Reliant Supervan 3, A Better Look

[@slowpawstevet3676]

i owned a van like this in the 70s, used it for my decorating business, great little van and i never tipped it over

[@Dazsvintagestuff]

I used to work with a guy in the 80's who had one, he named it Lester, we took the pee all the time but he had it for years. I'll make a prediction that this is a channel that will keep growing.👍

[@badgerlodgegarage]

Thanks for watching, and for you optimism about this channel, it’s very much appreciated!

[@johnhutcheson2047]

Brilliant intro, the peace of the countryside shattered by your rattling van. And very interesting seeing the workings of it.

[@theboystone]

I had a supervan 3 mid seventies loved it

[@kevinangus4848]

Again, exactly as expected. Like being there in person. 😁

[@badgerlodgegarage]

Thanks, As long as that’s a good thing!

[@willswheels283]

This takes me back to my childhood, my Dad drove Reliants for all of my childhood and teen years, he had the later Robin, I’d forgotten how simple Reliants are. Engine access isn’t great from the bonnet, I’d imagine in the Supervsn 3 most of the engine is accessed from inside? That was the case with my Dad’s cars, particularily to access the rearmost spark plugs. People use to take the Mickey out of anybody who drove a 3 wheeler years ago, and even today to a slightly lesser degree people poke fun. But you could turn that on it’s head and think “I’m making people smile and laugh..that’s good! Anyways great review.👍

[@aswclassicsiow8588]

A work mate had one in the early 80s, gave me a lift home one night, about 8 mile never again, wish I had walked😁

[@badgerlodgegarage]

Thanks for watching, Being in the passenger seat is certainly much more terrifying than driving!

[@jameskrell4392]

Great video. I had one in 1975, I went down to Devon for my honeymoon in it from Lincolnshire. The following year I went all the way down to Lands End. Great times. In late 1976 I passed my car test and bought a Morris Marina, mechanically it was a much worse vehicle even though it was only 2 years old.

[@PRH123]

Cool. Shame we didnt have these when i was growing up in the states. There would have been a market.

[@seanpollard5254]

And there you have it in all it’s simplicity very good most interesting glad you shared that with us as always keep up the good work BLG👍

[@SpiritEngine]

What an intro… reminds me of a time I pulled up on my mate in the street in the Minor and when I turned the engine off it started running again! 😂

[@samdavis924]

Thanks for sharing. I find the Supervans very charming and your walkabout is, as ever, wryly entertaining 👍

[@mrjed6912]

It's quite reliable and yet quite advanced compared to the cars from the east. If you shown this to a 1960s Polish man a bit like me and told them it has a 4 cylinder 4 stroke engine... they would be in massive shock.

[@badgerlodgegarage]

Thanks for watching, yes they keep up technology wise with British cars of the 60s. Reliant wanted them to be a sophisticated as possible, but maintain the motor bike license rules.

[@mrjed6912]

@@badgerlodgegarage Yes they did you're on point. think it's quite impressive considering it's a three wheeler.

[@jerryhaggett2391]

Doing the fibre glass work on it must a challange.still great car good fun.the rialtos and robins seem a tad smaller.is there a tie rod disconected going from the A frame back running paralel the offside cil to a bracket .keep up the good reports reports

[@badgerlodgegarage]

@@jerryhaggett2391 thanks for watching! I had to learn to fibre glass when I first got it, it’s a bit messy if your not careful. The Regal is definitely a bit bulky in comparison to the robin/rialto. Not sure what you saw, but iv had a look and no bits are disconnected?

[@mrjed6912]

@@badgerlodgegarage The Regal is lighter than the Robin and Rialto. It's the thickness of the fibreglass, which in the Regal is thin thin.

[@jimmatheson9125]

I had one, It was known as the "nunt gruttok" the throttle cable broke when I was on the oxford ring road, I managed to pull in to a lay-by and replaced it with a guitar string.

[@sophiesharp1709]

Great content, i'm really enjoying the video's.

[@badgerlodgegarage]

Thanks for watching, I’m glad you are enjoying them!

[@Phiyedough]

I would guess the speedos are quite optimistic but on my Regal I could get it up to the stop (80mph) and still accelerating!

[@anthonyparker1650]

Mine went right off the gauge and dissapeared back behind the cowl. Reckon it would do a ton, 2 up. Sorry I got rid of it. Worth a small fortune now.

[@davesandall4530]

I got a reliant regal in 1987 when I was 17 only had a motorbike license and it took me and my then girlfriend all over the country with no problems . I then took my car test and passed first time with no driving lessons needed , wish I'd have kept it for a bit longer but px'd for a vauxhall chevette

[@robertbaxter4021]

It would be interesting to see how you put side panels back in. I'd like to do that on my reliant van. Also how did you paint it?

[@badgerlodgegarage]

I made my own side panels off the van, layering up fibreglass matt and resin onto Gel coat to get a smooth finish (basically made two fibreglass rectangles cut them to shape when they had cured). i then used the fibreglass matt and resin to attach the panels from the inside (panel flush with where it was meant to be) and used fibreglass filler to fill in the gaps, sanded it smooth and it doesn't look too bad! Paint is boat and barge dove grey rolled on.

[@I-T-S-M-E]

Nice video, Reliants I find very interesting.

[@badgerlodgegarage]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@glenroberts7610]

I never realised that cob webs were standard in engine bay .....mine had one as well !🤔

[@thtmotoring]

Great van! Always something nice about a classic that’s used regularly and deliberately isn’t concourse. Bet it’s cheap to run being light. How easy is it to work on? Engine access looks tight

[@thtmotoring]

@@Richard-jp8rz 😂😂😂

[@badgerlodgegarage]

As said by @Richard-jp8rz, not the best!! You can get to most bits through the top( very uncomfortable mind) and yes any major work, drop the engine. That’s not hard to do, iv had this one out a couple of times when I was first getting it back on the road.

[@stevedickson5853]

Have you got the little 1 76 Oxford diecast yet, exact same colour offered

[@frglee]

I remember, many years back, watching one of the tv car guys doing a walkaround on a Reliant Robin. No actual narration, just a few mms and ahs, kicking the wheels, and having a very brief glance at the engine before walking away. I don't think he was too impressed, somehow. Me, I love these little cars, tho' I've sadly never driven one. My dad, who was a used car dealer for a while, once took one in part exchange and had to drive it back to the garage, saying it was one of the more alarming driving experiences he'd ever had. Could that have been true?

[@WheelchairWonders]

I'd go with "lid" ... I quite fancy a Reliant. If only I could get one with an automatic gearbox (hand controls and all that).. (Phil)

[@badgerlodgegarage]

‘Lid’ yep that works! It would be an interesting project to convert one to hand controls!

[@2760ade]

Very interesting. I've always had a strange fascination with Reliants, just so quirky, would love to drive one. If you don't mind me asking, do you earn your living as a car mechanic?

[@badgerlodgegarage]

Thanks for watching! Reliants are a bit of fun! You are pretty much correct, I work on HGVs in real life.

[@2760ade]

@@badgerlodgegarage HGVs? Talk about extremes! That's funny you running and working on a Reliant Supervan! I am currently waiting for a date to take my Cat C test. There seem to still be massive backlogs due to Covid bringing everything to a standstill for such a long while!

[@badgerlodgegarage]

@@2760ade yes it’s all a bit rubbish at the moment test wise! And definitely from the sublime to the ridiculous, I can drive any rigid truck and once you can squeeze a 4 axle tanker through a small gap, a reliant will fit through anything!

[@prawny12009]

"a better look" I thought yeah it's not a ofah rep that's a better look for sure🎉🎉 Gear boxes leak out of the gear stick hole because they don't have any sort of boot/gaiter not alot you can do unfortunately. People are struggling these days too get new timing sprockets and tensioner, rocker shafts seem to have been unavailable new for a long time too, contributing to engine rattles even on "rebuilt" engines.

[@anthonyparker1650]

Who nicked the heater controls?

[@philrogers4346]

I had 2 regal Van's, regal car, a robin and 2 rialtos .I had a frontal lobotomy now I'm normal

[@badgerlodgegarage]

Yes… I’m not completely normal!

[@myoldmate]

On a 3 wheeler, if you get a puncture on the front, how the eff do you deal with it?

[@badgerlodgegarage]

Not to bad actually, you have to Jack it under the front cross member, then the wheel comes off like a standard car does, just involves more grovelling on the ground.

[@prawny12009]

You can go under the radius arm but beware that if you are using a scissor jack a good handbrake or wheel chocks are essential otherwise the car can rotate and fall off.

[@gasisthepastendoil]

stick shift never seal all the leaks

[@gasisthepastendoil]

front wheel is cheaper some how

[@Velomanable]

You moan about the ride but the road your driving on are diabolical

[@badgerlodgegarage]

Oh yes the roads of Sussex are… rustic? And it really doesn’t weather the bumps very well (but I also play on the comic value)

[@Velomanable]

@@badgerlodgegarage I've had quite a few reliants and spent many a cold rainy, snowy day underneath the things but loved the quirkiness of them

[@badgerlodgegarage]

@@Velomanable they are a very interesting, off the wall vehicle, I very much enjoy driving mine! That’s what this Channel is about really! Not taking life to seriously.

[@Velomanable]

@@badgerlodgegarage that's what life's all about love usual things sod the norm I'm a structural steel engineer now but done a lot of various engineering type of jobs also was a builder for a rew years love to restore and repair and make parts for various things mainly my recumbent bicycles and velomobiles

[@simonspider]

Not very well cared for is this car, very rusty and close to being uneconomical to repair, this car deserves a better care regimen, more rust proofing!

[@badgerlodgegarage]

It’s a very solid car! A bit of surface rust… it was significantly worse when I bought it, still a few minor things to sort through!

[@mrjed6912]

@@badgerlodgegarage Will you fully restore it? I beg you never paint it yellow.

[@badgerlodgegarage]

@@mrjed6912 i will never fully restore it, I will fix the annoying issues with the doors and windows and keep it mechanically sound, but I want to keep it in it’s grubby used appearance. So no it won’t be yellow.