Sump Modification

[Guest daveg]

Thought I'd share my latest nightmare...

 

I have shortened my sump and all went well, then I tried to weld it

 

When I filled it with water I could see leaks so I marked where the leaks were and welded over the spot again...but the leaks are still there

 

It seems its very difficult to get leak-less welds...I am very in-experienced

 

Any tips?

 

Dave

[Big Jim]

Yes! get someone who can weld to do it. I wrote the article, but I don't weld them!

[Longboarder]

Much easier with gas or Tig. Mig welding the sump is not that easy but as you've already done it, clean up the welds with an angle grinder and that should show the holes. Then reweld or take it to your local welders.

 

Nigel

[Guest daveg]

Nigel

 

I used to gas weld a bit about...err 20 odd years ago...I thought this modern mig welding stuff was supposed to be easy!

 

I suppose it is easy, maybe the problem is me, too thick

 

I think I will get it water tight tomorrow...but 2 days to do 1 job

 

Dave

[Guest Battery Bill]

Hi Dave

As you know we shared the same nightmare!

My advice " Get a mate to do it and pay him a small fee"

Our's is totally leak free now.

Good luck

Bill and Joey

[Longboarder]

I prefer gas but Mig is convenient and quick to set up and I can't afford a decent Tig. Doing thinish sheet is not so easy. Don't bother with gasless Mig. Use an argon mix (not CO2)and 6mm wire. BOC have just introduced a cheaper contract for hiring Argoshield for use with a home Mig.

 

Nigel

[Guest Battery Bill]

Nigel

BOC now charge £30 rental per year and £30 to refill.

So if my mate remembers I have his bottle and asks for it back it wont cost me too much now.

Do you mean 0.6mm wire? I am currently using 0.8mm My mate says I can have a roll of 1mm wire if I want it, That might come in handy for something.

Bill and Joey

[Guest daveg]

Nigel

 

I hope you mean 0.6mm 6mm wire wow how heavy is your torch and hose?

 

I am using 0.8mm at the mo with CO2

 

I am unemployed so I have the time to muck about...

 

Dave

[Longboarder]

Where did the . go? Yes .6mm. .8 and 1.0mm are less controllable on thin sheet. Change and notice the difference and don't be mean with the shielding gas.

 

Nigel

[Guest mickmellors]

Mig tends to be pretty good, even for relative novices. A good friend of mine has a professional Mig set which is portable - (complete with shoulder strap like a big handbag) and he has welded thin sheet onto silencers and the like that are so rotten you would never believe it would weld.

 

2 things that MIG, or any welding for that matter, does not like is oil and galvanising. You may find that your porous welds are down to one or both of these contaminating your weld pool.

 

When I shortened my sump I first cleaned it thoroughly with engine degreaser and then took it to be grit blasted, took it back home and cleaned it again with cellulose thinner. Then I cut it and plated it shut again. Paint the outside with 2 coats each of undercoat and top coat and when that is fully dried spray the inside with WD40 or similar to stop it rusting in case you take a while getting oil back into the engine.

 

Dont forget you lose oil capacity, mine was exactly 1 litre which will be replaced within oil cooler and associated plumbing. It is simple to find out how much capacity you have lost - just fill the bit yuo cut off with water and pour it into a measuring jug when the good lady is not looking !

 

Best of luck

 

Mick M

 

Jim Stott has some sound advice on his pages - follow it and you will be fine

[Guest mickmellors]

Seek and ye shall find !!!

This is the info for collectors that I mentioned in the last message - if anyone can add to it from their own experiences please feel free - - -

 

I offer this posting in the hopes of helping those among you that are soon to collect your kits.

 

This will be old hat to everyone on the Community Site that has already collected their

kit but it is intended in good faith for the benefit of those of you eagerly looking forward to collecting your kits.

 

For those who are awaiting collection day I strongly urge you to spend half an hour or so to read and make mental note of all the following. For everyone else - read on only if you have nothing left to do on your car !

 

I dont claim this info to be a 100 percent accurate list but it is hopefully a fairly comprehensive guide to what you will be faced with on arrival at Robin Hood Engineering and will hopefully highlight to you that your choice of transport is rather critical to getting your kit and all the passengers you arrived with back home. You dont really want to have to leave the wife at the factory just so you can put the nosecone on the passenger seat - do you ? HMMMM !

 

Because space for all your kit bits is going to be at a premium, even with a big van, I would recommend that you only bring one strong assistant with you unless the extra helpers have separate transport.

 

Particularly note the length of side panels and the general size of

bonnet and behind the seats panels.

 

I am producing my own panels for my 2B from etched, patterned and coloured stainless steel normally used for fancy architectural features and I have produced a full set of drawings of each and every panel on AutoCAD and have taken the following sizes from the drawings as a guideline to hopefully help in your selection of transport if you should choose to (or have to) deviate from the recommended Luton type van.

 

Some cars are rated for 75kg Maximum evenly distributed load on an approved type roof rack but most are only rated for 50kg and cornering stability can become a problem if you have a heavy right foot round the twisty bits and at islands.

 

If you do have to put the chassis on a roof rack, make sure it is tied on well enough to restrain the chassis in the event of an emergency stop braking situation. The car in front of you will be more interested in looking at your chassis in the rear view mirror than looking what is in fromnt of him. If he reacts suddenly you may have to as well.

Check your straps and ropes are still tight very thoroughly after the first 2 or 3 miles and again every 10 miles or so - it only takes a few seconds and you dont need much imagination to think what could happen if the chassis slid off the roof rack at speed.

 

The floor panel is pre-fitted to the chassis - leave it where it is but make sure to check all the securing tabs are fully wrapped around chassis tubes - especially if it is going on roof rack.

 

Here is a list of the overall sizes of the panels you will have to accommodate in (or on ?!) your chosen means of transport.

 

rear 1 @ 1982 x 641

sides 2 @ 2210 x 467 preformed

bonnet 2 @ 1515 x 807 preformed - very difficult to accommodate safely

seat back 1 @ 1254 x 777

tunnel top 1 @ 1236 x 224

rear wing 2 @ 1500 x 302

nose infill 2 @ 462 x 405

stoneguard 2 @ 378 x 240

dash 1 @ 1218 x 359

 

others : 1 @ 412 x 343

1 @ 784 x 304

1 @ 818 x 304

1 @ 790 x 297

1 @ 420 x 238

2 @ 228 x 139

2 @ 280 x 170

2 @ 383 x 316

1 @ 338 x 225

1 @ 434 x 136

2 @ 518 x 100

2 @ 610 x 304

 

In addition to all the panels and the chassis, there is an absolute multitude of stuff in bags and boxes that has to go somewhere safe as well.

 

Fibreglass panels need careful looking after - Nosecone, wing edges and front wings (cycle wings are easy enough but a pair of full wings take up an amazing chunk of space in a van let alone a car) need to be looked after to avoid scratches - you can polish scratches out but it is much easier to avoid them.

 

The nose is an awkward shape to put down safely on anything other than a soft surface.

 

You get a box full of toys that is about 18 inch square by a bit more in height which contains things like indicators, lights, grille and all the little fiddly things,and, oh yes - almost forgot - those special front indicator mounts !

 

You get a bag of assorted fasteners which you can check off against the list if you

really want to, but it will take a good half hour to check and you will almost

certainly find some very minor discrepancy which will take a further 10 minutes

to sort out and then when you get into your build you will almost certainly throw most of the

lower quality fasteners away in favour of nice shiny stainless ones from the shows

next year (by the way, never tell the wife that a tiny pretty little polished head M10 bolt cost

you a quid - they simply dont have the comprehension that male Hoodies have ! ),

So I would personally recommend you to simply throw the whole bag into your car/van/trailer and use the half hour or more that this has saved to take additional care to make sure your panels are not going to scratch each other in transit.

 

You get a radiator that is getting on for 2 foot square, steering rack about 4 foot long,

exhaust about 5 feet long, springs etc etc etc.If you have shelled out for the

all singing all dancing extras pack you will also have to accommodate 2 very

large boxes containing the seats (2 boxes together are about the size of a

treasure chest ! ) then a set of 4 wheels and tyres would completely fill even the

largest saloon boot (and a good few estates).

 

Assuming that most people have the stainless panel option make a mental note that ALL EDGES ARE VICIOUSLY SHARP on one side from the cutting process and will easily gash fingers or upholstery with the slightest hint of slip or slide. You are given ONE pair of gloves with your kit, assuming you have an assistant or two make sure they take gloves with them and make sure you wear them.

 

The panels will also scratch each other if not 100 percent secure and are able to slide one over the other. You can polish slight scratches out of stainless but it is hard work and never quite matches the surrounding area - best to avoid by padding and securing well.

 

Empty out the airing cupboard of all towels, teatowels, sheets, blankets etc and take them all with you. You still wont have enough - I even ended up using my jumper to separate the cycle wings.

 

If you hear the slightest little rattle during your journey home - STOP and sort it straight away - the rattle is probably coming from your future pride and joy doing itself irreparable harm before you even start building.

 

When I collected my kit 2 1/2 years ago I borrowed a very large box trailer that the chassis sat fully into and the panels (mild steel - see above) were carefully packed in and secured. The fibre glass bits occupied the rear seat of the car and rear foot

wells and all the smaller steel panels went flat in the boot first of all with radiator and other boxes and bags on top to hold them steady.

 

We got home, approx 30 miles, without any problems.

 

The weather was particularly kind to us on the day which of course cannot be relied upon, especially in Winter/Spring, so it would be prudent to take a change of clothing and a towel just in case you get soaked - driving home soaked to the skin is not the way to begin your experience of building a Hood !

 

A large flask of coffee and a packet of biscuits or two is an absolute must and proves to be good bait for attracting help when it comes to moving the big bits!

 

At the very best you will be there for about 2 hours, and at the worst, most of the day, take some sandwiches - lots!

 

Get chatting with the people loading up next to you and exchange assistance lifting the heavy stuff and perhaps you will find they live in the next street.

 

I hope the collection day experience goes well for you and look forward to seeing your cars on the RHOCaR club stand at the big shows - particularly at Newark, Harrogate and Donington when I will have the caravan and awning set up on the RHOCaR Club Area for light hospitality and dont forget the Saturday evening BBQ for any and all who wish to stay overnight - bring beer, seat and meat !

 

Please make the effort to come and introduce yourselves, we get inundated with interested people wanting to know about our cars and it is always a pleasure to chew the fat with a fellow Hoodie or two.

 

Dont wait until you finish the car to join the Owners Club RHOCaR - Robin Hood Owners Club and Register- just £15 a year puts you in contact with all the help you need - as does this e:group - the Robin Hood Owners Club And Register website is at www.rhocar.org and details of how to join are on the site. We hold monthly meetings all over the country and you can find details of the Area Secretaries on the web site under the Contacts button at the left hand side.

 

All the best

 

Mick Mellors - Derby

RHOCaR Events and Promotions Secretary