oh dear here we go again
I guess a lot of you by now will have opened your copy of PPC and found a copy of the Robin Hood catalogue.
They have a new chassis out called the Light.
Its made out of precision pressed and folded aluminum parts that you bond and rivet together to form the chassis yourself.
A fairly complete build kit only costs £1795+VAT.
I saw it and thought what a great concept.
Not sure if RH can pull it off but if they can and the chassis is as good as they say it is i reckon they have a best seller on their hands!
Not convinced ..........smacks of blue peter and sticky backed plastic to me.
I know race cars have been made this way but that was by people who knew what they were doing and it was only for smooth tracks.....not pot holed and
sleeping copper bump covered roads.......a right B&Q special i reckon!!!
oh dear here we go again
Mmmm!!
On balance I would think learning to weld would be more challenging than learning to bond and pop rivet.
Mick
they've been talking about releasing this for about 2 years now, yet it doesnt seem to have taken off.
first it was the bolteon (i'll be buggered if i know why) then the lightweight, now the light? how many names can you label the same kit with?
as for precision pressed and folded, i can't see it myself, and although a rare occurrence, i'd be tempted to go with triton on this one.
i'm out of this one now, before the debate starts, i can't stand to read it all again.
tom
oh before i go, i've got polybushes, should i do the bolts up tight tight, or back them off a little once nipped up?
With polywotsits you are clamping the steel insert not the top hats......so do em up tight and use nylocs......make sure you don't crush the
brackets tho as this leads to the polythings binding.....if it looks like the bracket is crushing before clamping up the inserts are too short..
Mark
The binding bit is one reason i reckon some people have the bendy bone trick going on rather than them being weak in the first place......summat has to give if the pivot is too tight!!!
i was joking,
, just another thread that's been done to death, along with ally chassis.
nice to see someone bit though.
sorry
tom
[Edited on 3/7/05 by indykid]
arse....and there i was thinking i was being Mr helpfull.... next one to ask will be told to do it the RH way.......glue and sticky backed
plastic.....
Light? is that the cheese grater one they had a various shows? rather you than me!
quote:
Originally posted by Mix
Mmmm!!
On balance I would think learning to weld would be more challenging than learning to bond and pop rivet.
Mick
Ahem -
This subject has been covered at some length in our RHOCaR forum. As an ex-RAF aircraft fitter, I would have full confidence in a car riveted &
bonded together - look at how many planes are flying around the skies built thus. However, I have some reservations about areas of high stress, e.g.
suspension and seat belt mountings. Provided these points have been researched/developed correctly, it should be OK. BUT - the riveting has to be done
correctly and with attention to jointing compounds where necessary, particularly in areas where different materials are used, e.g. in the matter of
the afore-mentioned stress areas, where presumably there needs to be a bit of good old-fashioned steel. The Lotus Elise & Exige are built along
these lines aren't they? Not sure how many rivets there are though!!....
Petemate
What idiot would want to tackle that at home when Lotus and those that make planes spend millions perfecting techniques and can still get it wrong first time round......imagine: youv'e riveted and glued the pig only to find it's pissed.......then what?
The write up in the catalgue for the light had me in stitches
"Without doubt the value for money in respect of the amount of components that you get in this kit is phenomonal"
translation =
you get a fark of a lot of rivets
"we must stress however that the lightweight is brand new and you will be a pioneer customer"
translation =
you may well have some problems during the build
"our technical helpline is avialable to help you with any initial or teething problems you may have"
translation =
"your going to have problems but not to worry when you actually need an answer we won't be there to help you, cause we have all gone
home"
"you too by building a lightweight can add to the compendium of advances in lightweight automobile construction that will ultimatley reduce the
detrimental effect of industrialisation on our planet"
WHAT THE FARK, bugger me, somebody got a dictionary for christmas and a case of the verbal trots for the blurb here. cmon build a lightweight and
save the planet!!!!!
Bet the build boooook is on bog paper......
quote:
Originally posted by Triton
Bet the build boooook is on bog paper......
RH don't use build manuals, on paper or bog rolls. They use a highly entertaining and very funny collection of build manuals. Seriously guys you should get hold of a set and watch, you will wet yourselves they are that funny (not intensionally though).
quote:
Originally posted by Jonr
"you too by building a lightweight can add to the compendium of advances in lightweight automobile construction that will ultimatley reduce the detrimental effect of industrialisation on our planet"
You can buy a shopping trolley from Asda for £1.
Don't have to buy shopping trolleys round here so many muppets leave them lying about they are free!!!!!....make great paddock stands with a bit
of modding
quote:
Originally posted by Petemate
Ahem -
This subject has been covered at some length in our RHOCaR forum. As an ex-RAF aircraft fitter, I would have full confidence in a car riveted & bonded together - look at how many planes are flying around the skies built thus.
Yes, it was, on the infamous "sliding pillar" (or sliding pillock as they're affectionately known on the RHOCaR forum) front suspension
setup. Word on the street is that they now fail SVA by decree from VOSA Central automatically unless the builder demonstrates that the taper was
properly machined.
Thank God I've got wishies on mine...
Back on topic for a moment, you naysayers ought to give the thing a chance. It hasn't even hit the road yet! There will be lots of takers, so
we'll soon see how good it is.
The Elise is mostly glued, but uses rivets here and there because the glue, under certain loads, can shear away from the mating surfaces. This was
tested and found to be stronger than an equivalent welded joint. However, the engine sub chassis had to be made out of galvanised mild steel because
the aluminium version kept fracturing.
[Edited on 6/7/05 by Jon Bradbury]
"It hasn't even hit the road yet!"
An interesting choice of words Jon.
Ian (ex Exmo owner)
PS. The thing to remember about R.Hoods is that they were the only budget build in the earl/mid 90's. There was no "book",no MK et al
then.
Unless they improve their quality,actually design some front suspension and keep their prices realistic their time might well be past. (IMHO)
There speaketh a brave man..owning up to having owned an RH.... Did you wear a mask or only go out at night Ian?
I didn't dare going out at night as the headlamps were exactly what you'd expect from Robby Nood.
There was another reason for owning a Hood as at the time it was the only 7ish (and I use the term loosely) that I could fit into. OK for you
shortasses! 
Ian
quote:
Originally posted by Jon Bradbury
Back on topic for a moment, you naysayers ought to give the thing a chance. It hasn't even hit the road yet! There will be lots of takers, so we'll soon see how good it is.
I was of the understanding that bed pans went out when we all got inside shitters...