March 2008
The repair work began in early January and has progressed well, along side the other work on the cars.
September 2007
The Espana Santiago tour began in mid September. Our blue Westfield was primed and polished up to make the trip. The first stop was Angouleme just north of Bordeaux for the 'Tour des Ramparts'. This is a long established event with old and original cars racing around the ramparts of the old town. Two ancient Bugattis were parked nearby as we had coffee. They were very rusty and had their original paint, if you could actually see any of it. Apparently their value went in millions, as they were the true originals and had not been tampered with and maintained. It was a beautiful day and we really enjoyed the atmosphere. We saw Sterling Moss sitting chatting we people on the town hall wall. Our event began on the Sunday from parc ferme. We managed a good day down to the Pyrenees but then there were some very heavy showers which made things difficult. The first night was in Pamplona and as very were negotiating the last roundabout we skidded off, crossed the road and slammed backwards into lamp post. The heavy rain, which was the first for some months and probably some diesel spillage and done its worst. Neither of us was hurt, fortunately a young Spanish man stopped to help us and took us to the hotel about a1/4 mile away. Then he arranged with his friend in the nearby garage to collect our car. He turned out to be the gaol keeper for Pamplona football club and had got a Westfield of his own. The next day he did a short trip with some of the competitors as he was keen to drive the route. He and his wife were really helpful and we were most grateful. Sadly our Westfield had suffered serious damage and we had to hire a car for the rest of the trip. The insurance cover worked very well and the Westfield was returned to us in Devon about 3 weeks later.
We spent the rest of the holiday as marshalls, which involved leaving the hotel earlier than the competitors and usually getting back later. However we did manage to travel over many of the tour routes and see a lot to the country side which is always interesting. At the end of the week we stayed near Santiago and then travelled up the coast staying at Ribedesella (famous for Dinosaur foot fossils in the cliffs) on our way to Santander.
1st March 2007
The new car has now passed its SVA test and will soon be licensed and on the road. I can just hear the whisper for a little test run one fine day.The whole build has gone really well and the determination to keep to a tight schedule has helped to keep things on track.
We had our first run of the year. Reuben and Caroline and Chris and Mary for a quick trip to Wadebridge travelling back up the coast. The beach cafe at Polzeath was closed despite there being loads of cars on the beach, we made our way to Port Issac and walked down to the harbour. Where we found that the Ship Hotel had got a serious bout of modernisation with the attendant loss of all things cosy and in keeping with an old fishing village. The work is not yet complete and maybe it will appeal to a certain group of visitors but I cannot see myself sitting under the veranda as we have done previously. We had to move just up the road to enjoy the fruits of the local seas and farms in front of an open fire, with a wooden table and a few pictures from the past on the walls. It was a warm sunny day and we all enjoyed the views as we walked back up to the car park. Really good to go for a drive in February with the hood down.
January 2007
The plan was to apply for SVA by the end of January and that has duly gone in. The old hire car has been sold and this new one should be available for the beginning of March.
December 2006
Having got the garage up and running Rob wanted to start work on a new project, he has a couple of cars in to work on but there is nothing like working from scratch. So on the 18th December he picked up a new kit from Westfield to begin building straight away. In his mind he wanted to gecertain amount done by Christmas day and to a certain point by New Year.
November 2006
This month saw our usual visit to the Exeter Kit Car Show, where we met up with many of the people on the Sardinia trip and had a good evening looking at photos and reminiscing.
21st September
Guild of Motor Endurance Sardinia Challenge
We set off on the 21st September to make our way down to Genoa to catch the 23.00 ferry on the Saturday, arriving at our hotel on the Sunday morning. We had the same hotel for the whole week so it made the daily trips a little easier. This was our first experience of tulip directions and we did get the general idea fairly quickly but there were still those moments when you were not sure which would be the correct route.
The Sunday on Sardinia was a beautiful day and we sat by the pool and enjoyed the warm sunshine, before getting the car scrutineered prior to the 8 am start the next day. We had been told that Sardinia had not had rain for over a year so felt sure that we would not need the hood for the whole week. However Rob did put the tonneau on for the night. It turned out to be a good move as by about 1 am there was a violent electric storm with very, very heavy rain. The water poured into the room from under the patio window and we had three days with a large puddle to move around. Fortunately the accomodation was built on the side of a hill and there were plenty of routes for the water to take to get away. The rain continued through Monday and Tuesday and we did drive with the roof up sometimes. Trying to navigate or drive with rain stinging your eyes is very difficult. By Wednesday things had improved and we were able to contemplate a day with the hood.
The island of Sardinia is very good to drive around and the routes that Carol and Peter had created really did give us some excellent driving. Most of the mountain roads were maintained to a good standard with arnco barriers at crucial points and some routes were excellent having been created for the motor cylce championships. This was in marked contrast to the roads over the Alps that we had taken with the Tour De Col previously. In many places there was nothing to hold you back if you got a hairpin wrong.
Although the competitive nature of the event precludes sight seeing, we did manage to see quite a lot of the island particularly the area of the old volcanoes where we travelled from the rim down the side to the flat bottom with a prehistoric chamber where the check point was hidden. All those who think that we are in charge should stand back and take a look. The prehistoric stones were laid many thousands of years ago and the creation of the plain (30 miles across) at the bottom of the volcanic area many hundreds of thousands before that.
After the first day when we set of in number order, we were arranged acording to penalties. We managed to move up a place for a couple of days but then a bad day called a halt. Rob was at first frustrated by the errors but then decided that he quite liked points as they meant that you could really enjoy the drive to get back to the zero penalty posititon. The biggest problem for us was the need to make frequent visits to a garage for more fuel, we did carry some but when there is only 10 minutes between checkpoints there is hardly time to stop and refill. A further problem was the continental habit of having long lunchbreaks. This meant that even if there was a fuel station it might be closed until 3 pm - no good if you have to leave at 2pm.
We thoroughly enjoyed the week and meeting all the other competitiors many of whom were experienced old hands at the game. We have now sent our entry for the event this year which starts in Angoulame and ends at Santiago di Compestella in northern Spain. We have travelled the Picos and northern Pyrenees before and look forward to a second visit.
August 2006
The building on the garage continued all through July and August and despite much pressure from us to finish by the end of August (when our daughter was getting married on 2nd September) , the builders finally finished on the 8th September. We are very pleased with the finished result and Rob and Kev have enjoyed setting up the work benches etc ready for the next build.
The wedding was a lovely, despite the rain as Jane went to the church in the Westfield. People have hired the Westfield for weddings but not usually for the bride to arrive at the church. The rain meant that it was best to get into the car in the garage and the roof had to be up for the journey, and then taken off to get out of the car.
Thursday 6th July
Set off for Poole to cross to Cherbourg and then down to Le Mans for the Classic 24 hour race. The campsite was empty and we were able to take our pick of the area. Did a drive around part of the race course including much of the Mulzan straight. The whole atmsophere was much quieter than the 24 hour weekend and not so crowded. We were able to move around the pit area and all the viewing points and grandstands quite easily. Our friends arrived on Saturday afternoon and we bar-b-qued by the tent. The periods of quiet between the classes racing were a marked difference between this and the main event where once the race starts there is continuous race noise for 24 hours. Reuben and Caroline left on Sunday afternoon to return home ready for work on Monday morning. We stayed until Monday, one of the joys of being slef employed.
Monday 19th June
Returned from Le Mans fully refreshed after a week of lounging around and full of stories from the campsite. The photos do not show the atmosphere but give the general picture.
17th June Friday
Rob's phone calls from Le Mans mostly contain the words fantastic, amazing, incredible atmosphere. A Routemaster London bus arrrived and the Trathens Wes'life tour bus has arrived with people from Bude containing all the extras that you might need for a week away in a field. Fortunately they are good enough to freeze our freezer packs in their freezers. Yesterday there was no practise and the visitors can drive their cars on the race track (water pistols at the ready) all done with good humour and laughter from participants and viewers. Lots of fireworks as well. The banner and wind sock are helping John and Phil to find their way home and also prompted an interview with French television.
June 14th Le Mans Week
Rob (Westfield) Kevin (Locost) and Phil and John (Locost) set off yesterday about 5 pm in lovely sunshine, to the ferry at Poole for the night crossing. The only hiccup enroute was Kev running out of petrol and John will have been pleased to have completed the trip without any incidents with temperature or fuel supply.
They travelled down the coast of Normandy looking at the Normandy beaches and Arromanches. Unfortunately have not had the very hot sunny weather, and have had to cope with showers and some very heavy rain fall this evening. They arrived at Le Mans about 9 pm just as the night practise was starting - diffucult to have a phone conversation with that noise in the background! I think Rob had to do the navigating and it proved to be a bit difficult to drive as well, so the day has been peppered with a few detours! The campsite is nearly full (Maison Blanche) but the advance party had secured a camping area for them.
May 2006
The garage now has most of the roof on one side so is beginning to look something like the finished product, but still the other side of roof to go. The builders rarely put in a full week so that drags things out. Anyway we look forward with enthusiasm to the day the scaffolding is removed. The swallows are back and are using all the old nests and making some new. As there are no doors or windows on the garage at the moment they are having a good time building their nests on the roof, I think we shall have to put up some plastic to protect ourselves from the inevitable debris.
Spreading the Kit Car lifestyle.
We have a friend (John)
who has been working through the winter (with not a little help from another
friend) to complete his first Locost kit car. Well they have finished
the job and the car is now on the road, so last weekend we had a trip.
A lovely day and five of us (2 Westfields 1Caterham and 2 Locost’s
and 1 BMW convertable) took a short trip to Polzeath. We set off at 11.30
and the new car had a hiccup leaving its drive, due to dirty fuel (a supply
of filters was needed throughout the trip). It also had a bit of a problem
going up Cansford Quarry hill and had to employ a strictly ‘running
in’ attitude to overtaking.
However with only one other stop for ‘temperature control’
we arrived in Polzeath about 1pm. We had an enjoyable bacon roll at the
café on the side of the beach and watched the surfers in the sea.
Rob had to return for 3.30 as he had to milk the cows, so set off straight
back. The rest of us mooched along various routes. We travelled along
the coast road, Port Issac, Tintagel. Boscastle and then along by Widemouth
Bay, where we came across John, still smililng,‘checking’
his fuel supply again! No problem!
The focus for the completion of the Locost has been a 6 day trip to the Le Mans 24hour in June. So I hope we have a few more test runs to ensure a smooth trip. As it was John’s first visit to Polzeath last Sunday (born and lived all his life, 50+, in Cornwall!), this trip to Le Mans has greater significance than for those who have driven in France before (another first for John) and are used to crossing the channel (another first). We are crossing from Poole to Cherbourg so it will not be too long and praying for good weather, so John does not get too wet up on deck. I am making some signs with keep right printed on them. The tickets arrived today. Guess who will be looking after them!
We are going to the Le Mans Classic 24 hour in July with some other friends just for the weekend. So there’s lots to look forward to.
National Kit car Show Stonleigh 30th April 1st May
We arrived in good time to set up and then travelled to our friends in Hagley to stay for the weekend and catch up on the news. The show was busy both days and we handed out many leaflets with our hire info on. We had taken the recently aquired Westfield Megabird to put on the stand to add interest. The weather was kind on both days (no thunder and lightening for the campers as last year) but was a bit on the cold side with a steady wind blowing. Fortunately we were inside!
At the end of the show I had a chat with the man who organises the Sportscar Challenge each year. This year it is in Sardinia 24 – 29 September. After our trip through the Alps last autumn we thought we might like to go one step further and get a tulip and a potty and give one of the challenges a whirl. Not this year though as we have a wedding in September!
European Kit Car Show Detling 8th 9th April 2006
We set off for Detling about noon on Friday, arriving about 5pm to set up. The show was busy both days and we met with some day trippers from the continent as well as those from abroad that worked in England. The restrictions on Kit Cars and the small type of sports car over there, mean that there is a lot of interest. As always we met up with people from previous shows and people who have hired from us before. Many others were just looking to see how to do the next job in their build, which is all part of the camaraderie of the kit car fraternity. On Sunday we were pleased to see the man from Belgium who had bought the car we had on the stand. At the end of the show we loaded him up and of they went to the tunnel, arriving back home in Belgium before we had arrived back in north Devon. After the show we had to go and pick up a car from a village nearby. It was an unfinished project, some five years in the making, and the decision had been made to call it a day. This red Westfield is now waiting for the new garage to be completed so that work can begin on its completion.
2006
For this year we have to complete the work on the new garage, the builders have been working since September and are currently waiting for the roof trusses, these should arrive by the end of February so perhaps things will be well on by Easter.
The dry weather enticed us out for a drive last Sunday, no roof and well wrapped up, to Altarnun on Bodmin and then for a coffee at Boscastle. That was the first time was had stopped there since the floods and it really was looking very good, still some rebuilding work going on but everything open and several people about. Including two Harley's with all the kit. We were informed by a passer by of the truly excessive cost of such devotion to detail but it was lovely to look at. During our tour in Europe last summer we coincided with the European bike week, which meant that we were flanked up and down the cols by all sorts of motorbikes and on the last few days by seemingly thousands of Harley's. Most of them were German with several ladies, with all the western frills, studs and buttons possible. When we stopped for lunch we were surrounded and had a chat which showed them to be the usual type of keen motorcyclists out for a good day away from the world of work.
News for 2005
Our work for the summer was to build two Westfields ready for the end of August.
Rob decided he needed an upgraded replacement for his dark blue Vauxhall 16 valve. The new one is Electric Blue, 16 valve with throttle bodies and an upgrade on the engine to give 225bhp. We had booked on a tour across the Alps to Slovenia, crossing the channel on the 1st September so he had to to have completed the car by the middle of July and then to get through the SVA regulations and registered for September 1st.
The second car was a 190bhp Westfield Sport Duratec 2litre with AP racing brakes, front and rear anti roll bars, limited slip differential and five speed Michell Cotts gear box. It was a complete kit from Westfield and therefore we were able to build it to a very high standard. On fitting the engine we were concerned about the clearance of the oil filter against the chassis. On investigation we found that Raceline produce a modified oil filter housing which solved this problem.
The builds went very smoothly, the bodywork for both cars fitting like a glove. SVA was completed in late July and the finishing off work completed in August with a registration date of 1st September. This took a little bit of organisation as we wanted the car for a holiday on the 1st September, traveling on the ferry from Dover at 3 pm on that day. The were no hiccups and we set off, missing the 3pm ferry due to traffic around Hastings ( OK I know we should have moved north fo the last bit to Dover) but were able to go on the 4 pm ferry. We travelled through France on a lovely evening on empty roads and stopped for the night at Rheims, then off the next morning arriving at Lauterbrenen in Switzerland about 4pm. We had three days there with wonderful weather, camping and walking. The valley itself is really impressive with sides of about 1000 feet. This provided some amazing entertainment when in the late afternoon some people started to base jump off the top. All we had to do was to sit in our chairs by the tent, sip our wine and look up waiting for the next. After such a long drive the peace of the valley was just what was needed.
On the Sunday we started on the second part of the holiday which was to join a group of people for the Tour De Cols. We had replied to an advert in a magazine for a six day tour of the Alps from Madesimo to Slovenia and back to Austria south of Saltzburg. Each day there were about 4 to 6 cols to visit, take a photo and then on to the next. The only commitment was to be back to that nights hotel in time for dinner. The hotels were mainly ski hotels and they had all been pre booked by the organisers Ed and Ruth Stobbs. The scenery was really fantastic and the passes varied from dramatic bare rock and walled up hair pin bends ( Stelva) to softer and gentler cols at the lower levels. The Dolomites were particularly memorable as the drive from the top seemed to have you going down a near vertical gully making for a patch of green way below, and then when you got there, it was off again down to another patch of green lower still. Rob and I were interested to see all the skiing areas in their summer clothing which is definately worth a visit. Our last night was just south of Saltzburg and the next day we drove to Salbach Hinterglemm to spend a few days before returning home. During the whole 16 days away we only put the hood up once and we had good sunshine and pleasanttemperatures most of the time. If you are interested in the Tour this years is to the area of France just south of the Massif Centrale. Last year the price was about £300 per person, you must have an open top car or motorcylce to go. Anyone interested email : edruth.stobbs@virgn.net
Breakfast Run August 2004
For several years now we have gone with friends on a breakfast run each summer, leaving early in the morning, to enjoy the best of the roads. We thought this year it would be nice to invite any of you enthusiasts who would like to join us to come along. There are no restrictions, come with a soft top or just with what ever you have available.
To read our report click here
Home About Us Our Location Westfield Cars Westfield for Sale News Contact Us Email Us Links
Website Construction by The Rural Enterprise Consultancy Ltd