Looking At Buying A 2B And Have Lots Of Questions.

[Guest Tomm]

Hello everyone. 

I joined here today after following some advice from Locust Builders and thought if you guys cant offer any assistance no one can! 

As you will have guessed from the title I'm looking at buying a 2B. I am an engineer by trade and have an interest in vehicles that are old, new, fast slow, anything really and the "7 Style" cars have always caught my eye. Years ago I bought the Ron Champion book, like I'm sure many of you members on here did at some point as well, but lack of time and space meant it never came to anything. Now I find myself looking for an already registered car in the lower end of the budget as an alternative to building my own. Who knows, maybe I will love the thing and decide to build my own at a later date. 

The lower end of the budget which I am looking at seems to mostly consist of Robin Hoods and Locosts. I work in a fabricating industry and the potential of someone having stuck together a Locost or Haynes in their shed makes me some what nervous. I have found a cheap 2B locally to me and am very tempted to go and have a look at it, however it doesn't hurt to go armed with some information and having done a bit of research. At this point id like to make it clear that I don't intend to do any track days in the car, nor do I want a rocket ship. I would simply like something which is quirky and different to drive, visually appealing and different from the norm and something which provides a different prospective on traveling around and is just simply... fun. 

Once again my knowledge on this subject is limited. From what I understand, the 2B was named that due to its tube like construction and that it was one of their later designs, I think. From what I've read the 2B is one of the wider 7 style cars available which is my main interest, as im not a small chap. I understand that every kit build is different and will have been completed to a different standard, two home built cars may compare completely differently to each other due to the build standards, this is something which I feel is easily assessed upon viewing and pretty easy to get a good gauge on. 

The main appeal of this specific 2B is that it is a correctly registered vehicle, the amount that are being driven around on the donor cars plate and V5 I found shocking until I started looking to buy, saying registered in 1991, its also in a drive away condition with MOT. I am hoping it could potentially be an ideal base for a project. If I had built my own car I would have done to with the intentions of retaining the donor cars age related plate, so I would have had to pull the MX5 engine out for something with more power anyway, this vehicle just saves me the hassle and costs of building and registering. 

 

So now here are an abundance of questions. 

Did the 2B come in a stainless steel version as well as mild steel? I don't want a stainless one for various reasons but does anyone know the stainless grade? 

I understand the front has a sliding pillar set up, is this a design flaw? If so has anyone upgraded this to the coilover option and if so how has it changed the vehicle? 

I am not too bothered by "Off the shelf" parts fitting and am happy to fabricate my own where necessary, but are any other kit parts compatible with the 2B? 

I understand the 2B is a heavy chassis, if you have one what have you found the weight to be? 

Having read on various forums the 2B seems to get a slating for various reasons, however most seem to be comparing them to Caterhams and Westfields. If you own one how have you found the driving experience? 

Is there any problem areas on the 2B which I should pay particular attention to? 

Are there any points of the 2b which are potentially terminal, in the respect that repairs and labour time outweigh the value of the car? 

Lastly, having read the insurance sticky, all 14 pages of it, I see that the last entry was in 2017. Can anyone recommend an insurer to cover a Q plated car? I wont touch Adrian flux with a barge pole so are there any other alternatives? 

 

I think that covers the majority of my questions for now. Any help or advice on the subject would be fantastic. 

Thanks. 

 

 

 

[DeanRudkin]

Where about a are you in the uk I’m in Leicester myself I’ve got a 2B stainless chassis they don’t always come with sliding pillar I’ve got wishbone setup on mine as to parts I had to make a lot of mine when I changed from pinto engine to zetec then zetec turbo I’ve never had a problem with my chassis or the car other than things I’ve done  

[fry61]

2B with stainless chassis & stainless bodywork,front wish-bones; no fantastic plastic on our car. 54,00 miles so far -- all over GB plus France, Spain & Italy ( Germany by mistake )

Our car is for cruising , no great power as have the stock 1800 CVH engine converted to run on injection from an XR3i  & used pretty much all we could from the Sierra donor including the heater & sun-visors.

Next to no problems in 8 years, sails through MOT every year & minimal maintenance.   No bother seen with the stainless chassis, believe its 304 grade but could be wrong.

Pictures from France this year.

[DAN@ADRIAN FLUX]

Hi and welcome.

I'm sorry that it sounds like you've had issues with ourselves. Do you mind if if I ask what issues you had?

Regards,

Dan.

[theduck]

A-plan and 2gether have always been the most competitive for me.