New Kit arrives at Phaeton Robin Hood 2B4

Phaeton

Moderator
Staff member
GTM was too much like a real car so it was moved on, collected this morning, then straight after into the truck & fetched a Robin Hood 2B4. Yep I know all about their problems but it was CHEAP a few issues which should be easy to fix & then move it on whilst the market is high.




4 initial problems,

1. Drivers seat is fixed too far forward so need to fit runners, I'm sure I have some sets in the garage
2. The horn sounds when you turn or lean on the steering wheel ;D
3, It's running a tad rich, it bangs, pops & flames from the exhaust I could hold my own in MaccyD's car park. Need to lean it off to make it drivable so I can get it to the rolling road, failing that I'll just have to take it on the truck




4. Non of the indicator lights worked no battery, oil, indicator, full beam etc. This was an easy fix refitted the connector on the back of the gauges
5. Headlight fault, the dip is where full should be, full is where dip should be & when you turn the lights off by the switch they stay on until you turn off the ignition.
 

Phaeton

Moderator
Staff member
Tried to sort out the wiring today, thought I had fixed it but didn't, so will have to have another go, so scenario is headlights only work with ignition on, there is a stalk on the right to switch lights on, then a stalk on the left for Full, Dip, Flash, first issue is Dip is Full & Full is Dip, it must have passed it's IVA this way as the connectors in the headlights were heat shrunk. Swapped them over in the headlight bowls, now the left hand stalk in it's furthest away position is Full, in the middle is Dip & pulling towards you none latching is Flash, which works also when lights are off, SUCCESS? No, still an issue, if the headlights are on Full & you switch them off by using the right hand stalk they stay On! Switch to Dip & back to Full they stay Off! they are getting a feed from somewhere.

I suspect it is a box that has been added to get the Rear Fog light to work, it contains 3 relays 1x NC 2x NO, all with wires off to the on/off switch for the fog light. Haven't got my head around exactly what it does yet, but as it's now post IVA I could just rip it out, I hate rear fog lights with a passion anyway & think they should be banned.

So Section 28 states

Note 4: Either of the following scenarios will also be
considered acceptable:
i The rear fog lamp(s) may continue to operate until the position lamps are switched off, and the rear fog lamp(s) must then remain off until deliberately switched on again or,
ii An audible warning, additional to the mandatory telltale light, must be activated if the ignition is switched off or the ignition key is withdrawn and the driver's door is opened, whether the lamps in (RS4) are on or off, whilst the rear fog lamp switch is in the "on" position.

It appears they went with option ii although how you open a door I'm not sure ;D but they used a latching switch & there is a buzzer in the box






But one thing I really do like is unbolt 2 bolts, pull a connector off, then 2 others & you get easy access





 

Phaeton

Moderator
Staff member
Bizarrely the RH is growing on me, I did look to sorting it then selling but I'm not too sure now, Sunday was spent still trying to sort out this running issue, it appears to be overfueling badly. With flames at both ends, bit like the morning after a bad curry, checked the valves to make sure that none were sticking. Unplugged the leads off the distributor & moved it so could get a little less advance on it, took the top off the carb to make sure the float is working but nothing changed. Took out the plugs (again) to find them sooted up



So went & bought a new set of NGK's put them in & it ran lovely, tweaked the carb slightly to make it run a little leaner, but all was good, up & down the road with no issues. Arranged with the guy who does my MOT's to pick it up Tuesday morning & thought I'd had a good day.

Monday afternoon decides to try to fit sliders to the driver's seat, it sort of went horribly wrong, none of the brackets would line up right, it turned into a right royal PITA so in the end I fixed them back in but about 30mm further back which seems to work.

Then as a last thing I thought I'd just run it up the road to make sure all was well to be collected the following morning, started first throw of the key, got to the end of the road, went to pull out & no power, wouldn't run above 1200 rpm, struggled to even get it to reverse back up the road, MOT cancelled which in hindsight wasn't too bad as yesterday morning we had rain of biblical proportions.

So potential new plan is to buy a Zetec engine fuel injection, ECU controlled, nice & simple none of this mechanical carb malarkey but the question then is 1.6, 1.8 or 2.0L, the 1.6's seem easier to get & at 100bhp it should move along.
 

Phaeton

Moderator
Staff member
So I had another go at setting the Pinto up, I checked the valve clearances a couple of the inlets were a little tight, but nothing excessive, checked the float level again, had another go at timing & changed out a fuel filter which looked dark & nasty. I managed to get it to run okish & it did stop shooting flames everywhere.

But it did at least allow me to get it to the Rolling Road, he started with a cold compression test 180,175,190,185 so not to shabby, he then stripped & cleaned the carb, then set about timing & mixture, got it running really nice showing an extrapolated 107BHP at the flywheel, which isn't bad for an engine that's only supposed to have 97bhp.

But I do think it maybe the end of the line for us, need to get an MOT on it early next week & it will be appearing in a Fleecebay advert near you very shortly.
 
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