The Build So Far
I have only just started putting this website together and I'm a good way through the build already, but i will start from the very point of ordering the kit to where I am now, You can follow the build from the "Build Continues" page where I will be updating this site on a regular basis.
Ordering the kit
I decided on the SDV Mazda MX5 kit, based on the fact that I have limited funds (one of the cheapest options) and can handle the extra work of stripping a donor vehicle due to my trade as a motor mechanic.
The starting point is always a visit to the Westfield factory (book in advance), where you will be made very welcome, given a tour of the works, a cup of coffee and shown all the options available for your chosen build. You will never be pressured into buying anything but be warned, once youve seen the cars up close there will be no turning back ! Take the opportunity to pick up a set of build manuals while you are there. These are essential if you are going to salvage parts from a donor car and should be read from cover to cover before starting the project. If you go ahead, the cost of the manuals will be deducted from your starter kit.
Simon, the Westfield Sales Manager was very helpfull in taking us through the ordering process. We decided on powder coating (an extra but the one option that is an absolute must), detatchable wheel arches, exterior panels and the body panel colour scheme. I recommend that you take some time over this, as once you have made your decision, yes, you can buy new body panels and parts at any time, but it's nice to see the car coming together the way you dreamed it would look. For me, I am a huge fan of Mark Evans, the Discovery Channel presentor who filmed the build of a westfield kit car (Westfield sell the DVD) and he chose orange and black which i think looks amazing so that's what I went for.
So now the kit is on order and will be ready for collection in 10 weeks..... HOW EXCITING!!!!!
The starting point is always a visit to the Westfield factory (book in advance), where you will be made very welcome, given a tour of the works, a cup of coffee and shown all the options available for your chosen build. You will never be pressured into buying anything but be warned, once youve seen the cars up close there will be no turning back ! Take the opportunity to pick up a set of build manuals while you are there. These are essential if you are going to salvage parts from a donor car and should be read from cover to cover before starting the project. If you go ahead, the cost of the manuals will be deducted from your starter kit.
Simon, the Westfield Sales Manager was very helpfull in taking us through the ordering process. We decided on powder coating (an extra but the one option that is an absolute must), detatchable wheel arches, exterior panels and the body panel colour scheme. I recommend that you take some time over this, as once you have made your decision, yes, you can buy new body panels and parts at any time, but it's nice to see the car coming together the way you dreamed it would look. For me, I am a huge fan of Mark Evans, the Discovery Channel presentor who filmed the build of a westfield kit car (Westfield sell the DVD) and he chose orange and black which i think looks amazing so that's what I went for.
So now the kit is on order and will be ready for collection in 10 weeks..... HOW EXCITING!!!!!
The donor Car
Obviously this is something of importance which you will need for this build, so I kept a close eye on Ebay looking for my donor car. There were a few options open to me. I wanted a 1600 cc model as the 1800 cc engine has a weight disadvantage and can be more difficult to fit and maintain (I will share with you some of my plans for the engine later).
FOUND IT. I have a 1.6 MX-5 which has 145 kmiles on the clock and looks in good condition. Runs but the battery keeps going flat and a few door panels are missing (all helps to keep the price down). All in all a good little car which i have just won for £800 which i think is a bargain! I suspect most people will go for a scrappage vehicle, but having a runner has its advantages, including being able to take it for a spin to asses the quality of all the parts you are going to be salvaging. Also, I wanted to get as many working parts off this car as possible to sell as spares to offset the cost of buying it.
Although it was a runner, I didn't want to go to the trouble of insuring it for the journey home so I had a local transport company collect it for me. What a lovely sight to see it comming down the street on the back of a low loader!! It is soon offloaded and we went for a little spin to make sure all is ok (DVLA don't read this bit !). Nice gear changes, good speed, picks up nicely and no nasty sounds from the diff which is always a good sign. So back to my workshop .... oh and just to point out the battery was going flat because someone didn't know how to wire up a stereo and I found all the missing door panels under the seats, so I have a real beauty, great!!... shame its going to get ripped to bits shortly... Oh well!
Now I don't know about most people, but I find space plays a major part in any project like this. If you have a very small garage I would advise you find an alternative place to at least take the Mazda apart (a westie is considerably smaller). I set to work on stripping the Mazda down which took me around five days all in all working on it evenings and a weekend.
I think to be honest the hardest part to remove was the differential from the long chassis bar but that's just my experience. We removed the engine and inspected it as best we could without a complete strip down. It certainly didn't show the wear of an engine that has done 145 kmiles so it is probably not the original or has been refurbished at some point in its life. Anyway, it's going to be re-built by me anyway! So now all the parts are off that I need or can easily sell on Ebay. I decided not to save the bottom ball joints, brake discs or pads as they were in poor condition and I didn't want to compromise my westie ! So, now just a case of turning the remaining shell into a cube. There are plenty of companies that will fetch a car in any condition, free of charge!
So all we need to do now is to improve my workshop a little ready for the arrival of my kit!
FOUND IT. I have a 1.6 MX-5 which has 145 kmiles on the clock and looks in good condition. Runs but the battery keeps going flat and a few door panels are missing (all helps to keep the price down). All in all a good little car which i have just won for £800 which i think is a bargain! I suspect most people will go for a scrappage vehicle, but having a runner has its advantages, including being able to take it for a spin to asses the quality of all the parts you are going to be salvaging. Also, I wanted to get as many working parts off this car as possible to sell as spares to offset the cost of buying it.
Although it was a runner, I didn't want to go to the trouble of insuring it for the journey home so I had a local transport company collect it for me. What a lovely sight to see it comming down the street on the back of a low loader!! It is soon offloaded and we went for a little spin to make sure all is ok (DVLA don't read this bit !). Nice gear changes, good speed, picks up nicely and no nasty sounds from the diff which is always a good sign. So back to my workshop .... oh and just to point out the battery was going flat because someone didn't know how to wire up a stereo and I found all the missing door panels under the seats, so I have a real beauty, great!!... shame its going to get ripped to bits shortly... Oh well!
Now I don't know about most people, but I find space plays a major part in any project like this. If you have a very small garage I would advise you find an alternative place to at least take the Mazda apart (a westie is considerably smaller). I set to work on stripping the Mazda down which took me around five days all in all working on it evenings and a weekend.
I think to be honest the hardest part to remove was the differential from the long chassis bar but that's just my experience. We removed the engine and inspected it as best we could without a complete strip down. It certainly didn't show the wear of an engine that has done 145 kmiles so it is probably not the original or has been refurbished at some point in its life. Anyway, it's going to be re-built by me anyway! So now all the parts are off that I need or can easily sell on Ebay. I decided not to save the bottom ball joints, brake discs or pads as they were in poor condition and I didn't want to compromise my westie ! So, now just a case of turning the remaining shell into a cube. There are plenty of companies that will fetch a car in any condition, free of charge!
So all we need to do now is to improve my workshop a little ready for the arrival of my kit!
The Workshop
Ok, I dont know about you guys but for me a good workshop is everything, lots of well organised tools and a large solid work bench!! So i went off to B&Q to get some wood and I made myself a nice long bench with plenty of shelving to store my donor parts on and I mounted most of my tools to the back wall. I would also recommend plenty of platic trays to hold all the nuts and bolts you are soon going to be sorting!
I also made a wooden frame which I sat on 4 axel stand's ready to support the chassis. You can obtain stands from Westfield if you don't have any yet.
So all we need to do now is just wait for that all important phone call!!! =D
I also made a wooden frame which I sat on 4 axel stand's ready to support the chassis. You can obtain stands from Westfield if you don't have any yet.
So all we need to do now is just wait for that all important phone call!!! =D
The Donor Parts
This part of the build is definitely worth spending some time over, If you're going to make the effort to build a westie and spend all that money, you really need to make sure the donor parts are worthy of making it into the finished car, and anyway, you will need something to occupy yourself while waiting for the starter kit. For most of the metal parts I used a wire brush, a wire wheel on a drill and I would also recommend some Hammerite paint, it's heat resistant, hard wearing and gives a good finish.
I sprayed the brake callipers silver for now. I really want them to be orange to match the colour of the car, but that can wait. Next I cleaned up the wheel hubs and checked the bearings, all seems ok. Next the differental which is quit a heavy unit. If you have the equipment or have someone you know who can do it for you I recommend having everything shock blasted as this will give a much better finish and also save you alot of effort and time. I am planning on buying a blasting tank soon but not in time for this build. Next time maybe !.
Next its all the drive shafts and transmission which is all very easy and basic stuff to do so no problems there. I should mention in this part that I forgot to take off the fuel filter housing and the carbon cannister bracket but you are bound to miss something you ultimately need. Make sure you tick off the parts listed in the Westfield Manual as you take them off the car. It helps belive me.
Next I will be looking at the engine which in my own personal opinion is the best bit of the build. I love engines and i cant wait to get this one to bits!
The Engine
Firstly I removed the transmission from the engine, a Very simple process followed by the starter motor and all the air intake manifold brackets,
Next i took off the power steering system. As this is not used in the westie this went straight on Ebay. Then I removed the alternator which was making a funny clonking sound inside so I will have to strip that down to have a closer look. If i need to I will go to the local scrap yard and see what i can pick up there but for now I will focus on the engine.
Next I removed the exhaust manifold, the water pump pulley, the crank pulley and started to drain the oil from the engine. Following this I removed the cam cover and the injectors, then I removed the inlet manifold (all dirty but will soon be looking like new!). Next, the water outlets and the thermostat top half making sure the thermostat was still working (If you want to check yours its very simple, just tie a bit of string around it and hold it in a pan of water as you bring it to boiling point and it should open up. If this dosent happen it will need replacing).
Then I started removing the cams NOTE: It is easy to forget to mark the position of the cam shaft sensor before removing it. If you don't and you can't see where it was when re-fitting, you will have a lot of trouble getting the engine running smoothly without the special alignment tools so make sure you mark it up before removing it. I have added a picture to the engine section in "Picture Gallery" so take a look if you are in doubt.
Next I removed the cam followers. All looking very good so far, no signs of excessive wear. Make sure you put all the cam followers in the right place when putting them back as they often wear in diffrent places. Putting them back in the wrong order may cause additional wear over time so bare that in mind.
Next I removed all the front covers on the engine and removed the water pump. Seemed ok, no play in the pump and no water corrosion inside the water galleries, then I removed the head bolts and with a bit of a knock with a hammer off came the head!. You will have to decide if you want to have the head skimmed. I would recommend trying to clean it up with some fine wet and dry first, wrapped round a flat piece of metal. If you're not happy with the result or there are any obvious flaws in the faces of either the head or the block then I would recommend getting them skimmed. You don't really want to be stripping the engine once you've installed it in the Westie!
Next I removed the oil sump. When you remove this I suggest making sure it thoroughly cleaned so when you fill up your engine with nice clean oil it will stay that way. Then I started on cleaning the tops of the pistons and the valves. I'm not removing the pistions at this stage as the rings and bores look fine. Also nothing wrong with the valve seals. I ordered a whole new gasket set. You can either go to a Mazda dealer where a whole kit will set you back around £200 to £250 which I think is far too expensive, or just buy a set off Ebay for £40. All that I needed after that was a water pump gasket, Water outlet gasket and a theromstat housing 'O' ring seal. Save your money! Also try MX5parts.com, there is a link to the site on my "links" page.
Once the gaskets arrived I started on the rebuild. This took me about three days to make sure everything was perfect, including cleaning and painting. If you would like to know how to time up the engine, email me and I will try to help, but I would recommend you have a repair manual for the MX5 which will guide you through it.
Ok, engine is back together again now and turning around with a spanner ok.
Not many days left now. Kit imminent.
Collecting The Kit
We got the phone call that the kit is ready to collect!!! Great moment for any kit car builder!!, So off we went to westfield in a 3T transit which we hired for the day (£40 bargain). When you go to collect your kit make sure you know the size of the kit so you can make sure you have transport large enough to put it in (or on). We arrived at westfield for opening time (9:00 am) and the kit was on a trolley all ready for us!. We wrapped up the kit in foam sheeting (a lot like bubble wrap but much cheaper and just as good), got the kit home and started to unload. This got the neighbour's out for a nosey! haha.
Ok there are a lot of bits and bolts ect. We went through the list and made sure we had everything, but if you have already seen the problems page, you will know we ended up with quite a few bits missing, some not immediately apparent, but nothing which would stop us starting on the build. A quick call to Westfield had the missing parts in the post the same day. What a service !! Very happy man!
Ok there are a lot of bits and bolts ect. We went through the list and made sure we had everything, but if you have already seen the problems page, you will know we ended up with quite a few bits missing, some not immediately apparent, but nothing which would stop us starting on the build. A quick call to Westfield had the missing parts in the post the same day. What a service !! Very happy man!
Starting The Build
Right off we go then.
First thing is fitting the panels. Following the manual I fitted panel by panel. This is very hard on the hands if you dont have an air rivet gun (which i don't) so after about 3 panels you feel like your hands are about to drop off!. In one day I managed to get on the back panel, side panels and tunnel pannels .... following day the rest of the panels, finally sealing it all up to make sure it won't leak water. Actually ran out of rivets. A quick call to Westfield. More on the way! Westfield will fit these panels for you as an option, but hey, I didn't want them to build it for me !!
First thing is fitting the panels. Following the manual I fitted panel by panel. This is very hard on the hands if you dont have an air rivet gun (which i don't) so after about 3 panels you feel like your hands are about to drop off!. In one day I managed to get on the back panel, side panels and tunnel pannels .... following day the rest of the panels, finally sealing it all up to make sure it won't leak water. Actually ran out of rivets. A quick call to Westfield. More on the way! Westfield will fit these panels for you as an option, but hey, I didn't want them to build it for me !!
Fitting The Pedals
Fitting the pedals is a very streight forward job, In order i fitted the Cluth pedal with the Cluth Servo, Then the brake pedal with the new brake master cylinder, Then i fitted the Acceletator pedal, I was missing 2 bolts for the accelarator pedal and the Br
Rear Suspension
On to rear suspension now. Straight forward, what can go wrong? Here is the first problem. You read the manual it says "push metalastic bushes into suspension arms using a vice". I didn't have a big enough vice. Ok fair enough, I went and bought myself a nice big chunky vice which cost me £70 from Machine Mart. I managed about five bushes using the vice and an extension bar with my dad sitting on the end of it (and he's a big guy) then the vice snapped clean in half! I was gutted. The moral of this is that you will need access to a decent press or have them pre-fitted by Westfield as one of the kit options (yes I know this can start mounting up!). After borrowing some time on a mates press I finally managed to get the bushes inserted.
I fitted the arms and the rear hub no problems at all. The bottom long stud is a bit difficult to get in as its not a perfect fit and requires the assistance of a hammer. Make sure not to damage the threads. Next was the rear shockers which don't come with the starter kit. As luck would have it (or I prefer to say good planning) I already had some AVO racing spec shockers which I fitted only to realised the supplied bolts which go through the diff mounting bracket are not long enough. A quick call to Westfield confirmed a mistake in the manual. New bolts in the post!. Next day two 7/16" x 4 1/2" bolts arrived. Perfect fit.
Next job will be to fit the differential. I hope there will be no similar problems here!
I fitted the arms and the rear hub no problems at all. The bottom long stud is a bit difficult to get in as its not a perfect fit and requires the assistance of a hammer. Make sure not to damage the threads. Next was the rear shockers which don't come with the starter kit. As luck would have it (or I prefer to say good planning) I already had some AVO racing spec shockers which I fitted only to realised the supplied bolts which go through the diff mounting bracket are not long enough. A quick call to Westfield confirmed a mistake in the manual. New bolts in the post!. Next day two 7/16" x 4 1/2" bolts arrived. Perfect fit.
Next job will be to fit the differential. I hope there will be no similar problems here!
Installing The Diffrential + Drive Shafts
Time to fit the Diff. As before, what can go wrong? Well of course something always has to go wrong! I quickly realised I didn't have the correct sized bolts for the diff bracket that is put on first, so the diff is not going in today!. Another call to Westfield. The next day came and I now have the bolts, so on goes the bracket and in goes the diffrential, supprisingly easy to fit, but very tight and the holes in the top mounting brackets didn't line up perfectly but it will go!
Next problem. It says in the manual "repair washers must be used!", now what the hell are they? I had no idea so I rang Westfield (not fed up of me yet, still very helpful) and they sent me some and no, I didn't have any in the kit, so I fitted them and all looks good. Note if your differential sits slightly to the right in the vehicle (looking from the rear - see pictures) then that's normal, don't worry about it.
Next is the drive shafts, I lowered down the hubs and installed the drive shafts. Very simple something actually went ok! Phew!
so the next job on the list will be fuel pipes and brake pipes. Didn't have the 'P' clips for them or the nuts for the T joints, so have to wait for the next Westfield delivery.
Next problem. It says in the manual "repair washers must be used!", now what the hell are they? I had no idea so I rang Westfield (not fed up of me yet, still very helpful) and they sent me some and no, I didn't have any in the kit, so I fitted them and all looks good. Note if your differential sits slightly to the right in the vehicle (looking from the rear - see pictures) then that's normal, don't worry about it.
Next is the drive shafts, I lowered down the hubs and installed the drive shafts. Very simple something actually went ok! Phew!
so the next job on the list will be fuel pipes and brake pipes. Didn't have the 'P' clips for them or the nuts for the T joints, so have to wait for the next Westfield delivery.
Fuel Pipes And Brake Pipes
Another day, another simple job to do. Fuel pipes went on no problems at all, the front brake pipes from the T junction down to the callipers, no problems there either. I am bending all these pipes just by hand. You really don't need a pipe bending tool for this job. I even did the fuel pipes by hand so don't bother getting a pipe bending tool unless you already have one!
Next I did the back brake lines to the callipers, Very easy once again. Something is going right for a change!, next the little brake pipe from T junction to the brake cylinder. Simple. That left me with the pipe from front to rear and also from front T junction down to the cylinder, so first I did the front pipe from the T junction just follow the manual. But here is where things start to go down hill. I recommend you start from the back and work your way to the front of the vehicle with this pipe as its not really long enough to make a route neatly along the chassis rail. You have at some point to go under the floor, so that when you get both ends into the T junctions you can start to rivet the P clips on. I advise you rivet from inside the floor down to the P clip so there is no lumps in the carpet from the rivet heads.
Next I did the back brake lines to the callipers, Very easy once again. Something is going right for a change!, next the little brake pipe from T junction to the brake cylinder. Simple. That left me with the pipe from front to rear and also from front T junction down to the cylinder, so first I did the front pipe from the T junction just follow the manual. But here is where things start to go down hill. I recommend you start from the back and work your way to the front of the vehicle with this pipe as its not really long enough to make a route neatly along the chassis rail. You have at some point to go under the floor, so that when you get both ends into the T junctions you can start to rivet the P clips on. I advise you rivet from inside the floor down to the P clip so there is no lumps in the carpet from the rivet heads.
Front Suspension
Ok moving on to the front suspension now, I have already fitted the bushes when i did the rear suspension arms, The front suspension is really very simple to do, As for the shockers i used AVO shockers as i did the rear suspension so i could at least get the vehicle on the floor on all 4 wheels, I replaced the bottom ball joints and all the nuts these cost me £40 each from MX5 parts (website link in links page) I also got from westfield when i went to pick up my kit the top ball joints as they dont come in the starter kit the only come in the finishing kit. Once i had fitted the bottom arm i went on to fitting the top arm, as yet again another problem accured, i was missing the spacers for the head light mounting brackets, another call to westfield solved this issue and on went the top arms, Now i can fit the hubs i got off the mazda, They went on with now problems i also had to fit the wheel arch brackets which also went on with no problems, And just to add the brake callipers are now going orange to match the car! they look fantastic!!, brake hoses connected and soon we shall try to bleed the brakes.
Pedals + Steering Column
Next on the list is the pedals, Very simple job and had no problems at all here which is good news we fitted the new brake servo and also the clutch master clyinder all went on ok, Next was to fit the Mazda steering column this also went on with no problems at all, The next few days went by and didnt get much done on the car but we did get the steering upper column back from Westfield which has now been modified and i drilled out the hole for this to go through so far so good! i am planning on fitting a MK1 escort rack and buying the lower half of the column from westfield to get steering so maybe even before we have got the finishing kit we will have a westie we can drive around to make sure everything we have done up to a set stage is working as it should so we can fix any problems here and now before we get along way into the build! lets wait and see!.
Starting The Electrics
Now on to the what i think is the most laborios job there is on this kit, The electric side of it i love but sorting out this huge loom is going to take a while, The first thing i did was to split the loom into Rear, Centre and Front, Then i removed all the tape off the loom putting some tape every so often to keep the loom in shape, After this i went on to modding the loom according to the manual, alot of it i ignored for example, The manual says to remove the dimmer switch for the dash, I kept this in as it means less work and plus its just another gaget on the car after all you never know you may need it, Next i tapped back up the loom using blue tape to make it stand out after all every car uses black, I wanted to be a little diffrent! The first job was to put the rear loom onto the car which is really very simple no problems there, Then came the front section i put the scuttle body work on the car for this as you need to feed it through the scuttle to fit it, I placed the loom in and started on centre section which is also very simple once you have got the idea of where everything goes, so thats all the loom in place next will be to fit the engine and transmission,
Engine And Transmission Install
This is the exciting part of the build for me as this is where the project takes a huge step forward, I got myself a good engine lift from Machine Mart which does the job lovely, I pushed the kit outside and lifted the engine and transmission up together and it went in a treat, The engine and transmission can only be fitted like this if you have the mounting bushes for the engine and transmission as they come in the finishing kit not the start kit, So if you want to get the engine and transmission in at a early stage make sure you get these when picking up the kit, The engine mounts fitted ok no problems there and they went onto the mounting bushes with no problem which is good, Next was to mark out the transmission mount holes in the chassis, This was not easy as there is really no way of marking this out so my tip is to mark the holes on the top and drill out slots instead of holes this will alow you to make sideways adjustment to the transmission and still have it bolted down saftley after all this is done the engine and transmission is installed very happy!!
The Build Will Continue In 2010
Well this is it for 2009 I have been really working hard on the car making it as perfect as possible in every detail, Over christmas i wont be working on it much until it starts to warm up a bit more and the weather gets better so follow me with the build in 2010 on the "Build Continues" page, Lets hope i can get the body work on for a bit and maybe get the engine running thanks for reading!
