Newbie Advice

[Guest Mik]

Hey Guys,

 

I was wondering if you could give me some honest advice :-)

 

I don't have the time or space to build a car from scratch at the moment but I still really like the idea of the RH so I am looking to buy a pre-loved one. I am trying to convince my girlfriend that the concept is actually semi practical. I am looking to use it for weekend drives all year round and possibly one or two long trips to France. At the moment I am playing the cheap insurance card which seems to be working.

 

I did have a few questions that I wasn't sure of...

 

1. Can you really use the RH in the winter and the wet?

2. Are they reliable enough to use as an only car (Weekends only)?

3. Any tricky ways to get slightly more luggage space?

4. Has anyone ever gotten a removable hardtop on a RH?

5. Any tips for picking a decent RH? I am looking some 2b's atm and my budget has to be under £5k

 

So am I asking too much from a RH? Should I look elsewhere?

 

Thanks,

Mik

[Guest salty_monk]

Welcome....

 

1. Yes, they can be "reasonably" watertight" & you have to take it a bit easier in the wet. Because they are a bit heavier than other sevens they seem to be better in the wet than most.

2. Yes. Plenty do.

3. Bigger boots can be built around coilover shocks. If you have a softtop for it you can also stuff soft bags in the back & behind the seat. SOme make a bag that hangs from the roll bar, some make a rack that fits on the bootlid, some make a luggage rack that hangs off the spare wheel.

4. Joel has a really nice one but he made it himself.

5. Buy Stu205's car. It's a really nice one, reliable & with a 2.1 bottom end already plenty of potential for further tuning (head & carbs).

 

If you want an essence of practicality in a seven I believe the 2b is one of the best on the market due to it's size compared to a caterham or Westfield etc. The only other one I can think of is Quantum, they have a huge boot but look quirky & good luck getting one for under £5k.

 

Dan

[Guest Mik]

Thanks Dan that is exactly what I wanted to hear

 

I'll drop Stu a line, I was looking at what he had for sale earlier and it looks pretty nice. The other one I am currently looking at is http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/99623.htm

 

I am not too fussed with the extra power atm and it sounds like the wishbones are the way to go.

 

About how much is a full set of wet weather gear?

 

Cheers,

Mik

[Guest motivforz]

i will shortly be building a 2b, and then going to university to study automotive engineering, so my build *should* be completed by then

 

many are somewhat sceptical of my abilities to do this (in the nicest constructive criticism way) but i will have help from an experienced kit builder etc and all tools available, and i have done a lot of fabricating work before for the shell economy marathon and loads of other projects ( i dont know how to add a link but feel free to search it up, out of interest i got 294.4mpg last year, a 2b could do that, down a slope, with a tailwind, ands someone pushing etc etc)

 

anyway, back to the point, i will have to be selling my 2b later in the summer (september/october time), and i know that would be missing out on the summer, but it would be cheaper (be looking for around 3500 probably.. dont really know yet~), which would leave you the extra saved to cover insurance for a year, tax, and modifications like a softop (300 from RH i belive), and extra luggage racks

 

just out of interest really, a bit of a longshot but hey

 

chris/motivforz

[Grim]

Weathergear is arund the £350 mark.

 

I might add i use my car every day all year round!

[Guest chris brown]

I might add i use my car every day all year round!

Me too I do have a tin top as well but it has to be bad for me to use it BTW I have sidescreens but sold the hood and now just use a surrey which I personally would recommend over the full hood any day.

[Guest Mik]

Hey Guys,

 

Ok I am pretty much sold on the idea of a RH and have gotten a begrudging ok from my girlfriend. I was a little concerned about fitting in the thing as it was a little tight for my legs (I am 6 3). The length was ok but my legs where hitting the steering wheel alot which could be quite dangerous... Is there an easy way to raise the steering wheel a few inches? OR even extend it a bit?

 

Oh and one last thing My girlfriend wants to learn how to drive a manual. Now I know the RH might not be the best learning vechile... but I was suprised how light the steering was and apart from being cramped it seemed very easy to drive. With kit car insurance will she need her full license (Currently learners) or can she learn in a kit car? Also tell me if I am being really selfish and buying a RH instead of a Clio... (Please god no)

 

She use to drive back home in Australia but got caught speeding on her P's and was demoted to Learners again (5 years ago)

 

Thanks again,

Mik

[Guest Mik]

Oh and is the 2B+ any bigger than the 2b? Leg room wise? Is it just dependant on who built it?

 

Cheers,

Mik

[DAVE CASTLE]

No a 2b plus just means it has got wishbone front suspension and not sliding pillar.

Dave

[Guest motivforz]

Most kit car insurance companies (you can't really get insurance with anyone else, and price isnt worth bearing thinking about) need to have a full license, but if you were the named driver they might b able to bend the rules a bit, kind of thing u need to phone around and ask about really,

 

try:

 

Footman James

Adrian Flux

 

and beyond that i really dont kno much else, because they all said no to me because im 18

[Guest timswait]

I am looking to use it for weekend drives all year round and possibly one or two long trips to France.

This is what a 2B is perfect for. Yes, it's more practical than most other sevens, and it's very feasible to use it all year round. I do and (touching wood) mine's been very reliable. I have a heater and it's fairly snug and fairly watertight (with a bit of duck tape along the top of the screen ) It's my only car, although I don't clock up very high milages (5000ish a year) as I don't drive into work.

 

Ok I am pretty much sold on the idea of a RH and have gotten a begrudging ok from my girlfriend. I was a little concerned about fitting in the thing as it was a little tight for my legs (I am 6 3). The length was ok but my legs where hitting the steering wheel alot which could be quite dangerous... Is there an easy way to raise the steering wheel a few inches? OR even extend it a bit?

Pretty much anything about a Hood can be chopped about or modded some way. Moving the steering wheel position is certainly possible and should in theory be quite easy, you just have to mod the column mount or fabricate a new one. However there are a couple of things to be aware of. If the bonnet is an aligator one (factory standard, so most likely is) you can't move the wheel too high or it will catch on the bonnet when you open it. Also if you move the steering wheel up you'll move the lower steering shaft down, which may create clearance problems in the engine bay, everything's tight in there.

In principle though, yes you can move it. What wheel did the car you tried have on? The factory standard one is pretty small and I wouldn't go any smaller than that, but the one you tried may have had a bigger one, in which case you could gain more room by fitting a smaller one. You may also be able to move the pedals forwards so your knees are lower.

[Guest salty_monk]

http://joeybrown.co.uk - Bill is at least as tall as you.....

 

How tall is your missus? You might need to make both the seat & pedals adjust if she is a real shorty....

 

Dan

[Guest Mik]

Yeah she is a short arse ;-)

 

I am thinking a booster seat and a really long rails to adjust the seat

 

The Hood I drove had a pretty small wheel i could just about fit but it was a little uncomfortable... I don't think it would take much to adjust it to make it work!!

[Guest salty_monk]

You can definitely move the wheel & the pedals, you might have problems getting it close enough for your missus though, for starters you'll need really thin seats (as the gearbox tunnel gets in the way) & there is also a chassis crossmember that stops the seat from going further forward too.

 

As I said, you may have to make both the seat & the pedal box adjustable but it's all possible....

 

Dan

[Guest Mik]

Moving the pedals scares me slightly but maybe I can cut back on the beer so my butt will fit in some thinner seats.

 

Also I just got a quote with Adrian Flux to cover me and my girlfriend for £394 with 5000 miles which I think is ok because it will be our only car and we live in zone 2 London.

 

Roadsure wounldn't insure my g/f as she will only have just gotten her full UK license. However for just me they quoted £450