Reliant
As I start this page I am a Reliant driver again, after a gap of about 20 years. When Loof and I moved in together, she had a motorcycle driving license, a Honda CB400F and a Reliant Regal. The Regal was a 3/25 with a 3/30 body, worn main bearings and low oil pressure. It drove Ok but on long trips the noise and vibration when the engine had got warm meant keeping to 45mph or less to avoid bits of engine joining us in the front seats. We also had a blue Regal, a bit sounder but uncertain in the carburation department. Both went about the time Loof passed her car test and we acquired a shaky old Mini, then a Fiesta.
For those of you not into Reliants, just a little point to note here - there's no such thing as a "Robin Reliant". Except maybe on Jasper Carrot's show. It's like calling a Ford Focus an "Escort Ford" ;o)
Anyways, after getting the Aixam (also known as Ickle Car) I came across various related web sites and R3W where I hung around the forum a bit, they seemed a nice bunch. Eventually I resolved to shop for a Reliant as a hobby and 2nd car, and after saving up some overtime money, one came up. Enthusiast maintained, not too far away to inspect, I went to see it in Chesterfield. High mileage but mechanically looked after, the little estate could do with some tidying to the bodywork. Some morons had tipped it over in the past which didn't help :o( however it didn't dribble fluids and made no expensive sounding noises. I bought :o)
One Reliant Rialto 1988 in Derwent blue, seen above with Graham and Maureen - lovely folks I was happy to hand over my money. I went back on the bus a couple of days later to collect CWB. Graham dug out some useful spares for me, spare back door, propshaft, swinging arm, the original drivers door mostly repaired by now. I drove back via Penistone to drop in on John of Carwise Reliant Spares to say hello and buy a few useful bits for the car. By the time I had reached Sheffield I was back into driving a petrol engined car with a clutch again, it had been a few years! Everything appeared to work apart from the interior light, which isn't a big deal, and there wasn't much heat from the heater. The engine did not have a thermostat fitted, and so never warmed up properly. It's a good job I had a warm coat and hat... It was COLD. Anyway John is just as helpful as he is on the R3W forum and a real gent. He unjammed the gearbox for me when I carelessly hauled the lever past the reverse stop whereupon I couldn't get reverse, or get the lever to go back - oops!
Anyway I made it home without further problems, a total of over 100 miles, and arrived in snow and slush, our neighbour let me park safely down their driveway until I could get some parking space sorted in our garden.
The registration number inspired a name for my new vehicle - "Cherub".
Next I needed a gap in the fence or gate, and some hard standing. I fetched some paving slabs from a local builders merchant. I used Ickle Car to bring them home, first 2 slabs then 3, trying to avoid overloading the rear springs:
She looks a bit down at the back though, wonder why?
Maybe this is why? ;o) Darn heavy they were too. Note packing under the pavers to avoid crushing the rear seatbelt fixings through the floor.
One backache job later...more sweat to come yet though.
Here is one unsuspecting fence, Sunday morning. Well, late-ish morning, the clocks went forward today.
A little later, after application of various tools to the fence and post.
And a little digging. I've really got a sweat on now ;o)
And later, much later.. I had actually put in the thermostat, then gone out for a run, called at someone's house to show off the car/natter, and then come home which is why the sun is a lot further around. I need another couple of pavers at the front, and a gentler ramp at the back but we're almost there.
Update - I did put some more pavers in, enough to get a trolley jack on and work under the car safely exactly where it is.
I also trundled down to Cambridgeshire to see Nipperred and pick up some bargain spares - cheers Paul! Here is Cherub basking in the sun in the yard while I sweated and poked in old Rialtos for bits:
I stopped when I ran out of space and cash...
more to come eventually, with some Rialto adventures, servicing, poking about in
the darker recesses of the car. It may take a while, I will be off on rallies,
doing non-car chores, and driving of course. See you soon, give us a wave if you
see me out on the road.
I will be putting some repair type stuff in here, but nowhere near as much as the Aixam pages. Why? Because there are plenty of manuals and expertise on Reliants available already. What will appear here will be non-standard tips, bod..., I mean, creative solutions and work-arounds which I think may help.
With a high mileage vehicle, and also little use over the previous year, I wasn't surprised to have a few things to sort out. Over the first year or so I have attended to several things apart from routine servicing:
A-frame - Also called the front swinging arm. May '09 I fitted the spare swinging arm, as the original kingpin had some up/down play, plus the paint had seen better days. Sorry Graham, I'm not a big fan of Hammerite underneath cars. In fact there were only bare traces of paint left at all. Have a look here - Flickr Repairs page
The replacement was paint stripped, cleaned and Rustbuster's Epoxy Mastic 121 applied. This 2-part has a gloss finish but cures slightly flexible. New brake pipes and bleed nipple.
Battery - I don't use the car every day, so was no surprise when the elderly battery gave up the ghost December 2007. The new one is a Banner 53228 Starting Bull. I don't believe this is original fitment but matches the one I took out quite well. The post connectors are now for round battery terminals. Maintenance free and 3 year warranty. Since I fitted a cigar lighter socket I also have a place to plug in a SOLAR PANEL TRICKLE charger to keep the battery from going flat when standing.
Brakes - Inspecting the front shoes revealed them cracked and threadbare, so new ones went in double-quick! The rears looked not so bad but I replaced them rather than wait.
Brakes, front hydraulics - When I swapped the a-frame out, I noted that the brake cylinders were slightly pitted. Eventually they would leak. I bought some new ones and fitted them a couple of weeks later, also a new flexy hose (stainless braided!) to go with the new rigid pipes
Brakes, master cylinder - I bled the brakes using an Eezi-Bleed, making sure a low pressure was in the system. However the reservoir exploded! The plastic was crazed and brittle, maybe due to age, sun exposure, or perhaps chemical attack? I couldn't get e new reservoir, so put in a new complete cylinder, and the 2 pipes.
Front Bumper/cover - had a crack in it, scuffed corner, also held at the ends by self tappers. When I did the sidelights, I fitted a good used bumper. These look a lot better for some black shoe polish! I seems to last better than the silicone bumper-black stuff too.
Choke - The choke cable wouldn't hold on the friction grip, when I replaced the centre console the cable comes out so I repaired the friction clip thingy behind the knob. I also glued the cable outer end which was wobbly.
Cigar lighter - Fitted a socket to the right of the steering wheel. I don't smoke! This is for charging and accessories.
Coil - the original though still making electricity,
was extremely sad and scabby looking. Quite possibly the crustiest
coil I have ever seen, click the heading for a photo. I fitted
part of my upgrade project, a Pertronix Flamethrower coil, while the radiator
was out as removing the coil leaves extra room down the side of the radiator.
The radiator bracket also traps the coil mount and I was taking the brackets out
as well.
Crankshaft pulley - didn't line up with the other two, resulting in the fan belt running crooked. In fact after I swapped the radiator, and fitted a new, shorter fan belt, the darn thing flipped inside-out on its first run out! Of course trying to refit a tight fan belt on a rather warm engine isn't a lot of fun. My burned finger still has a red mark on it...I took the crank pulley off (slacken engine mounts, jack engine up slightly so the pulley clears the chassis) and made a steel washer to go behind it. It's a skeletal affair, narrow with a keyway slot in it, and around 16g mild steel. Now there's no way to line it up with the key once it is poked into the timing chain cover, so I glued it to the pulley instead! Just turning the pulley lined up the keyway and key. I am also hoping the extended pulley will put the cover seal onto an un-worn section of the pulley, as the bit it normally runs on is 2 thou. narrower than the rest.
Distributor - A check revealed a leaky vacuum advance, no lubrication pad on the cam, and a seized centrifugal advance! In effect running fixed timing :o0 You used to be able to get Lucas dizzy parts anywhere, I was disappointed to find out local breaker's yard had very little - the tatty Morris Minor and Mini I found both had wrong or leaky vacuum bits. I did get a Rover SD1 dizzy from the back room though it took a while to unearth. The vacuum advance curve will be wrong most likely, but it will be better than a zero degree carburettor leak version.
Left door mirror - this had been damaged by vandals, and repaired but wobbled as the front screw fitting was trying to hold in a large damaged hole, and the mirror foot had been cracked. I re-glued the foot with acrylic glue instead of the epoxy on it; this is more compatible with the plastic. The join is quite discreet and is holding. I tried masking tape on the screw fitting, which is an expanding plastic like a Rawlplug. The hole was wide and the door material thinned though, and it wouldn't grip. I decided to repair it, and ground a shallow crater around the hole, almost completely through the door. This was filled with polyester resin and glass matting, and sanded back down flat. An new hole was made back through and I didn't even need any new paint, as the mirror foot covers the repair :o)
Door hinge, rear - As is common, the rear estate door hinges had lost their little plastic bearing bits, leaving the door sagging and difficult to close. I made a replacement bearing system from tube, rod, washers and glue which seems to work. I've posted it all on R3W if you're interested, click HERE to go and see.
Driver's seat - 2007 the right front seat clamp was a little loose, I discovered one screw was a cavity wall bolt, ingenious but could be more solid. The captive nut in the top of the chassis had been removed, probably stripped. I put in a VERY solid 6mm studding right through the chassis on both screws.
Driver's seat - 2008 improved the pivots at the front leg tops by welding 8mm rod into the main frame and 8mm tube to the legs. I'll do some photos on this eventually I think. Also reworked the adjuster ratchet, stronger spring and a better pivot too. No starlock washers in sight ! The tip-up latch reworked no longer jams or flaps about. I'll do some photos on this eventually too. Moved the seat foam to cover the frame better. All it needs now is a new seat cover... and the passenger seat fettling a bit.
Electronic ignition - I bought the Pertronix Ignitor unit
with the coil, some months ago from the USA. As I edit this entry it has done
4000+ miles without missing a beat. I did have to make a small alteration to keep
the earth wire, follow the link for some pictures.
Fan
- The original fan is a poor shape for moving air.
It has a constant pitch along the blades, where they should be something like
helical pitch (less twist toward the tips). It also has square ends to the
blades, guaranteed to make them noisy. While I had the radiator out I took the
fan off and reshaped the blade tips, they are now much rounder, and a bit of a
taper to the shape. So far so good, the fan is MUCH quieter and no longer makes
a noise like a WW2 Jeep. I can't do thrust and power measurements on it, but
believe it will move as much air as before, the diameter is not different and
the blade shape is more efficient. The fan showed some signs of hitting a
radiator in the past so if nothing else I've improved the clearance as the
blades flex by removing the front corners.
Gear lever - A few times I managed to lift this too far when finding reverse. The lever then shoots past the reverse gate and wanders aimlessly about not selecting anything. Eventually you can wiggle the thing back in but it's an embarrassing nuisance, especially on a 3 point turn!. A short piece of steel tube dropped over the spring on the gear lever restricts how far it will lift. My tube is about 10mm long.
Headlights - The headlights are a reasonably bright P45T halogen bulb, but the adjusters are prone to seize up. I ground out the pop rivets holding the mounting plates and took the whole thing out. I cleaned and painted the steel plates, then riveted them back in. I replaced the 3 bolts with 2BA stainless, with new springs and washers from my bits jars. It did take several refittings before I was happy with the adjustment. I fitted a good second hand grille at the same time, and reinforced the centre strut behind it. I sanded a fair bit off the grille rear to clear the headlights better.
Heater matrix - I flushed it out while I patched and reinforced the plastic heater housing. The housings are prone to cracking and the screws coming loose/stripping. I also dismantled the heater tap to make sure it opened up properly, and remade some washers and springs inside it. It is now bolted together instead of crimped. The heater hoses are reverse connected (tap to back of cylinder head) which doesn't affect the matrix but the flow tends to open the tap rather than close it. I consistently get warm air from the heater now. Not much! But at least it is there.
Interior mirror - The original mirror was sound if a bit flexibly mounted. I have got used to a dipping mirror, so I bought one at a car shop. I got a bonding kit with it, fine black mesh with a bottle of clear fluid. The first attempt was a bit generous with the liquid. It didn't run or dribble but fell off after a week or two. Try again! I cleaned up thoroughly, even managed to scratch the glass a bit. I was miserly with the liquid, it didn't fill all the weave but stayed on - for a few months :o( It didn't seem to stick to the plated metal at all, and scraped off the glass easily. Not impressed. Anyway I rubbed off the cad plating on the base, and stuck it on with 24hour Araldite epoxy.. I'll let you know if it falls off. You'll probably hear the cussing from your house anyway.
Loom clips - behind the drivers side sill is the main loom for the rear of the car. The "p" clips had rotted away and the loom dangled below the bodywork. I put some plastic clips back in using brass nuts and bolts.
Propshaft - I fitted the spare quite early on, there had been a quite distinct ticking noise from under the floor on slowing to a halt. Apart from the play in the joints, the gearbox output nut was slack. I bought some new universal joints as the first prop shaft ones, though recent, had no grease nipples - a pet hate of mine! I have now swapped the shaft back again as spare shaft was showing signs of play. The joints had been moving in the yoke, it's probably beyond help.
Radiator - Original has always been damp at the bottom, though not using a lot of water. I pulled it out and found an old repair lower centre, decided to replace. I had a new Mini radiator which can be made to fit, with mods to the mountings as the bolts are in different places. I made some plates up. A different bottom hose is necessary since the outlet is near horizontal instead of having a right angle bend in it.
Radio - The Sharp cassette radio worked but crackly and intermittent audio, especially the left channel. The cassette mechanism (Graham warned me) didn't work at all. A common problem on the Robins and Rialtos with a single central wiper is water getting through the wiper grommet - and straight onto the radio! A new mini microswitch from Maplins got the cassette motor running again, and a trace of grease on the sliding parts. The intermittent audio took two goes to find. I was convinced it was the front panel switches, as touching them would make the radio pop and go on/off. It turned out to be a fractured joint on the power amp chip, way over the other corner :o\ Taking the lid off the case cured it, refitting and putting it back in the dash brought the fault back again.... Anyway, glad it is a Sharp. I have now poked around and fixed about 4 Sharps. All different sizes and eras. They ALL came apart and reassembled really well, a pleasure to work on. The radio now has a polythene sheet taped to the top to divert water drips off it.
Rear door drain - there were a few pints of water sloshing around in the door bottom so I un-bunged the drain hole and drilled another couple, including one at the other end.
Rear spring - BANG! left rear spring snapped coming back from the supermarket! New springs fitted, requiring the petrol tank out so I painted that at the same time.
Sidelights - As I checked the front lights for the 2008 MOT, a sidelight socket disintegrated. I had some used ones which cleaned up Ok. I also replaced the wiring and connectors to the 3 lights each side, and built the mounting holes back up.
Solenoid
repair - I broke a terminal off - Oops!
Spring shackle - slack at the MOT test, I stripped and replaced the spring bush, new bolt. The spring didn't want to go back, I now suspect the axle wasn't straight. The springs were non-standard with a helper spring underneath, but the main springs looked to be slightly different on each side.
Steering box - has always rumbled a bit, though no play in the steering. I took it off to investigate and one of the rear mounting lugs crumbled away! A second hand one was required. I put some photos up on: Flickr Repairs page
Sump - started leaking oil, it had rusted through from
the outside. The metal is only thin. The drain hole had suffered an impact at
some time making it flat at the bottom, distorting the threads enough to chew
the plug threads as well. I bought a tap off E-Bay and cleaned that up, new plug
from Halfords, then cleaned the rust off the pan electrolytically 
This involves a tub of water, washing soda, some scrap steel and a car battery
charger. That's all, and it works! Check the Flickr link above for some
photos. I soldered the holes up from the INSIDE as the holes were on the rib in
the sump bottom. More Epoxy 121 and a new gasket later, and we're back up and
running. Do a Google search on electrolytic rust removal, there are quite a few
"how-to-do-its" on the web.
Tappet adjusters - I did a routine service, new filters, timing etc, but found the tappet adjusters very tight and worn. I could only get 4 new ones so put them in with the best 4 old ones. The other 4 replaced later when I fitted the posh alloy rocker cover. Of course every time new ones are fitted they bed in developing a lovely rattle..
Wheel bearing - The front wheel bearing on the original swinging arm went noisy, a distinct moaning once heard never forgotten. It's an easy sort of job on a Rialto, I took an un-hurried 90 minutes to swap it for a new kit. The parts were available from a motor spares shop, I got a kit by Automotive Bearings Limited, number ABK 159. The original bearings were an unhealthy brown.
Wheel bearing 2 - When I removed the front brake drum to do the cylinders on the second a-frame, there were traces of grease on the edge of the freshly painted hub, and on the back of the shoes :o( NOT from the kingpin, as can happen, but from the bearing seal. Had I blocked the little hole in the cap or something? I took the hub off and found the bearings solidly stuffed with grease, instead of having plenty of airspace around them. The felt part of the seal had started to spin on its backing plate too. When I cleaned out the bearings they were undamaged but with a few miles on them. I'll get another kit and swap them out sometime in the future. I degreased the felt seal as much as possible and stuck it back with some bearing fit and superglue, which seemed to hold it but I have doubts about it long term. It's all back in with a lot less grease.
