Soon to be new owner and newbie hello!

[Spiker]

Hi All!

So I may have done something a bit too spontaneous and bought (not to be collected for a couple of weeks) an unfinished robin hood 2B that appears to be complete, minus a brake master cylinder and a dash board by the looks of it. its never been on the road and to be honest it looks like its never been driven at all! it doesn't start but have to take it as it does work from the current owner but seems to have an electrical issue at present that ill bypass to check this when its with me. it has no paperwork at all so will end up on a Q plate I assume (could keep it for track but would like to road register it really)  I do intend to pretty much take it apart and put it back together again for my own piece of mind but I don't know how necessary that is.

 

would be great if any of you could point me in the right direction for advice ( or where to source a master cylinder!) how I go about identifying the engine and gearbox (was told its a 2.0 pinto with sierra running gear)  or any body's thoughts on the project good bad or indifferent I would appreciate it.

 

Many thanks in advance for all the questions I'm likely to ask!

[Foz]

Welcome to the club and congratulations, you now have a job for life!  Stick your location up and you may find nearby members willing to help for a chocolate digestive or two.

Post some pictures of things you want identifying and there'll be someone on here who knows what it is - most of the bits on it are likely to be sierra parts which you can get from most motor factors or eBay.

There's loads of build info. on here, including a couple of 2B build blogs, if you have a search around.

Ask whatever you want - as the saying goes, there are no stupid questions.

Steve

[Spiker]

Thanks Steve. I did think that might be the case! I did take an MX5 apart and start a Haynes roadster build years ago but a move of house forced me to abandon the project, but I know how much time it can take!  Updated the location,  would be enterally grateful to anyone that might come by and help. also I'm an engineer by trade (mainly Sheetmetal) so happy to compensate with tea, chocolate biscuits and any metal work that may be needed!

as soon as I have the car ill be sure to be posting pictures and asking questions, I do have a Haynes manual for a sierra so hopefully that will come in handy!

 

ill keep doing my research and praying to the 2b gods that i can start the car when i have it 

 

[nelmo]

On 11/20/2023 at 3:35 PM, Spiker said:

appears to be complete, minus a brake master cylinder and a dash board

That old chestnut...if no MC, are there brake lines? Is there wiring for the dashboard? Took me months to do the dashboard and wiring for it (although I was pretty slow) 

Pics are needed - good luck!

[Spiker]

13 hours ago, nelmo said:

That old chestnut...

my sentiments entirely! I certainly hope that it is all that's missing! the line are there and the servo, the car is pretty much built otherwise, wiring looks all to be there but sadly I'm going in a bit blind so I expect to have a few headaches with it!. ill post pictures as soon as I have the car. 

 

only other thing I'm curious about is the whole pedal box seems really high are modifications meant to be made to this? 

[Foz]

It's probably easier to make something to raise your feet than to lower the pedal box.  I have size 12 feet so I was OK with the pedal position in my 2B - I then had a carpeted board about 20mm thick that we dropped into the footwell when my daughter drove it.  I guess you could call it adjustable  ?????? 

[Spiker]

ill need to sit in it to check i guess, just looked like id hit my feet on the steering column, raise the floor or in some way Mr Bean it!

[Spiker]

 

 

So Its finally here! I have attached some pictures, if anyone recognises it, id be most intrigued about its past!

 

I'm sure I will have loads of questions moving forward, but there are a couple that stick our for now....

1) it doesn't start. admittedly I haven't tried, it does turn quite freely, I have no idea how long since its run, and the electrics aren't really an art form, so if there's any advice on how to go about this for the first time I would appreciate it

2) its missing a master cylinder, does anyone know the best source for one including the reservoir, all the ones I see seem to not have them

3) pedal box/steering column. the pedal box would make the car undrivable, can it be moved further in the footwell it seems is what's needed? also the brake pedal hits the steering column which wobbles about and I'm guessing it shouldn't do that!

4) the bonnet seems a lot longer than others I have seen in pictures, as they have a fixed scuttle that a screen is fixed to, not sure how I would go about this?

5) finally can anyone identify the types of 2B it is and what grainy set of videos I should be watching if anybody has those?

also if anyone local to me has one I can look at what its supposed to look like that would be most appreciated too!

Many thanks in advance! 

[Sparepart]

There is nothing special about your Ford Pinto engine, so just Google for advice on starting an engine for the first time after having been silent for a while, it's simple stuff like making sure the oil is clean and up to level, water in the cooling system, clean fuel in the tank and pipework to the carb etc..... take the plugs out and turn it over on the starter first see if oil pressure is enough to turn off the warning light.. check you even see a spark at the plugs, check that the timing belt is okay. As for the missing master cylinder, your Sierra servo doesn't look too good, rather than trying to get a Sierra master cylinder, you might consider ditching the servo and fitting a Ford KA master cylinder. Members have done this. Just use this sites search facility and search for "ford KA" (in quotes) and you will see the posts relating to this. As for identifying which 2B you have check out the page we have on identification at https://nw.rhocar.org/htm/identification.htm . The 2B build video is on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNA1Zs8jY_I

[philshelton]

On 11/22/2023 at 2:36 PM, Foz said:

It's probably easier to make something to raise your feet than to lower the pedal box.  I have size 12 feet so I was OK with the pedal position in my 2B - I then had a carpeted board about 20mm thick that we dropped into the footwell when my daughter drove it.  I guess you could call it adjustable  ?????? 

Have gone floor mounted clutch and brake with the upgrade to mx5 engine and box.

[Kerry]

Welcome to the club