I Bought A 1980 Reliant Scimitar GTE SE6A (EPISODE 1)

Another project car is added to the fleet. This time a running and rolling 1980 Reliant Scimitar GTE E Overdrive. Its going to be an ongoing restoration but without hopefully coming off the road as far as can be helped. I'm in two minds with the direction of this. Either sympathetic original restoration or restomod style with colour change. Excited to see how this one goes but will enjoy every moment of driving it.
#ScimitarShenanigans

[@robertselkirk674]

Had one many ears ago, problem resolved by using a "Robin Rew" swirl pot; which was a largish steel tin that fitted above the thermostat. This cured the problem. CAr was stolen while I was in Stalag Luft Northwick Park Hospital !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@DipstickUK]

Thanks for the info. Always good to hear others take on things and learn new stuff.

[@scimi7994]

Great buy, I find with mine, it leaks less if you use it. They don't like sitting 😊

[@DipstickUK]

I'm thinking of an engine conversion for it....that'll solve or at least find most of the leaks. Not that there's anything wrong with the Essex V6 its just that said engine will bolt straight into the Regis Mohawk kit car I've got. Plus I've a 3.9 RV8 sitting here doing nothing ;)

[@IanKerry]

I wish you well with your "new" car. I used to have a "T" reg (1978) green same model and loved to drive it. The main problems I had were as follows: The radiator has no header tank due to the spare wheel storage at the front of the engine bay. That meant that the radiator is well below the level of the heads, and as the coolant expansion bottle was too small to capture the expanded coolant it resulted in a lack of coolant at the heads when the engine cooled down, and therefore blown head gaskets. I resolved that problem by sealing the radiator cap (adding a rubber gasket and removing the spring of the pressure regulator in the cap) and added a bottle from a Maxi, which had a pressure cap on it. That added sufficient capacity for the expansion and all was well. The other issue with the radiator was that it became blocked by silt due to lying on its side and having no top or bottom tanks. Other than that it was a great car and was enjoyed for some time.

[@DipstickUK]

Many thanks for the comments. Some really usefull information there that I didn't know about. Will definately be looking into the cooling side of things then :)

[@ThePflcpsa]

I have a 1981 SE 6a.The spare wheel contributes to overheating. Leave it at home and carry a tyre repair aerosol kit, it'll get you home if you get a puncture. The previous owner of mine had rebuilt the Engine, transmission, gearbox, suspension and fuel supply with a new 38 Weber, at a cost of £16,500 (I bought it for £4500 late last year, no leaks anywhere)). Tatty body and interior. One of the first things I did was blow a hole in the radiator. You weld/solder up 48 year old radiators at your peril. New radiator and water pipes and new thermostat (water pump had previously been replaced and is fine). Thermostat housing (aluminium) was warped due to previous overheatings and had to be ground flat to allow the gasket to seal. Auxillary Electric Kenlowe fan fitted to radiator, cuts in with a thermostat built into radiator. No more overheating. Electrical problems are rife because every electrical component seems to need its own earth to the chassis, and they corrode. You can mess about fixing individual items as I have done, or put a new wiring loom in, which is costly but will save money and hassle in the long run. I should have done that, but am left with trying to diagnose the old loom (well my car electrician is). It's cost me £2500 to get it up to MoT standard which it passed with no advisories in late August (it doesn't need one, but shows it's up to modern standard and adds value.) Now the speedo and rev counter aren't working (post MoT). If it need replacements that''ll be about £600. Then I'm looking at a grand for internal refurb and £4K+ for the respray. Then hopefully it will be worth £16K. I will have spent about £11K. There is profit to be made on old motors. But, it has expensive foibles. The 'unique' boot lock really is unique. It's totally a totally weird construction. There are no new ones, or re-furbed. If your boot lock goes (as mine did) you'll have to try to rebuild it from rusty spares (cleaned up). That cost me £200 alone! It's really fun to drive a well maintained Scimitar that starts up straightaway, has extraordinary acceleration and still capable of hitting 120mph+ (where you are permitted) UK speed limit is 70mph. It's more fun barrelling through country lanes, but remember, there's no ABS and the brake servo is weak. Anticipate braking well in advance and remember you will have to use much more foot power on the brake pedal. That is quite normal - modern cars pamper us with computer controlled everything. No computers, seat of the pants driving - all decisions are yours. Enjoy! You soon get used to the old way of driving once you remember the indicator stalk is on the right, as it was on all cars of that era. The left stalk operates the windscreen wipers. It doesn't tell other road users anything when you turn your windscreen wipers on! I've subscribed to your channel, please keep me updated on progress. Sounds like your project might be equally expensive. How much did you pay for it?

[@DipstickUK]

@@ThePflcpsa Wow what a comment! Some great information in there that I didn't know of. Luckily the spare wheel was in the boot as its got a different aspect ratio tyre on it from the rest and doesn't fit in the front well anyway. Many thanks for taking the time to add your experiences and knowledge. I hope it helps others that read it to and keeps more Scimitar's on the road. Now that the show season is out of the way and winter is upon us I'm hoping to crack on with it. I Paid £2700 for it.

[@Tyresome]

Absolutely gorgeous find! The thing I love about Scimitars is that they look the same but they're all unique! Our engine bays look very similar and then I noticed you have a washer fluid bladder!

[@DipstickUK]

Yeah, I've never seen a washer bag!! Guessing it needs a bag for fluids when it gets to that age!! Might replace it at some point as its pretty ugly....stinks to high heaven as well. Don't think its been topped up in years!

[@DipstickUK]

@Tyresome also subscribed to your channel

[@Tyresome]

Yeah man! I've seen old Fords and such with bladders but my Scimitar is a 78 and it doesn't have one! Maybe yours is aftermarket for some reason? Thanks very much man! 😁

[@davidhill6733]

I had a red 6a on a V reg. I did the usual front end rebuild and then the nearside head gasket let go. Sound like your's could do with the same up front and attention to the various leaks or it'll be embarrassed! Feed the mooskin seats too.

[@DipstickUK]

I hoping to fully rebuild the engine once the rest is done. Not to worried if it does let go as plenty of options to replace it but would like to stick with a tuned Essex. The seats are all coming out in due course and I'm retro fitting the maserati quattroporte ones i've got kicking about :)

[@davidhill6733]

@@DipstickUK I was lucky enough to try out a Middlebridge with the 2.9Efi engine. I'd had a go in an SE6B with the 2.8 Cologne motor and that felt a bit wet after the Essex. I was so impressed with the 2.9 that I bought a rolled Granada and a new galvanised chassis from Graham Walker. My plan was to put a 2.9 crate engine I got and the chassis into my 6a and get a 5 speed manual 'box. Then, yet another recession struck so I had to sell up.

[@CaptJerry]

Ooooooo lovely, always wanted one in my youth, never got on sadly. Enjoy

[@DipstickUK]

Me to!!!!! That's why i went crazy on the auction bidding but ended up getting it for a snip at £2700.

[@derekr5601]

Lovely cars. Princess Annes favourite. Good luck with it.

[@nigel.w]

Love these! Seems to have the makings of a decent example.

[@DipstickUK]

I'm certainly hoping so. Time will tell. Hoping to do most of it over winter ready for next summer. Doesn't need a lot. Few leaks to sort and complete bodywork overhaul.

[@nigel.w]

@@DipstickUK I assume the chassis is sound, so should be a good winter project. I'm sure it will look stunning with an interior scrub up, a bit of bodywork, and a repaint. Best of British!

[@DipstickUK]

@@nigel.w I'm hoping so....on 1st inspection it appears ok...no corrosion advisories 10mths ago at MOT time prior to my purchase. Only done 600 miles since 2016!

[@Supremacy1967]

Great car, sure this is the one i missed in Cornwall, good luck and looking forward to following your progress.

[@DipstickUK]

Yes it was on auction in Cornwall. Hoping to get another video up soon of the 5 leaks and repairs!!! Plus tackling the really paint paint/bodywork.

[@MrMightyytau]

I have a real soft spot for these, I recon they would make a great basis for a restomod

[@DipstickUK]

That's the plan....but not too mad a restomod.....I've a few ideas but we'll see how to progesses.

[@davidsweet8829]

Nice. Looks like a good project. Just bought one of these myself. Watching.

[@DipstickUK]

Thanks. It's definately a project. Sprang 5 different leaks after the first 10mile drive!!

[@ThePflcpsa]

Yup, I have a 1981 SE6a, running fine for about 2 weeks after I bought it as a project, a year ago then blew a hole in the radiator. You need a new rad (don't even think about trying to fix a rad that old) , thermostat (including housing, they warp) + all water tubes. Your water pump should be OK. Mine was. Get the correct rad from QRG. You'll need the one with the fan connector port. They only cost one body part - £285. Don't even ask me about having to install electronic ignition, or all the Earth tags, sorting the brakes out etc. Cost over £2K. It now has an MoT with no advisories. It doesn't need one, of course, but assures me (and adds value). Next is internal and external renovations. I have the gear to steam clean the fabric seats and headlining and have a new carpet kit on order. Shouldn't cost more than £500 to sort that. Painting. Fibreglass cars are very expensive to paint. They have to be rubbed right back to the gel coat which must be repaired if stress damaged then sprayed up from there - it's a 7 stage process. Allow at least £5K for a finish that will last 20+ years using modern paints. Don't even think about a cheap job that will start peeling in 18 months, you're not doing the car any favours. Respraying is the big disincentive to owning Scimitars due to the colossal expense. Sure you can run around in your Scim that is in excellent mechanical shape and blows off modern cars at traffic lights, but it won't turn heads or be of much value on the resale market. My current Scim to MoT standard has cost me £6700 inc purchase cost. A £5K respray should add at least another £7.5K making my car worth somewhere north £14K. That's why it's worth a respray. Incidentally, mines booked in for respray at the end of November, in an eye-catching Toyota Supersonic Red (I got a deal - £3500, but had to accept the colour, I can live with that!) www.bing.com/images/search?q=Toyota+Camry+Supersonic+Red&form=RESTAB&first=1

[@DipstickUK]

Thanks for the reply and some really great information that I'll carry forward as it progresses. A new radiator and associated parts is definately the first proper spend on it after a sort the few leaks out. Probably opt for a new slimline double fan setup and a custom air flow creation behind the scimitar grill as doing away with the spare wheel in the front.....going for a custom 1/4 rear roof rack mounted one. Luckily a lot of the wiring has been redone on mine prior to purchase and everything appears to be working correct atm. Bodywork wise I've started tentatively on stripping one side...now looks terrible but they'll be a video of that in due course :)

[@ThePflcpsa]

@@DipstickUK Mine's now got an MoT with no advisories and so has my other one. I'm selling one to pay for a proper down to fibreglass and replace the gel coat respray + internal refurb on the other.

[@turriffterror3881]

Couple of weekends and it's sorted 👍

[@DipstickUK]

Indeed. Just trying to find the time to fit it in as far to many other projects but will be an update soon 😉

[@coroniccreatures7752]

Nice please inform me about the leak gearbox and what it is

[@DipstickUK]

Hoping to find it out in the next video. I'm just waiting on a few other parts to fix the other leaks. Just sprang a fuel leak now getting it into the workshop. 5 leaks in 15 miles of driving!!!!

[@micheltebraake7915]

I bought a RHD 1979 GTE with overdrive in December 2023, also white, mine with a vinyl roof (was that from the factory?), same color upholstery, only fabric on the seats. I'm curious to see what you come across. In any case, the heater radiator on mine needs to be replaced. Greetings from the Netherlands.

[@DipstickUK]

Not to clued up on factory specs but I'd have thought it was an optional extra you could have.

[@timbunker4529]

Had a 77 SE6. Wish I'd kept it now.

[@DipstickUK]

This is my first but have always loved them since the 80's. Seems so surreal actually sat in it driving when only every admired them from the outside as a kid.

[@MarcusTDM]

Looks like a good car fundamentally, are all the mechanicals Ford? Like the brakes and wheel hubs etc?

[@DipstickUK]

No, I believe its just the Essex V6 is that's Ford. Brakes are Lockheed on this one and Girling on all pre 1977 Scimitars.

[@WullieBoy-c7f]

😀