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What is the 2B
[Or, dietary tips for Sierras]

The Build Diary
['99 - Aug. '00]
[ Aug - Nov. '00]
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[Early Jan '01]
[January '01]
[February '01]
[March '01]
[April '01]
[May '01]
[June '01]
[July '01]

The SVA
[Did my 2B pass?]

On The Road
[Whats it like then?]
[And now it's been improved!]

New for 2003
[Suspension Mods]

New for 2002
[Engine Mods]
[Fuel Filler]
[Custom Instuments]
[Rear Shocks]

Tricks & Tips
[including do as I say, not as I did!]

Major Problems
[Or how to talk to the Manufacturer]

So you think you've got problems?

Gallery
[Or,some necessary light relief!]

Wifes View
[Or, are you coming out of that garage....]

Links
[Other maniacs who have tried this]

About the Authors
[If you are really bored...]

My View of the Whole Kit Car Thing
by Rosie (Wife of Glenn)

This all started when Glenn hit the grand old age of 30. Having previously been heavily into motorbikes, battle re-enactment and all things either muddy or greasy, he took a short trip into the realms of Volvo ownership. This sent him slightly mad and thoughts of doing something far more exciting entered his mind!

It all started with a few Kit-Car magazines and rumblings of "What do think of this car, Rosie?". To which my reply was "Well, it's a bit plasticky looking. . .", etc. After many, many instances of this, I gave up giving a reasoned opinion and just stuck to saying that whatever he wanted to do would be OK with me, provided he realised that I wasn't going to say 'There, there" when it all went wrong.

Anyway, after about two months of trailing round the newsagents looking at various magazines (whahey!) he decided to bring in the ultimate expert - his Dad.

Dad arranged for us all to go to a Kit-Car show and have a look at all the various kits - so we could compare prices and quality etc. I think they just wanted to go to look at the posh cars with really big engines, but anyway they had a bit of an idea of what they were looking for. Something fairly inexpensive but reasonably good-looking. To be honest, the cars were very nice looking, so I didn't mind going either. To his credit , Glenn spent a lot of his time asking me what I thought - whether I could get on with the various climbings in and out etc. Some kits you can spend oodles of money on, anything up to £15,000, but they sell for at least three times that. This was the thought that was uppermost in my mind whilst at the show.

When they'd finished rummaging around, Glenn and his Dad had pretty much settled on a Lotus 7 style car, called a Robin Hood 2B. Fair enough. It was small, painted in 'go-faster' red, had no doors and was about an inch off the ground! Eeep, and Glenn was talking about this being our 'day to day' car. Sorry, but no. (Thanks to Eric, Glenn's Dad for excersing a calming influence, otherwise we could have ended up with something even more impratical.)

Then we booked a test drive. Whoooo-Hoooo. What a great drive. Man, the speed, the wind (sorry, it was a bit exciting), the adrenaline. It was quite an experience. Mind you, this was after a three hour drive to Mansfield in the rain, and it hailed on us while we were out on the test-drive. But what the hell, if you can enjoy it in that weather, when the sun's shining it's going to be great. Anyway, after having a ride in it, I thought it was a great car. Because you are so low to the ground, it feels as though you are going a lot faster, and the cornering is superb. And, even though we drove round Mansfield - where the test-drive car must go every weekend, we still turned heads - and that was from people that must see the car pretty much every week.

I was hooked. Hurry up and finish building it Glenn. I want a go. (He's even letting me help - so it gets done quicker. Yes, I'm not just making tea, I'm actually being allowed to hold bolts with spanners and things, but, I am doing the 'index' for the video. Well, we all have to make sacrifices!)

What I say is, as long as he cleans up after himself, if he brings any bits in the house, I don't mind. And I don't even mind having two boxes of seats in my hallway and another box of 'bits' in my spare-room. Bothered? No, I AM RELAXED.