Reliant Scimitar GTE - Talk to me...!!!

[grifterkid]

Hello there folks...

I've wanted a Reliant Scimitar GTE for eons now and I'm going to take the plunge, I have to!

I think they look the business, and are (shhhh, whisper it!) hugely undervalued so my time is now I think.

Can any of you good people tell me your experiences or share some interesting snaps with me for inspiration?

Also, what are their problems...?! I've joined the superb Scimitar forum ( www.scimitarweb.co.uk/ ) but I value your opions very highly indeed so any little (or large) snippets of info' you can give me would be superb...











Thanks to you all in advance...

[bgt]

Princess Anne had one, you know?

[93fxdl]

Rust is a real problem, chassis Outriggers are a pain, but can be done without lifting the body off, the serious trouble is the body stiffening moulded into the shell, as it rusts, it deforms the shell, leading to buckled sills and dropping doors plus the seats can come loose,
Cheap to buy but can be expensive to restore. Plenty of cheap projects around but if you want a really nice one it will cost you.
Ps might have a rolling shell available if you are interested
Ttfn Glenn

[DWDarkWheels]

Well several of us from Scimitarweb are over here too, so I'll probably repeat what you might already have learned.

Which model do you prefer? The curvaceous, sportier SE5 series , or the boxier, more GT-ish SE6 series? Most folks go looking for a tax-exempt '5, so the later '6s are often overlooked.

Mechanically there's little difference, though many point at the '6 and say it's too heavy for the suspension.

Chassis - watch for rust in the outriggers especially.
GRP body - watch for star-crazing - fixable but a lot of work. Mostly found front or back as a result of a small shunt. Oh and watch for rust...I'm not joking...in the embedded steel sections of the sill and A-post supporting the door. You'll spot this in bulging sills and the front edge of the door aperture.
Mechanically, parts are cheap. Graham Walker and GRQ are the 2 big specialists offering plenty of spares.
Interior trim pieces can be fragile, but Scimitar folks are keen to help each other out with spares.

Buy-the-best-you-can-afford is something I hate to hear. A complete, straight Scimitar is so cheap, buying a basket case makes no sense, unless you're a masochist like me.
Buy a solid one for the same money as a basket-case Capri

[grifterkid]

As mentioned above the one thing I never thought about was rust in the integral reinforcement metal...! If this does cause a problem how on Earth is it fixable...?! Also, how do you spot it if it's hidden in the glassfibre moulding...?! That is a worry I must admit but I'm still going to go for it...!!!

[DWDarkWheels]

My intention was to post this pic as inspiration because this car partly inspired my build..........but compare the shape of the sill to those you posted right at the start.



See what I mean? It affects the SE5-series cars more, not the SE6's. It's repairable of course, and I'd sooner tackle that than the weldathons that go on elsewhere on Retro-Rides

[grifterkid]

Blimey, that is quite noticeable isn't it...?!

I suppose you're right in the fact that a weldathon of epic proportions is not really an issue with these cars even though they do have their own unique problems to address.

I just hope I am lucky and find a good one!

[Rob M]

Aug 28, 2014 17:20:34 GMT 93fxdl said:

Rust is a real problem, chassis Outriggers are a pain, but can be done without lifting the body off, the serious trouble is the body stiffening moulded into the shell, as it rusts, it deforms the shell, leading to buckled sills and dropping doors plus the seats can come loose,
Cheap to buy but can be expensive to restore. Plenty of cheap projects around but if you want a really nice one it will cost you.
Ps might have a rolling shell available if you are interested
Ttfn Glenn

Rust is no more of an issue than it is on 99% of cars where the youngest is something like 30 odd years old.
The steel built into the sills is not a complex issue to deal with,Ive done one and I'm no genius, infact its probably an easier issue to sort than buying a Ford or Vauxhall of the same era and finding that you will have a weldathon on your hands letting new metal into floor pans, sills etc.
The door hinge issues are more difficult to deal with but is doable.
Seats coming loose isn't something ive heard of TBH, the seats are bolted through the fibreglass floor into boxed steel and the like. I'm on Scimitar number 5 now and have never had seats coming loose, however, maybe others have had such an issue.
A decent one will cost you less than £2000. It wont be mint but it will be a damn sight cheaper than a comparable C***I and, personally, much more enjoyable to own.
Ive never paid more than £1800 for a Scimitar and none of them were proverbial dogs.

[DWDarkWheels]

Aug 28, 2014 18:28:25 GMT Rob M said:

Rust is no more of an issue than it is on 99% of cars where the youngest is something like 30 odd years old.

I'm looking for the LIKE button for all of that post, Zeb.

Remind me at the start of the month and I'll link to my photobucket pics of sill surgery.

[grifterkid]

^^^ Thanks a million for that sir... I need to gen' myself up on these cars as much as I possibly can!

Reading what people have said though I think I'm in for soemthing really quite joyous...

[chairchild]

potentially the biggest PITA jobs rust-wise, are the doors (A pillar supports, and hinge mounts inside the doors) and the rollover hoop base.

Doors *can* be peeled open, but access to the inside of the A panel cab be a PITA, and access to the base of the roll hoop is even moreso.


but.. the WORST part, is you'll hear this almost every day:

Aug 28, 2014 15:43:08 GMT bgt said:

Princess Anne had one, you know?

[composimmonite]

I remember reading a restoration guide to the SE5 and it said trim condition is important as unique to every car so if you have a tatty interior then you are looking at bespoke replacements rather than simply buying readymade off the shelf. Same applies to secondhand trim - it might not necessary fit your car as it will be custom fitted to the original vehicle.

[grifterkid]

The trim situation is a worry, the rust scenarios could be hell but the Princess Anne connection is my biggest concern...!!!!

I'm still set on one of these plastic GT's though so I'm just going to have to try and get over these hurdles and plough on regardless...

[Xenocide]

Mine's got bulging seams, shagged roll bar and drooping doors.

Could be a long one

[grifterkid]

^^^ You'll get there sir and it'll be well worth it when you do...!

Who thought it'd be a good idea to hide the metal bracing in the shell?! Especially metal that I imagine had no rust proofing added...?!?!?!

Oh well, it all adds to the excitement right?!

[Smiler]

I've had my 'slightly used' '71 SE5 for over a year now. The overdrive is broken and it out-drinks a chav on cheap cider on gyro day but I still smile every time I see her and grin like a schoolboy every time I drive her. My interior is scrap, so I'm just making my own. It's nothing too taxing to sort with a bit of DIY apart from seat covers (as with any car) and front seats are often replaced with alternatives such as MX-5.

Go for it! It's not exactly a car that's going to devalue if you change your mind.

[Rob M]

Aug 29, 2014 10:05:41 GMT composimmonite said:

I remember reading a restoration guide to the SE5 and it said trim condition is important as unique to every car so if you have a tatty interior then you are looking at bespoke replacements rather than simply buying readymade off the shelf. Same applies to secondhand trim - it might not necessary fit your car as it will be custom fitted to the original vehicle.

The SE5 became the 5A and, consequently they are rarer and will have certain differences in trim, the dashboard being one.
TBH, the whole 5 series range was the most numerous of the GTEs made and finding decent trim isn't the nightmare that is being proposed.
I wouldn't say that the trim was bespoke, that would be like saying Reliant would build each car and some would be 6 inches longer than others, some would be narrower and others would leave the factory without steering wheels.
Reliant, as much as all the jokes would suggest, were no mugs and were producing bloody good cars.
The 6As and Bs will be more of an issue trim wise but ive refurbished the interiors of two Ive owned and some thought and method can bring a tired interior up to scratch, blimey, many of us Scimitar owners have recovered dashtops and the like without professional help.
Really, all the issues that have been raised are no worse than the issues generic to any particular classic car model.
Rover P6 rot around the rear suspension, Capri, er anywhere and everywhere, 70s Vauxhalls ditto.
Its like anything else, you learn. you ask questions and if you are reasonably DIY competent virtually all stuff on all cars its doable.
All I will say is buy an MOTd car, expect to spend £1500 ish and you will get a car, if you do the checks before handing the money over, that will make you grin and have people coming up to you to talk about it.
They are not cars for the shy......

[oakesy]

I'll be honest, rust isn't actually a big thing on them. Chassis are easy to weld as it's all nice thick metal unlike steel bodied cars.

Paint/body can be a pain to sort PROPERLY, but you can take your time on it and still use the car.

Trim can be tricky to find but you can find everything; it might just take a while.

Mechanical stuff is dirt cheap and generally half decent quality unlike a lot of new parts for MGs and Triumphs.
They're also pretty easy to work on. I mean, I managed it and I'm just one of these "lazy yoofs" of today

In terms of the steel/rust in the bodies, there's a few ways you could try and do it but in the end, everyone goes for it properly




How much you spend should come down to what you want in the end. I didn't totally rebuild my yellow one in one go and I regret it as I've basically done everything to it now but it took longer because I didn't do it in one go. Hence why I've stripped my Coupe to every single piece and I'll do the same with every old car I buy in future. If you aren't looking for the best though and you're happy just driving about, you can't go wrong with a £1500-£2500 one.

We all like pictures so I'll try not to disappoint:

[scimjim]

So it looks like 90% of replies are from Scimitar owners that are also over on Scimitarweb

[scaryoldcortina]

Aug 29, 2014 22:28:10 GMT scimjim said:

So it looks like 90% of replies are from Scimitar owners that are also over on Scimitarweb

Yeah, there would be more but some of your members are banned for life here.