1980 Mk1 Reliant Robin

[fr€$h&m1nt¥]

ooh nice.

in for updates.

as soon as i read the title i thought not an only fools and horses rep so glad you're reversing that cliche out.

[Deleted]

Nice. I totally agree about the round light cars... so much nicer looking.

It's funny but I'm increasingly thinking one of these might be on my future purchase list. I've always shared the popular opinion that they are jokes but lately... I don't know quite why... but I've started to think one of these could be a cool little car to own with the right touches.

I also think they are a great base for an EV conversion, and if that could give them eye watering acceleration off the line, there would be much fun to be had with smirk removal wipes at the lights.

I think the one thing I would love to see on a Robin is some way of making the front wheel a twin-wheel set-up. I don't mean putting a wheel at each corner... keep them in the middle, but I think twin wheels at the front would give it some Nosferatu attitude.

In fact... give it twin wheels and a NOS kit on a suitable small fourbanger and sign-paint it as it NOSferatu, and I'd be a happy Robin driver.

[reliantreviver]

MX5 engine and box? I think you'll end up with all of about 2 inches of prop between the UJ's and 5 minutes before the diff explodes, but by all means, go ahead!

The MK1 Robin is the purest shape, certainly the best looking of the 1973-2001 bloodline (which are all largely the same under the skin)

Get the 850 up and running and whizz about in that first, you may be pleasantly suprised with the way it behaves and hopefully appreciate it's a crucial component in a well "balanced" package.

Regarding lowering it, the best way really is to de-camber the springs, or better still get new ones made with reversed eyes either end. Otherwise yes the axle can be mounted above the springs, but it's not as easy as just unbolting it and "flipping it"

Front can be dropped with a coilover to a certain degree, but the inclination of the kingpin is of course affected by the ride-height, not sure I would want to go crazy low.

One of mine from yester-year

[fr€$h&m1nt¥]

At 850cc that could be a potential donor for the acty. 50% cc increase! does the engine sit between the rear wheels? What is the BHP?

[timmy201]

May 18, 2018 7:30:58 GMT LowStandards said:

Please ignore the hilarious yellow paint and the graphics. They are the first thing to go!

Don't tell me you're getting rid of the
T...
I...
T...
S...
!

[fr€$h&m1nt¥]

May 18, 2018 9:10:26 GMT LowStandards said:

The engine sits just behind the front wheel and uses the standard gearbox to live axle setup.

I imagine your best bet is a compact fwd engine, maybe something from a crashed Aygo etc...

Ah cheers for that.

Maybe I should keep my alto running gear.

[rblote]

I love it. I have never driven one of these things, never been in one but I would love to get that opportunity.
in my books; they are just awesome.

Cheers

[kevins]

One of my mates had several of these when we were young (30 years ago!) A good 850 was more than enough for the standard set up, remember going round a roundabout the front massively understeering and it going straight on through some railings, front of car looked like cheese pushed through a grater, doors used to fall off regularly but they usually got us there. Later on another mate had a Bond bug, which handled much better, did do a 360 spin in it though which was pretty alarming at the time.

As for alternative engines I reckon only some sort of 3cyl turbo is likely to fit in the standard space.

[reliantreviver]

Back in the day when they were the motor of choice for the 750MC race series, they were regularly revved over 9k rpm and some put out almost double the stock (45bhp) output.

If you want to scare yourself silly, just wind a Reliant 3 wheeler up past the ton mark, strange things happen, the front end goes light, the door frames start to pull away from the aperture, your knuckles go white, the passengers go very quiet.

[rblote]

want fast??


Hayabusa Turbo

[SmokeEm]

Bookmarked. Should be fun!

[MiataMark]

PPC did all sorts of strange things to a Robin a while ago, might be worth looking it up. They were aiming for delta-pig type thing inspired by the Nissan sports racer.



Yes I know it's got 2 front wheels but they are very close together.

[guz]

Buying guide in this month's Practical Classics

[samta22]

There's also an interesting spread on these in this months practical classics... albeit mostly a buying guide and, well, you've already bought it

*Edit - what he said ^^^^

[SmokeEm]

Fit it with whatever it takes to actually finish it - haven't you still got a Jeep & a Rover to finish?

[metalshapes]

What about a 1108 Fiat Fire engine?
The 750MC switched from Robin engines to those some time ago, but I believe some still use the Robin transmission.
If that is true, parts for that swap should be available, and would make it really easy to do...

[mylittletony]

May 23, 2018 9:07:43 GMT LowStandards said:

It's been decided to rebuild the current engine

Not ignoring what you've said, but another alternative is the G13BB Suzuki engine and box from a jimny or carry van. I looked into it as a candidate for a kitten. Lightweight & small, revvy, fairly simple and ~80hp out of the box, which won't pop the axle. Plenty of upgrades if you want as well.

A possible future option anyway

[Speedle]

There's a real charm to the Reliant cars, looking forward to seeing this progress. Great to see the block is in good shape, always a relief to see good liners after all that work.

[dikkehemaworst]

Am i the only one Who likes the yellow?
Just needs german post office sign writing....

[darrenh]

OF+H was a regal anyway ? don't see the point of it, a bit like orange mk2 escort with 01 painted on the door