Modified 1985 Reliant SS1

Modified 1985 Reliant SS1

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pauluspaolo

Original Poster:

12 posts

117 months

Wednesday 22nd October 2014
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Hi all, I thought that some of you may be interested in seeing some photos of my Reliant Scimitar SS1.

I bought it some years ago after I'd sold my house & moved in with my wife to be. It was nice having a bit of disposable income so thought I'd treat myslf to a classic(ish) sportscar. I thought about MX5's, MGB's, Westfield (or any other of the millions of 7 clones) but ended up with this. A chap at work had had one for a couple of years & always raved about the handling - well the handling is just as good as he said it was & the looks (love them or hate them) have grown on me & I seriously like the car now. It's noisy & impractical but that's all part of the fun isn't it.

Originally this one came with a wheezy tired 1600 CVH but I've swapped this for an 1800 Zetec (with 130 cams), running on a single Weber DGV & with Megajolt ignition. The geabox is a 5 speed type 9 & the rear diff is off a Sierra - as fitted by Reliant. The car's been tuned/mapped on Dennis Vessey's rolling road (over in Barnetby near Brigg) & produces 108bhp. Not massively powerful but the car is light & goes well, the exhaust's pretty restrictive so there's probably a bit more oomph available if/when I ever get it sorted.

I've uprated the brakes to vented discs & Metro turbo calipers, & the suspension's been uprated (harder/lower springs available through the SS1 forum) combined with AVO shocks at the front & Spax coilovers at the back. I've fitted a roll bar inside (standard Reliant one) along with MX5 seats which are much comfier than the originals (recovered TR7 ones I think) but make the seating position too high - it's fine for short4r5e5 like me though. I also fitted a nice Momo(ish) steering wheel which I've had for many years & which I usually end up fitting to my car (airbag allowing).

I spent 4/5 years modifying & rebuilding the car & I got it back on the road a couple of years ago - it passed the MOT first time with no advisories & you could have knocked me over with a feather smile This year it passed again but there's play in the steering rack so this will need replacing. Despite these cars being glassfibre there is a chassis underneath & these can rot badly. Mine had to have replacement sills fitted, plus some work to the B posts & a some welding around the support for the rear lights. The chassis on later cars was galvanised & these cars last well but may still require some work.

I SORN the car over winter but look forward to driving it during Spring/Summer months - so far it's been reliable though I don't like heavy traffic as the cooling's a bit marginal. Handling is superb (never judge a book by its cover) & it's great fun, economy with the Zetec is 25ish, the fuel gauge isn't the best so I just make sure it's got plenty in it. Acceleration is good (which annoys drivers of modern cars), goodness knows what the top speed is but it's fast enough for me.

I know of at least 2 other Zetec conversions that are either on the road or works in progress. The fastest (standard) SS1 is the 1800ti which uses the engine from the Nissan Silvia Turbo & goes like the clappers. All 1800ti's have galvanised chassis & don't seem to fetch much more than £3000 for the even the best examples .... which must make it something of a bargain for what is a very fast car.

Anyway on with the photo's smile

The finished(?) article:


Refitting the windscreen washers - dashboard out job:


Cam cover gasket leak discovered - spark plugs covered by oil - car still ran fine though:


Outside the double garage where most of the work was done - much more room for spanner flinging!


Air filter buried behind drivers side headlight - just enough room:


The interior - quite a comfy place to be gets hot in summer though:


The front:


Thanks for looking & if you have any questions I'll do my best to answer them - photos are in no paticular order by the way smile



Edited by pauluspaolo on Wednesday 22 October 11:26


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Edited by pauluspaolo on Tuesday 14th April 09:49


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Edited by pauluspaolo on Tuesday 14th April 09:52

PATTERNPART

693 posts

200 months

Thursday 15th January 2015
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Good effort. I like these cars. Some really cheap ones about it seems. Those look like MX5 or RX7 seats much nicer than the XR3 ones in that 80's grey velour.

roverspeed

700 posts

195 months

Thursday 26th February 2015
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Regarding the mx5 seats sitting you too high,, check the forums for a foamectomy

You can remove foam from seat and/or back rest. This will allow you to sit a little lower and provide more lateral support