 would be a good option, and if it wasnt for this forum i would have probably already bought one.
Reason I haven't is because of the rather heavy rear suspension set up.
I've also seen a few westfields up for sale for around the 4k mark, most of which were built in the 90's. My question is this:
Would I be better off getting an older westfield over a newer tiger cat? Have westfields changed much over the years or are they just as good today as
they were in the 90's?
Its probably worth mentioning that I am hoping to do some sprints and hill climbs in the car so i'm sure weight is a very important
concideration
Cheers in advance!
whitestu - 27/2/09 at 04:02 PM
Why not buy this:
Link
ell_bkr - 27/2/09 at 04:59 PM
quote:
Originally posted by whitestu
Why not buy this:
Link
I did get rather excited when i saw that this morning, however i think i may have been beaten to it by somebody else 
I've u2u'd and
called him with no response.
timcullen - 27/2/09 at 05:37 PM
My Westfield (Live Axle) Was built in 1989 it is a very competitve sprint car with no chassis mods just corner weighting, anti-roll bar and proper
set up etc.
It runs a crossflow and is 470kg. Its quicker than a lot of the Zetec boys! That makes me happy!
dhutch - 27/2/09 at 08:07 PM
I was in a simular situation, and after looking at a few pinto engined MK indys around the £4k mark (and one very tatty 4yo zetec indy) i settled on a
westfeild.
- Mines a 1991 narrowbody with live rear and a 1.9l CVH engine.
- Had the car weight a few months ago at 540kg so not stupidly heavy.
Im fairly sure the dampers are the origanals or close to, but other than that it goes very well indeed and im very happy with it.
Daniel
02GF74 - 2/3/09 at 12:08 PM
quote:
Originally posted by ell_bkr
On looking around it appears that the tiger cat e1 would be a good option, and if it wasnt for this forum i would have probably already bought one.
Reason I haven't is because of the rather heavy rear suspension set up.
Explain why that is such a bad thing?
ell_bkr - 2/3/09 at 06:31 PM
quote:
Explain why that is such a bad thing?
Why you asking me i'm the newbie seeking advice here!! I'm just going by what i read on the internet!
So i'm guessing you think otherwise do you?
[Edited on 2/3/09 by ell_bkr]
02GF74 - 3/3/09 at 01:53 PM
well all I can say is that there are hundreds, if not thousands of live axle sevens out there - the early caterhams had that set upo and they went
pretty well.
this should not put you off.
DarrenW - 3/3/09 at 03:04 PM
At the risk of confusing the thread, doesnt one of the tigers use the complete sierra rear suspension unit and thus have a reputation for heavy back
end and compromised handling? Maybe that is the tiger the OP is referring to.
I agree ref live axle - that is a proven set up and whilst an older design not necessarily a bad thing. Id be tempted to go for older Westie rather
than some newer others.
wilkingj - 4/3/09 at 03:33 PM
quote:
Originally posted by DarrenW
At the risk of confusing the thread, doesnt one of the tigers use the complete sierra rear suspension unit and thus have a reputation for heavy back
end and compromised handling? Maybe that is the tiger the OP is referring to.
I suppose it depends on how heavy the engine is and where its sat.
Basically the ballance of the car should be taken into consideration.
You say they have a heavy rear end due to the oringinal Sierra Beam etc.
Yes it does use that part. However, its the weight distribution of the finished car that REALLY matters. It could be perfectly ballanced or not, as
the case may be.
Dont assume just becaue it used the Whole sierra beam and wishbones the car is badly ballanced.
Having said that, I have no idea of whether Tigers are well ballanced or not.
Stick them on a set of Scales and find out!
Its not Rocket Science
MikeRJ - 4/3/09 at 05:16 PM
quote:
Originally posted by 02GF74
well all I can say is that there are hundreds, if not thousands of live axle sevens out there - the early caterhams had that set upo and they went
pretty well.
this should not put you off.
As Darren says, the Tiger Cat uses the entire Sierra rear subframe and semi-trailing arms. Not only does this weigh a metric sh1tload, it also gives
rather compromised geometry. The Robin Hood 2B uses the same system.
02GF74 - 5/3/09 at 08:41 AM
aaah, gotcha; I wasn't aware of this sierra subframe stuff but asssumed it was the old escort/capri live axle set up ; did Westfield ever use
the sierra subrafme?
MikeRJ - 5/3/09 at 08:45 PM
No, they used the diff, driveshafts and hubs etc. but not the subframe and trailing arms.
ell_bkr - 8/3/09 at 01:50 PM
Thanks for the advice everyone, think i'm going to avoid the tiger cats then and keep searching for an older westfield.
Cheers