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If it's never been registered chances are it's never been through SVA or IVA. You're going to have to put it through an IVA test and then you can apply for registration. Without any documentation you are going to find problems proving the age of parts which could mean you have to comply with current figures for things such as emissions. I would recommend spending some time seeing if you can get any documentation on it before you go any further.

The question is .............................................. now what are you going to do with it ?

Hi Craig, You should be able to take the plastic centre of the original column bush and use it in the new bearing - effectively converting the triangular shaft to round. Have a look at this - https://nw.rhocar.org/buildtips/steeringshaft.htm

Thanks Neil, The pictures seem to be a bit dark in this issue - not sure if it's me or the printers. I'll have a chat with Nick and see if we can get them better next time. Give me a few years and I might know what I'm doing Steve

Just a "bump up" reminder to everyone about this - if any of your membership details change please let Alan know directly, and he can then make sure the database is updated. Thanks, Steve

Hi Brian, I always used to put the blue into my Pinto - I don't think the red stuff was around when the Pinto was new. I used to put about 50/50 coolant & water. I would recommend you keep the battery regularly charged. My 2B was always in a garage but it was unheated and got pretty cold at times. I used to try and run mine up to normal temperature every 2 or 3 weeks and move it backwards and forwards a few yards - enough to stop the brakes sticking. I'd then do an oil change in Spring before I started using it again. Hope this helps, Steve

Hi Ian, The only person who can really answer your questions is the guy who built it, there is no "standard" way of fitting most things on these cars. I'll tell you what I can and hopefully it will help. Have a look if there's a member local to you who's willing to have a look at your car and maybe give you some better answers. A common size press stud used is 15mm and they are often pop riveted on - have a look on the "Car Builder Solutions" website where you'll find some pictures and info. on a variety of fasteners which may help you to identify yours. I think most of the earlier windscreens were toughened glass but a lot of folks replaced them with laminated glass. I don't know of any plastic windscreens but that doesn't mean they don't exist. The windscreen frame was often drilled and the press studs pop riveted on - easy when the glass isn't in it, not so easy once it's built up. Steve

Hi Jim, On my 2B I used to put the exhaust side one where yours is but the inlet side further back - that way the engine is reasonably balanced. However, if you're bringing the gearbox out with it, it'll still be tail heavy. Assuming you're leaving the gearbox in, one at the back and one at the front should give you a reasonable lift. Steve

Looking good chaps, definitely a good, useful addition to the site - thanks to everyone involved. Steve

Brilliant, that's had me laughing my head off - I've not heard that before bit I'll definitely remember it now Cheers Phil & Tim, you've brightened a wet afternoon

Congratulations, hopefully you'll get chance for a run out before winter sets in - just have to judge it in between storms ! I've got to ask, why "Britney" ? All the best, Steve

Welcome to you all, hopefully you'll all find something useful within the club. It's that time of year for getting all the jobs done on our cars ready for spring - ask if there's anything you're struggling with and we'll try and answer, you may even find there's someone nearby willing to help. Enjoy your kits, Steve

Looking at this picture it looks like a standard pedal box to me and, as far as I'm aware, I think you'd be able to interchange pedals. Your brake & clutch pedals do actually look further apart from one another than I think they should be as standard. It may be my eyesight & memory that's questionable though !!! Unfortunately I don't have a standard, unmodified one to measure for reference, but somebody might be able to help with some measurements.

I'm assuming it's a Sierra pedal box so the throttle pedal is separate and you should be able to remove the brake & clutch pedals as one lump. You can the remove the pedals from the box and reshape them. I modified mine by making V cuts in the side of the pedals, bending them to where I wanted them and then welding them back up. I would recommend you buy another pedal box to modify, just in case it goes horribly wrong ! Also, as Bob says, the welding needs to be good and the cuts may need bracing - you need to make sure the brake pedal is at least as strong as it was. The throttle pedal should be fairly easy to re-position. Easier options may be :- If you want the pedals higher is there room to move the whole pedal box up a bit ? The pedals pivot on a round bar in the pedal box with springs and spacers to keep them in position. You may be able to move the brake pedal a bit closer to the clutch by swapping spacers (as long as it doesn't get too far out of line with the master cylinder) and that would save you chopping the pedals. Hope this helps, Steve

Just had a quick look at that myself. It looks nice but I am a little suspicious about a few things. Just my opinion from what I can see in the advert. New head gasket at 5500 miles ? I know the Rover engine is prone to failure, but not normally at 5K. It also sounds like it has spent a fair bit of time on track days, is this why? The rear of the chassis which supported the spare wheel has been cut off since the build (you can see where the spare marked the rear panel) and it looks to me like the cut ends are just taped up. There are other things like the fitting of the rear lights and bonnet trim which don't look too professional so workmanship quality would need checking. Also, the "enhancements" aren't really anything that hasn't been done to many of the Robin Hoods on the road, and are significantly less than some, so I don't think they justify the price. Overall I think that this would need a real good looking at before considering it, and it would also need to be cheaper.

Do you need to replace the whole heater or is it just the control you want to change ? As Neil suggests, CBS do a range of heater bits and if the heater itself is OK, you could just replace the slider with a rotary control if the plan is to re-do the dash. https://www.carbuilder.com/uk/slimline-inline-rotary-heater-valve-controller Either way it's well worth a look round the CBS website - there's plenty of stuff there to give you ideas, and cost you money !

That looks like a Sierra cable to me. I also think that the broken bit (in the photo by the spring) is the home made nipple to go on the cut end of the shortened cable. You may be able to feed your cable back through and fit another nipple, as in the pdf from Sparepart, if it's not got damaged anywhere.

I don't think that there is a straightforward answer for this. It is probably a Sierra cable shortened by however much is necessary for wherever the handbrake is. Can you post a photo or 2 to help identify it ?

Hi Craig, welcome to the club. It looks like an S3 to me - have a look here - https://nw.rhocar.org/htm/identification.htm The clocks and stalks look like Sierra to me as well. Options for re-doing the dash are probably as numerous as the number of cars built. Have a search on here & you should find lots of picture and info. on instruments and dash. I would take your time, study a few designs and mock them up on your car to make sure you can see everything before you decide. There is little worse than making and fitting a nice new dash panel only to find that you can't see the petrol gauge when your hand's on the steering wheel. (Don't ask how I know). That engine looks like a Ford "pinto" to me, quite possibly from a Sierra. Have a look on the side of the block, there should be numbers cast in the side which give the engine size. Earlier blocks had 2 digits, later ones 3. 16 or 16x is a 1600, 18 or 18x is an 1800 and 20 or 20x is a 2 litre. The "x" digit is an indication of the construction of the block. I would say the power figures you've got are about right for a tuned 2 litre. Hope this helps, Steve

Here's the page on the NW site https://nw.rhocar.org/buildtips//38dgas.htm but the DGAS and DGAV carbs are different animals. The DGAV is usually quite a good carb on the pinto and setting it to stock jetting should get it running reasonably, all depends on how it been "butchered" of course.

Can I interest you in some bolognaise sauce to go with your spaghetti ? Good luck mate, take your time and take lots of pictures so you know what went where.

I don't know if this will help or confuse but here's a photo of the dash I made for the Cobra.

The "Barrelback" is a bit of a rarity and there doesn't seem to be much info. around for it. I have found a post stating that the donor for them was either Mk4 or 5 Cortina but how much was Cortina & how much was RH is a good question.

Good question ! I think most later S7s had Ford pinto engines & type 9 gearboxes but I don't know that much about the S7 so I'm not sure how different the later models were. Maybe there's some else on here who can remember and offer some advise.

You should be able to make it fit but it certainly won't be a straight swap. I don't know of anyone who has tried to put an MX5 engine in an S7 but somebody may well have done.