Reliant Rescue

I see this story over and over again

older person, can't work on his own reliant but also can't drive anything else, takes it to the local garage which is willing to work on a robin

local garage has not got a clue but takes the money anyway

this car was told his engine is knackered and he should sell it, all because when he drives it the engine cuts out and the garage couldn't find the issue

The engine looks awful, covered in oil, not serviced it seems, still dangerously on its original fuel pipe too

all the problem was the ignition barrel is incredibly worn out meaning it turns itself off

The problem with this situation is the owner does sell the car and buys another robin, the cycle then starts again with the owner taking it to the same garage where it's again not looked after

Did you know for many decades it was a reliant engine unit that powdered the secondary water pump in fire engines

many were taken out of commission in 2005

Did you know a further development of the kitten exists?

In the UK reliant gave up on the Kitten in 1978 when they shut down the production line to extend Robin production, they made the kitten range 'build to order' until 1981

In 1982 the new 4 wheeled small reliant was the Reliant Fox, a small utility pickup targeted at small traders, parks ground men and councils wanting a small van/pick-up for ultimate economy

In 1982 Reliant sold the production of the Reliant Kitten to Sipani industries located in India, they renamed the car Dolphin and built both the saloon & estate until 1987, virtually identical to the UK models.

In 1987 Sipani decided to facelift the car themselves with a little help from Tamworth, this was the result 'the Montana'

The car now had a extended chassis for more leg room, 2 door or 4 door versions with both featuring a full size hatchback

The montana stayed into production until the early 1990s when it was replaced with a even more radical update.....

Now I've never found one of these on a reliant chassis before!

One dead clutch

carbon bearing worn down to nothing and the metal on metal rips the middle of the clutch apart

"I've done everything and it's still overheating"

People tend to do all the cheap stuff on a reliant such as the thermostat and refuse to buy a new radiator

When your radiator is 30 years old it's more than likely blocked inside, this one is rotten and full of rust

With modern fuel, even E5 I've found alot of the small fuel filters split apart at the seam

So I started fitting these, they are very well made, have the ability to drain off any sediment in the bottom and you can unscrew the whole lot and clean it out

Borrowed this photo from a reliant group

I've warned about these cheap Chinese 45d copy distributors for years

people generally fit them because they come with electronic ignition fitted and are seen as the easy option

they basically fall part internally and then cut the body in half

I've replaced several that have done this over the years