1st September 2012

The engine is still leaking coolant. Well it’s leaking from the pipe at the bottom of the header tank so that might get replaced with silicone but it’s also leaking from above the oil pressure switch which suggests the block needs skimming. The head was skimmed on the rebuild so the block must not be quite flat.

So onto the first upgrade. After the driving on the Swindon meet and seeing other Westfields with them I opted for the perspex wind deflectors from Westfield. I knew you could get them on ebay, but I decided that with my 10% discount and still having to get the hinges from Westfield anyway I might as well get it all from one place. Ordered on Tuesday, arrived on Wednesday.

So you get two pieces of bent perspex, some hinges, some nuts, washers and bolts. You also get two rubber pads that can be riveted on but I decided not to use these.

First up, remove the IVA covers and fit the hinges into hinges onto the windscreen pillars. The bottom ones were quite tight and required a little persuasion which they duly received.

I held up the deflector to the hinges lining one of the folds up with the bottom of the scuttle. After marking the position of the brackets I could drill the holes et voila.

I like how they’re reasonably invisible from the frontal view

They also don’t distort the view of the mirror

Lastly, I put some spare IVA friendly trim on the bottom to stop them marking the bodywork if they moved or vibrated slightly

They work surprisingly well. Harness slap is greatly reduced and breathing above 80mph is suddenly possible again. They don’t remove the wind altogether of course, the hair still gets dressed! I’d say it’s more like how the MX5 was with the roof down and windows down.

That will probably do for now. I’m starting to plan out any winter upgrades (keeping in mind the engine will be coming out). From driving the car I think I need more power – it doesn’t seem to accelerate quickly enough in 3rd gear.