well I'm thinking about upgrading my 7 possibly next year. and I'm considering a robin hood or a Westfield. basically I'm after a lighter one with higher power to weight ratio and a wider bodied one. The reasons behind these needs are in my current 7 I have to duck my head down a bit to see through the windscreen properly which is a bit uncomfortable. I'm about 6ft 1 tall. Oh and the power thing is what everybody craves more off after a while! I could modify what I've got to achieve that but it would be expensive, timely and would probably ruin the car. the seats in the 7 I've got are only about 17 inches wide which is fine for me but the wife likes to get well wrapped up. even on warm days so some wider seats would make my life a lot easier. So to help me could you post here your robin hood model, spec, weight etc to help me out please? Oh and anybody else with any relevant helpful comments or info please put it on here for me. Cheers -nick

I'm absolutely amazed that this hasn't already turned into several pages of 'Robin hood' bashing by now That's what usually happens whenever the name is brought up on kit car sites.

I'm building a Robin hood 2B at the moment. The part built kit on Ebay was very cheap and all I could afford at the time (plus I didn't know any better). They are very suitable for the 'larger' gentleman and I think are one of the widest kits you can get. Lightweight it is not though! Being at the budget end of the kit builders market they do seem to weigh more than you would hope for a supposed 'lightweight' kit. To be totally honest - the quality of the kit is pretty shocking and everything is having to be re-designed and remade properly as I go.

Mine's being built with no windscreen/heaters etc, has an aluminium bonnet, lightweight fibreglass seats and panels. It has a 2lt pinto efi. Recently weighed it and it came out approx 640kgs and it's not finished yet I still need to panel out the inside (with Alu) - fit the dash/rad and a few other jobs so I reckon it will be heading towards 680kg once it's done

So performance wise - I would say you will be no better off (possibly worse) than the car you have now with a Robin with a similar engine setup (I can't speak for the other mono chassis earlier Hoods though in terms of weight). There are plenty of 2B's out there with supercharger/turbocharger/V8 power that are very quick - but obviously you can do that to your existing car.

If I were you in your shoes - I would definitely lean more toward a wide body Westfield if you can afford it.

Cheers
Tony

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Originally posted by Edwardo Lightweight it is not though!... I reckon it will be heading towards 680kg once it's done

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Thanks for the replies! my 7 weighs about 760 kg with windscreen and heaters fitted so weight wise a robin hood would probably be similar to what ive already got. you do seem to get a lot of car for your money with them though and some look very nice. But looks like id better get saving for a wide bodied westfield!! Cheers

I built a 2B some time ago. As mentioned, the quality of the kit was awful. The quality of the design was awful.

Some people managed to build exceptional 2Bs by re-engineering a lot of the parts and making them work. A lot of people ended up with bodged poorly finished cars which weighed more than the moon.

I just wouldn't even go there with hindsight....

have you looked at any other kits / locosts ?

quite a few 'wide' locosts have been built, most following the McSorley +442 plans (ie. 4" wider, 4" longer & 2" taller)

Dax made quite a few LWB chassis and even more with lowered floors, but the rush is still quite narrow, they aren't super light weight either, but tend to have bigger engines

the Viento is defiantly the biggest one I know of and while also not the lightest most of the ones I've seen have had V8's in them (the torque is obviously a big help)
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/forum/27/viewthread.php?tid=204154

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Originally posted by tegwin
I built a 2B some time ago. As mentioned, the quality of the kit was awful. The quality of the design was awful....

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I've been looking at lots of different ones. hopefully I 'll have some track days in whatever I end up with so would rather have a lighter one with smaller engine than heavier one with bigger engine. anyhow I'm in no rush so I've plenty of time to decide. Cheers!

The latest Robin Hood sold under the GBS name as the Zero is pretty much a standard square frame double wishbone 7alike
Have you thought about a McSorrely 442?

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Originally posted by Edwardo
Mine's being built with no windscreen/heaters etc, has an aluminium bonnet, lightweight fibreglass seats and panels. It has a 2lt pinto efi. Recently weighed it and it came out approx 640kgs and it's not finished yet I still need to panel out the inside (with Alu) - fit the dash/rad and a few other jobs so I reckon it will be heading towards 680kg once it's done

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Im selling my 2015 Westfield MX5 - I'm 6ft 2 and I fit!




[Edited on 3/9/16 by prawnabie]

looks very nice prawnabie! unfortunately I'm not ready to buy yet. it might be another year or maybe longer before I've got the funds. I'm just thinking ahead. Just out of curiosity could you tell me how wide the seats are in it please? Cheers.

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Originally posted by snapper
The latest Robin Hood sold under the GBS name as the Zero is pretty much a standard square frame double wishbone 7alike
Have you thought about a McSorrely 442?

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