Truly ridiculous first cars...which were also fun, fun, fun!
Discussion
I MAY already have a winner with this one.....but let's see....
As soon as I was old enough to ride motorbikes on my 16th Birthday in 1988, I did so. For the next 7 or 8 years or so, you couldn't keep me off them. Every journey, every fun blat, every commute....all done on bikes, all year round. I was loving it.
However, once I got to my mid-20's one year around 1995, as we descended into the usual British winter, I suddenly realised that I'd had enough of being cold, wet and uncomfortable riding bikes all year round. Trouble was, I hadn't got my full car licence, and in order to do so meant the usual cost and time of lessons and tests.
I suddenly decided that an immediate short-term solution was required, and hence I alighted upon the idea of a good-old Reliant 3-wheeler. It ticked all the boxes at that point - I was able to drive it on my bike licence, they were cheap to run and insure, easy to maintain, and best of all - warm and dry...
After a couple of false starts, I found a Y-reg 'Rialto' fairly locally. This model, for the un-initiated, was one of the later, more 'modern' looking Reliants - a squarer looking vehicle, with a front-end vaguely similar to an Austin Metro. I bought my new ride from a poor woman selling it on behalf of her now-deceased husband, and it came to me in fabulous condition, with a full service history. Not bad for 500 quid.
I was delighted at my new-found motoring environment of warmth, dryness and relative comfort. And being able to conduct a journey with MUSIC too???!!! A revelation to me at that time
Despite it being meant as a stop-gap whilst I did my driving lessons, the thing actually turned out to be one of the funniest, most hilarious and life-affirming vehicles I have ever owned! Firstly, most of my friends at the time had 850cc Minis. My Reliant had a similar engine - but being made of paper mache, was lighter - and so to their chagrin, was actually a faster car!
Yes, whilst I was getting used to the car, I DID tip it up onto it's front corners once or twice. Easily repaired with a fiberglass kit.
However once I had got used to it's handling, I found that a slow-in approach to corners allowed me to 'load up' the front and outside wheels enough to gently provoke a '3 wheel drift', lulz!
I regularly loaded the car with other silly mates too, and as it was so small, we had many a silly evening out in it (this is in the days before cctv and stuff...) doing things like driving it through pedestrian subways, along footpaths, all over housing estates, and around outdoor shopping centres.
It seems like in those 'halcyon days' I got away with murder in the thing....and for the 18 months or so I had it, I didn't get a single pull from the BiB, let alone get in any trouble or accidents.
The tiny motor eventually died one day, so I replaced it with another one from a scrappy (£50) and sold it on, once I passed my test.
PH'ers will be pleased to note that my next, serious, 4-wheeled car was a Peugeot 205 GTi. But.....that Reliant 3-wheeler still remains one of the most fun vehicles I have ever owned.
Can anyone else beat that?!
As soon as I was old enough to ride motorbikes on my 16th Birthday in 1988, I did so. For the next 7 or 8 years or so, you couldn't keep me off them. Every journey, every fun blat, every commute....all done on bikes, all year round. I was loving it.
However, once I got to my mid-20's one year around 1995, as we descended into the usual British winter, I suddenly realised that I'd had enough of being cold, wet and uncomfortable riding bikes all year round. Trouble was, I hadn't got my full car licence, and in order to do so meant the usual cost and time of lessons and tests.
I suddenly decided that an immediate short-term solution was required, and hence I alighted upon the idea of a good-old Reliant 3-wheeler. It ticked all the boxes at that point - I was able to drive it on my bike licence, they were cheap to run and insure, easy to maintain, and best of all - warm and dry...
After a couple of false starts, I found a Y-reg 'Rialto' fairly locally. This model, for the un-initiated, was one of the later, more 'modern' looking Reliants - a squarer looking vehicle, with a front-end vaguely similar to an Austin Metro. I bought my new ride from a poor woman selling it on behalf of her now-deceased husband, and it came to me in fabulous condition, with a full service history. Not bad for 500 quid.
I was delighted at my new-found motoring environment of warmth, dryness and relative comfort. And being able to conduct a journey with MUSIC too???!!! A revelation to me at that time
Despite it being meant as a stop-gap whilst I did my driving lessons, the thing actually turned out to be one of the funniest, most hilarious and life-affirming vehicles I have ever owned! Firstly, most of my friends at the time had 850cc Minis. My Reliant had a similar engine - but being made of paper mache, was lighter - and so to their chagrin, was actually a faster car!
Yes, whilst I was getting used to the car, I DID tip it up onto it's front corners once or twice. Easily repaired with a fiberglass kit.
However once I had got used to it's handling, I found that a slow-in approach to corners allowed me to 'load up' the front and outside wheels enough to gently provoke a '3 wheel drift', lulz!
I regularly loaded the car with other silly mates too, and as it was so small, we had many a silly evening out in it (this is in the days before cctv and stuff...) doing things like driving it through pedestrian subways, along footpaths, all over housing estates, and around outdoor shopping centres.
It seems like in those 'halcyon days' I got away with murder in the thing....and for the 18 months or so I had it, I didn't get a single pull from the BiB, let alone get in any trouble or accidents.
The tiny motor eventually died one day, so I replaced it with another one from a scrappy (£50) and sold it on, once I passed my test.
PH'ers will be pleased to note that my next, serious, 4-wheeled car was a Peugeot 205 GTi. But.....that Reliant 3-wheeler still remains one of the most fun vehicles I have ever owned.
Can anyone else beat that?!
Not me, but one of the lads at 6th form had an Imp - this would also be late-80s. Used to be driven flat out everywhere and with minimal braking. One morning he came in with a massive dent in the roof - bombing round his local lanes he came around a corner to be faced with a BMW 7 series, so he drove into the bank. And rolled it. All along the side of said Beemer. Anyway, soon set to work with Polyfilla on the roof...
Another would occasionally turn up in his dad's road going 911 Carrera and park that next to all the tatty Beetles, Escorts and Metros in the 6th form car park.
My own was a Talbot Horizon - a fairly lamentable car at the best of times, but was one in which me and 9 friends could easily pile in order to get from place to place, such was the spacious nature of the interior. It would then be even slower than usual but most of the comical body roll would be eliminated. It was also a reasonably capable off-road car - excellent ground clearance, and that soft, long-travel suspension proved handy more than once on the Mendips. Got up to Blackdown once.
Another would occasionally turn up in his dad's road going 911 Carrera and park that next to all the tatty Beetles, Escorts and Metros in the 6th form car park.
My own was a Talbot Horizon - a fairly lamentable car at the best of times, but was one in which me and 9 friends could easily pile in order to get from place to place, such was the spacious nature of the interior. It would then be even slower than usual but most of the comical body roll would be eliminated. It was also a reasonably capable off-road car - excellent ground clearance, and that soft, long-travel suspension proved handy more than once on the Mendips. Got up to Blackdown once.
Mine- an ageing Wolseley 1500 . Based on the Moggie 1000 without some of the rear end stability of the Moggie.I love the tale of the Reliant. FIL had a robin van and I thought it brilliant. Far superior in road holding to the Wolseley. I only had one problem with tip over slide and that was parking on a seaside village. Parking was off road. To get there ,one drove over the pavement. Problem was that pavement was on steep hill . Getting on was easy , getting off, meant one rear wheel coming off pavement before the other making van unstable. I solved it by getting some bodies to hang on to the high side of the van. Only other problem was a fan belt breaking. I stopped, lifted the hatch and heard a sound. The noise was a stack of bikers who came to help. In those days Reliant s were driven by ex bikers, and the biker code applied.
My first car was a avonbar powered fully blueprinted 1480 cc mini clubman.jack knight box full cage buckets seats .twin tanks beam rear axel with coil overs all round.runnning 13" mini lites and discs on the front and mini fin rear drums.loved that car used to play with gti's and xr3 I's all the time.then one day I came out the house and it was gone.was later found burnt out in the local forest
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