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Is It Hard To Build A Robin Hood


Guest topcat2vin

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Guest topcat2vin

Hi all,

I have noticed on a lot of other forums discussions on how hard it is to build a RH.

 

I am looking for opinions particularly in comparison the a Haynes Locost. and are any ot hte models easier (excluding the Zero)?

 

Is it enough to follow the manual and videos with a little advise?

 

Thanks

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Best place to see how hard it is to build a RH is this forum, not others where uninformed opinions can be "biased".

Obviously this site is not at all biased....... :)

They are not a meccano set, so you do need to apply common sense & a bit of planning to get a good result.

But you will not find any problems that cant be solved here....in fact they have probably already been solved.

You will always get offers of help and advice from people who have done it all before.

Look at the NW owners site for identification of the various models.

http://nw.rhocar.org/

Check out the signatures on many posts where RH builders have diarised their build.

In general if you can maintain your own production car, you will be able to complete a RH.

If you buy an unfinished one, be aware that you may have to strip it down to rebuild it better/properly.

We do have other N. Ireland builders/owners they may be able to offer more help.

HTH Bob

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It really depends what Robin Hood you are talking about? And how much of the car you get and what condition its in as you cant buy a new kit. Also if you are rebuilding or need to build to pass IVA.

 

As for comparing to other kits, its difficult to answer. Are you trying to compare an unknown part built car to a brand New kit with all the parts included? Or a basic starter kit and sourcing the rest? Or to scratch building a locost where youll build your own chsssis?

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Guest topcat2vin

I suppose I am considering a part built Mark 2 or 2B with most of the parts to finish needing IVA and comparing it to building a Haynes Roadster from scratch using a donor (say MX5) also needs to be built to IVA standard.

 

To make sure all is correct I would likely be looking at stripping the RH back down and a full rebuild.

I am capable of most things but would not like to gat 6-12 month work done and realise I would have no chance of IVA or at least not at reasonable money.

 

I am looking a cheap project (Sierra donor parts) spending less than £500 with most of the parts to complete.

 

What would you estimate would be a reasonable re-build cost?

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The Mark 2 ( I assume you meant Mark 2 S7) is a very different car to a 2b, and both have their own potential areas that need addressing for IVA.

 

Can you weld to a good standard? If not then scratch building a haynes roadster is a no go immediately unless you buy a chassis pre-built, but then the materials to build your own or building a built chassis will blow your budget.

 

That brings me to the budget, you do realise that the IVA test is £450, and a retest which you will most likely need at least one of as most people do, are £90, then you have the first registration and first years tax and insurance, so the getting it on the road bit quickly reaches nearly an extra £1000 on top of whatever you spend buying and building the car. As for what you will spend building the car, its impossible to say without a detailed inspection of what is included and what condition it is in and there will always be a lot more to spend that you dont expect when you buy the car. Certainly, even buying a cheap part built car with a lot of useable parts you will end up in the multiple thousands.

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Guest chris brown

The cheapest way would be to buy a car that has passed SVA/IVA and modify as you want it.

If you do go for a part built put aside about £1000 for IVA. You may have some change if you get a first time pass.

Build costs from scratch would be around £4 - 5k to get a finished car

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Comparison qualification : I have built two GTMs (well, one was a rebuild, but it was as good as a build!), one Robin Hood Exmo, one GBS Zero and two competition tin-tops (Peugeot 205s).

 

The Zero is not the easiest, I suspect, because other higher-end kits like Westfield or Caterham do a lot more work up front for you, and supply a lot more of the parts (many proprietary) so it's easier to attain a certain standard of build with less effort. The biggest mark down on the Zero is that you get *bleep* all by way of instructions, or at least you did in 2010 when my kit was supplied - this may well be different now, for which I apologise if that's the case.

 

Is it harder than a Locost kit, though? I seriously doubt it. As said above, the one thing you DO have is a thorough set of guidance on this here forum. There's a build thread of mine in the Members Only section, for what it's worth.

 

As far as kit cars go, the Zero is middle-of-the-road, I would say.

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A true LoCost build involves making your own chassis - that alone makes it MUCH more difficult than any other kit, even if you can weld and already own all the expensive kit you need for that.

 

After that, it's a basic car; engine, diff, gearbox, panels, wiring etc, etc, etc. Slightly different between makes but none are any harder or easier than any other.

 

What makes the difference is your ability and money. The more you have of each of those, the easier the build will be; with more money, you can buy ready-made wiring looms, new un-rusty parts etc. You don't need any experience but anything you do have will obviously help.

 

I don't know about your ability but if you're thinking of a budget of £500, I'm afraid you will struggle. I probably spent £500 on bolts and nuts alone during my build :wacko:

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Guest topcat2vin

Great tread guys. Thanks.

I would be hoping to buy for £500 - strip service and rebuild parts/kit. Hoping to rebuild for £1000 in new parts bolts etc. assuming grp and Engine / gearbox is OK. with IVA to follow.

 

I am guessing the Sierra heads may need the valves and seats changed.

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Unless you already know of one, you won't get a part-built with all the parts for £500 - at least £2000, I would guess. A quick search on eBay doesn't bring up any, although there are a couple of wrecks for £200 but with no engine, gearboxes etc.

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Great tread guys. Thanks.

I would be hoping to buy for £500 - strip service and rebuild parts/kit. Hoping to rebuild for £1000 in new parts bolts etc. assuming grp and Engine / gearbox is OK. with IVA to follow.

 

I am guessing the Sierra heads may need the valves and seats changed.

Finding a part built for £500 with useable parts will be the first challenge, after that youll easily spend that 6 or 7 times over in bits. Its amazing how quickly things add up.

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Guest lotusPaul

Especially in your location too..

Id agree your cost projection is perhaps unrealistic. Even if i gave you my S7 shell for free, you'd still spend a few k getting it all done.

Or putting it another way,

Are you willing to risk your life for a mere £1500.

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Now I've seen your costings... errrrm, no. You're not going to put something on the road for £1500, whether that's £500 on a part-built and £1k to finish, or just going out and buying a car for £1000 that just needs the IVA doing (budget for that alone, as Stu said, is near enough £500). And in terms of finding a ready-finished, buy-it-and-drive-it car for £1500... well, that might be possible but it wouldn't be anything special, and without meaning to sound like a snob I doubt I'd want to be in it :)

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Guest topcat2vin

I guess the £1000 I was allowing after kit was to cover miscellaneous bits and pieces and I can agree it is more hopeful than anything. I guess I was assuming most of the work would be labour. As it stands I like doing the work but am practical enough to want to build for a little less than I can buy. With my costs I would have been allowing £2500 built and iva'd. At £3500 I can one that is in reasonably good nick.

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