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Don't rely on a Reliant

F

Frantic

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My first 'Car' was a Reliant. After having bikes for a number of years and smashing most of them up, I bought a Reliant off one of my mates. The idea was that you could learn to drive a car while still on your motor bike license. The Reliant was a convertible until my mate Roger, rolled it and smashed the roof in. It then became an 'Unconvertable'. This was it's condition when I bought it for 20 quid. It was a side valve engine and 'crash' gearbox. If you didn't learn quickly to 'double de-clutch', you just didn't go anywhere. It was a problem in the rain though as it used to fill up with water, but I fixed that by drilling some holes in the wooden floor. As I was the only one with a 'car' in our gang, it used to get quite full on occasions. One night, we were 'cruising round the town' looking for any chicks that couldn't resist a spunky crowd of guys in a Reliant. There were two in the front, two in the small rear seat and two sitting on the back with their legs on the back seat. I can't imagine why, but we attracted the attention of a traffic cop on a Motor bike, who wanted to know why there were six people in a three wheeled car designed for two adults and two very small children. So I lied. "We saw two of our mates walking home and they had no money for bus fares , so we gave them a lift".
"So you are on your way home then" said the cop.
"Why yes, officer, of coarse". He reluctantly accepted this pack of lies and let us go on our way. Well, after that encounter, I decided to head towards home, especially as it was highly unlikely that any mini-skirted dolly chicks would have room to fit in (or want to). So we turned round, and off we went. After a little while, we got stopped again........by the SAME COP!!....."I thought you lot were going home". he chided.
"Well after seeing you the first time, we decided to". some smart alec in the back chirped.
"Bugger off, and don't let me see you again" he said, with a strange grimace on his face that could be taken for either a smile, or acute indigestion.
The fuel situation was becoming critical as well. The gauge was on 'empty', but then..... it always was. The tank was usually in a state of 'empty' or 'REALLY empty' or 'COMPLETELY empty', so we went into a petrol station and bought some fuel. "Half a gallon please" says I. "Why don't you all chip in and buy a gallon" says the extremely sarcastic attendant. Then a sophisticated voice comes from somewhere in the back and says "My good man......we HAVE chipped in, and we want HALF a gallon". What a night.
One day, a friend of mine who shall remain nameless ( for the time being ) wanted to borrow my magnificent Reliant to go fishing (that's a clue). So he offered me a swap for the day with his Triumph Bonneville. I was going out with a new girl, so I thought I would impress the .....socks off her with a trip up to Wales for the day. My 'friend' duly went fishing, and lo-and-behold, the Reliant broke down...so he just left it there and thumbed a lift home. He went to retrieve my beloved Reliant about a week later, AND THERE WAS NOTHING LEFT OF IT. A body shell and a few bits, no wheels. My poor Reliant.....I never saw it again......Dead and abandoned on the side of the road. SOME FRIEND EH!!!
 
Poor Frantic. What you might call robbin' the Reliant ain't it. Never mind, I bet you've gone onto far better things by now. We do get attached to these things though don't we.


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yes ,it was me ,who shall remain anonymous,what frantic didn't mention was that it was a load of junk,we did the SW,then you stalled pulling away as it was grossly overloaded,i loaded up with 3 mates and 4 fishing baskets,you started this thing by unstrapping the bonnet and kick starting it,then lower the bonnet strap it up and climbed in where you then stalled it as it was grossly overloaded.we got as far as west brom high street when this red light came on the dashboard,and we all unanimously agreed it was the oil light,no worries,into the garage,pour in one pint ,kick start,red light still on ,pour in another,funds running low by now,kick start ,still red light on,as we were all mechanically challenged we decided to fill it up with a gallon tin just to get us to the river,nobody told us it was the dynamo light that was red,but we were moving ,that was good enough.we got as far as the stewpony pub at kinver when the smoke got so bad we couldn't see anything so we called it a night and rolled into a laybye.most of the night was spent eating 3 days of supplies and cans of beer,being guardians of the countryside all the rubbish was just dropped over the side.next morning we woke up to find we were at the bottom of the laybye ,at the other end was this huge pile of rubbish ,we had rolled down the slope while we were asleep.the transport was dead ,so we just loaded up our kit and walked home (that was a long way when you look back).i forgot to tell frantic ,mind you he had pulled this bird so he wasn't surfacing for a bit,a week went by before i told him,but i dont know why as when we got back to the laybye,there was nothing left ,just the massive oil leak,(oh and the huge pile of rubbish at the other end.i got my bike back and avoided him for ages.not a happy bunny

apologies for the first 3 lines as i must have pressed a button i shouldn't have and what i was typing started to appear at the beginning and i dont know how to correct it and i wasn't starting again

MUST TRY HARDER :uglystupid2:
 
first car

After a string of motorbikes my first four wheeler was a Ford 8 van OVP 624, It was an ex George Mason delivery van which into the back of I put a bus seat, It was a great little van and never let me down, I had it for about 2 years, then sold it and bought a Ford Popular POP376 the sit up and beg type, which again was allway,s reliable.
 
My Husband and I had Reliants for the same reason as frantic, he had always ridden motor bikes, We had a trailer on the back of ours, which we packed with camping gear including loo, and journyed to Shell Island in Wales, Some Americans filmed us unloading the car and trailer unable to believe that 2 rather large people. 1 dog, 6 berth tent, with coffee table and rations could possible have fitted and been towed by three wheels happy days
Maggie
 
:angel: I just love reading about all your adventures as Brummie teenagers. Mine were all down in London as I had to leave home for my own safty at 17. Although I did have some hair raising times down there at the start of Flower Power and The Swinging 60's.
 
Remember seeing a runaway Reliant on a very steep hill in Devon one summer many years ago. Everything was fine no one hurt but it was a strange sight.
Mr. Bean was always mean to Reliant cars! Great tales from Frantic and Dollyferret.
 
As some one who worked on Reliant's Robin, &The Bug(remember it?)
The four wheel "Kitten" and of course the Scimitor, I can only say that they weren't bad,just got too expensive in the end,but 100s of folk had great pleasure out of driving them,and they are still on the road to-day
 
About 20 years ago Ray bought a secondhand Scimitar bought for a "spoilt boy" by his parents as new, but he hadn't looked after it very well, and before Ray could drive it, he had to have a new engine, it was a lovely smart car but every time we had to stop at traffic lights the young bloods would try to beat us to the off. He had it for a few years then he traded it in for something more sensible.
 
Pricess Anne used to keep getting booked for speeding in a Scimitar. I wonder if she ever paid the fines.
 
Princess Royal was fined £400 by Cheltenham Magistrates after clocking 93mph on her way to the European Young Rider Championship at Hartpury College, Gloucestershire, in August 2000.
 
Some trivial information about the Reliant:
1935 - Reliant Motor Company was founded by a Tamworth man, T. L. Williams. Production started on the first Reliant three wheeler at the former Midland Red Omnibus garagw at Two Gates.
1940-45 - Reliant factory was used to make parts for the war effort.
1963 - Reliant expanded at Shenstone, so that they could boost production of the Reliant from 150 to 250 vechiles per week.
1998 Reliant Motors leave Tamworth to consolidate with Fletcher Boat Makers of Burntwood.
2000 - The factory site at Two Gates is now a housing estate
 
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