Hi Everyone,

I'm currently building a Haynes Roadster and while this is being built I have the itch to buy a ready done project to drive about and use for trackdays etc until this is complete.

What are people's thoughts on a sub £5k budget for this type of car, most seem out of budget and I am sure at this time of year prices are going up....

What are thoughts on a Robin Hood, they all seem to be alot cheaper but I have heard some horror stories at the same time...

Any thoughts welcome..

Regards

Jon

I respect this decision.

Building a seven is a long and sometimes boring road, so scratching that itch can potentially help alleviate that.

I have heard good and bad things about Robin Hoods. Owners swear by them. My inner (and outer) engineer is greatly concerned by what he is looking at. Ultimately, if you just want something that goes brum and puts bugs in your teeth, a Robin Hood will do that.

As a builder of a Robin Hood a number of years ago I can honestly say they were less of a kit car and more a pile of badly designed pets that the user had to fettle into something resembling a car (and a heavy one at that)To that end they were hard to build well. I’d personally steer well clear. Find something else

I shouldn't really be saying this on a kit car forum but here's my 2 penny's..........................

For under 5k you are at the bottom of the kit car market, pinto engines, robin hood's, duttons etc. Generally poor handling and slow to modern standards.

If its just for a stop gap what about a Z3, MX5 or even a Porsche Boxster ?

A guy in our club is selling a Tiger, might well be in your sort of budget, shall I ask?

As the builder and owner of a Robin Hood (Series III). I can say that they are perfectly acceptable cars, but definitely the bottom end of the market. There are too many design compromises and short-cuts, but with proper seats, owners' club recommended modifications (tie bars rather than an anti-roll bar) the handling is much improved and much of the rest can be changed. They are harder to build than many kits as the instructions are poor and the build involves a lot of measuring, marking, drilling and cutting, where better kits are more bolt-together. They are also heavy. Not really a track car at all. I'm sure you can find better within the price range, but if a bargain comes up don't rule them out completely.

Hi Everyone,

Many thanks for the advice, all very useful and something to think about.

I don't mind something that needs work, I am pretty hands on, but ideally something I could drive from the get go and sort out as I go along.

Also, if anyone knows of anything that would be fantastic.

I like the idea of something else, i.e. Boxster etc and I have always wanted an S2000 (good investment for sure) however I worry if anything were to go wrong on something like this is definitely a job for a garage, in comparison on a kit car I am confident I would be able to fix most things myself....

Regards

Jon

At £5k I'd be more concerned that the "scratch the itch" car would end up costing you more in fettling and draw you away from finishing the car you're already building. Personally I'd be more inclined to focus on finishing your existing build than buying something that could just suck more time and money from you.

My MK Indy took me a few years to build (longer than I planned really). My own view is stay focused on the build and don't wander off onto something else.

Might be a good idea to check out some of the kit cars for sale on FB? There was a nice looking Luego Locost on there recently in your budget. Go to Stoneliegh and check out a few before parting with your money but remember a lot of owners see their cars through rose tinted glasses.

I picked up a really well built pinto Tiger Avon for £4,750 previously and it was an excellent car. I did quite a bit to it, but only because I wanted to.

You will certainly get something for that money that will put a smile on your face - Russ above has mentioned a car, get the info on that and a price!

I bought a Tiger Cat E1 last year, track only based with a 2.0 zetec blacktop for £3800, just spent the last 8 months to get IVA ready, so they are out there, just need to be lucky and keep an open mind

I wonder how nobody mentioned the fact that if you scratch that itch, the urge to complete your build will be gratly reduced as well as your free time will be consumed tinkering with the already running car instead of being spent BUILDING...
I quit riding bikes going to bars and buying music to make room for building and regular "Married-with-children-and-and-not-so-small-children-kind-of-stuff"
I still listen to stuff I bought some 10 years ago..

Just buy a cheap Clio 172 or 182, use it for track days while you get your car finished, you can pick up nice one for around £2000, it will be faster than Robin hood, and will give you experience of trackdays on the cheap😎

Morning Gents,

Appreciate all the views, off of what has been said here I have definitely ruled out a Robin Hood, there seems to be too many question marks over certain things and don't want to end up in a hole.

The past few years I have been racing (hill climb and sprint) a 205 GTi and more recently numerous track days with a Civic Type R (ep3) so I'm not short of the "driving experience" etc.


I just know its going to be a few more years before my build is ready (the plan is to complete the final assembly stages with my son and eventually it'll be his to use, however thats a few years away yet) therefore I really want to get something now to play with while the build progresses, albeit quite slowly.

I have found a few locost variants and a couple of Formula 27 cars which I am going to try and look at in the next couple of weeks and see how it goes.

Whats are peoples thoughts on engines, it seems most at this end of the market either have crossflow or pinto, are they pretty comparible? I know the argument for weight of one against CC etc but just wondered peoples thoughts.

Regards

Jon

I built my MK Indy with a 2.0 Pinto. I reconditioned the Pinto between Sierra and Indy. Once fitted and setup it ran perfectly. IIRC the Indy was around 600kg (wet, but without me) and the Punto about 105bhp. It was plenty fast enough and comfortably saw off most cars on acceleration on the road (I didn't track it).

People moan about the weight of a Pinto engine and no they're not the lightest, but they're pretty solid and setup properly they pull well and mine didn't cause me any concern at all.

If I build again I'll probably use something more modern, but the Pinto did me just fine in the MK Indy.


I should add that I also have a 205 GTI 1.9. It's a fast and noisey enough and brings back some youthful memories for me. As suggested above there are plenty of hot hatches out there within your budget that might help scratch your itch.

[Edited on 12/4/19 by nick205]

quote:

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Originally posted by Jonb_5
I have found a few locost variants and a couple of Formula 27 cars which I am going to try and look at in the next couple of weeks and see how it goes.

Whats are peoples thoughts on engines, it seems most at this end of the market either have crossflow or pinto, are they pretty comparible? I know the argument for weight of one against CC etc but just wondered peoples thoughts.

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I got my car for under 5k and it is an absolutely first class build and drives superbly. And all because it has an unusual donor - a supercharged MGB engine! It's still a hoot to drive - I haven't tracked it yet but I'm sure it will be good!

I had to hunt for months to find the right car at that price tho...

As I don't want to risk my Seven in sporting events I "scratch my itch" with my MX5.

Initially £1275, I've probably spent more on tax & insurance than it cost to buy.

Paul G



new toy

This looks like a lot of car for the price (and yes it is just over your budget but how stretchy is your budget and his sale price?) https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/283451090837?ul_noapp=true

Problem is you would have to build one hell of a Haynes Roadster to beat this, or even keep up with it on the twisty bits!

As a serial Striker owner I still do not know why they sell so cheap, if that was a Westfied it would be up for almost twice as much even though it would weigh more and go no faster on track

that does look great

I bought a toy..... Saw it and clicked on eBay but it was too cheap to miss really. Drives really nice, couple of little of bits but I'm going to leave mostly alone and enjoy the driving...




[Edited on 20/4/19 by Jonb_5]