My name is Joe and I am from South Wales, I have built many high power cars but never ventured into the world of kitcars before. I hope it is not a move I regret. So far it's been an emotional 24 hours. I sold my Mx5 Turbo and this now sits in the garage in its place. I will really miss the Mx5 but once this is up to scratch I hope it will more than fill the gap! I am not very well briefed on Ford stuff but have researched enough to know this is a good specification and as it is pulling along such little weight it isn’t stressed therefore I really hope it’s relatively trouble free.

Up until a few weeks ago, as you would expect it has always been garaged, but after being bought by a arsehole trader it has been living outside under a cover. Combine this with the rain we have had and it wasn’t really a surprise that some electrical gremlins arose upon collection.

Firstly the immoboliser had taken on some water, and the battery had gone flat so the car refused to start. This was resolved and she then fired and idled very smoothly with a sweet sounding engine.

Thinking we had sorted it I pulled off the drive to be greeted by lots of pops and bangs, and then she stalled. We jumped it and again she idled lovely but as soon as it came under load it struggled. Despite 4 hours of fault tracing we couldn’t fix it and I ended up coming home like this after things got quite heated with the seller.




Not all is lost though I have been in touch with the guy who built it and he has some good references. The spec is confirmed as follows:

Engine
Fully rebuilt Ford Cosworth YB engine (8k miles since build)
Bottom end Lightened and balanced with overbore to 2.1
ARP bolts
Group A head gasket and head bolts
4x4 Cosworth exhaust manifold
New T34 with 0.48 exhaust housing
2.5inch exhaust
803 injectors
Stage 3 chip
3b MAP sensor
BD10 cams with vernier pulleys
4x4 intercooler
Bailey dump valve
3core custom radiator
Group A fuel pump with swirl pot fuel tank
High capacity baffled sump

Transmission
T5 gearbox rebuilt 8K miles ago.
New Cosworth clutch 6k miles ago.
7.5 Cosworth lsd rebuilt 8K miles ago.
High ratio clutch pedal modification

Braking
Cosworth 4 pot calipers with 285mm front discs and 275mm rears
Bias bar on brakes
Braided lines

Chassis
Front hubs re machined. Quicker steering response and uber lock
Avo height and damping adjustable shocks
Rollbar forms part of the chassis
BK Racing 15" wheels
Toyo rubber

Interior
Cobra Monaco seats
Sabelt harnesses
Caerbont / Smiths gauge set
Clifford Alarm/Immobiliser

Some pics of it after a wet ride home:







The initial plan was to use it for a weekend at Blyton Park and maybe the rest of the summer as she is before taking it off the road to be dismantled and rebuilt, tidying up bolts, getting bits powder coated etc as needed, but given I hate anything unreliable the wiring is going to have to be tidied up and possibly redone sooner rather than later to stop any issues going forward.

There are LOTS of styling choices which need changing on the car, but I think all the mechanicals are there and in good condition. Hopefully it will be worth the effort and I won't regret parting with the 5.

As and when my questions arise, are they likely to be found in here or should I post them in the relevant section (after searching of course).

 

Very nice... I'm fancying a westfield so I'll keep an eye on this

 

Looks tidy!

There's someone on here with a Cosworth powered Westy too, I can't remember his name but this is his.

 

Porkie (Lee)

Would love a YB powered Westie one day mate. will be keeping an eye on this

 

Hi mate nice car and ur from south wales too

 

Nice.. and welcome!!

 

Thanks guys!

Hoping it's simple to get her running. Are there any YB wiring Gods in the area?

Porkies car is an inspiration!!

 

looks a brill project, love westfields and caterhams. Best of luck

 

Nice car mate Will keep an eye on this project. Keep pondering about buying Great British sport car and wack a YB in it

And welcome to the site.

 

Cheers guys, I got all the front end panels stripped off including the windscreen etc and it took a total of 20 minutes! I have also removed the spark plugs (BCR8ES's) and am going to replace them. Removed the immoboliser and ECU to check for any water damage. All seems ok.

Confirmed I am running a L6 2WD Saph ECU with a stg3 chip

 

After getting someone really good with electrics to look at the car, he has confirmed the loom needs replacing. Not the end of the world but I don't know what I am looking for.

Will start a thread elsewhere.

 

New loom supplied by POLARIS ESCOS is now fitted and she is running a lot better.

Now on the rest of the wiring! I can't wait to drive the damn thing!

I'm doing a mixture of drift and grip sessions at Blyton Park on the weekend of 7th July if the car is ready! Should be a perfect chance to find out how mental it is in a much safer environment than on the road!

 

this guy is a nut job!

 

i looked at that on ebay, the ad was a tad misleading claiming 450bhp, still a nice toy though

 

Must be mad having one of these cossied powered cars lol.

 

Awsome project, bet its a laugh to drive

 

Looks mental... Yb caterham shaped cars are wild !

surely it needs more mph on the clocks

 

He should have just said "More than 600bhp/tonne". That would have been the truth just as appealing.

The guy selling it was a tool, simple. A dodgy trader making a quick buck with little to no knowledge of the car . In fact, the guy who owned it before him was just as bad. Lucky that it had the issues and is soooooo fast, as I guess thats what stopped it getting abused. I am a competent track driver but I still think it's going to take a while to be in full control of this....not even sure if it's possible which is part of the fun

Turbo, gearbox, diff etc are still like new. I am replacing the cambelt, all wiring, all fluids etc to use it for what little summer we will have. Then come the end of October it is going to be completely rebuilt so I know everything is spot on!


Cheers for the comments guys, trust, as soon as it's up and running (properly) videos and pics will be plentyful

 

Thats lovely!! However, those wheels are gash mate Needs something a bit nicer on there!

 

Look like great fun tho
If I had one I would soon run out of talent tho

 

Looks like a right weapon..... welcome to the site!

 

Very nice bet that's mad on the road! Where is blyton park? I'm from south Wales and never heard of it. Also there's no1 around here any good with yb's! I found that out and do my own now!

 

Subscribed

 

Just a small update, the cambelt, tensioner and all fluids have now been changed.



More importantly the complete rewire is now 99.5% finished! New engine loom and virtually all the supporting wiring has been replaced. No spade connectors now, just solder and heat shrink wrap

Before


After



It is going to be cutting it fine, but she might just make it to the track this weekend!

 

looks awsome mate, nice to see another member from south wales.

theres a dentist up here in the rhondda thats got a 1 of them in chrome
with burgandy arches sitting on 18" image split rims, it's running around 500bhp.

 

Looks cool but agree with Rab needs different wheels

 

For sure guys on the wheels but I want to make it work first!

Any suggestions on wheels?

15 inch
2wd Sapph hubs

 

Well, she's running!!

This is a freeze-frame of the first time i got it on boost with the missus was in the passenger seat! Internet is down at home so I can't upload the video until that's sorted.



It's fucking bonkers fast!!

 

LOL

glad your havin fun though. It's what it's all about