Nigel Rogers

Now sold.

I have to sell my 2B4, it has sat doing nothing for way too long wanting nothing more than a defect with the high beam lights fixing to get it to a point where I would take it for an MOT. I’m just at the point where I cannot create the time to fix it, and it’ll sit in the garage for another year waiting for me to get round to it if I do nothing. The car is a Robin Hood 2B4 with Cobra hoops, it passed the IVA test and is on an age related plate. It is pretty basic, as per Robin Hoods original idea, but has the following: 2 litre Pinto, with brand new starter, DGV carb and camshaft. New battery. Sierra pepperpot alloys with new tyres. GBS 6 gallon tank. EARS bucket seats with TRS harnesses. There are many “jobs” I also never got round to, e.g. new alternator bracket, alloy radiator, make the drivers seat adjustable (It’ll be tight if you’re over 5’9”) etc. I have £2,500 in mind for it, if your interested in more Info, please drop me a line. Cheers Nigel

Hi All, I got my car through the IVA test a number of years ago, subsequently had a load of engine problems, which after a new carb, cam and starter motor and discovering a leaking inlet valve got it running properly. More months pass by and I finally ring my local garage to see if I can book an MOT, only to find out they don’t do MOT’s for Kit Cars. They suggested somewhere but I don’t really fancy driving the car over the hills to get there. Does anyone know of an MOT station in the Macclesfield area that is experienced with kit cars? Many Thanks Nigel

Mine is installed near the fuel tank.

Hi All, Trying to get my car ready for an MOT and it’s developed an issue with the headlights, probably because its been stood for years. All the lights work as they should when operating them with the ignition at position 2. When the car is running, all the lights work as they should apart from the headlights stay on when they’re switched off. If I flick the high beam on an off, the headlights switch off. I’ve attached my car’s wiring diagram, does anyone have a diagram/picture showing which relay is which in a standard sierra fuse box? I suspect a dim/dip relay and want to start with 42 on the diagram.. Many Thanks Nigel

Hi, I went for the Flutra pump, as a replacement for my leaking one but haven’t fit a regulator as yet. I still haven’t worked how fuel regulators actually work when they don’t seem to have a return line, so interesting to see the comments about feed and return lines. My engine seems to be running well without a regulator, but I do have a new carb and haven’t actually driven it as yet as it needs an MOT.

Hello all, after a long running saga with actually getting my car to run smoothly, which was a combination of issues including a worn out carb and a leaking inlet valve on No 3, my fuel pump decided to let go, leak all over the garage floor, stink the house out and get me in more trouble . Looking at new pumps and I have come across this Flutra one from McGill Motorsport http://www.mcgillmotorsport.com/flutra-competition-fuel-pump-2-4-4-psi-50-litres-hour-282/. Has anyone used one? Would you fit a pressure regulator with a pump of this pressure rating for a DGV carb on a pinto? Would you use a higher rated pump with a pressure regulator to ensure 3psi? Any recommendations gladly received. Many Thanks Nige

Thanks all, I'll try fresh fuel and I hadn't thought about the float valve. I'll also double check the timing and keep trying. Now off to negotiate car time with management

Hi All, I am struggling to start my car after replacing the head gasket. It's sort of spluttering but not much more, I've cleaned and gapped plugs, checked connections and made sure fuel is getting to the carb. One thing I am wondering is whether the fuel is stale, it's been in the tank a couple of years and is what I'd describe as a golden rather than straw colour. Does fuel go off that much the engine won't even run? It's a 2.0L pinto with DGV carb. Many Thanks Nigel

Is the GBS Zero easier to build than the old Robin Hood models, so there are just not as many questions? Are they just not shifting as many units a year as Robin Hood did so there are less builders? Is there just less money in people's pockets and can they even afford to buy houses with garages to even consider a build? (There's a lock up available to rent near me if anyone needs one!). Do the younger generation possess the skills needed to do DIY, never mind build a car? I could go on and on but I must admit, there's so much great info on the site that I search and find answers to questions I have a lot of the time rather than starting new posts. Only food for thought. Cheers Nige

10 months and 5 days after we moved house and my 2b is finally out of a lockup and in the garage. It's a very tight fit but it's in. Just need to: Change the head gasket, Fit a new camshaft, Sort out the front wheel arches. Get a decent alternator bracket fabricated - Any suggestions? Get more new headlights, the silvers come off the ones I bought to pass the IVA, Get rid of the alligator bonnet - Do you just use a jigsaw to cut it into 2? Take it for its first MOT Feeling motivated.......once I've fitted a new cloakroom suite....there's always something! By the way, was it anyone on here with a white 2B at Lyme Green in Macclesfield earlier? Cheers Nige

I offered my dash in position and determined where it would be best to fit brackets so that they would secure the dash but not interfere with wiring and instruments etc. whilst being positioned so that I could access the brackets where I drilled screw holes for fixing with self tappers to the chassis rail and tunnel top. I then made the brackets up and bolted them to the wooden dash backboard before I covered the dash in foam and then finished with vynil. Once all finished I just screwed the dash through the pre drilled holes in the brackets and chassis, I have 7 brackets, 3 are screwed to the chassis and 4 at the top are a sort of lazy S shape that hold the dash to the chassis rail. Cheers Nige

I have 4 x 14" inch steel wheels from my donor car available to anyone who wants them and can collect them from Macclesfield area before the 31st October after which I will be putting them on th tip. 3 of the tyres (185 65 14) are OK, 2 x 4.5mm & 1 x 6.0mm, the other one is legal! PM me if you want them. Cheers Nige

Just seen this idea for a brake spreader and thought I'd share it

Hi, A Zeus book is really handy, they are available from Amazon and eBay. You can also print this out http://www.green-oval.com/data/zeus.pdf

Congratulations!

Thanks for the replies I had exactly the same thoughts about what effects this valve would have, it doesn't seem to have caused more wear on the cam lobe and when I think about it I remember a couple of times when there were "pops" from the carburetor that led me to check the timing. I haven't actually used the car that much, I've run the engine during the build, whilst playing with the cooling, at the IVA and a few spins round the block, so it's never been driven hard. Whilst it's an ancient engine, it looked to be in good enough condition not to start having it re-bored etc. for a car that never is going to do high miles. All I can think about the inlet valve adjustment, is that I just missed adjusting the valve completely when I refitted the valves after the unleaded seats were done, all the others were perfect. I'll put it back together get the gunson out to check the mixture, run it with the cap off and see where I go from there. Cheers Nige

Hi All, Well I found the reason why No 2 cylinder compression was low, the inlet valve was wrongly adjusted so never actually closed. I also took the top hose off and the water level was actually in the neck of the thermostat housing level with the water in the rad. I have a small hole drilled in the thermostat so water did have somewhere to go. My question is: would a wrongly adjusted inlet valve cause the engine too run hot? (it was way out) It's worth noting that I've never actually managed to stop the engine from running on the rich side and it's always been a bit "sooty" when cold, I have blamed this on a worn carburetor as it was the same after I serviced the carburetor. I'm just trying to eliminate everything before this gets expensive! Many Thanks Nige

Thanks for all your replies, I will do some more troubleshooting tomorrow based on your tips. Steve & Peter, thanks for your offers, I'll be in touch. Cheers Nige

Hello All, My cooling system has been a tale of woe since I first fired the engine (2 litre pinto) up during my build. I fitted a new head gasket as I had unleaded valve seats fitted, so when my bottom hose split during my IVA test, I never even considered the head gasket as the problem. Having replaced the radiator with a Polo unit, got rid of the header tank for an inline filler neck and overflow bottle and fitting silicone hoses, the thing still overheated and leaked every time I drove the car. Amongst all the jobs I have done over the winter, I replaced the jubilee clips with proper hose clamps, topped up the fluid and thought nothing more about it until last week when I checked everything over before putting it back on the road. The water level had dropped, so I checked the compression, the results are 1: 110, 2: 78, 3: 111, 4: 118. I tried some oil down the cylinder and the figures stayed the same. Do those figures look like a knackered head gasket.? I thought 2 cylinders were down when a head gasket failed? Cheers Nige

Hi Dave, Some of Colin's pictures show what he did. It's really worth a read http://www.colinusher.info/Robin%20Hood/handbrake.html Cheers Nige

Hi, I have 2 inch angle iron bolted back to back across the car, the inner seat belt mounts are fixed to this and then this is triangulated to another floor cross member I fitted further forward. Some people have used box section. I think the Colin Usher build pages have pictures of his solution. Cheers Nige

Hi, you can use scotchbrite, this will get out some quite deep scratches. If they are really deep, you can use quite course emery paper and then just use finer and finer grade unti you end up back with scotchbrite. Be careful though when you blend scratches in aluminium, it is very easy to get a depression in the metal as it's so soft, so make your blends wide to hide them. You should be OK with surface corrosion though.

Hi Paul, as Steve has said, I am just up the road in Tythy. My car is a 2B/4 and spends more time in bits in the garage than it does on the road, I'm often in Poynton I'll keep an eye out and say hello. Cheers Nige