Reliant Three-Wheeler experiences?

[Angrydicky]

So, Reliant Robin/Rialto/Regal. I've always wanted one, but haven't yet had the pleasure of owning one. The closest I got was having a test drive in a 1993 Rialto van last year. I was really surprised by how nippy it was for an 850cc motor, especially considering I had a bloke in the passenger seat who must be getting on for 18 stone! Other things I noticed were the footwells were very narrow, the gearshift was like nothing I'd ever driven before, the clutch was very fierce (although that might have just been the example I drove), and it didn't feel unstable in the slightest. In fact the only reason I didn't buy it was because I was 19 and Footman James wanted it to be pre-1990.

 

Has anyone ever owned one, and what are they like to live with?

[AeroNautiCal]

I used to hire the Robin and Rialto estates when I needed more carrying capacity than a motorcycle offered.

 

They were fine to drive, even when loaded to the gills. They do however become 'interesting' in their handling characteristics when driven on roads where snow and ice have built up, mainly because the single front wheel is having to force it's way through/over/around the frozen mass that's built up between the wheel tracks.

 

I really liked them as they fulfilled their design function, were light, responsive and didn't drink fuel. A doddle to work on except for access too.

 

The Paramedics and Fire guys I knew from work hated them, as they'd attended the outcome of serious accidents where the jagged fibreglass acted like saws on the occupants and invariably, only the engine and chassis would remain! (They specifically mentioned the jagged fibreglass/saw effect and that only the metal bits of the vehicle remained ).

 

For outright fun, get a Bond Bug 700ES, I loved mine ( a white one).

[Taff]

bloke i worked with had one. I drove it once or twice, it was very nippy but never felt safe to me (i've had both cars and m/bikes, and feel safe in/on both)

his robin died a death when he was t-boned in it at speed by a motorcycle. The m/bike rider walked away unscathed and had to replace his front tyre. The reliant was a write-off and my mate suffered a broken leg.

 

our local banger track has an annual figure of 8 reliant banger derby, which is comedy gold

 

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2027/5787 ... 0b43_z.jpg

 

Mendip Raceway linky thingy, the robin pics are about halfway down the page:-

http://www.mendipsraceway.com/index.php ... &Itemid=87

[wuvvum]

Rialtos are actually not that bad to drive, as long as you don't have big feet. Wouldn't want to do any distance in one as they're not the most refined of vehicles, but fine around town. Regals are vile - sorry. I had one and it was probably the worst car I've owned. Utterly gutless, deafeningly noisy, rock-hard ride, very unstable handling, hopeless turning circle... I quite liked the shape, but that was about it. Only ever had a brief go in a Robin - it was one that I went to see some years ago with a view to buying it but the clutch was seized so I just started it in second and pootled round the block. Felt a lot more stable than the Regal, and somehow more like a proper car than the Rialto (possibly because it had two wipers?). And they do have an ace steering wheel.

[Cavcraft]

I went to Alton Towers in one about 1981. Hand on heart it was far scarier than any of the rides there.

[messerschmitt owner]

when I worked for the council park's department, I drove the boss's Rialto van - was great fun up to 90, when the front wheel started leaving the ground. When I changed gear and the gear lever fell out in my hand, it was a wee bit scary.

 

Fantastic fun and could beat most cars to 30mph.

[dollywobbler]

Robins are much more stable than the Regal, though I managed a quick drive in a Regal without killing myself. They are noisy, because the engine is right next to your legs!

 

I found the Robin a huge amount of fun. Even managed to get the tail to twitch. Rialtos are best of the bunch, despite the dowdy looks, because they have galvo chassis - though even galvo protection doesn't last forever. Prices have gone up due to huge desire for banger racing...

[chaseracer]

Once.

 

Never again...

 

[Andrew353w]

I've owned 2 of them! Only have a photo of my first one, though...

 

 

Amazing machines! My second one, a 1995 "M" reg one, was a much better car. It was ALMOST like a normal car to drive, but "enthusiastic" left hand cornering could make the near-side rear wheel lift up. I weigh 13 stone, so I'm not that huge, and if my weight caused this effect, I'd not like to be a "heavyweight" in one! As regards running them, many of the bits are from the B.L./Austin Rover parts bin (door handles, switchgear etc.) so that was never a problem and Reliant PArts were still in business when I had my 1995 one, and were VERY helpful. I've a DVD copy of the BBC2 programme "Trouble At The Top" from 1995, when a Mr. Haynes bought the (then) bankrupt Reliant company and got it going again; interesting viewing if you are into Reliants.

 

The economy is fantastic! Mine averaged over 70 (yes, seventy!) mpg on a run, and not a slow run, at that! I once pulled into a filling station, convinced the gauge was faulty & could only squeeze £2.50 into the tank; the gauge was fine-the car was cheap to run-very cheap!

 

[Guest]

They are excellent fun but for a serious 'get places quick mobile' - No.

Had an estate, painted two tone by prev owner, was amazing fun.

Used to go to the boy racer haunts 4 up and drift it with us all leaning like idiots some of whom may have been under the affluence...

Then got given a " gentleman's sport coupe" as I called it which had the glass boot lid.

Terry Thomas cad mobile for one with no driving licence

 

Long as you keep your foot in they're fine and the back end start to come round which is better than rolling but it is hard to roll them as the front corners of the square chassis just hit the road and it falls back down on it's wheels.

 

There was a bloke round here who was a complete tool/very talented who could slide one over double roundabouts in the wet at about 50!! Yikes.

 

And down Upper Grosenor Rd in Tunbridge Wells there was a Regal van in someone's garden 30 years ago, the locals turned it upside down on a Friday night, then another mob came along the Sat night and put it on it's roof, bloody thing did many rotations through the years it was sat in that garden.

The old thing was part of local folklore!

[pompei]

Clarkson did a TG piece about the Robin where it kept tipping over. Was that a series of stunts or do they really just topple over on corners?

[Lacquer Peel]

Clarkson did a TG piece about the Robin where it kept tipping over. Was that a series of stunts or do they really just topple over on corners?

 

What do you think?

[dollywobbler]

OMG! WAS ON TOP GEER MUST BE TROO!

[Lankytim]

I'd love one, but i'm too afraid of it being vandalised to actually go out and part with any cash.

[Angrydicky]

Andrew I love your white Robin!

 

Clarkson did a TG piece about the Robin where it kept tipping over. Was that a series of stunts or do they really just topple over on corners?

 

Heard a few theories regarding this, but one that sounds credible is that the BBC fitted odd size wheels on it, making it really unstable, and combined with Clarkson driving like a twat, meant it went straight over at every corner.

[scaryoldcortina]

I'm pretty sure that top gear used a combination of sandbags and a rigid front end (replace the coilover with a bar) to make it roll that easy.

 

 

I've owned a few, and used to repair several for local licence-deficient types. They have all given up driving now - the one in the vid is the last one (about 3 years ago) I serviced and repaired it most of its life, and was given it when the owner quit driving, so I stuck it on eBay. Some nutter arrived by bus to collect then drove it to the south west somewhere. He must have made it because he left positive feedback.

 

This was Barry's robin (ok, Robin Rialto) - he upgraded from a C90 cub so he could take his aging parents places (His dad got too frail to ride pillion). He went all over in it - one time he drove it to John O'Groats just for a ride out. Now his parents are gone, he's sold it and gone back to bikes (CG125 this time!).

 

Common faults - overheating because of a blocked radiator (front wheel sprays muck onto it)

engine leaks oil from everywhere. You think A series lumps are bad? You ain't seen nothing.

siezed/knackered front kingpin and or knackered front wheelbearing leading to "interesting" handling

Engine and gearbox mounts fall to bits (see oil leaks) and the engine lurches side to side, often smashing the distributor cap, and loosening the exhaust clamp.

Exhaust leaks into cabin via passenger footwell access hatch......

Gearstick falls off because the circlip wears and falls off. Attaching a new circlip is a job for Krishna's mini-me.

Wiring is by lucas. Same faults as always, but with extra earth faults because of the plastic shell.

Changing a clutch means gutting the entire car.

 

I'm sure there is more that I can't remember.

 

 

edit - forgot the best one

 

Don't remove the back axle on a 2 post lift - the car will nosedive off the front onto the floor!

[Ian Mac]

I was an apprentice mechanic in the mid to late seventies and one day an old couple pulled up on the garage forecourt in a Reliant Regal Van. The elderly gent came to the Service Desk where I was doing my stint and asked if someone could fit the spare wheel as one of his rear tyres had a puncture. We sent another apprentice out with a trolley jack which he promptly used to lift the car under the middle of the rear axle whilst the elderly lady was still sitting in the passenger seat... The car balanced momentarily on the trolley jack and front wheel before tipping gracefully onto its side. The only people not laughing were the old couple and the garage Service Manager who looked as if he was about to explode...

[dollywobbler]

According to the Reliant Owners Club, one way they tipped the TG Reliants was by fitting a 12" wheel on one side at the back, and 10" the other...

 

Wonder how many Reliants have taken a dive after being driven over a pit?

[eddyramrod]

Wonder how many Reliants have taken a dive after being driven over a pit?

 

Or onto the back of a transporter? I should imagine picking one up with a speclift is exciting to watch!

[pompei]

i chuckled at this ...

 

[OwdChina]

Ahh....the dreaded plastic pig. I owned one of these around 1981, a turquiose regal supervan 3.

Somebody had traded it in for a newer one at Copes motorcycles in Newcastle-under-Lyme, and they just wanted rid of it.

I bought it for a ton and after some chassis welding, replace kingpin, new brake shoes and a new front tyre i got twelve months ticket on the heap and ran around everywhere in it. A great tool, it got thrashed from pub to pub usually with half a dozen mates in it all over Staffs, and many visits up to the pubs up in Mow Cop and Market Drayton etc.

Sadly the demise came when it lunched the gearbox going up Penkhull bank in Stoke on the way to The Marquis of Granby, with the said half a dozen of us in it, and i couldn't be arsed to replace the box. Happy days.

And yes, i did roll it once, very gracefully. The four of us pushed it back onto its wheels on the Dunrobin carpark and drove off. Happy days indeed.

[pompei]

I worked in Leeds in the early/mid 90's. There was a spares shop we could see from the window and there was pretty regularly a Robin which would visit. I'm told it had a V8 in it.

[forddeliveryboy]

...We sent another apprentice out with a trolley jack which he promptly used to lift the car under the middle of the rear axle whilst the elderly lady was still sitting in the passenger seat... The car balanced momentarily on the trolley jack and front wheel before tipping gracefully onto its side. The only people not laughing were the old couple and the garage Service Manager who looked as if he was about to explode...

 

No wonder mechanics have the retard label, is there? For people meant to be practical it doesn't inspire much confidence. Spoils the reputation of the decent ones, as in Kw1kFuck.

[OwdChina]

...We sent another apprentice out with a trolley jack which he promptly used to lift the car under the middle of the rear axle whilst the elderly lady was still sitting in the passenger seat... The car balanced momentarily on the trolley jack and front wheel before tipping gracefully onto its side. The only people not laughing were the old couple and the garage Service Manager who looked as if he was about to explode...

 

No wonder mechanics have the retard label, is there? For people meant to be practical it doesn't inspire much confidence. Spoils the reputation of the decent ones, as in Kw1kFuck.

 

 

you were never there to have a grin then. most of us either in or have been in the motor trade have seen similar. its all about memories.

[Lankytim]

I remember seeing a car transporter full of old cars, most likely dearler part-ex's. On the back was a spec lift which was being used to tow a rialto, backwards! Seemed to work very well.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

My Dad had one of these for a while, he’s the sort of character who’s mad for repairing things with woodscrews, chemical metal and whitworth bolts so he was well suited to it. He regularly had to deal with stuff like the engine dropping off its wanky cotton reel mounts, bellhousing bolts coming loose (‘clutch pedal feels a bit funny’), oil mixing with water every 500 miles, every thread on the engine stripping due to being soft ally, basically it was just unutterably shit in every way yet he persisted with it for a few years for some reason. He did kowp it on one occasion and smashed the bodyshell up, to my dismay he then rebuilt it with another shell from a scrapyard (OMG DVLA BIVA CAR THIEF CUT + SHUT ACE ADVICE CRIME FEST KILLAH), brush painted it red and carried on using it!!!

[flat4alfa]

Nearly died in one

[face]

I went in one once, as a passenger.

 

I hope this helps.

[morris_ital_lover]

DEY R RUBBISH 4 GETTIN 2 DA MOON: