I dropped the car off today to have a downpipe welded up. It should be ready by the end of next week. Can’t wait to start driving the car again. It’s been over 6 months since I drove it!
‘Westield build diary’ Category
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New exhaust
May 5, 2010 by frank
Category Westield build diary | Tags: exhaust | No Comments
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Intercooler installed
May 5, 2010 by frank
The new intercooler and radiator are installed. I only need to install the air temp sensor and have the downpipe made. I’m probably going to mount the air temp sensor directly into the intercooler. More pics in the intercooler album.
Category Westield build diary | Tags: intercooler | No Comments
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First testdrive with the MSM clutch
April 22, 2010 by frank
Did my first testdrive with the MSM clutch today. I’m pleasantly surprised by the pedal effort. It’s actually lighter than my stock clutch! I was afraid that pedal effort would be higher but it’s definitely not higher, on the contrary.
The new intercooler and radiator are installed, but I still need to fab up the exhaust. The weather is getting better and I’m anxious to start driving the car again!
Category Westield build diary | Tags: clutch | No Comments
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Valve cover buggered up
March 16, 2010 by frank
I had 4 aluminium bushes made and had a radiator repair shop weld them onto the valve cover. They did such a bad job welding them on, that I can’t bare to even look at the valve cover! It’s just absolutely horrendous. Forgot to take a picture before using the BFH on the valve cover.
Luckely I found a replacement at a local wrecker. Instead of having new bushes made up and risking buggered up welds again, I decided to use M6x40 studs this time. The valve cover is only 2mm or so thick, so there’s too little material to safely install a stud. So, I had a bit of aluminium welded up on the underside of the valve cover, up to a thickness of about 8mm. I drilled through, tapped with M6 and had the hole welded shut again on the underside. This way, I can bolt a stud in and secure the COP with a dome nut and never have the risk of oil leaks.
I went to pick up the zink plated bolts today. They look absolutely beautiful.
Valve cover and intake manifold are at the powdercoater and should be back in a week or so.
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Installed the new clutch
February 16, 2010 by frank
Decided to install the new clutch today. A couple of months back, I had already bought a MSM clutch but I figured it was getting high time to install it. The weather is finally getting a bit better, and I’m getting an itch to start driving again. I absolutely want it to be ready before the Easter holidays, that’s 6 weeks from next week.
The engine has done very little mileage, but the clutch turns out to be well worn. Although I think that the previous owner of my donor (a girl) must have ridden the clutch, I made the mistake of misadjusting it during the build. On my first track day it started to slip after the first couple of rounds. Decided to drive on regardless as I was planning on replacing the clutch in the future anyway.The MSM clutch supposedly has stock feel, but looking at the two, I doubt it. The springs are a lot bigger on the MSM disc. Time will tell.
As I had to take out the engine to replace the clutch, I thought I might just as well have the intake and valve cover powdercoated.When I was removing the valve cover, I figured I might at some point install COPs, so I’m having a couple of spacers welded up to the valve cover before having it powdercoated. While I was doing that , I decided to have all bolts in the engine compartment zinc electroplated as well. That should make quite the difference to the engine bay.
For reference: cop diagram
Gap to 1.0 to 1.1mm
Dwell 3.5 / 2.5ms @ 12V
Place 10.000µF / 25V between +12V and GND.
Category Westield build diary | Tags: clutch,cops,ignition | No Comments
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New intercooler and radiator
February 15, 2010 by frank
Ordered a new intercooler and radiator. More pics in the intercooler album.
Category Westield build diary | Tags: coolant system,intercooler | No Comments
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New crate engine and oem MSM turbo clutch
September 26, 2009 by frank
Lookie what arrived today
. A brand new crate engine and a MSM turbo clutch.
The engine is a brandnew longblock.
The clutch was a special order directly from Mazda Japan as it’s not available in Belgium. Got here in a week though. It is made by Exedy and supposedly good for 250rwhp. What makes this clutch so special, is that it doesn’t have more pedal effort than stock. This is the clutch to have.Pilot bearing-F80111303
Realease bearing-B62216510
Pressure plate-BP1216410
Clutch disc-BP1216460
Category Westield build diary | Tags: clutch,engine | No Comments
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Coolant reroute
September 5, 2009 by frank
I finally got round to doing a coolant reroute. I used a Jackson Racing spacer so I could point the thermostat cover to the intake (cold) side. Without it, I’d have to point it to the exhaust (hot) side. With the turbo in mind, this wouldn’t be too good an idea. I used the same radiator hose like I did in Koen’s install.
Before, I was seeing 96°C cruising temps, going up to 102°C with some spirited driving. I even saw +104°C when testing my topspeed. After the coolant reroute, I’m seeing 87°C cruising temps. It rises to 94°C in slow traffic (fan switch on point) and then drops to 88°C (fan switch off point). IMHO this is a must in ANY car with MX-5 engine. The oem cooling system is just plain wrong. More pics in the coolant reroute album.
Category Westield build diary | Tags: coolant system | No Comments
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Running on Megasquirt
July 28, 2009 by frank
I’ve been slowly building a Megasquirt in preparation for the turbo. I started the build about 8 months ago, but finally got it running today. Still need to make some adjustments, but it’s working great so far. Here’s an overview of the build.
Category Westield build diary | Tags: Megasquirt | No Comments
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Hood is ready
July 16, 2009 by frank
I went to pick up the car today. It’s absolutely gorgeous. Henry did a magnificent job. I’m so glad that Oracle never replied when I asked him to order a roof and doors! What Henry made is so much nicer than the ugly vinyl, bad fitting roof Westfield supplies.
Category Westield build diary | Tags: hood | No Comments
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Hinges have arrived
July 7, 2009 by frank
I’m not used to this kind of speed when ordering parts. The hinges I ordered from Gino (Westfield Nederland) are already on their way to Henry! Only 35€ shipment included. Wow, I know where to order Westfield parts from next time!
Category Westield build diary | Tags: hood | No Comments
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Custom hood and sidescreens
June 23, 2009 by frank
Dropped the car off at Henry Helmich in Eindhoven (Tigersportscars.nl). Henry will handmake a hood and sidescreens for the Westfield. I tried ordering them from Westfield UK, but just like in the past, I never got a reply to my mails. I also tried to order from Oracle but after asking him 3 times in person and 2 times through mail over the course of 6 months, I gave up. He probably wonders why people call him Dr. Jerkyll instead of Dr. Wouters
.
Actually, I’m glad Westfield / Orcale never delivered. Their hood is made of ugly vinyl and is a very poor fit. The one Henry will be making, is made of Sonnenland fabric. Much better quality and a perfect fit since it’s handmade to my car’s dimensions. As we know, every car is different, so a factory hood is always a compromise. I decided to have the it made over the rollbar, without a frame. The roof will be much lower for a more sporty look but wearing a helmet will be impossible (I don’t know if this is possible with the factory hood though). Since there’s no frame, it’ll be much easier to transport it.
For the installation, a number of press studs will have to be installed in the windshield. Henry asked me to drill the holes myself. He didn’t feel comfortable doing so as he broke a customers window a while back. Not a problem, I’ll drive up there do drill the holes when he is ready for it. Henry didn’t have the Westfield specific hinges either, so I ordered a set from Westfield Nederland.
Category Westield build diary | Tags: hood | No Comments
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YES!! Today!!
April 30, 2009 by frank
Woehoe! My license plate arrived today. It has taken a year to get the car on the road, so I’m very glad that it’s behind me!
Guess what I’ll be doing tomorrow …
Category Westield build diary | Tags: paperwork | No Comments
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Tomorrow ???
April 29, 2009 by frank
The paperwork was dropped off at the DIV today. If they mail the license plate out today, I *should* have it in the morning, just in time for the long weekend! Let’s hope the postal workers show their best side tonight!
Category Westield build diary | Tags: paperwork | No Comments
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At last, all paperwork is done!
April 27, 2009 by frank
This has taken a bit more time than I had suspected but I finally have the paperwork in hand and it’s on its way to my insurance agent. He’ll bring it to the DIV on Wednesday and since Friday is a holiday, I’m hoping to receive my registration plate by Thursday ! Keeping my fingers crossed. Definitely not long now
.
Category Westield build diary | Tags: paperwork | No Comments
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All paperwork is there
April 22, 2009 by frank
Went to the inspection with the new homologation papers. All is well and I can now register the car. Well … almost. I noticed I am still missing a sticker on the paperwork as a proof that I payed VAT on the car. Eric wants a bunch of money or no stamp
.
I could say a lot of stuff about Eric right now, but I’ll refrain from doing so.I still need him in the future so I need to STFU.
Category Westield build diary | Tags: paperwork | No Comments
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New homologation papers have arrived
April 18, 2009 by frank
The new homologation papers have arrived. They now mention the correct make of the engine: Mazda
.
Unfortunately, Eric did not keep his promise and the car will not be registered as new. It’s final. It will be registered as a used car with the registration date of the donor. He always said it would be a new car and for that reason, I should fit a 400€ catalyser. Katsjing.
Category Westield build diary | Tags: paperwork | No Comments
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Handbrake and shifter rings
April 11, 2009 by frank
Installed some chrome handbrake and shifter rings today. This must have been the most tedious job I did on the car. Spent about 4 hours fitting the damn things.
The ring around the shifter is actually a bit too small, but a size bigger would be too big.
The shifter hit the sides of the trim ring, so I had to grind a fair bit off of it. Even then it was a very thight fit.
In the process, I buggered up the aluminum panel on the central tunnel and had to make a new one. Dash out, carpet out, new panel, new holes to cut etc.
But at least it looks good .
Category Westield build diary | Tags: interior | No Comments
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Wrong papers!
March 31, 2009 by frank
Went to have the car inspected today. I meet up with Eric at the inspection this morning, where he quickly handed over the homologation papers and took off. Hmm, weird. I took a glance at the papers and my eye immediately fell on the make of the engine … Ford …. WTF??
Ran after Eric and showed him the papers. He just shrugged his shoulders and said he hadn’t noticed, but I should just try to sneak through.No need to say that the fine folks at the inspection saw the error immediately upon looking at the paper. They still inspected the car – it passed without a remark – but had to fail it because of the paperwork. This was quite depressing as I really had set my mind on driving the car during the easter holidays next week. Eric promised me to arrange for new papers, but this will again take a couple of weeks. There goes my holiday , again.
An other problem – even worse – was the fact that the folks in Brussels are going to register the car with the first registration date of the donor. I do not agree with this in any way . This is a 2009 car and it must be registered as a 2009. I did not wait 11 months to have it registered as an old, used car. If I wanted that, I would have taken the German TUV registration route, which only takes 2 months or so!
In order to have the car registered as a 2009, they want a letter from the UK DVLA stating that the date of first registration is 2009. Eric promised me he would take care of this as well. No idea how long that is going to take though.So, yet again, a big disappointment. I’m just hoping to get the car on the road for the summer now.
Category Westield build diary | Tags: paperwork | No Comments
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Homologation papers have arrived!
March 25, 2009 by frank
Got message from Oracle that the approval for my car has arrived! I’ll try to pick them up by the end of the week so I can get the car inspected and registered next week! Woehoe!
Category Westield build diary | Tags: paperwork | No Comments
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Technical inspection
February 16, 2009 by frank
The car has passed the technical inspection this morning. The entire inspection took less than an hour and went very well.
I was a bit nervous about the headlights, but they were almost spot on. One headlight was aimed slightly too low, but a gentle pull effectively fixed that . Other than that, no remarks.
The front suspension was a bit tricky. I don’t know what excactly it is that they measure, but the number on their machine must be at least 20. The front indicated 22 and 23, enough, but just barely. Tire pressure was a bit high though (1.4 bar), next time I’ll set it at 1.2 bar. No problems in the rear. I don’t recall the exact numbers, but they were 40-50ish.
Another big step is behind me. In a week or 2-3 I should get an invititation to pay 60€ for the paperwork. After that’s been payed, the paperwork will be processed. Once I have that, all that’s left to be done is one last technical inspection to get the car registered.
Category Westield build diary | Tags: paperwork | No Comments
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Preparation for the belgian technical inspection
February 14, 2009 by frank
I prepared the car for the inspection today. There’s some modifications to be done, but nothing major.
I swapped fog and reverse lights, installed a km/h speedo and adjusted ride height to >9cm.
The lowest point of the car is the hoop under the transmission. With the suspension set to Westfields recommendations, there’s only 8cm of clearance. In order to have 9cm, the front suspension has to be turned up so hight, that the shocks are extended to their maximum. This is no option as I’ll fail the suspension test that way. Luckely, the rear shocks have more travel so I set them about an inch higher, effectively raising the hoop under the tranny about 1cm.
The car looks aweful with the rear up in the air, but at least I can leave my front suspension alone.
I also installed euro headlights and wanted to get them aligned … only to find all garages closed in the neighbourhood. I figured I might as well do it myself. The headlights need to be adjusted to 1.25% so I drove the car in the garage, aiming the headlights to the back wall. I put the car as far back as possible, with the rear wheels just inside the garage. The distance from the headlights to the wall was 3.6m meaning the lightbeam needs to drop exactly 4.5cm over that distance. I measured the height of the headlights, marked a line on the wall exactly 4.5cm lower and adjusted the beam to it.
The pattern of a light beam is a horizontal line that has a bend in it on the right side. from there, it goes upwards a bit. The horizontal bit is the height. The point where the angle is, is the center of your beam. To make sure the headlights are pointing straight forward these 2 points should be at the same distance from each other as the headlights. I marked the position of the lights on the wall and adjusted the beams accordingly. Sounds difficult, but it was easy enough to do.
Category Westield build diary | Tags: paperwork | No Comments
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Car is officially imported in Belgium
February 11, 2009 by frank
Eric sorted out the paperwork with customs today. The car will be registered as a new 2009 car. I have an appointment with the technical inspection next monday. Keeping my fingers crossed that all goes well.
Category Westield build diary | Tags: paperwork | No Comments
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Car is back in Belgium
February 7, 2009 by frank
We went to pick up the car at the Westfield factory today. FLTR, mine, Louis’ and Gunther’s car at the Westfield factory.
I left this morning at about 4.00am and was back home at about 22.30. Again, an extremely tiring 1200km long journey. I’m glad it’s behind me.It seems that I need to adjust my time schedule. I was hoping to get it on the road in Belgium by the end of march, but that seems to be getting difficult. We lost a couple of weeks waiting for the car to come back. I hope Eric will get a move on and fix the paperwork rapidely! I asked him to order a roof and doors again. More pics in the SVA album.
Category Westield build diary | Tags: paperwork | No Comments
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Car is registered in the UK
January 12, 2009 by frank
Good news, the car has officially been registered in the UK! Another month or 2 to complete the registration in Belgium (provided the car comes back immediately).
Category Westield build diary | Tags: paperwork | No Comments
