Genesis

In The Beginning…

Back in 2014 I had just completed building my Gardner Douglas Cobra replica, as documented in my build blog www.keitht68.blogspot.com

Having had an attempt at a nut and bolt restoration of a 205GTi, which failed miserably as I lost interest once the car was in pieces, I had been meaning to start building a Chesil Speedster for my partner for some time but work and life got in the way and it never happened until earlier this year when I decided the time was right to take the plunge. Interestingly, I discovered that Chesil had been bought out by Westfield, who have been well known for their open wheel Lotus 7 replicas and, somewhat fortuitously for me, have their factory a few miles from my home.

Having exchanged emails and calls with Simon Westwood, the MD at Westfield, I arranged to visit the factory with my partner Jacki back in April.

After a good look around and a chat about the options available I placed my order for the new type chassis that was in development at Westfield to replace the modified VW Beetle chassis that had been used up to this point.

We briefly considered the Electric version but as a petrol head, felt it lacked soul and some of what makes the Speedster a Speedster. I also liked the suspension and steering setup that the new chassis offers over the outdated Beetle setup. This was also in keeping with my Cobra build where I opted for the GD Euro over the Jag based version to avoid the whole donor car complications and limitations.   

Our build spec is 1.8 petrol in Cream with Burgundy leather and black carpets. The photo at the head of this blog is what I hope the finished car will look like. 

I attended Goodwood Revival with Jacki and her daughter Georgie back in September and it was great to see the first two prototype cars using the new chassis on the stand. Westfield were keen to get a photo of the girls in the car as they were dressed in period costumes!

Fast forward 7 months and the wait is nearly over… the chassis for my new Westfield (formerly Chesil) Speedster has arrived at the office. I have put it in the Race Shuttle for now while I get the home garage cleared out and wait for the rest of the kit to arrive which is due in a week or so.