Possible Plastic fun - Very long shot - anyone on IoW?

[MrDuke]

So it seems I'm to be the new owner of a '69 Reliant Rebel "project", just as soon as I make the epic road trip to collect it See the eBay tat thread for a pic.Based on the fact that a) it's one of the worst eBay ads I've seen, the seller seems very uncommunicative, and c) I've bought totally blind, I'm fully expecting things to go catastrophically wrong in some way. Even if I manage to drag the thing back home, I imagine every other part will be either broken or rotten. Oh well... On reflection, any problem I have with the car itself will pale beside the 'problems' I'll be facing when Mrs_Duke finds out I've spunked yet more money (that I don't have) on a car that doesn't work Big thanks to Mr GJR for his lengthy response to my questions about Rebels Expect an amusing progress report if/when I attempt to collect it

[Minimad5]

YAY !!Well Done Mr Duke Welcome to the world of Rebels.aaah crap ... You will have yours done before me.If you ever want to pass it on, please give me a shout !!And yes mr GJR is fantastic, as he will tell you everything and more you need to know, great chap.When you have collected it, post up Tonnes of pictures

[barrett]

Excellent news, sir!Lots of pics when it arrives please, and try and get some sneaky ones of the seller's other tat, doesn't he have a MKG Minicar too?

[RedSparrow]

Nice one!Is it that one from a few pages back? I can't find it now!

[MrDuke]

p174 - that's the one and only pic as well

[GJR 11L]

...mr GJR is fantastic, as he will tell you everything and more you need to know, he needs to get out more but he's quite kind to small, furry animals and his Dolomite is the ultimate fanny magnet.....

:oops:Glad to have been able to offer some words. Rebels must count as the ultimate in shite motoring. Oh wait, I own a Volvo 340. Can't wait to see how this pans out, MrDuke. Give us a shout if you get stuck for any bits.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

You shoulda got that van one from the scrapyard in Stoke and saved yourself a load of travel!

[garethj]

Sensible motoring!

[MrDuke]

I'm getting slightly itchy feet now, no response from the seller despite 3 messages from me asking about collection, payment etc. They were prompt with their reply to me while it was running, but all's gone quiet now.I know it's very highly unlikely, but does anyone have enough knowledge of the area (Ryde, IoW) to have a guess as to where it might be? From the one photo on the ad, I'd guess it's either a breakers' or maybe just a large yard used for outdoor storage. I really need to get the collection organised asap, so any clues that might help me track them down by phone would be a good start.

[autofive]

you have a landline number?, it may be possible to find which exchange seller lives near, and get a better fix on the location i know of a person of the isle, but i dont know him too well, husband of my GFs schoolfriend, i can always ask him for help, if your stucki ll try to get you an email address of the person i know, then you can contact him direct.

[GJR 11L]

Forum member "Jack_Harpers_Teeth" might be able to help out, he has visited that scrapyard on the IoW where the blue saloon that donated its doors to young Patrick's purple one stays and I happen to know that the teeth has some knowledge of the place, PM him and you never know, he may be able to get in touch with someone who knows someone, next time his bus is around that way.

 

Failing that, there's a very good Rebel Estate coming up for sale shortly. It's in the Stockport area and has been painted to its original light blue with a white roof from the BMC Tartan Red it wore when I owned it in the early to mid '90s. That car has benefited from the usual Lotus Élan-sourced front disc conversion, has a strong 850 engine fitted and has decent Clubman recliners and a smaller steering wheel that gives you space to slide your legs under it.

 

No idea how much they're after for it, but the chassis has had the recall modification to the front platforms of the back springs and, as a result of that, is free of the usual cracks. It also has a kitten register supplied high-capacity stainless fuel tank and a large bore, rear-exit stainless exhaust. That fuel tank meant that I was able to do the Land's End-John O' Groats run in 1998 with only one fuel stop. The car also sits on Imp wheels to allow fitment of 165/70% tyres if required, has good door frames (usually rotten on these) and didn't, when I last saw it, have any rust in the chassis or the steel areas of the body such as the front cross member and engine bay front end panels.

 

Patrick has linked to one that's on eBay at the moment with original 700 engine, it looks ok, but the early, remote shift, 3-synchro gearbox is weak and there are only three known good ones available to replace that when it breaks.

[Jack_Harpers_Teeth]

Forum member "Jack_Harpers_Teeth" might be able to help out, he has visited that scrapyard on the IoW where the blue saloon that donated its doors to young Patrick's purple one stays and I happen to know that the teeth has some knowledge of the place, PM him and you never know, he may be able to get in touch with someone who knows someone, next time his bus is around that way.

 

Yes I maybe able to help, me and me driver and best mate Stan are out and about on the Isle of Luxton most of the time.

 

Where abouts is this car?

[Mr Lobster]

I know this isn't much help...but....wouldn't it be easier to find one on the mainland? The IoW ferry is enormously expensive and I'd imagine that bring it back on a trailer or whatever would end up costing a fortune.

[MrDuke]

Yes I maybe able to help, me and me driver and best mate Stan are out and about on the Isle of Luxton most of the time.

 

Where abouts is this car?

It's in the vicinity of Ryde, I don't have any actual address for it I'll try and hit it up on Google earth, there can't be that many tat-hoarders in that area? Any means of contacting them would be good.

 

 

I know this isn't much help...but....wouldn't it be easier to find one on the mainland? The IoW ferry is enormously expensive and I'd imagine that bring it back on a trailer or whatever would end up costing a fortune.

Good point, but there's little or no chance of finding a running example elsewhere for the same money, even factoring in the expense of collecting it. Actually, not just another Rebel, any viable pre-72 project!

 

It did occur to me that the seller wasn't happy with what it made, and is hoping I'll go away... although it started low with no reserve, and he could've pulled it near the end if he was that bothered?

 

 

EDIT: wow, I had NO idea such a small place could have so many potential tat-mines!! GoogleEarth thingy shows a probable breakers' yard just south of Ryde, which is a good place to start, then there's a few industrial units with vague clusters of cars around, which is just frustrating.[/b]

[autofive]

still no reply from my friend of a friend, looks like he doesnt want to get involved

[PatrickMcRebel]

Forum member "Jack_Harpers_Teeth" might be able to help out, he has visited that scrapyard on the IoW where the blue saloon that donated its doors to young Patrick's purple one stays and I happen to know that the teeth has some knowledge of the place, PM him and you never know, he may be able to get in touch with someone who knows someone, next time his bus is around that way.

 

Failing that, there's a very good Rebel Estate coming up for sale shortly. It's in the Stockport area and has been painted to its original light blue with a white roof from the BMC Tartan Red it wore when I owned it in the early to mid '90s. That car has benefited from the usual Lotus Élan-sourced front disc conversion, has a strong 850 engine fitted and has decent Clubman recliners and a smaller steering wheel that gives you space to slide your legs under it.

 

No idea how much they're after for it, but the chassis has had the recall modification to the front platforms of the back springs and, as a result of that, is free of the usual cracks. It also has a kitten register supplied high-capacity stainless fuel tank and a large bore, rear-exit stainless exhaust. That fuel tank meant that I was able to do the Land's End-John O' Groats run in 1998 with only one fuel stop. The car also sits on Imp wheels to allow fitment of 165/70% tyres if required, has good door frames (usually rotten on these) and didn't, when I last saw it, have any rust in the chassis or the steel areas of the body such as the front cross member and engine bay front end panels.

 

Patrick has linked to one that's on eBay at the moment with original 700 engine, it looks ok, but the early, remote shift, 3-synchro gearbox is weak and there are only three known good ones available to replace that when it breaks.

Hi John,

 

One of those good boxes will be my 700

 

That Rebel you are on about sounds great and ready to rock. I would be interested to see how much they are selling it for. Wouldn't mind one of those stainless tanks . Land's End-John O' Groats on one tank of fuel! Goodness me! My cousin is doing that on a bicycle in August.

 

Fitted the Rebel 750 box today, it works! Just a few teething problems but as soon as I get that little plate that goes underneath the gear lever it should be alright as it's jumping out of gear and doing some other strange things lol.

 

The O.P> Good luck with your Rebel if you ever get it, would love to hear more about it and see more pics. Someone should start up a Rebel thread where we can all discuss our many Rebel problems .

 

Here's a Reliant Rebel Owners group I made on Facebook if anyone's interested.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=3 ... 501&ref=ts

[trigger]

What about this Rebel i saw a month ago in Manningtree, Essex?.

 

 

The Jensen next to it was recently on ebay... (click picture for link)

 

 

They are Longdens Transport so it might be worth a call, There's a scrappy opposite so the chances are the car has came from there.

[PatrickMcRebel]

DVLA showing as a 750 but it's a '69? Probably a 700 that's had a 750 conversion at some stage. Off the road since 1990 so could be abit of a project but well worth doing.Trigger, thanks for posting!The enquiry is completeThe vehicle details for SKO 500H are:Date of Liability 01 02 1990Date of First Registration 11 08 1969Year of Manufacture Not AvailableCylinder Capacity (cc) 750CCCO2 Emissions Not AvailableFuel Type PetrolExport Marker Not ApplicableVehicle Status UnlicensedVehicle Colour BLUEVehicle Type Approval Vehicle Excise Duty Rate for vehicle 6 Months Rate £68.7512 Months Rate £125.00

[Jack_Harpers_Teeth]

Yes I maybe able to help, me and me driver and best mate Stan are out and about on the Isle of Luxton most of the time.Where abouts is this car?

It's in the vicinity of Ryde,

Ah, other side of the Island to me I'm afraid.If it was more local I would pop down and see what I could learn for you.Cannot see me being over that way for a while. Sorry.

[MrDuke]

No problem JHT, thanks for the offer anyway!GJR - do keep us posted about that modded blue/white one, sounds very nice!

[Minimad5]

Hope all gets sorted out for you soon MrDuke !Would be great to have more Rebel owners on-board.

[PatrickMcRebel]

What happened with this Rebel then?