2b Pick-up

[Guest cjbailey]

I finally picked up my kit yesterday !

After a long drive up there (500 mile round trip) starting on the 9o'clock ferry on friday, we got up there quite early in the morning. We were the second van up there and within a couple of minutes another van arrived (from aberdeen!!!!!).

 

Anyhow, I won't bore you with details of the collection, but I am not a happy chappy to say the least. The nose, cycle wings and rear wings have huge scratches in the gelcoat and the windscreen has a nice big scratch across it. I didn't see the one on the windscreen on the time but there is no way it could have happened in transit. We 'asked' about the gel-coat and were told that the scratches would t-cut out (b****cks will they...). (Ready for the hint of sarcasm?) I also love the way they bother to clean up all the panels after cutting, the way they use Anti-Spatter techniques on the chassis and the way they clean up the welds on the chassis. Also, why do they give you things such as the lugguage rack, hood bits and various mounts and brackets in mild steel? That seems a bit pointless to say the least!

 

So all in all I am not very happy with the Robin Hood Sports Cars.

[Guest TerryBarry]

Hi Chris,

What's this - only had it one day and you're moaning already.

If they de-burred all the panels etc. you wouldn't need the gloves they gave you.

If you've got the S/S chassis you may find that the front wishbone brackets ( the four bits joined together) are stainless, mine were - they just didn't look like it.

But I threw one of the off cuts from the upper bracket ( which you need to remove to have any chance of getting it to fit) into water and it didn't rust after a few days.

I won't spoil it for you by listing the other little gems to look out for in the screws pack, brake pipes etc. etc..

Cheers,

Terry

[Guest cjbailey]

To be honest I am just *bleep* off with the way the whole thing was packed on that damn trolley . I don't mind a bit of work to get things to look nice, but when that means spraying over gel-coat (which always looks really appauling and starts peeling after not very long) and getting a new windscreen glass made up (it is way too far to go and get another one) then I really do draw the line.

I was thinking tho, depending on how much it costs to get a new windscreen made up from that template, that one may get fitted (in the many years time it will be) and then accidentally get smashed on the way to the MOT!

 

Anyhow, it is not that I am moaning ... Just that I am dissapointed really. It looks like minimum care has been taken in the manufacturing process. Anyway... Now it is onto the fun bit!

 

Anyone want to take bets on the blood-loss over the next few weeks !?

[Guest Bazwaz]

Don't worry too much about the scratches in the gel coat. As long as they are not right through to the glassfibre they will polish out with some fine wet and dry and some cutting compound and polishing. It takes a bit of elbow grease if you haven't got an electric polisher but they will come out with a bit of effort. When i picked my kit up a few years ago it had some horrendus scratches but they all came out eventually.

Barry.

[Guest TerryBarry]

Ahhh the trolley - I'd forgotten about that

Most of my bits were on the trolley in approximately the same order as they need to go in the van. So everything off the trolley - onto floor - then into van - mind you it makes checking them off a bit easier - if you could recognise what they were.

You probably had reasonable weather to collect the kit - pity the poor b*ggers who pick up on a wet Saturday.

It's a year and a day since we collected mine - and it still has a fair way to go.

Cheers,

Terry

[Guest MikeD318]

We (me and my dad) picked up our kit on Saturday too. It was a very interesting experience to say the least, but I thought the picking up of the kit was relatively painless, checking everything off was a pain but the blokes who worked there were pretty helpful. I think the worst part was driving a 7.5 ton truck all the way from Kent and then having to maneuver it down the tiny alley way into the yard, I did all the driving, dad had a hang over (Parents, what can you do with them?). If your wondering why the silly sods took such an enormous truck with them? We had hired a normal Luton van but as we went to pick it up in the morning we were greeted with "Sorry mate it hasn't come back in yet, will this do?". Nice. £90 worth of Diesel later we have a kit, just need to build it now.

[Guest Battery Bill]

CJ

Bazwas is right about the scratches, I presume you have not had the pleasure of 8 hours of Richards home movies yet? On one bit that I managed to stay awake Richard dug a deep scratch on a nosecone and then proceeded to polish it out with t cut.

When we got our car we had the wrong shock's in the kit and I ended up paying £8 to return them for exchange ( wont do that again I would send RH the bill).

Oh yes the screw pack ! Just sort out the self tappers and leave the rest in the bag, Joey spent hours sorting all ours out and we have not used anything out of it bar the Self tappers.

Have fun

Bill and Joey

[Guest cjbailey]

I couldn't stop laughing when I started watching the video so I had to turn it off again!

 

I was thinking that I would probably rivet things like the bottom panel rather than screw it all in. This should be OK shouldn't it!? I was also thinking I may just buy all new stainless fixings rather than the odds and sods that seem to be in the pack! I know this will be another expense, but I think it will look better in the end. The electroplating looks a good idea as well, I will have to try and work out what isn't stainless (although this may take some time looking at the condition of some of it!).

 

Oh well, off to clean up my chassis!

[Guest Angel Boy]

Stick with it Chris as sctaches in the gelcoat will be the least of your worries once you start building

 

Andy

[Guest mickmellors]

If you think you have problems take a look at this link - it takes a while to load up so be patient and prepare to be stunned and amazed.

 

Note the finish on the house brickwork in the background of some pics !

 

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=848531

 

If it wont link - cut and paste it to the website address box

[Guest bloke]

cj

picked mine up on sat and am wonderin just what will greet me under that plastic coat on the ss panels? i guess the alchemy of this mystical experience/ process makes the journey interesting an 'calm down!!!'

[Guest paul thompson]

Hi,

I bought a whole load of stainless self tappers and threw them all in the bin, They are as soft as Sh?te I had to keep drilling them back out when the heads turned off. I got them from Wye Valley Supplies. I also got a load of stainless rivets, however many you think you need double it and add some more, nothing more frustrating than not being able to finish a job properly cause you are 3 rivets missing and have to wait till the new batch arrives in the post.

[Guest Mr Pid]

Chris,

 

Dont go for stainless bolts and tappers. As Paul said they are pretty poo and there was a thread on the board a week or so ago about the comparative strengths. I may end up looking a bit prettier but wont look quite as good when the floor falls through and you're sheepishly stuck in the middle of the road.

 

But anyway, good luck with the build- im sure you will hours of "amusment"

 

Stu

[Guest Ant]

I have used stainless rivets and bolts for all non-structural items. This simply means that my car will be rust free.

 

Stainless rivets are a must. Stainless button heads look very neat for things like the dash panel, cycle wings, and body panels. I've used them to hold the bonnet and scuttle to the structure underneath, and they're very smart. If I used mild steel here then in a matter of days I'd have rust all over the place.

 

I've also used stainless set screws to join the tunnel to the floor. No, they're not high tensile, but this isn't a high tensile application. There's a set screw every 50 or 60mm along, and the strengthener rails take the bulk of the weight anyhow. High tensile applications are things like seat belt mounts and suspension bolts. These are mostly covered by the fixing pack in the kit.

 

At the end of the day you pay your money and make your choice. Without a doubt I'd use stainless fixings again. What's the point in having stainless panels with rusty rivets holding them on?

 

Ant

[Guest TerryBarry]

Regarding the joint between the floor and tunnel sides, I've used A2 grade M6 stainless setscrews.

I no longer have access to the testing facility but I'm sure that if tested to destruction the 0.7mm stainless plate would fail before the bolt.

Terry