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Choosing which kit presented me with a rather bewildering choice. Things have certainly moved on in the past twenty years or so! AC Cobra’s have always been tempting but probably not a wise choice as a ‘First Timer’. I’ve always liked the Lotus 7 clones, Also, my initial thoughts were to choose a nearby manufacturer. Marc Norden Racing Ltd were close by in North Yorkshire so I paid them a visit. This is a fairly new company and their products were impressive but slightly track orientated. In addition, they seemed to major in bike engined cars, which I wasn’t keen on, as I was after something a bit plusher (if that’s the right word!). Of course there’s Caterhams & Westfields, but my budget wasn’t going to stretch to these. MK Sportscars based down in Nottinghamshire seemed like they were going to be quite similar to MNR. Further Internet trawling kept popping up with the name ‘Robin Hood’ more than once (never heard of them either!). They were also based down in Nottinghamshire so after perusing their website, I sent off for a brochure. I fancied the idea of using something Ford based as I’ve had quite a few Fords in the past. When the brochure arrived I was impressed. On the other hand my wife wasn’t. The kit concept seemed fine, but when it dawned upon her that there was the prospect of a dead Sierra in the drive leaking all its bodily fluids whilst I broke it up, the project was looking like it was going to be a non-starter! In addition, sourcing cheap 2 Litre Sierra’s wasn’t going to be straightforward either. After a trip down to the Robin Hood factory and talking to the venerable Richard, I was impressed enough, despite the reported future of the company. I also learnt that approximately 70% of all Kit Cars sold never make it onto the road. I guess there’s a variety of reasons but realised that there must be quite a few kits out there languishing forgotten in garages. These factors combined led me to thinking that there could be a possibility of sourcing a Robin Hood (maybe part built) with most, if not all, of the necessary parts required to make a complete car. This idea was favourable with my wife, so the project was back on. I was therefore looking for a car that was just waiting for the right person to seek it out. That person was me – I was on the trail!

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