Stoneleigh 2009

Last weekend we were at the Stoneleigh kit car show. As always the show takes place on the Sunday & Monday over the first bank holiday in May, with Myself, Becky and Tasha traveling up to the show on the Saturday.

This year we have splashed out on a bigger tent. Its an 8 person tent which give us a load more room instead of being crammed in to our three person tent plus it easier to put up than it looks, so a winner all round.

The S7 parked up with one of her sisters, another Cortina S7.

The S7 parked on the RHOCaR club stand on the Sunday.

A great turn out of club cars with over a 120 Hoods, plus the weather was spot on, what more could you ask for.

the RHOCaR camp site on the Sunday evening

As with all kit car show that you camp over at its all very social in the evening.

A few drinks with friends after a nice BBQ supper.

The Monday is not so busy which in a way is nice as it gives you time to pack up and have a good look around the exhibition halls before heading for home.

That Was Then and This is Now

My how time flies the photo above is of my Nephew James age ed about 18 months old. the S7 is way to big for the little chap.
Move time on a few years in the photo below, and its now the other way round James is now 17 and the S7 is now way to small for the big guy.
Is it really that long ago when I built the S7 !!!!!!!! Only seams like yesterday

Tonneau covers

Finally got around to refitting the tonneau cover back to the S7.

Should keep any rain water out when the surrey top is up and saves on putting the full weather hood on in a showers.

Easter

Good Friday


The Surrey Street Rodders had there annual Wheels Day on Good Friday, I was going away for the weekend but still found the time to sneak off for a few hours and go along.
The weather was not very good (rain) but they still got a big turn out of car.

Easter Monday

Went along to the Detling kit car show in Kent, and found some clear flasher lamp lenses to replace the old orange one.

They have transformed the front end look of the car.

Yes they still flash orange

The club I belong to has come up with some new club decals.

Just the right size to fit under the rear number plate and cover up its mounting point.

Ready for the road in 2009

The clocks have gone forward (do hope you remembered to reset yours) and it's time to get the S7 ready for the summer. Mini service to start thing off, change the oil and filter.
So it's the front up in the air and on the ramps first off.

The old oil drained out, a bit black!!!!!!!! Thanks for the use of the washing up bowl mum! Looks like I will have to get you a new one!!

The right lubricants for the job in hand.

Duckhams 20W50 for the engine, EP-80 for the gearbox and EP-90 for the rear axle.

Now its time to put the rear end up on the ramps to check the oil level in the diff.

The diff oil level is checked by the plug in the side. The oil level should be up to the bottom edge of the hole. So it just a case of top up as necessary and refit the plug.

Well all sorted and all levels topped up ready for the road can not wait :-)

All I need now is road tax and some sunny day's! well we live in hope!!

Snow

My first post of 2009 on this blog, the S7 has now been off the road for a few months, I have only done a few job on her so far in this time.

Well this week we have had a load of snow, the most we have seen in some years. Over a foot around our way. As today was not a bad day with a bit of sun I through it about time I woke the S7 from her winter hibernation.

Started up first time and runs like a dream, Shame the drive is still cover in snow and ice as I had a bit of a fun time getting her up the slope back into the garage!

Top Radiator hose

When I had the bonnet off the Hood the other day I noticed that the top radiator hose had moved and was now rubbing on the cam cover and if left it would rub through and lose the engine coolant with the movement of the engine .

To fix this problem I have made up a bracket out of steel to hold the hose from the cam cover.

Painted in etch primer and a black top coat.

The bracket in place, mounted off the front inlet manifold and the hose now clear of the cam cover.

Off the road for some TLC

Hi all. Sorry that I have not updated my blog in some time, its all been a bit on the busy side over the last few months what with work and family life.
I have done a few shows and meetings since the last update and will do a year in pictures towards the end of the year.

I have now taken the S7 off the road to do a few jobs as the road tax has now run out,
will post on them as and when I sort them.

TVH Homecall to Terry

Yesterday was the second TVH Homecall to Terry, who has been building a Robin hood 2B Since 2002
A big thank you to Terry and his family for their hospitality
and feeding us all with the BBQ and loads of tea.

Terry's drive way full of hoods.



Terry's on going project- Robin Hood 2B
This car is one of the best builds I have seen in along time.

The TVH gang get things set up to start Terry's Hood for the first time.

BBQ time.

The result at the end of the day.

Thames Valley Area May Meeting

A good turn out at the Thames Valley Area monthly meeting at the Dewdrop inn

TVH Homecall

This weekend the TVH crew had a homecall to Alan & Tim.
Alan had rescued a Dutch fellow (Martyn) who had bought a Robin Hood in Holland around Xmas and had ventured onto the RHOCaR site, due to his limited writing skills in English he got a rather negative response from the forum.
After a few emails with Alan, Martyn had arranged to come over to the UK for the Stoneleigh kit car show and the following week Alan would swap out Martyns 1600cc Pinto engine for a 2000cc EFI Pinto.



When we all turned up at Alan's home on Saturday morning the engine was already in the car but there was a few problems to sort out one of which was the sticking flap in the airflow meter.
After a couple of hours trying to get it to work we found that the airflow meter in Alan's Golf GTI was the same as that on a Sierra and as the car is off the road it was removed and fitted in to the Hood all was working fine till a few more problems poped up like-

Fuel starvation through kinked pipe and the Throttle cable needed a mod to get it working.

Read the full story on the TVH website at

http://www.freewebs.com/oxonrobinhoods/eventreports08.htm#197795346

Stoneleigh 08

Last weekend over the bank holiday Myself, Becky & Tash camped over at Stoneleigh kit car show. This is the biggest show of the year with loads to see and do.
The best part of this show for us is meeting up with friends and other members of RHOCaR.





A big turn out of Robin Hoods for this show.

The GBSC stand showing off there latest models of Robin Hoods namely the new zero 7

Plus they had a new model on show which will be launched at the Newark kit car show.

It is to be called the bullet and will be first released as a 50cc the picture above is the prototype/test bed it will need a Msva which apparrently is not as bad as the sva the 50cc version will be single seater with a two seater coming later with the big engines the body work.

The 50cc engine will allow a 16 year olds to drive it on the road.

It will look a little like a f1 front end with a wing and the trike will have a sliding canopy a bit like a fighter jet!!! steering will be direct (no steering rack) with gear change being either paddlles or buttons on the steering wheel and front of body will be made of vacumm formed plastic.

Project Eagle Update

Project Eagle RV is starting to move forward over the last couple of month.
Its going to have a rebuilt engine fitted in to it with a 5-speed gearbox.



This is the replacement engine looked when we picked it up.

And this is how it looks now. What a difference, looks fab in it new paint job of Oxford blue.

Just a few more parts to go on and it will be ready. See the full story at http://project-eagle-rv.blogspot.com/

Brake Problems!!!

On the way to the TVH April meeting the S7 developed a bad shake on the steering under braking and then pulling hard to the left.
When we made it to the pub where the meeting was taking place I found the N/S front wheel was very hot and the brake Caliper had seized on.
I left the wheel and hub to cool down and after the meeting was over it had seemed to have freed off to drive home.
So today I removed the caliper and stripped it down cleaned up the pistons and fitted a new set of seals and rubbers.
I also fitted a new set of brake pads as the old pad had been well and truly cooked.

Wheels Day 08

Great looking MK1 Escort

Robin Hood Super Spec

The brave soul from the TVH Area

Now will this fit????????????

Nash

Nice paint job

Who ya gonna call???????????

Four of us Thames Valley area members braved the weather to go to the Good Friday Wheels Day show at Rushmoor Arena near Aldershot. Later in the day we were joined by Becky & Tasha.

This was my first big event as the new area sec for the TVH area having taken over the role from John.

The weather forecast had said we were in for some rain showers and the prospect of a snow shower to add to the days fun (great!!!). In the end it turned out to be not a bad day at all, just a bit cold and windy.

As last year the turn out of cars for this show was huge, there seems to be more & more every year, the only down side this year was there was not the same amount of trade stand as in the last few years.

This show has every type you could wish to see, ranging from Street Rods, Custom Cars, Yanks, Kit cars, Bikes, Vans, British Classics, Historic Vehicles and Dragsters. the live bands were also very good. Something for everyone.

Project Eagle Blog

Project Eagle RV now has it own Blog at

http://project-eagle-rv.blogspot.com/

Project Eagle RV

We have a new project to work on! Well I say its a new project but its not!!!
This is a kit I built after I had finished my Robin Hood S7.
Due to some unfortunate events it was never finish and sold on.
So after 11 years of not seeing the Rv it is now back in our hands and I can finish what I have started.



Eagle RV

Ian's Jago Jeep looks so small parked next to the RV

In need of some TLC but Julie, Ian and myself will soon sort that out in time

Cycle Computer

This is the last of the winter projects on the list to be fitted.
Some people have installed their bike computers in cars so as to take readings from the propshaft. I decided to do it the easy way, in as similar a manner as possible to its normal application, and stick the magnet on the wheel, mount the sensor nearby, and have the bracket somewhere in the cockpit.
The first job was to make up a bracket to mount the sensor near the wheel, once this was in place the next job was to extend the wire joining the sensor to the bracket as it is far too short for use in a Seven type car, for this I used Speaker wire as it is more or less the same size as the wire on the computer.
The magnet was stuck on to the wheel rim using epoxy resin.
After a test I used more epoxy resin to make sure that the magnet wouldn't fly off the wheel rim at speed.
As it was dark by the time I had finished fitting the computer in place I have not given it a proper test run plus I want to give the epoxy resin time to fully set.

Dip Stick Handle

Sometime back I some how managed to snap the handle off the dip stick, I have tried to weld it back together a few times but as it is so thin trying to get a good weld on it is almost impossible as I think the metal is impregnated with oil.

You can get a replacement billet stainless steel handle from some of the performance parts and accessories catalogues you can pick up but at what I think is a rip off price of £30 plus the VAT and then the package and postage on top of that too!

So when I was down at the local DIY store today I found a drawer handle which just happens to look about the same as the £30 job and at a fraction of the price at £2.99 lol.

All I had to do to get the handle to fit was drill a 4.5 mm hole in the side and then tap it out with an M5 tap fit a grub screw and fit it on.

AS you can see from the photos it looks just fine.

The £30 replacement dip stick handle.

My £2.99 dip stick handle

Autosport International 2008

Over the weekend I went up to the Autosport show held at the NEC Birmingham.
Loads to see, plenty of trade stands selling motorsport equipment and a live action show.
Here are just a few of the photos I took-

Lotus Seven Mk 1


Lotus Seven Mk2

F1 Pit Lane

A couple non standard optional extras !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bonnet Pin Kit

I have fitted a pin kit to the bonnet after I noticed on a run out last year that at speed the rear of the bonnet was trying to lift up and as I don't fancy the prospect of the thing flying off and hitting the vehicle following, this is something that had to be sorted.

The kit itself I got at the Exeter show from a company called Car Builder Solutions

www.carbuildersolutions.co.uk

Its simple to fit but involved some more drilling of the stainless steel bonnet ( not again!!!!!! lol)

The first thing you have to do is select an accessible area to mount the pins.
Next drill a hole for the threaded post to pass through, then attach the post with a nut each side of the support hole.

Adjust the height of the post so that the top is just in contact with the bonnet, put a small dab of grease on the tip so that it makes a mark on the underside of the bonnet.

Drill a hole through the bonnet so that the post protrudes and then test fit the bonnet in place.

Drop the contact plates over the posts on to the bonnet and adjust the height so it all fits nice,

using the plate as a marker drill and pop rivet in place.

Refit bonnet in the normal way and slide locking pins into place and its job done.

Bonnet Side Vent

Today I did one of the winter projects I had planed, fitting the side vent into the bonnet.
As this is a bit of a nail biting job I had to get it right first time no room what so ever for mistakes on this job!


The area where the vent is going to go is masked with masking tape and the vent marked out

With the bonnet removed from the car two pilot holes are drilled at each end of the marked area.

Then using a hole saw I cut the two end radius's-

before cutting the rest of the vent hole out with a pair of tin snips and then grinding the edges to shape, this was finished of with a hand file.

The vent trim and grill bolted in place.

The finished job. Should help get rid of some of the heat from the engine, specially in the summer time.

Thames Valley Mince Pie Run Out

Today we had the TVH mince pie run out which is becoming an annual event on the calendar for this area of the club.

Once again Alan had been busy sorting out a route for us and getting us into the country houses and the Police training college at Bramshill.

We all met up at a local car park in Hook before setting off. In all there were seven Robin Hoods and along for the run was Becky & Tasha, they came on the event as chief photographer and support car in the tin top.

Also along for the run making it a family day out for us was my sister, nephew & sister's partner in their Jago Jeep on its first run out since they had picked it up a month or so ago.

Our first stop off point was at Tynley Hall just outside of Hook where we all lined up for a photo shoot, then it was on to Warbrook House for more photos followed by a drive around the lanes to the Police training college.

After a look around the grounds it was was time for a spot of lunch at the Bluebeckers / The Leather Bottle at Mattingley.

All in all a fun day out. Many thanks to all involved in sorting it all out for us.

Shift Lights

The shift lights have been in the car for sometime but were fitted under the dashboard and out of line of sight.
So I made a pod for the shift light unit out of the back panel of an old alarm clock ( typical Hoody fashion lol) and covered it in the same vinyl material as the scuttle panel.
Extended the wiring loom for the unit from under the dash to the top and mounted the whole thing to the scuttle.
Here is a short video of it all working. Sorry its a bit out of focus as it was done on a mobile phone.

Jago Blogspot

Ian's Jago now has it's own Blogspot at

http://jago-jeep.blogspot.com/

Jago Jeep

Last weekend my sister's partner Ian joined the kit car world with a Jago Jeep its a 1993 model based on a Ford Escort mk2 fitted with a 1600cc Kent cross flow engine.

The car drives very well but is in need of some TLC, but knowing Ian he has a few plans up his sleeve for this kit.

Looks like we have a long winter of Tinkeritus ahead of us both with jobs to do on the Jago and a few projects on my Robin Hood to be getting on with.

The Last Classic car day at the Bull inn Stanford Dingley

Having decided not to go up to the kit car show at Donington after a chat with Martin.

We made the most of the good weather and took our cars along to the classic car day that the Bull inn just outside of Reading.

This was the last time the landlord of the Bull would be holding this event due to the pub closing down. I wont go into the why & wherefores but it's sad to see this event end.

Around about 120 classic cars turn up on the day and put on a great display to say goodbye.

The only hope is who ever take the Bull inn on keeps the classic car Saturday going.

White Waltham Airfield

The Thames Valley area went to the White Waltham Airfield member day with funds being raised are for the Thames Valley Air Ambulance.

We met up at 11am on the A4 just outside of Reading and then convoyed to the airfield.

Once we where all parked up in place, we set off for a look around.

The guy flying the R/C plane put on a fab display of hand eye coordination pulling off some stunts and tricks that could not be done in a real plane!!

The main air display was also very good with some very nice looking Vintage Aircraft taking part.

All in all a great day out.

Windscreen Scuttle Trim

This job is one that I have been putting off for sometime " Don't ask me why as I don't know lol"
I have had all the kit to do it for over a year!
The first step was to remove the centre mirror, wiper blades and arms then cut out the old PU sealant from under the front of the windscreen.
Next the windscreen itself was removed very carefully making sure it was not knocked or dropped.


With the screen out of the way the old press studs were removed from the scuttle by drilling out the old 1/8th pop rivets. The scuttle was then cleaned.
Next a thin sheet of foam was cut to the shape of the scuttle and glued into place. This is just cut short of the rear edge of the screen.

The top vinyl cut to shape and tucked under the scuttle and the rubber dash trim put back in place. the vinyl is cut over size beyond the front line of the windscreen.

The windscreen refitted back to its pillars. This will hold the vinyl down at the front.
The windscreen masked up ready for new PU adhesive sealant to be applied. This will have to be left to stand for an hour or so to set. It should not shrink and stay permanently flexible.
The centre mirror refitted along with the side screens and wipers.
The finished job.

Thames Valley Area in Complete Kit Car

Click to Enlarge

Back at the end of June the TVH area had a Homecall to Mat to help him with his Robin Hood Exmo.

On the day we were joined by Complete Kit Cars magazines editor Ian Stent to watch the days events unfold.

In the September issue is Ians full report and photos of the day.

Uxbridge Autoshow 07 15/07/07

The Uxbridge Autoshow is one of our regular shows and is run by the Rotary Club of Uxbridge.

Always a great event on our TVH Calendar.

The only thing that was going to put the dampers on it (sorry!! lol) was the weather!!! Once again the Met office was up to its normal tricks of one minute its going to be a dry day the next we were in for heavy rain which never turned up apart from one odd shower.

This year we had three gazebos set up with bbq and a gas camping stove to cook our lunch on and make tea.

There were loads of club stands with all makes and models as well as the trade stands and auto jumble to look at and spend the hard earned readies on parts.

All in all a great day out.

TVH Club Meeting 11th July 07

Photos by JP.

The good weather made a great turn out of cars at the TVH July meeting 9 Robin Hoods and 1 Westfield.
Normal discussions on all things Robin Hood kit cars and making plans for the Uxbridge Auto show this coming weekend, looking forward to it, lets hope the weather holds out.

TVH Homecall to Mat

Today the TVH area had a homecall to Mat, the RHOCaR web master.
This was NO normal homecall as we were all going to get our hands dirty,
plus we we had Ian Stent from Complete Kit Car joining us for the day.

THE MISSION :
* To finalise the build of the engine and box assembly
* To prepare the engine bay with services and mountings ready to accept the power plant
* To install engine and box to final drive
* To connect items essential for starting
* To get Matt to turn the key and burst into life !!!
* To eat Matt out of house and home
* To rock the neighbourhood with industrious noises
* To go home when the job is done.

We split up into two teams to work on the engine and chassis.
Team 1 - sorting out the engine and fitting the gearbox
Team 2 - sorting and fitting the loom into the chassis.

Once this had been done the engine and gearbox were dropped into the rolling chassis and the loom connected up.
Oil and water were then added to the motor plus fuel in the tank and it was time for Mat to turn the key!!!!!!!!!

The engine turned over first time but failed to fire; it turned out that we had no power going to the coil, (which we found out later was due to a broken wire in the loom.) Danny made up a link wire with an inline fuse to take power from the battary to the coil and after a few more turns of the key the engine then spluttered and then roared into life.
A job well done and a great day out.

Stoneleigh Kit Car Show 07

The RHOCaR campsite

GBSC new 07

On the club stand.

Richard Stewart's Nu-Snake concept.

At the campsite

Night night!!!!!

A great weekend away camping at the Stoneleigh Kit Car Show.

Myself Becky & Tasha got there on the Saturday afternoon after the drive up the M40.

Once we had set our tent up on the RHOCaR camp site we made a brew and had a chat to the other club members and met up with some old friends from last year's show.

Later that evening a few of us went out to the nearby town of Kenilworth to eat at the local chippy.

On the Sunday the show was open to the public so after breakfast I moved the S7 from the campsite to the club stand on the other side of the showground, by the time I had got back to the campsite Martin had turned up and we set off for a look around the show with Becky & Tasha off to have some fun at the fun fair.

It was great to see Robin Hood Sportscars founder,Richard Stewart, at the show with his Nu-Snake concept. Although he claims that he was only there to gauge reaction and isn’t coming back as a manufacturer.

By now back on the club stand some 120+ Robin Hoods had turned up and had spilled over on to the stand next door( think we are going to need more room for next years show lol.) and back at the campsite someone had counted 62 tents 1 trailer tent and 3 caravans.

The bank holiday Monday started as a wet affair - its a good job that some of us had fitted the wet weather gear to the cars the night before.

On the club stand we had about 30 to 40 cars.

After packing away our camping kit we had one more look round the show before lunch and setting off for home.

All in all a good show.

Detling Show 07

S7 in hall 2 at Detling


Roys Robin Hood 2B
Is this Martins next modification????????

Martins Pilgrim Sumo

An early start for me on Saturday, up at 6am (silly o clock lol) and on the road to Detling at 6.45 am to be there for 8am as my s7 was going on display on the indoor RHOCaR stand.

The run down was good with not much traffic on the M25.

Once I arrived, I was shown where the club stand was and the S7 was parked up in place.

Soon after Tim, Peter & Roy turned up to set up the rest of the stand and the show opened to the public.

There where plenty of questions asked about both of the cars which we answered the best we could.

Martin turned up around 11.30am with his Sumo and we set off to have a look round the rest of the show to see what goodies we could pick up.

With the show starting to wind down for the day it was time for us to think about heading home for the night, for Tim, Peter & Roy this meant a hotel for the night, but my S7 was going nowhere as it had to stay in the show hall over night. It was a strange feeling having to leave her sitting there! I was soon over it once we made it out on to the open road in Martins Sumo. (my, can it go some lol)

Today (Sunday) it was back down to Detling for day two of the show this time with Becky & Tasha. we set off at a more sensible time as I can't do silly o clock both days of the weekend.

We got to the show ground around about 11am and once passed the security guys (oh the power of a pink badge lol) we parked the tintop in the exhibitors car park.

Inside the hall we found the lads set up for business so we set off in search of breakfast.

The rest of the day was spent answering more question on the cars and generally watching the public reaction to the cars. I found a few more bits & bobs to buy and Tasha had fun on the fair ground rides that were at the show. We spent the afternoon chatting with Tim till it was time to call it a day, so with that we packed up the stand and pushed the cars out of the hall and made our way home after a great weekend.

Small Air Filter to BIG Air Filter

A post on Martins Pilgrim Sumo

Look that the size of that thing!!!!!!!!!!!!

The new filter in place

Looks cool

The old K&N filter

Yesterday at the Wheels day Martin found himself a new air filter for his Pilgrim Sumo when we were looking around the trade stands.

So today we had to try and fit this monster of an air filter, the thing is the size of a dinner plate!!

With the old K&N filter removed from the carb we could see that we would have to use the base plate from the K&N filter to get it fit to the Weber carb. A couple of holes had to be drilled into the base plate of the new filter to pick up on the mounting lugs of the K&N base plate, once this was sorted out the next job was to get the height of the filter right so that the bonnet would shut, at first the filter was way too tall to allow this, so it was out with the die grinder and a good 1/4 of an inch was cut off from around the lip of the new base plate inlet hole.

With the two base plates fitting together nicely a flat piece of metal plate was used between the two mounting lugs to support the filter lid, once it had been drilled and fitted, the stud that holds the whole thing together on the new filter was cut to the right size and a M6 thread cut onto the bottom part of it and then bolted to the support plate.

Now to see if the filter would fit?????? The modified base plate was mounted to the carb followed by the filter element and then the chrome lid and locking nut it was the moment of truth.

With fingers crossed the bonnet was gently closed and then locked home all had worked out well,

a job well done.

Other Cars at Wheels day 07

33rd Wheel Day Good Friday 07

Today we went to the Surrey Street Rodders Wheels Day at Rushmoor arena near Aldershot Hants.

The TVH area met at the Ely pub on the A30 at 9.15 am, seven Hoods, one Locost, one Jester and one Sumo.

With me as lead car we set off on our way to the event, now was it luck or just good timing the convoy all stayed in line and together all the way from the pub to rushmoor where we had to arrive as a group to park up and display together. Once again Martin took on the role of tail gunner in the convey in his sumo just in case the snake of cars got split up (may let you up the shape end one day mate lol)

When we got to the main gate of the arena I was told by one of the marshalls to hold our train of cars up for a bit while he let the PT Cruisers in from the opposite direction. Me thinking ok there may be 4 or 5 of them, turns out there were 22 of the things!!!!!

Once we were in and parked up as a group and we set about having a look around the show, meeting back at our cars at 1pm for a spot of lunch. Well what a turn out for a one day show, you name it, it was there - Hot Rods, Street Rods, Classic cars, kitcars and bikes to name but a few. Loads of trade stalls selling all sorts of things.

Towards the end of the day the TVH crew was invaded by a nice looking Morris Minor with matching trailer

The weather was spot on too with a great sunny day, lets hope the rest of the TVH events for this year are like this.

Half Doors

Today I fitted the Half doors to the Hood which have been made for me by TVH member Peter Ray (Pete 2B). They are held in place by press studs and should keep any small stones that come off the front tyres & wings from coming into the car. when not in use they can be rolled up and tucked down by the side of a seat.
Pete has come up with loads of trim parts for the guys in the club from surrey tops, half doors,
tonneaus cover to spare wheel covers all at a good price.

Homecall to Danny 4/2/07

The Thames Valley Area check out Dannys 2B.

One hell of a smart build.
2.0ltr EFI Ford Pinto.
O/S View of the engine bay.
A smart interior trim with capri clocks

and electric powered boot lock.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Today the Thames Valley area had a homecall to see Dannys Robin Hood 2B. Which is going to be put in for its SVA in a couple of weeks time.

The day started for me with a drive up a foggy M3 to Dannys place. Once we had all arrived we were treated to tea & yum yums!!!!! Ask Danny about them if you ever meet him at one of the shows ;-)

Now to Dannys 2B itself, and what can I say, what a fantastic job Danny has done on this build

a well engineed car right from the 20 ltr EFI Ford Pinto through to the interior trim with Capri instrument cluster built in to the dash.

The TVH guys gave Danny a few pointers on a parts of the car that he will need to have a look at before the big day of the SVA test.

I took along with me my C/O meter to check the exhaust emissions, which is part of the test. With the engine up and running and the probe of the meter in the tail pipe we found all was well with in the test limits.

I can see Danny having no problems at all in getting a pass on the SVA test.

See you on the road soon Danny :-)

Wash & polish 31/12/06

With all the mud covering the Hood from yesterdays run out, it was time for a bit of a clean up
Washing a small car like this is harder than it looks believe me LOL.

TVH End of Year Run Out 30/12/06

Today we had our end of year run out with the Thames Valley Hoods. This event had been plan out by TVH member Alan who also played pace car for the convoy
We all met up at the BP garage just outside of Reading on the A33, before we set off on our
mini Cruise with the first stop for photos at the West Gate of Stratfield Saye House. This was followed by a drive around the muddy single track lanes to the The Roman Wall @ Calleva and then on to Vine House in Bramley for a photo shoot by the main gates.
Then it was on to the Longbrigde Mill where the landlord of the pub had made space the grass for us to display our cars and have a bite to eat.

We were joined on the event by Stephen Altwasser of the RHOCaR Herts area who shot a video of the drive. http://s119.photobucket.com/albums/o148/stevedohc2b/?action=view&current=ThamesValley_0004.flv

Thames Valley Meeting 13/12/06

Hoods at night at the Lambert arms Johns Robin Hood 2B (Old Smokey)



My Robin Hood S7

Last night was our last TVH monthly meeting of the year. Once again it was an informal meeting with a lot of topics covered. For the run home Myself, John, Tim and Alan decided to have a drive up Aston hill on the main A40 (the start of our Chiltens run back in June) followed by a drive through Marlow to pick up the A404 and A4.

Thames Valley Christmas Lunch Meeting

Today myself, Becky and Tasha went to Milletts Farm Centre , at Frilford just outside of Abingdon for the TVH Christmas lunch. We had a dry run up with Me and Tasha in the Hood with Becky following in the tintop. Once we had meet up with everyone we all sat down to a Carvery meal. Afterwards we went for a look round the garden center and Tasha went to meet Santa. The run back home was a wet one, but I can report the new weather gear stood up to the job well with only a few drops of water coming inside the car, most of which came in from under the windscreen seal. A job for looking at and sorting out next year.

Fitting the Sidescreens

Sidescreen held in place with masking tape, so that I can mark them in the right place to fit the lift of hinges. Its a bit of a job a case of measure twice drill once, get it wrong and its game over!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nearside sidescreen fitted. Now to do the same thing again to the offside.

Offside screen in place. Note how the sidescreen fits under the lip of the hood to keep the rain water out. (well I hope thats how it works! time well tell LOL) Just the two side mirrors to fit at some point.

A New Hood for the Hood

The hood frame down and held in place with a press stud on either side of the rear panel

The original hood frame modified to fit the new hood cover
Note the surrey top still rolled up on the roll over bar.

This photo shows the original hood fitted to the S7
back 1993. Note the small quarter windows in the
side which gave not very good visibility.

The new hood in place. The hood its self is held on with press studs around the windscreen and the rear GRP panel.

Here we can see the rear of the hood. Note the bigger quarter windows. With the hood now on I have all the fun and games of fitting the new side screens. Will update you all on that job soon.

Trevor's Sylva Mojo build

Trevor Bennett a member of the Thames Valley area Hoods has just started a new build of a Sylva Mojo kit.
The kit itself is on order and Trevor already has his donor car.
So why not pop over and have a look at his new blog spot.

http://sylvamojo.blogspot.com/

The above photos show what the kit will look like when it is finished

Mis-fire

Back at the end of August the Hood was layed up for 5-6 weeks due to an accident I had in another car.
The Brands Hatch kit car show was its first run out in all this time and as you can see from Beckys post on the show the day didn't start the way we had planned. The Hood had a bad mis-fire which I traced down to the spark plugs which I just gave a quick clean and off we went.
Since then there has been a mis-fire only at high revs, so with a TVH meeting tomorrow night it was time to replace them.
So tonight I have fitted a new set of NGK spark plugs with the V grooved tip. After a quick test run (it was freezing) the problem is all sorted.

Thames Valley Hoods

You may have seen in this Blog that I mention the Thames Valley Area Hoods a lot in my posts, this is my local area of RHOCaR (Robin Hood Owners Club and Register) run by our Area secretary John Peech.
http://www.freewebs.com/oxonrobinhoods/- TVH website.
http://community.rhocar.org/- RHOCaR website

Our area meetings (always the second Wednesday of the month at 8pm). are held at : The Lambert Arms, London Road, Aston Rowant, Oxon, OX49 5SQ www.lambertarms.co.uk

They are informal meetings with discussions on all things Robin Hood kit cars.
We also run events throughout the year.

TotalKitcar Brands Hatch 06

Today Chris and I went to Brands Hatch to the Total Kit Car Live show. After a rather shaky start, having to dig out the tool box and correct a horribly mis-firing S7, we were finally on our way and arrived at around 12.30.
After parking our pride and joy and admiring everyone else's we met up with Peter 2B from our car club. we had a wander over to the paddocks, where the manufacturers on display were preparing their cars for a trip round the Brands Indy circuit. There were a few other stalls selling all sorts of bits and pieces, but alas not as many as previous years. we had a good walk up and down the paddocks, having a look at some of the beautiful machinery on display. Robin Hood Cars were conspicuous by their predictable absense, but there was still plenty to see. after a spot of lunch we stood by the track for a while and watched some of the cars hammer round the track. its a shame most of the public passengers were wearing crash helmets (although it was for obvious reasons) - i would've loved to have seen the looks on their faces!
another quick walk round the stalls, a token look at the car merchandise shops dotted around the track en route back to the car parks, and then time to call it a day.
the weather was kind, the journey there and back was virtually trouble free - the major signs for a good day out.

happy motoring, Becks xx

More Photos From Duxford

Hawker Hunter F6A

SR-71 Blackbird
The last Hood of the day
OOH ERR!!!! Whats Becky planning now?
A pair of Supermarine Spitfires

I W M Duxford car day

We went to the Imperial War Museum Duxford for the club car day.
The RHOCaR stand was arranged by John and Helen of the Herts area.
The day started for me with a trip over to John house, where we met up with Graham B. The three of us decided to take the backroads with Becky, Tasha and Mark setting off later in the tintop taking the motorways.

The three Hoods made good time up to Cambridge where we meet the rest of the T V H group and we made our way around to the club stand. Becky joined us an hour or so later and we set off for a look round the American air hanger which is the home of the only Boeing B-52 Stratofortress on public display in Europe.
Also in this hanger are a B-17 Flying Fortress, B-29 Super Fortress and the high speed high flying SR-71 Blackbird.

After a spot of lunch we started to make our way up to the other hangers for a look about when it came over the speaker that the B-17 Sally B would be firing up her engines and taking off to go to an airshow in Kent, some thing we had to see and just made the day.
This was followed by a fly past by a Spitfire - how cool.

We made our way around the rest of the hangers which had so many planes in them, it was all too much to take in with a one day visit.
Duxford are lucky to have eight Spitfires on display which seven are airworthy with only the Supermarine Spitfire Mk24 on static display.

As we made our way back to the club stand we saw the Sally B return from her trip to kent. what a way to finish the day off

The Thames Valley Farnborough Air Display BBQ

Today we had an event for the Farnborough Air Show.
Becky had arranged with her boss for the Thames Valley area to spend the day at her works offices in the staff car park watch the air display and bbq.
We started the day off by meeting at the Ely pub on the A30 just outside of Camberley, where we formed a convey of Hoods and tintops for the trip to Cove with Martin acting as rear gunner in his Sumo should anyone get lossed on route.
Becky went on ahead of the group to open up and set up. Once we had the ok from Becky that our route was free from all the air show traffic we set off .
We got to the office to find Becky already putting together the bbqs something she is very good at (drives me up the wall all them little nuts & screws GGGGRRRRR).
The air display started with the two Airbuses (340 & 380) followed by a number of fighter jets.
In the mean time both the bbq were alight and John our area sec wanted the display to stop so we could cook our food and not miss anything ( no hope of that happening lol!!)
After eating we all sat back and looked to the skys as the aircraft put on their show.
The fly by of the day had to be the Battle of Britain group
We even put on a display with our Hoods too!!!!!!!!!

Uxbridge Auto Show 06

This show is run by the Rotary Club of Uxbridge and has been held every year since 1984 with all proceeds going to many charities.
We got to the show ground about 9.30am to find a couple of the RHOCaR Surrey area guys already setting up for the day. With the Thames Valley guys & gals not going to get to the show till around 10.30am. So Me, Becky & Tasha took a walk around the classic cars & autojumble before it got too crowded & too hot.
We got back an hour later just in time to see the T V H gang roll up to the club stand and we pitched in to put the marquee up. With the temp rising we were all glad of some shade.
We then set to at taking a look at John's sons Ford Escort RS Turbo. It had dropped all its coolant out of the radiator just as it got in to the show ground, we found the split in the bottom of the rad but with the limited number of tools that we had to hand it was a lost case, so the AA were called out.
Next we checked the Co2 gases on Johns 2b Hood (Old Smokey) only to find it was spot on (shock!!! lol) Good news as it's MOT time for it.
With one more look round the show it was time to pack up and head for home

Brooklands British Sports Car Day 06

Right I'm bang up to date with this now!!!!!!!

I took the Hood along to Brooklands today for the British Sports Car Day - normally a busy event but not today! What with the Goodwood festive of speed & the Classic Le Mans on all this weekend, plus a wet start to the day the turn out was low.It was good to see Concorde all back together just the interior fittings to go in.

The Chiltern Hilltop Run

The Chiltern Hilltop Run on Sunday June 11th , which had been carefully planned by Steve from Chinnor in the preceding weeks.
Start point was the Lambert Arms Hotel on the A40, just close to J6 of the M40. It has a lighthouse in the garden so you can't miss it !!
There were Bacon butties and coffee on hand at the start, as organised by Steve, with a landlord keen to show us all his facilities. This as a possible new meeting venue for the future, a quick poll of those present met with approval. Plenty of side rooms, and separate bars, no television, and a spacious lawn that he allows all sorts of cars clubs to park on.
We were joined by Peter Bell, and Stephen Altwasser from the Herts group, for our journey which was to end in a rendezvous with John and Helen Tween and the Herts group at the Grand Junction Arms, in Bulbourne.. Also along was Peter Wright in his good-looking MGB.
After photo's, Steve gave a briefing of the route and handed out direction notes .
A climb up the first of the two 'Aston' hills, on the main A40, with plenty of roadwidth and sweeping curves , was very satisfying, and only ended with a stop to turn into a narrower road for the descent.
We rode on through Chinnor, until the roller coaster ride over Chinnor's speed humps took a toll on Peter Bell's 2b, which died on a narrow section, bringing everyone to a halt, delaying one or two non-sympathisers who then forced their way past hurriedly.
The vibrations had loosened Peter's HT lead , which was quickly spotted and he was soon back in action.
A short ride on, and we assembled for the next photo prior to the climb up Kop Hill. Nice sweeping road again, narrower this time,through trees with the hot sun flashing intermittently, and the descent was just as curvy.
Hope we get to do this run out again soon

Stoneleigh 06

This Show was over the first May bank holiday weekend.
We decided to camp over at the show - a first for us, its something that I've always fancied doing but never got round to it.
So with Becky & Tasha in the tintop along with all the camping equipments & me in the Hood we set off on the Saturday afternoon.
All I can say is what a weekend, met some great people & all had a great time.
will be going back again next year

Detling Kit Car Show 06

Detling kit car show (in Kent) witch takes place in April and was the first show of the year.
It was also Becky and Tasha's first kit show too. We all spent some time trying out Robin Hood Sports Cars new models
of kits

STONEGUARDS

NEW STONEGUARDS CUT OUT OF A SHEET OF BRUSH STAINLESS STEEL AND BOLTED TO THE FRONT OF THE REAR WINGS. ALSO I HAVE NOW REFITTED THE TONNEAU COVER BACK ON TO THE CAR.

GETTING THERE AT LAST

O/S REAR LAMP,SPARE WHEEL AND NUMBER PLATE MOUNTING REFITTED

REAR PANEL BACK IN PLACE

NOW I'M STARTING TO GET SOMEWHERE WITH THIS JOB!! AS THE REAR PANEL IS NOW FITTED BACK ON THE CAR. NOTE- THE GREEN HANDLED SCREWDRIVER USED TO LINE THE BOLT HOLE UP AGAIN !!!!!!! LOL

BOOT EDGE TRIM

BECKY CUTS THE TRIM ON THE BOOT LIP TO SIZE BEFORE THE REAR PANEL IS BOLTED BACK ON. THANKS BABES xx

ALL PAINTED

WITH THE TOP COAT ON AND 1/2 HOUR BAKING IN THE OVEN THE PANEL IS LEFT FOR A NUMBER OF HOURS TO AIR DRY THIS WILL STOP ANY AIR IN THE GRP COMING TO THE SURFACE AND MAKING PIN HOLES IN THE FINISHED JOB

PRETTY IN PINK!!!!!!!!!

THE PANEL SPRAYED IN HIGH BUILD 2-PACK PRIMER. THE PINK COLOUR WILL ACT AS A GOOD BASE FOR THE RED TOPCOAT

GRP REAR END REMOVER

NOW THAT THE REAR PANEL HAS BEEN REMOVED FROM THE CAR I'M GOING TO TAKE THE TIME REPAINTING THE FUEL TANK AND THE REAR FRAME WORK. ALSO GOING TO REMOVE THE OLD TRIM AROUND THE TOP EDGE OF THE BOOT AND RENEW ALL THAT AT THE SAME TIME

THE GRP PANEL WILL NOW BE RUBBED DOWN AND THEN WET FLATTED BEFORE IT GO OFF TO THE PAINT SHOP FOR DAN TO DO HIS MAGIC ON IT

REAR GRP PANEL

HAVING HAD A GOOD SUMMER 05 THE S7 IS NOW BACK OFF THE ROAD FOR THE WINTER TO HAVE THE REAR GRP PANEL PAINTED. WITH THE REAR LAMP TAKEN BACK OFF THE CAR AND THE TRIMS REMOVED I HAVE STARTED TO FILL IN THE FLASH LINES AND ANY CHIPS & CRACKS

COAT OF PRIMER IS PUT OVER THE REPAIRS TO KEEP THE DAMP OUT OF THE STOPPER.
THIS WILL BE FLATTED DOWN AND 3 COATS OF 2PACK HIGH BUILD FILLER PRIMER WILL BE APPLIED TO THE REAR PANEL &WHEEL ARCHES

THE OLD STONEGUARDS, BEADING AND DUMMY WING PIPING IS REMOVED.
THE RIVET HOLE LEFT BY THE STONEGUARDS ARE FILLED IN AND MORE PRIMER PUT ON
A COAT OF BLACK GIDE COAT WILL HELP TO SHOW UP ANY HIGH OR LOW SPOTS IN THR REPAIR

STONELEIGH 2005 NATIONAL KIT CAR MOTOR SHOW

WELL IT WAS HARD WORK BUT WE HAD THE CAR READY FOR THE STONELEIGH SHOW. THE NEW ENGINE & GEARBOX RAN LIKE A DREAM THERE & BACK. THERE WAS A GOOD TURN OUT FROM R.H.O.C.A.R.(ROBIN HOOD OWNERS CLUB AND REGISTER)

Painting Front GRP Panels

ONCE THE THE ENGINE WAS UP AND RUNNING AND WITH THE FRONT END STILL STRIPPED DOWN, THE GRP WOULD ALSO HAVE A FRESH COAT OF PAINT. DAN ONE OF THE GUYS I WORK WITH WAS CALLED UPON TO DO THE PAINT WORK THE NOSE CONE IS THE FIRST PART TO BE FINISHED IN RED AND SILVER. FOLLOWED BY THE TWO FRONT WINGS. THE REAR PANEL WOULD HAVE TO WAIT TILL THE FOLLOWING WINTER TO BE PAINTED AS SPRING WAS ON IT WAY AND I WANTED THE CAR BACK ON THE ROAD FOR THE SUMMER SHOWS.

The engine swop

5-SPEED TYPE NINE TO REPLACE THE 4-SPEED BOX FITTED BACK IN 93. THANKS TO MARTIN ON THIS ONE. IT WAS SITTING IN THE BACK OF HIS GARAGE.

WITH THE ENGINE AND GEARBOX FITTED TOGETHER ITS READY FOR THE BIG LIFT BACK INTO THE CAR.

WITH A FEW MODIFICATIONS TO A PILGRIM SUMO EXHAUST MANIFOLD TO GET IT TO FIT. (THANKS ONCE AGAIN TO MARTIN) I HOPE TO HAVE THE CAR RUNNING AGAIN SOON

The new engine

IN 2004 IT WAS TIME FOR ANOTHER ENGINE TO BE PUT INTO THE CAR WITH A 5 SPEED GEARBOX. THERE'S THE ENGINE BEFORE IT WAS STRIPPED AND CLEANED

MY NEPHEW JAMES WAS ON HAND AS THE REBUILD STARTS AND PARTS GO BACK ONTO THE BLOCK. HERE WE CAN SEE THAT THE WATER PUMP, TIMING COVER AND AUXILIARY TIMING COVER FITTED

THE HEAD FITTED WITH A NEW CAM KIT (KENT CAMS FR32) AND READY TO GO BACK ON THE BLOCK

The finished car

The build

AFTER ALL THE MAJOR COMPONENTS WERE TAKEN OFF THE CORTINA DONOR THEY WERE CLEANED AND PAINTED. THEN PUT ON TO ROBIN HOODS 1.6MM STAINLESS STEEL MONOCOQUE

Cortina to Robin Hood S7

THE S7 STARTED LIFE IN 93 AS A 1981 MARK 5 FORD CORTINA 2.0 LTR GHIA. I bought it for the pricely sum of £75.00 with tax and m.o.t. Which gave me a chance to run the car around for a week to cheak the engine, gearbox and running gear didn't have any problems before I started to strip the car down. Two parts had to be modified by Robin Hood Engineering the propshaft and the steering column so they were sent up to Nottingham before the S7 kit was ready to pick up from them.

THE CORTINA STRIPPED OF ALL ITS MAJOR PARTS. FILLED UP WITH JUNK AND READY FOR THE SCRAP HEAP. There was no way it would have passed aother M.O.T. The N/S A/Post and N/S inner & outer sill were rotten and the O/S rear chassis member full of rust.

THANK YOU

THANKS TO ALL THE PEOPLE INVOLVED WITH MY S7

BECKY (MY MRS) FOR THE HELP AND LETTING ME DO WHAT I'M BEST AT
MARTIN THE WIZARD (Mr COOL)
JAMES THE LITTLE BIG MAN (MY NEPHEW)
DANGEROUS DAN (THE MAN WITH THE SPRAY GUN)
TONY (HAMBO) THE PARTSMAN

SPEC

KIT ORDERED 8th MARCH 1993
COLLECTION DATE 27th MARCH 1993
ON THE ROAD 16th OCTOBER 1993
REBUILD (ENGINE, GEARBOX & PAINT) OCTOBER 2004 - MARCH 2006
ROBIN HOOD S7 1.6MM MIRROR LIKE STAINLESS STEEL BODY/CHASSIS INCLUDING BONNET AND SCUTTLE.
GRP FRONT NOSE CONE, FRONT WINGS AND REAR PANEL ASSY.
ENGINE 2.0L FORD PINTO. (205 BLOCK) WEBER TWIN 40S.KENT CAM FR32.
EXHAUST PILGRIM SUMO 4 INTO 2 INTO 1 EXHAUST MANIFOLD.
POLISHED STAINLESS STEEL CHROMEZONE STAGE 2 SILENCER BOX
TRANSMISSION FORD 5-SPEED TYPE NINE
BRAKES FRONT : 9.74in (247.5) CROSSED DRILLED DISCS. FERODO PADS. FORD M16 CALIPERS.
REAR : 9.0in (229mm) DRUMS. MINTEX REAR SHOES.
REAR AXLE SALISBURY, TYPE: B WITH NISSAN MICRA REAR LINK RODS.
WHEELS FORD CAPRI LAZER
TYRES AVON 185/70/13 FRONT & REAR

Welcome

HI I'M CHRIS AND WELCOME TO MY BLOG. THIS IS MY ROBIN HOOD S7, BUILT IN 1993