3 Wheeled Reliants - Fat people allowed? What else?

[Somewhatfoolish]

I have this bizarre hankering to buy a 3 wheel reliant - most likely a reasonably late Robin but that's just cause I assume they're easiest to get. I don't know why but it's just this itch I cannot shake and I think I need to scratch it.

What I need to check though - can a fat person (not quite Mr Creosote but very fat indeed) get into one? Additionally, not tall but not short either - 6ft. This is particularly important cause the ebay ones that keep coming up seem to usually be down south for some reason so it'd be a ballache to go down and then have to come up again if I can't.

If I can fit, what are the ones to go for - am I right in my Robin intuition? This is only gonna be for a laugh, I don't want to piss Toddler Foolish's inheritence away on something immaculate when I've no intention of keeping it concorse, but I also want the thing to drive and last a while.

Perhaps the best way is go to some owners' club meets?

[generationx]

Spend a little more and get a Bond Bug. Far more groovy and with the wide canopy maybe a little more accommodating.

[Somewhatfoolish]

generationx said:

Spend a little more and get a Bond Bug. Far more groovy and with the wide canopy maybe a little more accommodating.

I'd feel too much of an obligation to look after it tbh. Also, while I don't have any particular budget other than "I am cheap", five figures is probably too much and I am assuming that they are into it.

[hidetheelephants]

Pre-81 Robin can suffer from rusty chassis but arguably has the crispest design(it was Ogle), the Rialto which replaced it had a galvanised chassis; the Robin name was revived in 89 for the face-lift until they went pop in 2001. They're all much of a muchness, the same engine(850cc pushrod 4) and 4 speed gearbox for all of them and I think the brakes were common too, slightly wobbly trim is a feature due to weight saving.

[Huzzah]

My dad had a Regal and I had a Supervan 3, I wouldn't wish to repeat the experience.

[boyse7en]

Mate of mine has got one, and he's a designer for Bentley, so they must have some redeeming features.

He restored his to very high standard, and literally wrote the book about them
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tipping-Point-Designing-B...

Might be a good place to start

[clockworks]

I owned 2 back in the day, when I only had a bike licence.
An early 750 Robin van, which I "converted" to an estate, and an 850 when they first came out.

They seemed like decent enough cars at the time, with the 850 being a fair bit quicker.

I was around 16 stone and 6'2", no problem fitting in them.

I was going to buy a Bond Bug about a year after passing my bike test, but the insurance was crazy. I bought a Honda 750 instead, then switched to the first Robin a year or so later.

I never had any mechanical problems with either of them (not really much to go wrong), and they were perfectly stable as long as I "kept my foot in" on roundabouts. The only real issue was driving in deep snow - the central "hump" left by other vehicles played havoc with the steering.


I was living in Milton Keynes at the time, and my parents had just moved down to West Cornwall. I did the 600 mile round trip to visit them quite a few times, and the Robins coped perfectly well. Just the same pre-journey fluid checks that cars needed at the time.

Edited by clockworks on Monday 7th April 10:36

[Robertb]

Can't help you OP, but if you do get one please post up your experiences in Readers Cars!

[Truckosaurus]

Somewhatfoolish said:

I have this bizarre hankering to buy a 3 wheel reliant...

Username checks out!

I suspect you are going to have to just see one in person and see how you fit. They are properly small, but could be like the original Mini and have such a weird seating position that tall people fit well in them.

[M138]

clockworks said:

I owned 2 back in the day, when I only had a bike licence.
An early 750 Robin van, which I "converted" to an estate, and an 850 when they first came out.

They seemed like decent enough cars at the time, with the 850 being a fair bit quicker.

I was around 16 stone and 6'2", no problem fitting in them.

I was going to buy a Bond Bug about a year after passing my bike test, but the insurance was crazy. I bought a Honda 750 instead, then switched to the first Robin a year or so later.

I never had any mechanical problems with either of them (not really much to go wrong), and they were perfectly stable as long as I "kept my foot in" on roundabouts. The only real issue was driving in deep snow - the central "hump" left by other vehicles played havoc with the steering.


I was living in Milton Keynes at the time, and my parents had just moved down to West Cornwall. I did the 600 mile round trip to visit them quite a few times, and the Robins coped perfectly well. Just the same pre-journey fluid checks that cars needed at the time.

Edited by clockworks on Monday 7th April 10:36

Wasn’t there some rule ‘you couldn’t use reverse if you only had a bike license’ not that anyone took notice of it.

[clockworks]

M138 said:

Wasn’t there some rule ‘you couldn’t use reverse if you only had a bike license’ not that anyone took notice of it.

That was way back in the past.

The rules for a 3 wheeler on a bike licence were just based on vehicle weight in my time.

[j555]

Somewhatfoolish said:

I have this bizarre hankering to buy a 3 wheel reliant - most likely a reasonably late Robin but that's just cause I assume they're easiest to get. I don't know why but it's just this itch I cannot shake and I think I need to scratch it.

What I need to check though - can a fat person (not quite Mr Creosote but very fat indeed) get into one? Additionally, not tall but not short either - 6ft. This is particularly important cause the ebay ones that keep coming up seem to usually be down south for some reason so it'd be a ballache to go down and then have to come up again if I can't.

If I can fit, what are the ones to go for - am I right in my Robin intuition? This is only gonna be for a laugh, I don't want to piss Toddler Foolish's inheritence away on something immaculate when I've no intention of keeping it concorse, but I also want the thing to drive and last a while.

Perhaps the best way is go to some owners' club meets?

Eddie Hall is a big lad and seems to like his P50, so I reckon you'll be fine in a Robin!

[LightweightLouisDanvers]

j555 said:

Eddie Hall is a big lad and seems to like his P50, so I reckon you'll be fine in a Robin!

He wears that like a vest

[Somewhatfoolish]

boyse7en said:

Mate of mine has got one, and he's a designer for Bentley, so they must have some redeeming features.

He restored his to very high standard, and literally wrote the book about them
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tipping-Point-Designing-B...

Might be a good place to start

If nothing else, that's a punalicious title for a book which deserves something.

[Super Sonic]

If you're going to do it, do it properly

[Somewhatfoolish]

Super Sonic said:

If you're going to do it, do it properly

Weren't almost all of those recalled by the govt and crushed or something? Wouldn't feel right, I don't want a dog but I don't want the last of a dying breed either when I'm not going to treat it with the respect any ultra rare model deserves.

(I'd love a go though)

[scot_aln]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invacar

Until this thread I hadn't realised what happened to those little blue 2 wheelers of my childhood

[thepritch]

Somewhatfoolish said:

If nothing else, that's a punalicious title for a book which deserves something.

If you know Andy, you’ll know he has a penchant for puns! I’d say he’s the expert in all things three wheeled (inc Morgan’s).