Robin Hood Factory Visit
In my last post I had narrowed the list of cars down to two manufacturers with two cars to choose from between them. As is the way with committing this about of money to a project, research and knowing your stuff is essential to make sure you know exactly what you are getting into and what the costs are. A factory visit is essential to allow you to view what you are potentially going to build, to ask technical questions. I seriously recommend starting a list a long time before you actually plan on visiting the company. Book an appointment and make sure there will be someone technical on hand to answer questions. If you are like me you will have been far too excited and ordered the brochures from just about every manufacturer on the planet. Typically your biggest questions will be around donor parts, what bits do you require from other cars. The absolute biggest question for the budget buyer is the bottom line "What is NOT included in the kit?" this helps you calculate the true cost.
One Becomes Two
Building a kit car is a big challenge to undertake on your own, if you have a friend you can persuade to build one with you then great, if you can encourage them enough to build one themselves alongside yours then all the better. Enter Raf! A man who has wanted a Lotus Seven far far longer than I have, in fact the obsession goes all the way back to the 70's and the Prisoner with the BRG Lotus Seven with the Yellow nose. If you are smiling and nodding at this then you know exactly what I mean!
Robin Hood Factory Visit
Rolling up on a wet Monday morning in Nottingham was not the best start to the kit car adventure, but we were welcomed at the door by a Robin Hood representative who immediately took us into the show room to give us an appraisal of the cars. First up is the lightweight of which they had two examples to show us, a Zetec and a Pinto. The lightweight is a attractive car finished in original Aluminium, it is extremely light thanks to its monocoque construction. This is one example where the brochure is quite misleading. The whole chassis has to be pop riveted together based on a Jig board they provide, when you get up close it really is a lot of riveting. I had visions of 6 months passing and me still not having completed the construction of the chassis. The other worry is of course that I will make a mistake which could prove costly when the final car is assembled and the chassis is out of alignment. The car felt extremely good to sit in, however it is extremely basic, The pedal arrangement was particularly cramped, although I could just about manage to get the clutch depressed without hitting the brake, Raf (who is 6'5" with big feet) couldn't. The pedal arrangement is a drop down type with very little scope for adjustment.
Based on these two points, we discarded the Lightweight, despite its cheapness (or because of it, depending on your view). Later we were to find out the kit is exceptionally cheap because a number of components are extras.
We moved onto the 2B which you could instantly feel was a sturdier more appealing design. However the biggest concern for me was the weight. When equipped with a pinto it topped out at over 700Kg. This is largely due to the stainless steel construction, desirable in an accident but not for overall speed.
The factory was very impressive, unlike other manufacturers Robin Hood use pipe bending technology to make the chassis, they also rolled and pressed all the aluminium and steel panel on site.
I cannot fault the sales staff, they were knowledgeable and extremely friendly, when the sales advisor learned we would be buying multiple cars, they soon started talking about adding in donor packs from the extensive supply of Sierra engines and parts. These packs usually priced at around £300 showed their flexibility and desire toaccommodatee the customer.
On balance I felt the 2B would be an adequate car. It wouldn't be the fastest, nor the best handling (it had a complete unheard of suspension brand). On a purely cosmetic note, I was not keen on the way the front sloped up so much, it is very much a tourer.
With these thoughts in mind I left the factory feeling positive but not enthralled.
One Becomes Two
Building a kit car is a big challenge to undertake on your own, if you have a friend you can persuade to build one with you then great, if you can encourage them enough to build one themselves alongside yours then all the better. Enter Raf! A man who has wanted a Lotus Seven far far longer than I have, in fact the obsession goes all the way back to the 70's and the Prisoner with the BRG Lotus Seven with the Yellow nose. If you are smiling and nodding at this then you know exactly what I mean!
Robin Hood Factory Visit
Rolling up on a wet Monday morning in Nottingham was not the best start to the kit car adventure, but we were welcomed at the door by a Robin Hood representative who immediately took us into the show room to give us an appraisal of the cars. First up is the lightweight of which they had two examples to show us, a Zetec and a Pinto. The lightweight is a attractive car finished in original Aluminium, it is extremely light thanks to its monocoque construction. This is one example where the brochure is quite misleading. The whole chassis has to be pop riveted together based on a Jig board they provide, when you get up close it really is a lot of riveting. I had visions of 6 months passing and me still not having completed the construction of the chassis. The other worry is of course that I will make a mistake which could prove costly when the final car is assembled and the chassis is out of alignment. The car felt extremely good to sit in, however it is extremely basic, The pedal arrangement was particularly cramped, although I could just about manage to get the clutch depressed without hitting the brake, Raf (who is 6'5" with big feet) couldn't. The pedal arrangement is a drop down type with very little scope for adjustment.
Based on these two points, we discarded the Lightweight, despite its cheapness (or because of it, depending on your view). Later we were to find out the kit is exceptionally cheap because a number of components are extras.
We moved onto the 2B which you could instantly feel was a sturdier more appealing design. However the biggest concern for me was the weight. When equipped with a pinto it topped out at over 700Kg. This is largely due to the stainless steel construction, desirable in an accident but not for overall speed.
The factory was very impressive, unlike other manufacturers Robin Hood use pipe bending technology to make the chassis, they also rolled and pressed all the aluminium and steel panel on site.
I cannot fault the sales staff, they were knowledgeable and extremely friendly, when the sales advisor learned we would be buying multiple cars, they soon started talking about adding in donor packs from the extensive supply of Sierra engines and parts. These packs usually priced at around £300 showed their flexibility and desire toaccommodatee the customer.
On balance I felt the 2B would be an adequate car. It wouldn't be the fastest, nor the best handling (it had a complete unheard of suspension brand). On a purely cosmetic note, I was not keen on the way the front sloped up so much, it is very much a tourer.
With these thoughts in mind I left the factory feeling positive but not enthralled.
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