Reliant Scimitar

[cleverusername]

I keep looking at these, even though part of me thinks, not a good idea. Not enough space, more expense, plastic car, low mpg.

On the other hand it is gpr with a simple chasis, so rot proothish. An actually V6 engine, instead of another 4 pot. Some of the interiors are quite nice, unusual, not too pricey.

Of course like most classics, there does seem to be two markets. One for those in the who, tend to be the older, well I can't think of another word, beards, and other for the, well I have used beard, mug ordinary punters.

Would it be mad to consider one?

[captain_70s]

The chap I bought my 1850HL from is now running a Scimitar SE6A as a daily driver, nice motor. Despite being a plastic shell on a big old fashioned chassis it can really shift and he flings it around corners with surprising ease, it sounds rather beefy as well. The interior is quite a nice place if you like brown plastic and 1970s chic. It's running Webbers and he's got racing heads for it now, so it'll probably be even faster by the time winter is over!



He bought it with no MOT and brought it back into roadworthy condition, thus far it's cost him less than a grand. Can't argue with those economics!

[simonr]

Would it be mad to consider one?

In a word no, I started with a GTE (V6 3.0L essex) but changed for my GTC (V6 2.8l cologne) which I have had for longer than the Dolomite (which is used all year as tax free) the GTC is for the summer an hibernates during the winter!
Apart from the rust free body and seperate chassis these are a fairly straight forward motor to work on (engine is less advanced than a slant) and spares are reasonable, most are auto boxes but do come with manual + o/d, the suspension is well sorted and if well tuned are quite economical for the size of car.

Bottom line - IMHO these are (like the Dolomite) an underated classic and in GTE form can be used as every day transport, but there are some dogs about so condition & history is everything

Good Hunting

(FYI I do not have a beard )

[MIG Wielder]

Yes; Good choice. There are slight problems with the fibreglass body work , such as if you carry a toolbox in the boot and it hits the inside of the rear wing it will produce star cracks. Similarly if you close the bonnet with a screwdriver in the rain-water duct. There are a number of specialist fibreglass repairers around though. ( My experience is from Lotus ).
Tony.

[Jon Tilson]

The troubles with Scims are 5 fold...

The gel coat...lasts about 10 years and needs a specialist to respray it. Or look like a scabby old shed and dont care.

The electrics....all have to be earth returned, so expect multiple electrical woes and beware the fire potential.

The cooling....is fundamentally flawed by design but can be solved easily be moving expansion tranks and is relatively well documented.

The chassis does rust....

Ford V6....both are flawed, but both have their followers. I consider them sub Stag V8 in desirability and I own a Stag.
If I had to choose I would have an Essex and change the timing wheel.

That being said you can have a nice well sorted one for really good money. They drive very well...handle like tehy are on rails. I reckon its one of the great unsung chassis on the classic scene. If you can live with the gel coat you dont get rust as a compensation. Personally I'd rather deal with rusty scabs as at least its possible to paint a steel car.

That's probably why they are so cheap.

Jonners

[bodgerben]

I do like them, the engine sits behind the front axle centre line so they handle very well.

I have great memories of being carted about as a nipper in a SE6a, Mum had it for years, then it sat in their barn for about 20 years when I persuaded Dad to use it as a track day car, we MOT'd it and thrashed it for a few years.



We had great fun with the Essex V6 - but it really needed a bit more poke. Dad gave us the car and gave it a new heart (along with AP Racing 4 pot rears, XJS Front brakes with ball joints rather than the old TR bits, a LSD, custom TrakSpax and a few more bits)










Then Derek (Autonet7) slapped some paint on it



Now the missus and Dad share it as their classic track day car, where it comes out for a bit of exercise with the Porky and Poe



A mate has a lovely standard SE5, my brother has a Scimitar Coupe (awaiting its Daimler V8) and now dad has a absolutely lovely standard coupe, yes they are nice, cheap old bangers, standard or modified they are great cars with a huge following.

[cleverusername]

Interesting stuff. So you need specialist equipment to respray them?

Find that a bit surprising, as celly paint seem to work on the gpr club pannels.

I do know they rust, but I am getting quite good with the old welder. Hidden repairs that have to be strong, no problem. Repairs to pannels that have to be straight, real pain.

One issue I have noticed is that not all Scimitars are equal, the SE6 ones seem to have lower values, but my understanding is, they don't handle as well.

As for the Essex V6, I do fancy a car with more than 4 cylinders. The first three cars I drove and learnt to drive in were diesels. So I do have a certain affection for unsophisticated engines, that sound like tractors, and are completely bullet proof.

[Jon Tilson]

Is that a Lexus V8?

I always though the rover V8 was the engine that Reliant should have fitted at the factory...

Jag V8 would be interesting too.

I quite fancy sticking one of those in a stag. Anyone ever done that?

Jonners

[bodgerben]

The SE6's are larger and heavier, SE5's are lovely things, light, narrow, altogether an older car experience. 6's feel more up to date.

Handling - all things being equal, I'd expect a nice 5 to handle better than a nice 6 (there is a lot of difference in weight). Our 6 out handles most things on track, granted there is not much scimitar suspension left.

If I was buying, I'd expect my money to buy me a better 6, the coupes (SE4's) would be my preference, but as the 6 was free...

Yes that's a 1UZFE Lexus V8. This is the only Scimitar I know with one, I've heard of a number of Stag's along with TR7's and P5B's (that would be nice). Lots of Scims have found new and interesting hearts, even BMW turbo diesels. Don't discount one with a RV8 or yank V8.
A manual conversion, supercharger and nos are on the wish list for when I get time.

If I was to do an engine swap now I'd go for a LS - plenty of old Monaro's about, and the LS is a much smaller engine.

Paint - you don't need special spray equipment, but you do need a completely dry environment, no place where moisture in the air, hot/cold cycles, can get damp into the panels (unheated garage). No wet prep, all dry. No gas heaters. Completely seal the panels when fully dry (can take months if vehicle/panel starts off damp).
Derek painted ours one horrible winter with celly, so it's not looking great at the mo. We'll get it done again some time.

Our's now lives under a folding garage and has blisters, but I don't notice that when giving it some beans.

[MIG Wielder]

The gel-coat is the thin delicate barrier between the structural fibre-glass and the high-gloss paint. There are many fibreglass specialists around but it is important that this gel-coat is intact and not cracked. I was talking to a local specialist and he used ordinary filler to correct cracked gel-coats. After that you can spray in 2-pack ( as we had done) or cellulose. Yes, Dry conditions are essential. It can take 15 years for pin-hole defects to show in fibreglass paint. Remember the summer of 1995 I think it was ? That was where a lot of paint defects started showing on the Lotus.
Again it is important the fibre-glass body is not stressed during fixing to the chassis, or allowed to flex. This is why Lotus have adjust on test shims for the chassis-to-body fixing.
Recommendations are available by P.M. btw.
Tony.