Reliant Rialto

[plasticvandan]

That's a Raleigh Safety Seven,car developed from the vans,designed by the man who founded Reliant when Raleigh ceased production.

[oldcars]

Brake spanner all arrived, if the rain stays off i will get a look at this tonight.

[oldcars]

Got the brake adjuster freed off and greased, the spanner was a godsend, great piece of kit. Had to wind the pads in a good bit. Got the drum back on and they bind even worse than ever now. Brake pedal is rock hard as well. Guess the wheel cylinder is stuck then?

[Mally]

"Wind the pads in a good bit?"

Not sure about that one.

Assume you have wound the adjuster anti clockwise looking from the back, ie you can see the square and a fair bit of thread sticking out?

Even if wheel cyl is stuck I would think it should turn.

Have you had the linings off, Are the linings fitting correctly at their ends in the grooves?

Photo may help.

If you can get the drum to turn at all, get someone to press the brake. If the drum still turns wheel cyl is stuck.

[oldcars]

"Wind the pads in a good bit?"

Not sure about that one.

Assume you have wound the adjuster anti clockwise looking from the back, ie you can see the square and a fair bit of thread sticking out?

Even if wheel cyl is stuck I would think it should turn.

Have you had the linings off, Are the linings fitting correctly at their ends in the grooves?

Photo may help.

If you can get the drum to turn at all, get someone to press the brake. If the drum still turns wheel cyl is stuck.

Cheers, its going to a garage on Sat to get looked at. Struggling with time to get all the broken cars/stuff in house fixed just now.

Just looked at a photo of a wheel cylinder and mine is seized on, that could be why i'm having all the issues.

[oldcars]

Pal fitted new wheel cylinder on Saturday and last night i got around to finally fitting the new side light and indicator. The Reliant is back on the road again

[Mally]

[oldcars]

First cold & damp morning and its running a bit rubbish, need to see what its like tonight on the way home. 

[oldcars]

Was running rough all weekend, fueled it up this morning and its spot on. Must have been because its been sitting unused for a few weeks.

[oldcars]

Car has been leaking rainwater into the dash wiring. Tracked it down to the wiper spindle needing resealed. Popped to mates last night and we took the wiper off and the nut and rubber bung thing and cleaned it all up and sealed it. Gave the wiper a coat of satin black last night and popped in back on this morning. Fingers crossed its fixed. All my cars seem to leak a bit.

[plasticvandan]

Common fault,its why radios don't last long in them!

[martc]

That's a Raleigh Safety Seven,car developed from the vans,designed by the man who founded Reliant when Raleigh ceased production.

 

Urban myth suggests that Reliants are called Reliant because of the surfeit of parts stamped with an R (for Raleigh). is this true or not?

[plasticvandan]

Yes. The founder of Reliant was the guy who designed the Raleigh 3 wheelers,when Raleigh ceased production he bought the remaining parts and drawings etc to continue on his own,a lot of the bits had R stamped in them so he'd looked through the dictionary and the first suitable word was Reliant

[oldcars]

Common fault,its why radios don't last long in them!

Mine was wired in poorly so i took the wiring out but left the radio in but now its really rusted needs to go in the bin. On the lookout for one of the black blanking plates to over the hole in the dash.

[oldcars]

Winter seems earlier this year. Inside of the Reliant screen frozen this morning and locks. On the look out of a wee heater i can put on early to thaw it out. Battery or rechargeable would be good as i have no fag lighter.

[bub2006]

My mate has a sort of rechargeable cylinder thing that sits on his dash of his Robin. I used to just leave boot unlocked on the drive and in the morning stick a halogen heater in it for 30mins before I went out. No de icing the windscreen then!

[oldcars]

My mate has a sort of rechargeable cylinder thing that sits on his dash of his Robin. I used to just leave boot unlocked on the drive and in the morning stick a halogen heater in it for 30mins before I went out. No de icing the windscreen then!

Cool, could you ask your mate where he got it if you don't mind?

[bub2006]

I'll ask him when I see him. Hopefully tomorrow

[oldcars]

Thanks 

[Mally]

I used to breath heavily on the inside of my screen on the way to work.

By the time I got there it was clear and I was exhausted.

[oldcars]

I used to breath heavily on the inside of my screen on the way to work.

By the time I got there it was clear and I was exhausted.

 I did that this morning, was light headed before i left.

[Mally]

Car cover from Lidle, as advertised on the open forum.

[oldcars]

Cheers, will have a look.

[plasticvandan]

Ice on the inside is almost always caused because the pig is damp inside. My regal 21/e was a bastard for it.have to say most of my pigs weren't too bad though.Foir winter I blocked off the footwell vents and just used the screen ones(make sure all ducting is tight and not split),if really cold I took the soundproofing mats out from behind the engine hump carpet to let more heat through,obviously move air intake inlet down to draw air from the fannymould, and also make sure you have some sort of anti freezing screenwash,I found them very prone to freezing the bottle.

Also any clothing you might wear on a snowy mountain helps driving a freezing reliant with Gerald the mouse breathing down the heater vent!

[oldcars]

Ice on the inside is almost always caused because the pig is damp inside. My regal 21/e was a bastard for it.have to say most of my pigs weren't too bad though.Foir winter I blocked off the footwell vents and just used the screen ones(make sure all ducting is tight and not split),if really cold I took the soundproofing mats out from behind the engine hump carpet to let more heat through,obviously move air intake inlet down to draw air from the fannymould, and also make sure you have some sort of anti freezing screenwash,I found them very prone to freezing the bottle.

Also any clothing you might wear on a snowy mountain helps driving a freezing reliant with Gerald the mouse breathing down the heater vent!

Cheers. It is a bit damp inside, boot gets a little wet but nothing really bad. Moved the air intake downwards last night as i had been meaning to do it since the weekend. Heater hoses should all be fine, were last week when i checked water and oil but will recheck again at the weekend. Its meant to warm up a bit so im going to clean all the inside glass to see if that helps a bit.

[Angrydicky]

Would love to see some more pictures of this fine beast!

[oldcars]

Need to take some. Popped to see a mate and someone almost ran into me this morning. Bulb out, opps. Popped into the local garage and got a bulb, won't be back to the car until much later so can't check if it fits. The contacts on the bottom look different, will this work ok? Old one on the right, new on the left. It was in a wee box so didnt think to ask when i got it.

[dollywobbler]

Nope. Sorry. Wrong bulb.

 

I'm eyeing up a local Rialto myself at the moment. He isn't interested in the RAV for swapsies though, so that's the end of that plan.

[oldcars]

Cheers, i will pop back and see if i can swap it. Rialto's are great fun, hope you find a way to get it. What year is it?

[dollywobbler]

This one. Looks fantastically dreadful.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/201731233240