Is a replica welcome in this forum?

Hi everyone, I am building a replica Lotus eleven and I wondered if there was interest in following my build process. Some people are horrified by the idea of such things and if that is the case here I will just keep it over on the Spridget forum (my donor car). If not, I will post periodic updates and a few links to progress pictures.

You're welcome by me!! I consider the Westfield XI as close to the orginal that you can get. (The same as Caterham 7). Just don't put a Mazda engine in it!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

If you can't find/afford an actual Eleven, MAKE YER OWN!!!

I see no "problem" either.

No problem here, please just keep posting progress with pics.

Patrick

Where in LA are you and when are you going to be finished so you can come out for the Lotus drives?

Just curious, will a Westfield XI be street legal there? I believe that they are here in the UK....

Thanks for the warm welcome, I am going to be using the engine from an MG Midget, although it will be built up to about 110 to 115 hp. Also a Datsun 5-speed. I live in Woodland Hills, and any SoCal residents who would like to come by and see the kit are more than welcome. AFAIK the "big box o'car" will be shipped from the Westfield factory in the next few days. I have a couple of pictures of the kit during the build by Westfield, but I need to find a free hosting site so that I can post them. I have some pics of my horrible old donor car too!!! My most recent photos show the kit packed in it's transport container. BTW The car is able to be made street legal in Calif in either of two ways: I can use the original title and register it as a '69 MG or go for a "Special Construction" registration. Since it is a replica of a "historic" vehicle, I am not required to have a windshield nor wipers. The path of least resistance is to simply rivet the MG data plate to the new frame and run it through the DMV as a re-bodied MG. It's a bit of a grey area and I might have to do a bit of shopping around to find the right DMV office, but that is how the Series 1 Westfields all seemed to do it. Those cars were all from the mid '80s and other than the the US distributors car I believe that mine is the 1st customer car in the US. For more info checkout <westfieldeleven.com> I think he's posting pics of his car. Mine is Chrome yellow with a dark green interior with yellow trim/piping. I have spent the last month degreasing, painting and re-building the MG components that I will be needing for the build-up. At this point I am held up for the arrival of the kit, everything is ready to go on my end except for the engine which is being built at great expense by APT out in Riverside, Ca. I could have done this myself, but wanted to have the experts perform the mods and build-up, that way they will stand by their work. I kinda went overboard on the engine and got all the bells and whistles that would make it look good and last. I wasn't concerned about the last HP, but just wanted something with ultra reliability. Since they worked closely with David Vizard who "wrote the book" on A-series power, I hope I am in good hands.

Looking forward to seeing some pics. You are in good hands with APT.

Patrick

There was a point ('87 or so) when there was a shop here in Florida (Sarasota) with a Westfield distributor. A friend and self went to look 'em over: they had several cars in various states of build. They seem to have "disappeared" sometime around '91. Haven't seen ANY of the cars. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

And I worked on a true Eleven (Weber'd 1600 T/C transplanted in it) around '92... I think that car was sold to a fellow in England in '97, so it's gone (from the Colonies).

For what it's worth, I think that, Tom, the new US distributor, plans to import the full range of Westfield kits. He just decided to start with the one that seemed to have the most interest. He is doing things in a 1st class manner compared to the 1980's importer: the build manual is over 100 pages and full of color photos, the car is fully wired including a harness for the engine and instruments, and the interior is fully installed. He is also providing parts support for the existing customer base, and according to an owner I have met, doing a very good job of it too. In all it looks good for a rebirth of these cars here in the New World. It was feedback like this that gave me the confidence to put my money down on a kit.

I was considering buying a completed XI a few months ago from a guy I met at a Lotus meet. His car was in Santa Barbara and I believe he sold it on Ebay.
Here is a link to some photos of it
Eleven

I recall this car, I believe it sold for either 24K or 27K. It was one of my alternatives to building my own.

It sold for $13,600. Kicking myself for not buying it but already have my hands full with my Elan

I actually had the old importers entire setup in my old shop. He had made a frame jig from a westfield frame and was actually ripping them off making his own copies and selling them as westfields. Chances are I still have alum rockers and some other parts. The whole setup was sold several years ago to someone in FL. I do have a custom made mold for the headlight covers...

He had ripped off a friend of mine and gave up the stuff rather then deal with legal action.

We made a couple of frams for customers and sold the masters as well as the molds for the body.....

Does anyone know what the ground clearance is on a Westfield Eleven? We had a "non-replica" (i.e. Lotus) Eleven years back and it didn't have enough ground clearance to make it out of our driveway. It wasn't a street car so this wasn't an issue but I've alway wondered about the road-going Elevens.

Not sure... but IIRC most are/were built on Spridget chassis or spec's so p'raps the same?

Factory setting is 5.5" front and rear, but this is for a car with 13" wheels. Add another 1 inch if using 15's and a bit more for the high profile bias tires. The car uses coilover shocks, so ride ht. is fully adjustable. Having said that it's a very low car......

5.5+ should work. Ours was closer to 4".

My Elan exhaust is the lowest "thing" on the car and it's at 4". Body underside is 5 3/4". I'm allergic to speed bumps. Seein' 'em gives me hives.

A Westfield with a British drivetrain? Sounds good. I'm building a Luego Seven (kit with less included than Westfield) with Toyota 4AGE engine (dual Weber carbs).

I'm pretty close to rolling chassis stage. A good free picture host is https://photobucket.com