Scimitar GTE - a new report

[dollywobbler]

Inspired by Scooters and his epic tales of shite collection, I thought I'd relay the day's events in more detail.

 

The day started in a Morrisons in Stratford-on-Avon, where over a reasonably priced and thoroughly tasteless breakfast in the caff, I sold the BX to my friend Glenn. He has his own epic tale having travelled up from Sussex with a friend, then taken the BX to Bedworth - where I collected the Scimitar - then Kettering, Medway in Kent and then his current home near Southampton.

 

After a quick photo session, the BX was off and after a cup of tea with friends in Coventry, it was time to head back to Wales. To help me settle into Scimitar ownership, I elected to take the motorway route home. Hitting faster roads was an absolute blessing after Coventry, as the Scimitar is heavy and crashes about on the thoroughly dreadful roads.

 

So, with overdrive-top engaged, I can take in my surroundings a bit. The driving position is stretched out and cramped. The floor slopes downwards from the seat position, with my feet down a cave that is the footwell. It's tight down there, made worse by a clutch-foot-rest that I can't get your foot on due to the clutch pedal. It's VERY easy to clobber two pedals at once, or hit the brake with both feet. The steering wheel however is exactly where I want it and I can flick the overdrive in and out with my little finger, as the control sprouts from the dashboard on the RH side. The gearchange is a bit rubbish - and this after clambering out of a Citroen BX. It's vague and notchy, though you don't have to swap cogs very often.

 

The Scimitar was one of the first cars to feature an electric fan, and there's a green warning light to let you know that you don't need to panic, just in case the temperature gauge isn't enough. It behaved on the entire trip, though the thorough test that is the M6/M5 interchange merely slowed us to 60mph. Lovely.

 

The ride is definitely firm, and having recently driven another SE5a, I reckon it's too firm. It has SPAX adjustables fitted and I plan to ease these off a bit to see what happens. While talking suspension, it wasn't until recently that I realised that the rear suspension is located by a beautiful Watt's linkage on each side - the sort of thing you see on old steam engines to keep the piston straight. Certainly, while not pushing it, the Scimitar felt planted.

 

At 70mph, the engine is pulling a mere 2500rpm, which is nice. The booming stainless steel exhaust isn't too bad at this speed and is actually worse at 50-60mph. The rear axle makes a little noise, but doesn't sound like a rally car's gearbox, so I'll say that's ok.

 

Once we ran out of motorway, the roundabouts of Shrewsbury proved a challenge. The steering is binding a little when turning to the right - a bit worrying as it suggests a lack of trunnion-care. I'll be getting the grease gun out tomorrow (weather permitting) to give the car a good going over. I'll see if that makes a difference. Even at speed, the steering is quite heavy, perhaps because this car wears larger 195 width tyres (rather than 185s). However, it feels wonderfully direct and turns can be made with very little input. The overdrive makes it easy to keep the revs at the right level without having to actually change gear.

 

The brakes are a bit wooden - I don't think the car has seen much use lately, so I'll monitor that and see if it improves. The brakes are there, but aren't yet inspiring confidence. A shame, because on full-bore acceleration, the noise is fabulous - like a mildly muted Big Healey.

 

One thing you certainly notice with an older design is ergonomics. Sure, the rocker switches for lights, wipers and hazard lights are conveniently placed on a row behind the steering wheel, but they don't light up in the dark - I'd better remember where they all are. Also, you have to take your hand off the wheel to operate the wipers, which is a pain. I haven't managed to find the switch for the rear screenwash yet. This is also a pain. It gets the rear screen filthy very easily, which is one reason that it became one of the first production cars to have a rear wiper.

 

However, the voltmeter was reading 11 at this point. Not good. With a supposed upgraded alternator fitted, either the voltmeter is lying or there's a dodgy earth (on a Reliant? Surely not!) somewhere.

[nigel bickle]

Sounds promising -and looks nice.

I've had a few, back in the day -and loved everyone of them.Every trip an adventure- and we travelled the length of Europe in a couple

 

Nice acquisition DW -hope it doesnt give you too much hassle in thew smiles per mile equation

[Mr_Bo11ox]

2500 at 70 sounds great, be interesting to see what the economy is like

[autofive]

 

One thing you certainly notice with an older design is ergonomics. Sure, the rocker switches for lights, wipers and hazard lights are conveniently placed on a row behind the steering wheel, but they don't light up in the dark - I'd better remember where they all are. Also, you have to take your hand off the wheel to operate the wipers, which is a pain. I haven't managed to find the switch for the rear screenwash yet.

 

download the owners manual here:

http://www.sporting-reliants.com/Handbooks.htm

[seth]

It's tight down there, made worse by a clutch-foot-rest that I can't get your foot on due to the clutch pedal

That could be your problem, having someone else's foot cluttering up the footwell.

 

[autofive]

i tried driving my scimitar with rigger boots on - impossible

[boobydoo]

The day started in a Morrisons in Stratford-on-Avon, where over a reasonably priced and thoroughly tasteless breakfast in the caff,

 

I've always found the Morrisons brekkies quite nice..... and very good value. I have one as a special treat every now and then on a day off. Miles better than Tesco's rancid, grease-laden muck.

 

I must admit Scimitars have never particularly 'done it' for me as I always considered them rather posh!......but someone did try to p-ex a SS1 last year and I did rather like it! But only cos it was so frickin' hideooooous !!!

[dollywobbler]

Oops @ the foot related gaff. Switched my writing style and thought I'd caught them all!

 

Odd that you consider the GTE posh Boobydoo - must admit, I've also seen them as that way inclined, despite the fact that they're stupendously cheap.

 

Thanks for the handbook link A5.

[scooters]

glad to hear the collection went ok..

 

I used to wear pointy worksshoes to drive mine cos of the Pedal box - for such a largeish vehicle the driving sears are cramped - I did toy with screwing in a baffel on the drivers floor to hook my heels on with the one i had.

 

Gear change - could be the linkage is worn - if 2nd is especially bad this is an indication - it was never great in the manual p - if and when I getanother Scim I'm gonna get an Auto.

 

can't t remember where the rear wiper switch is -

 

my one had an aftermarket light bulb behind the swith gear which somone had thoughtfully drilled holes in in the gear and put coloured cellulose to mark the position of the switches.

 

good luck with it - and be careful on roundabouts in the wet!

[dollywobbler]

The sun was shining yesterday, so having spend the second day of ownership doing nothing more than fixing a few gremlins and greasing all the greasy bits, I decided it was time for another drive for the third day.

 

Clambering aboard, I was struck at how 'at home' I felt. A bonus of the lengthy first drive back to Wales I guess. Cold starting is still an issue - I'm yet to find the choke's sweet spot - but once running, she soon warmed up. The oil pump drive is a terrifyingly feeble affair, so I kept the revs low until well after normal water temperature had been reached. I'd clicked all of the dampers down a couple of notches, and the ride felt slightly smoother - though it's hard to be scientific as there was a very heavy collection of spares in the back for the drive home, which were now safely stashed away.

 

I found myself heading for Llanidloes, and then towards the Clywedog reservoir. This has a fabulous, twisty road heading around it, though it's very narrow in places and I rather upset some bloke in a MkVI (I think) Escort estate by almost smashing into him. I do apologise - I was going far too fast for my vision! Thankfully, there was just room for me to squeeze past but I felt so bad that I took things much more gently now. A good thing too as there's a steep drop to a sharp bend, and if you fail to make it, you quickly end up in the reservoir. To add to the scariness, the brakes started to get a bit iffy. I found I got a much more assured response if I pumped the pedal a few times.

 

Now, thanks to a frankly anal amount of history, I know that a new master cylinder was fitted in 2002, about 8000 miles ago. Could this be failing already? The servo is only five years old but I don't think would cause these symptoms. The calipers were overhauled in 2006 and braided hoses are fitted. There is no binding.

 

After many miles of tight and twisty, I found third gear was best - flicking the overdrive in and out as required. The steering was another mild upset though - it seems to bind when I turn to the right, but is free when turning to the left. With the car in the air, I could head a slight graunch somewhere between wheel and rack - I found one UJ and soaked it in grease, but there's another one too, so I'll see if I can eliminate that from my enquiries.

 

Finally I made it back to proper A roads, and could right royally give it the beans. The soundtrack is truly superb - every bit as good as Triumph TR and that traditional, bellowing six-pot noise that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. The only problem is that you simply don't have to extend the engine that far really - such is the prodigious amount of torque. In fact, it would be quite easy to keep the revs below 2500rpm at all times if you wanted to save fuel.

 

Apart from the steering issue, the handling feels very planted and safe - in the dry at least. Not really tried fully wet yet, but living in Wales, I'm sure that time isn't far away!

[scooters]

fantastic Iain and I can completely relate to your scim ownership. I always felt it was a true GT as whilst ok on B roads wasn't a huge laugh because of the big lazy v6 - its more of a loup across France for lunch type car than a seat of your pants machine.

 

Re brakes/oil pump - I always felt that driving the Scimitar was a bit like driving my old Panther. In as much as although Reliant were a 'proper' car company it shares its British Motoring Industry cottage design approach with the other marque - ie cobbled together out of a parts box. Therefore some of the components aren't really up to the job for what is quite a substantial and heavy car. I always felt the steering was a tad fragile on my one and actually preferred the non assisted automatic I took for a spin. Brake wise I also had to pump them quite a lot - they seem to take a long time to cool down I don't think the Wolfraces help in this but the do look cool.

 

despite all this I still totally love the Scimitar - barking mad car and the moment I can afford one I'm gettgni one for my daily. I think I will go for a GTE6a with a recently rustproofed chassis, the Essex rather than Cologne, with a black leather interior (more hard wearing than the beige cloth) and ideally in automatic form as I always felt the manual was a bit of a palarver especially with the lack of foot space.

 

nice one and well bought

[dieselnutjob]

if the brake fluid hasn't been changed since 2002 then there could be all kinds of trouble

I change mine every four or five years

I would say change the fluid and get rid of any air in the system and see how it feels

then stand on the brake pedal and make sure it doesn't slowly sink to the floor

[dollywobbler]

Thanks DNJ. Fluid looks very clean in the reservoir, so not sure it's what was put in in 2002. Might not be a bad plan though. I'm used to LHM in Citroens, which doesn't deteriorate in the same way!

[Rocket88]

One mod I would do is hurl the oe electric fan in the bin [if it is the original] and fit a Kenlowe or equivalent. I'd also be tempted to remove the spare wheel [and associated board that it mounts to] and resite to the boot. The rads were always a bit marginal on these, and come summer [if we get any] cooling may be an issue I'd also re-site the battery to the boot. The more weight you can get out of the engine bay, the easier time the steering / suspension has. Footwells are cramped as buggery, even on an auto!

[scooters]

top advice from Colc there - Kenlowe is a very good idea - i had one in mine.

 

The other thing I did was to put a couple of 10kg bags of gravel in each of the storage wells above the rear wheels - this helped the handling no end

[dollywobbler]

I'm going to leave the cooling system standard. 5s are meant to be more resiliant to overheating than the early 6s (which did away with the header tank!). The fan only cuts in for short bursts at the moment, though I'm planning to flush the system as these engines are silt-tastic. I think that's more often the reason for overheating than fan feebleness.

 

Spare wheel may well move. For a start, it's on wider 195 tyres, and it is an absolute pain to get the wheel out at the moment. The weight balance has occurred to me, but I'm reluctant to move the battery to the rear. I never have been a fan of cables that long carrying so much amperage.

[Rocket88]

I'm going to leave the cooling system standard. 5s are meant to be more resiliant to overheating than the early 6s (which did away with the header tank!). The fan only cuts in for short bursts at the moment, though I'm planning to flush the system as these engines are silt-tastic. I think that's more often the reason for overheating than fan feebleness.

 

Spare wheel may well move. For a start, it's on wider 195 tyres, and it is an absolute pain to get the wheel out at the moment. The weight balance has occurred to me, but I'm reluctant to move the battery to the rear. I never have been a fan of cables that long carrying so much amperage.

 

The oe fan is the most inefficient device I've ever seen, and they have a tendancy to snuff it at the most inoportune moments............they don't like running for prolongued periods.

[coalnotdole]

 

Now, thanks to a frankly anal amount of history, I know that a new master cylinder was fitted in 2002, about 8000 miles ago. Could this be failing already? The servo is only five years old but I don't think would cause these symptoms. The calipers were overhauled in 2006 and braided hoses are fitted. There is no binding.

 

May be worth checking that the MC it was replaced with is the correct ratio, as the originals are quite expensive new and you can get a land rover part for much less that looks right, but has a slighly smaller bore. I use one when testing my car it resulted in heavy breaking,

 

The other thing worth checking would be the vacuum feed to the servo as a slight leak there might reduce the performance.

 

One mod I would do is hurl the oe electric fan in the bin [if it is the original] and fit a Kenlowe or equivalent. I'd also be tempted to remove the spare wheel [and associated board that it mounts to] and resite to the boot. The rads were always a bit marginal on these, and come summer [if we get any] cooling may be an issue.

 

I'm not sure I would do this, there should be no reason why the original fan wouldn't be up to its job providing its in reasonable condition. It may be worth checking the otter switch and the clip to make sure they are in good condition and not leaking. I'd always be inclined to suspect an otter switch or an earthing issue over and above a fault with the fan.

[Rocket88]

It's not so much an earthing issue, it's just the fans themselves were woefully inefficient, and prone to seizing

[autofive]

starting trouble?

 

i assume you know how to prime an essex with a 38dgas and manual choke?

 

one pump of the throttle, then start the engine

 

if it takes more than 3 engine turns before it fires suspect points or fuel lines losing pressure overnight

[dollywobbler]

I prime it and give it full choke. Always catches instantly, but I'm struggling to set the choke correctly to keep it going. Haven't been out in it today, so I'll have another try in the morning. I might just be backing off the choke too soon as the 2CV doesn't like too much.

[autofive]

I prime it and give it full choke. Always catches instantly, but I'm struggling to set the choke correctly to keep it going. Haven't been out in it today, so I'll have another try in the morning. I might just be backing off the choke too soon as the 2CV doesn't like too much.

 

yes, sounds like it

 

i usually run on half choke for 2 miles, then down to a quarter for another mile or so until the essex warms through, but ive noticed if the weathers a bit damp choke needs to stay on half for longer

[dollywobbler]

I should point out that I've only started it from cold twice myself. The chap started it (after a few goes...) himself when I collected it as he needed to reverse it out of his garage.

[seth]

I have a picture in my mind of an Escort driver shaking his fist wildly in the mirror at the loon who just tried to drive him off the road in some old "sports" car.

[seth]

Wasn't really sure where to put this and here seemed as good as anywhere so appologies to DW! I think this car has been mentioned in your discussions of these?

 

My Scimitar with BMW 6 pot diesel:

 

 

 

Al

[dollywobbler]

The fact that I've been getting all exciting about a can't-actually-own-it Alfa Romeo has a hidden back story. I've not been gelling that well with my gel-coated friend - ie the Scimitar. Occurred to me this morning that one reason for that is that I really haven't driven it very far yet, other than the journey home.

 

So, I hopped into the bright orange terror this morning, got it fired up on the second attempt (I'm getting better and almost held it on the first attempt) and randomly headed north. I didn't actually test drive this car before buying, due to a lack of anything even slightly approaching legality. I am now starting to regret that a little. For a start, when I did the deal, I had never actually driven a Scimitar at all! I did get to drive one the weekend before I actually collected mine, but that was a bit late really.

 

One of the biggest issues is the steering. It turns very nicely to the left, but gets all stiff and unhappy when you want to go right. I'm suspecting an alignment or rack issue so I'll have to get that looked at. This really was driven home by heading along a 'test route' at a fair old lick. The Mini feels SUPERB through the bends here - 60mph all the way with superb turn in. The Scimitar feels ponderous and reluctant. Not very sporty.

 

The rear axle is quietly howling away as well. That's nowhere near bad enough for me to worry about yet though, so on I continued, determined to enjoy the £82 worth of fuel I squeezed in last weekend.

 

On faster roads, the Scimitar comes into its own, let down only by an over-firm ride. I've backed off the Spax adjustable shockers on the rear, and that has improved things, but these were never really smooth - there's just not enough suspension travel. On the plus side, the ride height is actually quite generous, so I've not had to worry about grounding out at any points. I headed through Machynlleth - which is neither easy to type nor say - and took a left to Aberdyfi. This road runs alongside the estuary and is wonderful - full of sweeping bends and enough sharp ones to keep you on your toes. Rain this morning meant I wasn't pushing the limits, as I still have no idea where they are. The Scimitar does have some very grippy looking rubber, which does actually grip. A couple of times, my confidence was knocked by a pedal-related pile-on. The footwell is horribly tight - I'm going to end up with scuff marks on my shoes from where they rub against each other. Happily, most of the time you can pick your gear out of third or fourth and just use the overdrive to keep the revs on the boil. I say on the boil - anything above 1500rpm seems acceptable as there is a stupendous amount of torque.

 

I shat myself at the sight of a 'safety' van when doing 35mph through a village, but it was a 40 zone, so I was ok. I reached Aberdyfi.

 

I spent some time taking pics and enjoying some unexpected sunshine (we've actually had three weeks of continuous sun, but it was meant to rain all day today) before heading back. The more time I spend in the Scimitar, the more I like it, but I must do two things. One, the cooling system needs a bloody good flush out. The fan cuts in a bit too much for my liking. It's not hot yet, and I haven't had to come to a halt after a motorway blat to really test things yet. I also need to get the steering looked at because it'd be nice to go around right-hand bends too.

[dieselnutjob]

My Scimitar with BMW 6 pot diesel

wow

[autofive]

 

So, I hopped into the bright orange terror this morning, got it fired up on the second attempt (I'm getting better and almost held it on the first attempt) and randomly headed north.

 

you fitted the main beam relay? is it working okay now?

[dollywobbler]

Did you send it A5? Not seen it. As it happens, I've bought a replacement (needed main beam at the weekend) but it's always good to have a spare.

[autofive]

Did you send it A5? Not seen it. As it happens, I've bought a replacement (needed main beam at the weekend) but it's always good to have a spare.

 

yes, posted it next day, 1st class

 

bloody royal mail