jon_boy
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| posted on 9/12/05 at 11:56 AM |
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Reliant scimitar
Been offered one of the above, where basically the car is pretty knackered, but the engine is a ford essex v6 bored out to a 3 (maybe 3.5 the person
who currently owns it has no idea about what has been done entirely) and has had some headwork done at some stage. And it runs. Is it worth getting
for 300 odd squid just for the engine, get it all cleaned up then use it/flog it?
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jon_boy
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| posted on 9/12/05 at 12:01 PM |
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LOL. my dad just bought it. It was his friends. 200 quid. Its apparently closer to 4L, lots of headwork and mods, side exit exhausts the works.
Apparently the previous owner to the one i bought it off was going to use the car for drag racing and the like, but never got round to finishing the
inside. Looks like the locost is on hold....
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Mike R-F
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| posted on 9/12/05 at 02:41 PM |
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Well done to your dad. The Scimitar is a great car particularly if you have a 5 or 5A, the 6's are a bit bloated by comparison. I've been
using my 5A as a daily driver for the past 4 years & have virtually rebuilt every part of it. It's a great car on the road & often
scares the pants off modern tin tops. I would suggest joining the RSSC, it's the best of the Reliant clubs with lots of good advice & a
thriving spares section. Check the outriggers & the main lateral tube at the rear of the chassis for rust, if these points are OK, you should have
yourself a winner!
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jon_boy
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| posted on 9/12/05 at 05:48 PM |
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Just heard the latest on it. The engine has had a fair bit of work, nearly a 4litre now and has had quite a bit of headwork done, the only other point
my dad knows is that it has "some special" exhaust that comes out from the side of the car. There is 1 patch of rust (sounds like the rear
bit you mention) although it is small and i can weld and work at a garage so have access to ramps etc. And its green. Picking it up in the morning so
pics will be up!! Jon
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Mike R-F
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| posted on 9/12/05 at 07:26 PM |
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I'd be a bit concerned if someone has bored an Essex V6 out to 4L. This is the same motors that used to be fitted into Capri RS 3200s & were
used in the Touring Car championship in Germany in the 70's. IIRC, Ford & Zakspeed took them to a max of 3500 & I would think there
would be a real danger of weakning the block at anything over this. Retro Cars mag has a feature on Scimitars this month including forced induction.
The Essex is a good workhorse but, ultimatly, the best usable power you can expect from it is about 250bhp. The problem with the design is that the
combustion chamber is in the piston crown resulting in a heavy piston which absorbs power. The other thing you have to look out for, particularly with
a modded lump is cooling. The Scimitar overheated when new as a result of poor cooling layout. If it's fitted with the standard fan, junk it
immediatly and replace it with one from a Citreon BX. This is a standard mod for Scims & has probably been carried out already but if not, make it
a priority. Re the cross-chassis tube at the rear, this is extremly difficult to weld sucessfully in situ and any rot comes from inside the tube
outwards & is usually worse than it appears. Please remember it's glassfibre all around & it catches fire VERY easily & once it
starts burning, it spreads quickly. If it all comes together, & I hope it does, let the club know about it as it sounds like some interesting work
has been done on it!
Mike
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scotty g
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| posted on 9/12/05 at 07:38 PM |
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A work mate of mine has just bought a Scimitar, think he said it was a 6? Anyhoo he is finding it hard getting parts at a good price.
Does anyone know of a good forum he can join to get some helpful advice?
Cheers.
Scotty G.
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Mike R-F
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| posted on 9/12/05 at 08:51 PM |
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There are a number of suppliers for Scimitar parts inc. Graham Walker on 01244 381777 & the one I recon is the best, Queensberry Road Garage in
Kettering 01536 513351. Just ask for Nigel. You can still get most service parts from Halfords or any motor factor for both the early Essex engined
cars or the later2.9 Colognes, just look under Ford Capri/Granada/Scorpio as appropriate. Parts specific to the Reliant are generally only available
through traders like the two mentioned above. My advice is to join the club, RSCC, each issue of the excellent magazine comes with a seperate small
ads booket detailing tons of cars & parts for sale, usually at very reasonable prices. And, no, I'm not on the payroll. Of all the car clubs
I belong to, and there are a lot, the RSCC is by far the best in terms of advice, support & friendliness.
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jon_boy
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| posted on 10/12/05 at 05:58 PM |
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It is 3.5 litres apparently. Picked it up this after noon, unfortuanately its an auto but hey, and a nice (saicastic) shade of lime green/yellow. But.
Its in good nick with wolfrace(i think) alloys, and the whole leather interior looks in good nick although its not currently fitted, just thrown in.
And the "special exhausts" are basically 4-2-1 tubular manifolds (which may be standard i dont know, and where they join a single pipes
then exits from the side of the car. LOUD!!!
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Peteff
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| posted on 10/12/05 at 06:40 PM |
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are basically 4-2-1 tubular manifolds
It's grown another 2 cylinders then  . There's a garage at the Newhaven junction on the A515 from Buxton to Ashbourne, Derbyshire with a
few Scimitars of various vintages strewn about. It looks like he might break them for spares.
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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jon_boy
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| posted on 11/12/05 at 05:21 PM |
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Ah yeah. 3 pipes into one. you know what i mean. Ive still got the two old heads that came of it with exhaust manifolds attatched. Worth trying to
flog these you think or do they not go for much. Not much experience with these old girls you see. On the down side my brand new battery i got
yesterday was flat this morn so its electrical fault finding time. yay.
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andyps
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| posted on 11/12/05 at 10:29 PM |
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Graham Walker as mentioned above is a great bloke - I have met him a few times and he certainly knows Scimitars. When Reliant went bust he bought all
the rights to the cars including all the body moulds etc. Presuming he still has them, if you gave him enough money he could actually build a brand
new car.
Andy
An expert is someone who knows more and more about less and less
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