Westfield Elevens

and the PCD for a 1098 is different than for a 1275?

JACK , from measurement the 1275 flywheel has 6 equaly spaced holes 0.398" diameter ( Clearance holes for the flywheel bolts ) . These are on a 2 1/2" PCD . There are two further holes 0.375" diameter ( These are for the 3/8" diameter dowels ) they are on the same PCD as the flywheel bolts but are staggered to ensure the flywheel is only fitted in one position .
I do not know the 1098 engines dimensions . BOB

Hi Jack,

No, the XI is still in the garage. Had more requests for information but nothing back from my replies.

JACK , from various parts list and manuals the 1098 flwheel / crankshaft has four bolts whereas the 1275 uses six . BOB

hi Bob, OK, that makes sense.

BTW, did Westfield supply the 5 speed gearbox yet?

JACK , it still hasn't arrived , they told me today it will be Monday 17th. I'm a bit p----d off , it was ordered 13th December with probable delivery mid January . An annoying thing is that all the contact as been from my end with no updates from them either phone or email .BOB

JACK , "The Eagle has landed " The gearbox kit turned up today , however Gear Lever / Gearbox mounting / Propshaft were missing , they are " To Follow " , at least I can make a start . The first measure suggests that the gear lever is going to come up in the middle of short cross tube that spans between the the two top tubes of the tunnel . I will get into the job properly tomorrow . BOB

Hi Bob,

It sounds as though you have an older chassis. I too had the gearstick foul the chassis top cross piece. It was relatively straight forward to move. You may also have to weld a bigger plate at the bottom of the chassis for the gearbox mount to sit on.

Still, the 5 speeds are worth it! Have you gone for a different 1st gear ratio? I went for the BGH E2 gearbox and the ratios are almost the same as the Midget box with the benefit of overdrive top.

Matthew

MATTHEW , my car is chassis no. 123 of the original run , as you rightly presume it is an early one . Have also found the need to extend the chassis plate for the gearbox mounting as it is short by about 25 mm , I think it can be made a bolt on item quite easily . I didn't get the uprated !st gear ( 2.98 ) and on reflection even at this early stage I think it would have been advantageous . Will probably make the gear box mounting plate and remove the tunnel cross tube Thursday and have a trial fit of the engine/gearbox that day . BOB

Quick tip prior to trial fitting the T9 transmission:

After fitting three of these things into both early and late chassis...

Cut off the lump from the bell housing starter cavity as it will rattle against the chassis during cornering. Check my XI build album on the WestyXIownersbuildersdrivers Yahoo site, or "The Last XI" build album on the Westfield_Eleven Yahoo site for a good picture of where and what to cut. Don't worry about the extra hole in the bell housing as there are already others in the housing. You can fabricate a plate if you wish to seal off the area. I don't. An additional note: You may have to cut more off of the starter cavity for the early chassis. Since you will be trial fitting, where you cut or grind will be obvious.

I used a Sawzall with a metal cutting blade. Likely he same blade you would use to cut out the cross member from the tunnel. An angle grinder will also work to remove the offending lump (s).


If you run into clearance problems with the footwell tunnel side panels, remove them from the tunnel side of the chassis (drill out the rivets), then notch and re mount them INSIDE the footwell. This is better than hammering and gives a full inch of additional clearance.


You will likely have to cut up the transmission mount as well.

What ever you do, don't bolt your new trans mount plate through the frame, unless you weld in some tubes to reinforce the holes. Best is to weld in a couple of heavy wall tubes to the sides of the frame elements to bolt in your new transmission mount, as the factory does on the new chassis.

Also make sure that you don't have any long bolts for the hand brake lever that can touch the re positioned U joint.

Besides the longer 1st gear, I also suggest the short throw shifter unit, with a straight lever, or one bent FORWARD (like a D-Type but not quite so extreme). Don't cut the thing short, as the short throw shifter is a high effort, but very precise unit. Very satisfying to shift. The longer lever may be an advantage.

If you are not going to change out the T9s gear set with one from SP Components or BGH, I suggest installing a 3.9, or even a 3.7 final drive gear to give a useful 1st gear with the 13" wheels. If you are running 15" wire wheels, you can go with a 3.9 and the short T9 first gear. You will get quite an RPM drop in 5th, with the ability to cruise at 90 mph all day.
If you go to the "Long 1st" setup, the 3.9 works fine with both 13 and 15" wheels.

I have first run chassis #129 (LHD). In order to have a quick fit, I used the Datsun transmission (I happened to have one available). Fits right in with the Rivergate installation kit. A bit of cutting of the Rivergate transmission mount is required. but it is not difficult, and is pretty obvious. The Datsun transmission will also accept a Chevy manual transmission mount from the '60s~70s that also fits. Even the gear lever is in the same place as the old Rib case (you can cut it down yourself), and the drive shaft fits. However, the Datsun doesn't have the readily available gear ratios that the T9 has. Datsun CR gear sets for the old 210 box are extremely rare. 'Still looking, though. The Datsun 1st gear is shorter than the Ribcase... 'Works best with the 3.9 final drive. And, yes, the old 210 box is getting to be pretty rare, but it shifts beautifully...