Buying A Kit/car - Advice/help Needed Please..

[Guest sjw75]

Firstly an apology, This is another “newbie” post…

Having been an avid fan of motorsport for a longtime (I’ve marshalled for many years) and been lucky enough to drive many different cars, rally stages and race tracks I’ve decided to take the plunge and buy myself a “toy” for road and track use.

I have a limited budget of up to £4000 and would ideally like to buy something already built. Having looked at the usual place we all go to waste money (eBay) it looks like I should be able to find a fairly decent older RobinHood car – most of the cars in my price range have sierra components and a pinto engine, which is good for parts.

What I need is some help, advise on what to look for, where to look, is my budget reasonable, anyone selling ? If there are any forum members near to me Reading/Basingstoke who would be willing to let me take a look at their car so I know what to check for or even come with me when I go to look that would be excellent. I will of course pay my way in beer )

I’m looking forwards to joining the community as an owner and getting out on some runs in the spring/summer.

Many Thanks

Simon.

[Bob Tucker]

Hi Simon,

Welcome..no need to apologise...everyone on here has been a newbie..

The NW owners site has some good info on identifying the various models that RH produced over the years

http://nw.rhocar.org/

There are pros & cons on all of them.

I have a 2B which had sliding pillar suspension....perfectly OK on the road but not the best for track use.

The wishbone version is better, but all 2Bs are heavy ( approx 750 kgs) but make a very good road car.

The ZERO seems to be the best for track use, but 4K won't get a completed one.

RH produced an ally monocoque called the lightweight for a short while.....some have been completed an IVA'd successfully, but there are issues with them.

Otherwise, they are just like any other car....do your homework, go along to a few local meetings, & apply lots of common sense before buying.

HTH Bob

[Guest mower man]

Early S7 's are also monocoque [stainless was an option] and as most rh cars are heavy ,some like mine have wish bone susp with inboard front dampers like a formula car not having been on track with mine but with 40k road miles I cant say how good or bad they are incomparison but can say that they will never be a caterham because of the weight ,great for touring and sunday morning trips the zero has great potential if you can stretch your budget . The best advise is to check out as many cars as possible find your local meets and talk to peopleand don't let your enthusiasm run riot mower man

[Shandylegs]

A budget of £4k should get you a really nicely built 2B. I also don't think you are a million miles away from being able to purchase a fully complete and registered Zero, especially if you are looking at this time of year.

 

There are bargains out there but as has been said just go in with your eyes open.

[fry61]

Welcome to the club, Simon. Hants & Dorset Hoods have monthly meets at different venues in ----Hants & Dorset. The next one is this Sunday but all places for dinner are filled; could just pop down for a shandy & say hello though.If there around noon you're welcome to look over our car,but as said it's no lightweight track waggon;built for touring with a big boot. Look at the Events section for details; regards Bob.

[Guest Gargoil]

Hi Simon.

On the track, you may loose a Caterham through the bends and on the straights (yes, I know there's not much else left) but at least if you drove it to the circuit, you will probably arrive in better comfort. Add to that, a club full of members only too willing to lend a hand and a car you can work on without paying silly money, there's only one choice. Ok, maybe 3 or 4 choices, but they are all Robin Hoods.

Look at the Exmo, plenty of space if there are two of you and who needs cycle wings anyway?

[Guest oshiney2]

have a look on pistonheads aswell mate and welcome you are joining a grt club

[richardm6994]

Hi Simon,

 

Firstly you have come to the right place for advice. This is is by far the best kit car club with members stretching the length and breadth of the country and everyone is more than willing to help "newbys" get on their feet.

 

My kit car is an exmo which I bought on a tight budget. The exmo had been registered by it's previous owner and then after he passed away, his son decided to completely strip the car...and quickly lost interest after that point and put it up for sale.

So I had the fun of building it, but not the hassle and expense of IVA etc....

 

Personally, I don't think I will ever build a kit car and put it through an IVA (I take my hat off to those that do go through this process).....I would always start with a completed car and rebuild it to my standards and taste...ps..I'm not talking about ringing cars (mk-dutton)....just rebuilding them as the same car but to my standards (take my exmo for instance!!!)

 

The best advice is that Robin hoods are fantastic fun so do not to listen to the kit-car snobs of this world....and secondly please be sure what you are buying is correctly registered and the details about the car are correct on the log book.

[fry61]

Look at the picture top left of Richards post, & then beware; lots of his builds are very heavy engineering.

[richardm6994]

lots of his builds are very heavy engineering.

but they dont need IVA!!!

[Guest RoborRoss]

At the risk of sounding like a kit car snob :-) (and I'm not, I like anything with 4 wheels) there are other options for a kit. This club welcomes all makes of kit car owners, not just RH or GBS as we are the 'UK Kit Car Club'. I've not been here that long (relatively to some of the other members) and I joined with a RH 3A. The help and advice I've received from members is outstanding and whatever you go for I'm sure you will receive the same level of support.

 

Pick something you like. If it's a RH or something else then you'll have plenty of fun and help here.

[richardm6994]

You're right rob! Well said

When I said kit car snob.....what I ment was the rh-haters of the world who think that all rh's are rubbish.

[Guest RoborRoss]

I know rich, there is a lot of snobbery out there, but not here.

[speedtripledan]

I Started with an rh ( 5yrs) then had a v8 Westfield and mev atomic in the same year then settled on an ssc stylus they were all great in there own way but equally a pain in the arse! Sorry challange. Kit cars are as good as the guy that built it. Look long and hard and don't buy the 1st one you see

[Guest RoborRoss]

Look long and hard and don't buy the 1st one you see

 

I did, but it brought me here. So it's not a total loss. :-)