eddieH

Hi, Could anyone please tell me what this panel is for. It's stainless steel and part of the 2B/4 kit. It doesn't look like it would fit anywhere obvious without major modifications but it seems too precisely cut to be a scrap offcut piece. I can't find any mention of it in the videos either. Thanks very much, Eddie

Hi Joni, Your project must have been pretty good fun - did you get some interesting results? I think mine's going to be quite a lot of CAD work to optimise the design and then some wind tunnel testing afterwards. A model car was built out of wood last year and tested in the tunnel - I would imagine that this can be used again with some modifications. With any luck I'll get some decent results and can then build some full size components! All the best, Edward

Hi, For my third year Aerospace Engineering project, I applied for and successfully got one entitled ' Experimental and computational investigation into the techniques of establishing front downforce on a seven-chassis race car'. Needless to say I'm rather pleased about this!! Apparantly the project has been running for a couple of years and some designs have been thought of but they now need some testing. A normal F1 style front wing doesn't work on a 7 style car because the nosecone messes up the airflow and stalls the wing. As I understand it, the best idea is to have guide vanes under the nose like on the new Caterham CSR. I don't start work on it until the autumn - plenty of time to get the Hood on the road before then. With any luck I can then do some proper testing on the track! I'll keep you up to date with how it goes. Cheers, Edward

And another photo

Hi, a quick update on the Tiger sump. The total cost was £111.60 plus about £8 postage to get it there. Not as cheap as doing it the NW Hoodies way but the end result seems to be as good. It took them less than a week to do it and get it back to us. I tried contacting RT Motorsport first but their contact page didn't seem to work properly and I never got a reply. Hopefully a picture of the finished article from Tiger should be below. Just needs a bit of POR15 paint and then it should be looking pretty good. Regards, Eddie

Hi there, unfortunately I have found it is still quite expensive to get insurance on a kitcar as a young driver. I got a quote for about £1000 (with myself as the only driver, limited mileage, reasonable excess, 1.6 litre engine) on the Hood when its finished. This compares with just less than £250 on the Morris Minor (fully comp, for any driver, unlimited mileage, 1.1 litre). Eddie

Hi, I emailed round various places the other day asking how much they charged for a shortened sump - up to £200 from one engine company!! I was beginning to think it would be cheaper to just buy a welder and learn how to do it myself. However, the Tiger price seems ok - they said to phone their parts department so I'll do that tomorrow. I'll let you know how I get on. Cheers, Ed

Hi, are your front wing supports the bits that attach to the stub axle with the bend off tabs? If so, I would be very interested. Thanks, Eddie

Hi there, the holes are 290 mm side-to-side and the front holes are 330 mm away from the rear ones. The front edge of the seat is 130 mm ahead of the front pair of holes. Measurements between the centres of the holes. We hope to modify the Sierra seat runners to fit. Hope that helps. Eddie

My brother and I got a nice pair of Cobra Monaco seats - now we just need to build the car to put them in!!

I got one of these this morning as well - fantastic!! It's a bit bigger than the original sierra clock but I'm sure it'll fit somewhere... Eddie

Thanks guys - it looks like stainless is the way to go. I'll order some so I can start building once the holiday starts. I'm going to get some cobalt drill bits as well - what sizes did people use for 4.8mm rivets? Is there any real difference between using a 4.8 or a 5.0? Will the rivets hold with a bigger hole? Cheers, Edward

Hi folks, I plan to start building soon and was going to order some rivets but I'm confused about all the different types. I notice that most hoodies use fully stainless steel rivets instead of aluminium ones. Is this to do with galvanic corrosion with an Al rivet in contact with ss panels or just because they look better? If it's just for cosmetic purposes, is it possible to save money by using Al rivets where they can't be seen e.g floor panel, under the cockpit carpet? Is it better to use domed- or flat-headed ones and is a sealed rivet better than a normal one? Do you drill the holes exactly the same size as the rivet or use say a 5.0mm hole for a 4.8mm rivet? Many thanks for your help, Edward

Hi, we're collecting our 2B/4 on october the 2nd - are any other newbies getting theirs the same day? Hope to meet you there. Hopefully the weather will be ok for it. Regards, Eddie

I've sent some adverts to all of the garages near where I live and they said they'd give me a ring if anything came in. The local Ford dealer wasn't very helpful but I found that all of their old trade-ins go to an auction in Nottingham so I'll try to get there. V8K - thanks very much for your kind offer. My email stopped working last night so I can't get your phone number but I'll give you a ring as soon as its back on. I can't make it this weekend unfortunately but I'd love to see your hoodie sometime. As I say I'll call you as soon as hotmail sorts itself out. Thanks again. Eddie

Congratulations on your SVA Iain!!!! I've put some ads up in the supermarkets today so hopefully I'll get some calls soon! It would be great to get a 2l engine but I'll settle for a smaller one for starters (changing to a 2l can then be another little project to look forwards to ).

Hi Ant, not quite yet although I've arranged to look at a nice little 1.6 with fsh on monday. It's proving harder than I thought to find a good un with a pinto in the notts area.

Hi, I went to Newark on the Sunday and despite the rain had great fun. Many thanks to those who let me look at their cars (I was the one taking photos of just about everything!!). I sat in the display 2B in the hangar and luckily I fitted in! I was well impressed with the car so I've ordered a 2B/4 with SS chassis and panels, alloys and tyres, SS manifold etc etc... I'm collecting on October 2nd - can't wait!! I'll join Rhocar as a full member closer to the date. Thanks again for the advice. I look forwards to seeing some of you at another show soon. EddieH

Wow!!! Thanks for all your replies - they're all really helpful. I'd not thought about getting a half-built one - that's something I'll definitely look into. The stainless chassis sounds a good idea too. Do wishbones give much better handling than the standard sliding pillars as well as looking better? I look forwards to seeing some of you at Newark. Thanks again for your help. Ed

Hi there. I'm considering buying a RH 2B kit in the next year or so and was wondering whether people had found it to be a good experience. I'm an engineering student and so wasn't planning on buying much more than the basic kit to keep costs down (I might stretch to the stainless panels cos they look awesome!). I plan on getting the sierra donor this summer and stripping it down before buying the 2B - is this wise or should I buy the kit first? Any advice would be much appreciated - I've looked at the forum in the last week or so and it seems that the support and backup provided by others is really great. I hope to be at the Newark car show on the sunday - will there be any rhocar members there who I'd be able to chat to? Thanks for your help. Ed