Robin Hood Kit car buying advice
Discussion
Goochie said:
sv123 said:
That looks like a nice car, were you the winning bidder?
spyder dryver said:
Still want one?
Well done you. You found a bad example a posted a picture of one. I could find an example of a less-than-perfectly built westfield and do the same thing?I'll reiterate what I said above - it's the quality of the builder that determines the quality of the car on the recent kits, not the car itself.
TonyHetherington said:
spyder dryver said:
Still want one?
Well done you. You found a bad example a posted a picture of one. I could find an example of a less-than-perfectly built westfield and do the same thing?I'll reiterate what I said above - it's the quality of the builder that determines the quality of the car on the recent kits, not the car itself.
I will maintain, however, that it is more difficult to find a well built RH than a Westfield, for example.
The RH 2B I find to be challenged in almost every department, regardless of builder. RH's might ride well and be comfortable as per the above post, but surely these aren't the salient features of any seven inspired car.
The only one I could ever consider as a longshot is the new ZERO. It's far better than previous types IMHO.
Sorry if I touched a nerve but they are, in the main, awful and that's not just my opinion.
Buy a Striker or a Westie. I've seen early Caterhams for £6k. How does a £3K RH stack up?
Geoff.
Just finished co-building this 2b with the g/f`s cousin.
Two years in the making,total nightmare build!
But.We spent ages making sure things we`rent bodged.
We enjoyed the experience to be honest.
Would`nt swap my westy for it but it`s a real good,honest little car.
A good owners club to boot too!
Two years in the making,total nightmare build!
But.We spent ages making sure things we`rent bodged.
We enjoyed the experience to be honest.
Would`nt swap my westy for it but it`s a real good,honest little car.
A good owners club to boot too!
Hi,I have a Robin Hood 3A and I love it,Yeah they might be cheaper than others but there great fun,Its just like anything out there if you buy a good one you will love it,if you buy a bad one you will hate it.
Luckily for me I found a good one and would recommend a good one to anyone looking,Not super fast but great fun
Luckily for me I found a good one and would recommend a good one to anyone looking,Not super fast but great fun
Having run a R.H. for around 12 years I think that some of the comments that come on here are unfair to say the least ,facts 1 they will never be a caterfield ,and were never intended to be 2 if you buy a pile of unfinished cack sorry but you looked at it and your commonsense dissapeared 3 if you are of limited mechanical knowledge and experience self builds are not for you . In the 12 years I have run my S7 it has provided me and my wife with around 40k miles of mainly touring inc 3 trips to LeMans and numerous venues and kit car shows making many good freinds and contacts , if you want a track day car look else where although anumber of club members do use them . A badly built caterthingfield wil be just as bad as a badly built RH but will cost you al;ot more money . Horses for courses ?
I bought my car finished ? but have spent many hours correcting or modifying things and that I'm afraid is par for the course
I bought my car finished ? but have spent many hours correcting or modifying things and that I'm afraid is par for the course
I don't mean to criticise your post & I support all you general points, you obviously get a lot of enjoyment from your car & more power to you, I say. But I must take issue with "they will never be a caterfield ,and were never intended to be".
My last kit car which I used as a daily driver for ten years was something that could be said of - a Rickman Ranger - solid, well engineered in a Forth Bridge kind of way. Beach buggies are another type that could be said of, but anything that looks so much like a seven, is deliberately designed to look like a seven & will always be compared to one. They could've made it look like a '30s MG, or anything. The Co. chose to make it look like a seven so the uninitiated would think it was "like" a seven. Many have been disappointed.
My last kit car which I used as a daily driver for ten years was something that could be said of - a Rickman Ranger - solid, well engineered in a Forth Bridge kind of way. Beach buggies are another type that could be said of, but anything that looks so much like a seven, is deliberately designed to look like a seven & will always be compared to one. They could've made it look like a '30s MG, or anything. The Co. chose to make it look like a seven so the uninitiated would think it was "like" a seven. Many have been disappointed.
Fury1630 said:
I don't mean to criticise your post & I support all you general points, you obviously get a lot of enjoyment from your car & more power to you, I say. But I must take issue with "they will never be a caterfield ,and were never intended to be".
My last kit car which I used as a daily driver for ten years was something that could be said of - a Rickman Ranger - solid, well engineered in a Forth Bridge kind of way. Beach buggies are another type that could be said of, but anything that looks so much like a seven, is deliberately designed to look like a seven & will always be compared to one. They could've made it look like a '30s MG, or anything. The Co. chose to make it look like a seven so the uninitiated would think it was "like" a seven. Many have been disappointed.
Thanks for not going off on the usual route that many do ,but the S7 ,2b were never going to compete with the other much lighter for one thing 7's and clones and were also much more affordable but you cannot expect the same type of handling of a cater thing when suspension constraint and afore mentioned weight are factored in. Yes the uniniated will think they are the same but a little research should educate and inform . I didn't buy my s7 to compete with them but had enough to buy some thing that I enjoy ,if a out and out track car is your desire then deeper pockets are needed. once again thanks for a measured postMy last kit car which I used as a daily driver for ten years was something that could be said of - a Rickman Ranger - solid, well engineered in a Forth Bridge kind of way. Beach buggies are another type that could be said of, but anything that looks so much like a seven, is deliberately designed to look like a seven & will always be compared to one. They could've made it look like a '30s MG, or anything. The Co. chose to make it look like a seven so the uninitiated would think it was "like" a seven. Many have been disappointed.
Tigercat1 said:
Totaly Disagree with the last post, Robin Hood's are S@hite, you need a fully equipped workshop to get the thing built, most major components don't fit the chassis, everything needs to be re-worked.
Def not something you would want to take on as a first project, now that Land of Leather has gone bust getting seats to fit is going to be a problem.
I built mine mostly on the drive, my first ever build before that I had only changed pads and fiddled with enginesDef not something you would want to take on as a first project, now that Land of Leather has gone bust getting seats to fit is going to be a problem.
Sure there a challenge (monocoque version) but if you can build a Robin Hood you can build anything.
I would have no problem building any car now.
Mine is well put together and passed SVA first time
Back end is the same as early Tiger full Sierra but I will put a Haynes rear on it in time
Makes me laugh when people slag Robin Hood, the company produced and sold more 7 reps than all the other manufacturers put together
You can buy a reasonable monocoque hood for £3000
When I built mine I knew it was not a track car so made it more in keeping with the original concept, windscreen, wet weather gear.
Well said Paul ! .OK I did n't build mine but in 12 years there aint much that has not been looked at , serviced, improved,uprated and as for lot left alone [ if it aint broke don't mend it ] asfor damning things I do it with caterthings mainly because of the insane prices charged for very ordinary components , having been involved with kit cars on and of for 40+ years I have a different out look to many who only think an ultra light weight 200hp screamer is the mutts nuts . If you haven't an idea which end of a spanner to use and want some thing to slot together like lego kit cars are not to be considered
Edited by one eyed mick on Saturday 28th June 17:47
a mate of mine recently bought a S7, series 3 robin...sierra based model with inbord front suspension.
during braking the complete front part of the monocoque was bending, due to weakness of the construction..
the car has collected 3000miles in 15years...and was handed over from owner to owner....i wonder why....interestingwise the car always passed its anual MOT.
those cars are Cr*p...the worst seven-ish car i have ever seen / driven!!!
during braking the complete front part of the monocoque was bending, due to weakness of the construction..
the car has collected 3000miles in 15years...and was handed over from owner to owner....i wonder why....interestingwise the car always passed its anual MOT.
those cars are Cr*p...the worst seven-ish car i have ever seen / driven!!!
There are some iffy builds out there I can recall several where builders have bodged front ends on s7, why I dont know ,were they trying to make it into some thing it isnt ? , they are not all the same my car has covered 35/40k miles and has no flex issues but it is as orig design with a heavy angle iron frame as an upper cross member not flimsy alloy or stainless sheet , one I saw was only 1mm alloy !!,it collapsed on its way to IVA if people bodge it only damns that car not them all ,Ihave seen very poor quality welds on caterthing and westhams but people dont create about it ,lets have alittle more open minded ness please
"they are not all the same my car has covered 35/40k miles and has no flex issues but it is as orig design with a heavy angle iron frame as an upper cross member not flimsy alloy or stainless sheet"
then angle-iron ones are series 1 and 2...on the series 3 the angle iron was replaced by a welded box-section, made of the same (thin) material like the rest of the monocoque.
those kits came like that from the factory!!!!
i always wonder: how the former owners ever drove this car and how the MOT man did not see the front of the car flexing during brake-test on the rollers??
the car had passed 15 MOT´s!!!!
then angle-iron ones are series 1 and 2...on the series 3 the angle iron was replaced by a welded box-section, made of the same (thin) material like the rest of the monocoque.
those kits came like that from the factory!!!!
i always wonder: how the former owners ever drove this car and how the MOT man did not see the front of the car flexing during brake-test on the rollers??
the car had passed 15 MOT´s!!!!
Those that flex were not built properly
The movable engine mount plates bolt in several places to stiffen the front floor
The Sierra roll bar is to stiff so I did the compression strut ( tie bar) modification I fitted a box section from mounting points under the floor acts like a strut brace.
You moan like an old woman about your car, real men fix things
The movable engine mount plates bolt in several places to stiffen the front floor
The Sierra roll bar is to stiff so I did the compression strut ( tie bar) modification I fitted a box section from mounting points under the floor acts like a strut brace.
You moan like an old woman about your car, real men fix things
its not my car its from a mate.
and why should i recommend such a kit, where the factory was not able to construct it save and rigid?
it cannott be, that the car owners have to find an idea how to strenghten a totally unsafe and weak construction.
a minimum must come from the kit constructor!!!
and why should i recommend such a kit, where the factory was not able to construct it save and rigid?
it cannott be, that the car owners have to find an idea how to strenghten a totally unsafe and weak construction.
a minimum must come from the kit constructor!!!
If I had a pound for every time I've read the "Robin Hood's are sh!t" v's "I've got a Robin Hood it's great, they can be built well if you do x, y, z..." debate kick off I'd be... well I'd have a few quid.
There's the whole "each to his own" argument with people willing to chuck in their 2p on why a certain kit is good/crap but the problem is that this debate tends to be an anecdotal slugging match which rages on, leaving the original poster behind. These almost always crop up when someone is asking advice on buying a kit and almost instantly the most important thing is overlooked - CONTEXT. You have to keep in mind the person's situation/needs/desires and that's best done with some further enquiry as opposed to jumping with both feet about how YOU see things.
Having said that I'll say how I see things
If you're someone looking for a cheap project that will see you with many hours (more than most comparatively) in the garage with a long list of engineering challenges and you're not too concerned about the perfomance of the car relative to other kits, the time to completion or the ceiling price for resale, then you could get a lot of enjoyment out of a Robin Hood. If you don't fulfill that description however then I would say that a Robin Hood is not for you and to look at other options (based on your actual requirements). That's not to say you won't buy into challenges/problems with other marques but there are well known design foibles inherent in the Robin Hood that any builder/maintainer/driver will come across. In the latter case replys that get defensive about apparent attacks on their car/way of life along with a list of reasons why they think their (specific) car is great aren't really helpful. To be helpful you need to build a picture of the person's needs and go from there, that starts with enquiry.
Forget "each to his own", put the person asking the question at the centre of the discussion.
There's the whole "each to his own" argument with people willing to chuck in their 2p on why a certain kit is good/crap but the problem is that this debate tends to be an anecdotal slugging match which rages on, leaving the original poster behind. These almost always crop up when someone is asking advice on buying a kit and almost instantly the most important thing is overlooked - CONTEXT. You have to keep in mind the person's situation/needs/desires and that's best done with some further enquiry as opposed to jumping with both feet about how YOU see things.
Having said that I'll say how I see things
If you're someone looking for a cheap project that will see you with many hours (more than most comparatively) in the garage with a long list of engineering challenges and you're not too concerned about the perfomance of the car relative to other kits, the time to completion or the ceiling price for resale, then you could get a lot of enjoyment out of a Robin Hood. If you don't fulfill that description however then I would say that a Robin Hood is not for you and to look at other options (based on your actual requirements). That's not to say you won't buy into challenges/problems with other marques but there are well known design foibles inherent in the Robin Hood that any builder/maintainer/driver will come across. In the latter case replys that get defensive about apparent attacks on their car/way of life along with a list of reasons why they think their (specific) car is great aren't really helpful. To be helpful you need to build a picture of the person's needs and go from there, that starts with enquiry.
Forget "each to his own", put the person asking the question at the centre of the discussion.
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