This page focuses on some of the upgrades and custom things I’ve done to the car since the rebuild.
Locking Boot Lid – The factory locking boot is a great feature, but unfortunately the lid doesn’t work with a proper roll bar fitted with rear stays. Since I wanted the safety of a real roll bar, and the theft deterrence of a locking boot, I decided to pull out the tools and turn the one piece lid into a three piece affair that would work. The boot cover is cut into three sections: two fixed end plates and a hinged lid in the center. The end plates are fixed to the body with silicone and shimmed by the thickness of the hinges to ensure a level surface across the three pieces.
The photos to the right show the rear stays passing through the fixed end plates of the boot cover. My original plan was to cut a hole that was just a tiny bit bigger than the stays themselves, and then seal the gap with silicone. However, after living with it like this while I waited to fabricate the boot box, I decided it would look a lot better if I enlarged the holes and then covered the edges with the same rubber edging material I used to line the air filter cutout in the bonnet. This gives it a very finished appearance and means that no one can tell that my holes were...um...not quite perfect.
Locking Boot Lid – The factory locking boot is a great feature, but unfortunately the lid doesn’t work with a proper roll bar fitted with rear stays. Since I wanted the safety of a real roll bar, and the theft deterrence of a locking boot, I decided to pull out the tools and turn the one piece lid into a three piece affair that would work. The boot cover is cut into three sections: two fixed end plates and a hinged lid in the center. The end plates are fixed to the body with silicone and shimmed by the thickness of the hinges to ensure a level surface across the three pieces.
The photos to the right show the rear stays passing through the fixed end plates of the boot cover. My original plan was to cut a hole that was just a tiny bit bigger than the stays themselves, and then seal the gap with silicone. However, after living with it like this while I waited to fabricate the boot box, I decided it would look a lot better if I enlarged the holes and then covered the edges with the same rubber edging material I used to line the air filter cutout in the bonnet. This gives it a very finished appearance and means that no one can tell that my holes were...um...not quite perfect.
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Boot Box – When fitting a proper roll bar with rear stays, you need to cut holes in the factory boot box, so the stays can reach the chassis mounts. Given that the required cuts aren’t particularly easy, I decided to instead build a new boot box out of aluminum sheet. The rear boot box panel needs to accommodate the fuel filler neck, but rather than piecemeal this together, I decided to bend it out of a single piece of aluminum. No real point to that approach other than the fact I was curious if I could do it. To fabricate the sides, I made templates out of heavy paper and then used tin snips and a hand nibbler to cut the aluminum to shape. Bending the aluminum was actually easier than I anticipated. Since I don't have a sheet metal break, I made forms out of scrap lumber and beveled their sides on the
table saw so they matched the angle I was trying to achieve in the aluminum. The finished panels were then lowered into place, bolted to the lip in the body tub just like the stock boot box, and finally riveted together. The tops of each side panel extend outward under the end plates to provide protection from road debris thrown up by the rear tires. BTW when I cut and bent the rear panel, I ended up having a small triangular void on the top lip immediately over the bend for the fuel filler neck bump out (you can just make it out between the two bolts located at the top of the photo below the hinge). I cut a piece of aluminum to fit and then attached it with silicone.
The floor is easily removable to gain access to the rear of the car. However, because the bottom of the boot is much larger than the top (20" x 30" vs. 12" x 29"), I had to cut the floor into two 10" x 30" sections so they would fit
through the opening. The four machine screws on the floor show where the two floor panels meet and attach to a floor joist made from a section of U-channel aluminum. I initially wanted to use a composite material for the floor pieces since the stiffness would spread the load around the 2" wide floor lip, but that material was *very* expensive. Consequently I went with plain aluminum sheets supported in the middle by the floor joist which is bolted to the floor lip of each side panel. I was a bit concerned that this setup would concentrate too much of the load on the area of the lip where the joist bolts attach, so I added L-section aluminum on top of the lip and then bolted everything together. This effectively spreads the load across the side lip and makes things a lot stronger. The downside is cosmetic. Because I didn't get a very tight radius when I bent the floor lip on the left side panel, the L-section sits away from the side by 1/4" and looks a little cheesy. Oh well...
table saw so they matched the angle I was trying to achieve in the aluminum. The finished panels were then lowered into place, bolted to the lip in the body tub just like the stock boot box, and finally riveted together. The tops of each side panel extend outward under the end plates to provide protection from road debris thrown up by the rear tires. BTW when I cut and bent the rear panel, I ended up having a small triangular void on the top lip immediately over the bend for the fuel filler neck bump out (you can just make it out between the two bolts located at the top of the photo below the hinge). I cut a piece of aluminum to fit and then attached it with silicone.
The floor is easily removable to gain access to the rear of the car. However, because the bottom of the boot is much larger than the top (20" x 30" vs. 12" x 29"), I had to cut the floor into two 10" x 30" sections so they would fit
through the opening. The four machine screws on the floor show where the two floor panels meet and attach to a floor joist made from a section of U-channel aluminum. I initially wanted to use a composite material for the floor pieces since the stiffness would spread the load around the 2" wide floor lip, but that material was *very* expensive. Consequently I went with plain aluminum sheets supported in the middle by the floor joist which is bolted to the floor lip of each side panel. I was a bit concerned that this setup would concentrate too much of the load on the area of the lip where the joist bolts attach, so I added L-section aluminum on top of the lip and then bolted everything together. This effectively spreads the load across the side lip and makes things a lot stronger. The downside is cosmetic. Because I didn't get a very tight radius when I bent the floor lip on the left side panel, the L-section sits away from the side by 1/4" and looks a little cheesy. Oh well...
Transmission Tunnel Cover – I never cared for the aesthetics of the stock transmission tunnel trimming, which uses the (cheap looking) floor carpet on the tunnel top and sides. Since I am running sans carpet, I needed another option for the tunnel top. I tried a few different finishing treatments, but never found one I liked until now: a new tunnel cap substructure with radius sides made from aluminum sheet that is covered with the same vinyl used for the dash. The
build was actually pretty simple. I made bucks out of scrap wood edged with ¾” radius ¼ round molding, bent the sheet aluminum to shape, then attached it to the existing transmission tunnel via cap head screws and nutcerts. The new caps are first covered with closed cell foam to add a little padding and minor heat insullation and then topped with the vinyl which is attached with Velcro. I also made matching gaiters for the handbrake and gear lever, and added a hidden glovebox that when closed looks as if it is simply a cosmetic connection between the tunnel and dash.
The end result looks better in the flesh than in the photos. The wrinkles are not as apparent to the naked eye, and the stitching used for the French seams is black not white, so is a bit more subtle. Overall, I am really pleased with how this came out.
build was actually pretty simple. I made bucks out of scrap wood edged with ¾” radius ¼ round molding, bent the sheet aluminum to shape, then attached it to the existing transmission tunnel via cap head screws and nutcerts. The new caps are first covered with closed cell foam to add a little padding and minor heat insullation and then topped with the vinyl which is attached with Velcro. I also made matching gaiters for the handbrake and gear lever, and added a hidden glovebox that when closed looks as if it is simply a cosmetic connection between the tunnel and dash.
The end result looks better in the flesh than in the photos. The wrinkles are not as apparent to the naked eye, and the stitching used for the French seams is black not white, so is a bit more subtle. Overall, I am really pleased with how this came out.
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Alternator Mount – To the best of my knowledge I was the first person to begin the installation of a Duratec in a LHD car using Raceline’s bits. As such, I was fortunate enough to discover that their alternator mount places the alternator directly in the path of the steering column. Now I am not an engineer, but even I saw the problem with that design. I
initially fabricated a simple bracket that moved the alternator out of the way, but it wasn’t very sturdy and eventually broke on the way home from the USA2005. Fortunately we made it home okay, but it was clear a sturdier design was
required. Because I don’t weld, I came up with a design that bolts together from aluminum stock. I drilled a huge hole in the plate to lighten it up, and fabricated the L-bracket out of a solid block with a hacksaw and Dremel. I then used a tie-rod from a kart to adjust belt tension.
initially fabricated a simple bracket that moved the alternator out of the way, but it wasn’t very sturdy and eventually broke on the way home from the USA2005. Fortunately we made it home okay, but it was clear a sturdier design was
required. Because I don’t weld, I came up with a design that bolts together from aluminum stock. I drilled a huge hole in the plate to lighten it up, and fabricated the L-bracket out of a solid block with a hacksaw and Dremel. I then used a tie-rod from a kart to adjust belt tension.
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Steering Wheel Mounted Buttons – I’m a Formula 1 fan and a little trendy, so I decided my car should have steering wheel mounted buttons to control key functions. I used Apem's momentary pushbuttons in green to control the turn signal module (Cadent Technologies Smart Flash) in yellow to handle the display menu for the Motogadget tach/speedometer, and a latching version in red, operating via a relay, to control the high beams. The switches attach via a quick connector located in the steering wheel hub to a spiral coiled wire that turns with the wheel. For the horn, I used another, much larger, aluminum Apem momentary pushbutton and had someone laser engrave the Westfield logo on it. It isn't keyed, so the button and logo, can rotate, but like the other buttons, it works great and the shallow side of me loves how everything looks.
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BGH Gearbox and Short Shift Kit – The stock Type-9 gearbox has a ridiculously short 1st gear. Even after switching from a 3.92 open diff to a taller 3.62 viscous LSD, I still couldn’t use more than half throttle in 1st and have any hope of doing anything other than creating a smoke screen. Given the Duratec was putting additional strain on the stock gearbox, I decided to replace it with a BGH long 1st gear HD unit. 1st gear is over 22% taller than stock and is now good for 47mph @ 7500rpm. I still can’t use full throttle in 1st without wheel spin, but at least I can now come close.
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Wind Wings – With the sidescreens fitted, the Westfield is a relatively calm environment, but they have some negatives. First, they insulate you from the surroundings which is a bit contrary to the se7en experience, and second, the reduced air flow means heat buildup in the cockpit becomes a problem on warm days at anything less than freeway speeds. Running sans sidescreens solves the heat buildup and sensory isolation issues, but the buffeting at freeway speeds quickly becomes very uncomfortable.
I had heard that properly sized wind wings (aka wind deflectors) give the best of both worlds. The isolation and heat factors are gone, and driving at high speeds is fine. I decided to design my own and built some mock ups, first out of cardboard, and later out of thin MDF, to experiment with size and shape. I found that the wind wings need to be quite
long (extend well below the bottom of the door cutout) fairly wide, and sit at a very steep angle from the body (i.e. shallow angle from the windscreen). Once I had found the optimal size and shape for my car I made bucks out of MDF (each side is slightly different thanks to a bit of asymmetry in my build) and had a local plastics firm form versions out of Lexan. I then used a spare set of sidescreen hinges to attach them to the female portion of the hinges already on
the windscreen pillars. They may look a little odd, but they work great, and even do a pretty god job in the wet. One of the best mods I’ve done to the car.
I had heard that properly sized wind wings (aka wind deflectors) give the best of both worlds. The isolation and heat factors are gone, and driving at high speeds is fine. I decided to design my own and built some mock ups, first out of cardboard, and later out of thin MDF, to experiment with size and shape. I found that the wind wings need to be quite
long (extend well below the bottom of the door cutout) fairly wide, and sit at a very steep angle from the body (i.e. shallow angle from the windscreen). Once I had found the optimal size and shape for my car I made bucks out of MDF (each side is slightly different thanks to a bit of asymmetry in my build) and had a local plastics firm form versions out of Lexan. I then used a spare set of sidescreen hinges to attach them to the female portion of the hinges already on
the windscreen pillars. They may look a little odd, but they work great, and even do a pretty god job in the wet. One of the best mods I’ve done to the car.
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