Westfield Miata forum

[Steve]

Firstly, Hello everyone.

I have just started my westfield build and am currently at the donor stripping stage. I have a few questions I hope you guys on here can help me with?

Firstly, does anyone know the dimensions of a westfield chassis? I need to know if i can fit it in my van when I pick the kit up?

Secondly, my donor is a '97 1.6cc. I have heard that models of this year featured the same propshaft as the 1.8. Does this mean I have to get the propshaft shortened to 515mm instead of 555mm suggested by westfield?

Finally, my donor has 2 O2 sensors? one pre and one post cat. Can I simply just unplug the post cat sensor? Will it be IVA friendly?

Thanks for your help in advance

Steve

[smokey mow]

Welcome

For the bodywork you'll need about 2.9m in length so probably about 3.1 with the body clipped to the chassis which is the safest way to transport. If you're picking up the body with fixed arches then you'll also need a van with some decent width.

The post '96 cars used the 1800 diff, which is easily identifiable by a rubber torque damper fitted to the input flange which the shorter 1600 diff doesn't have, it'll also have push in drive shafts, so yes the prop will be the same as an 1800. But IGNORE all dimensions in the build manual for the length of the cut (it's wrong), fit the engine box and diff and then measure the distance between the gearbox oil seal to the diff flange and give this dimension to whoevers doing the prop; they'll then work out the rest for you based on that dimension.

I'm not sure of the workings of the later electronics so I'm unsure of the affect of removing the post cat sensor. The worst case for you would be that you'll need to put the sensor into the exhaust, but I'll put my head on the block by guessing and say I think it should be ok without... See how it goes when you get to that stage.

Mark
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www.mx5westfield.co.uk

[Big Cheese Dog]

If you run the rear sensor without a cat in between, or don't run the rear sensor at all, you will get a check engine light.

[Graham]

Hello Steve,

good luck with your build. My donor was a Jan 1998 1.6 which I assume will be the same as yours. Like Mark says the best thing is to wait till you have the diff and engine/transmission in place and measure before getting the propshaft modified. I didn't and had to have it changed again later. For me the "1.8 diff" measurements from the manual were right for my 1.6 but there is a bit of variation depending on the adjustment of the engine mountings (you will find the pre-drilled holes in the chassis are not quite right). See here: http://westiebuild.blogspot.com/2009/07/propshaft-shortening-again.html and here: http://westiebuild.blogspot.com/2009/07/propshaft-length-complete-story.html

Also, don't get the steering column modified until you have it in place and measured. Something I also had to get changed for a 2nd time.
see here: http://westiebuild.blogspot.com/2009/10/steering-column.html and here: http://westiebuild.blogspot.com/2010/02/steering-column-some-pictures.html
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Graham
http://westiebuild.blogspot.com/