tempted to pull the trigger and bin the volvo for a classic , working away most of the time so mpg not much of an issue ....

any personal experiences ?

fibreglass i can deal with , essex v6 sort of gives me nightmares ....

helps that a guy at work used to work for reliant also...

Well you only live twice!

I wonder if a more modern ford v6 will fit in without too much headache?

My dad warned me against it when I told him I'd found one, but the one I found had been off the road for 8 years. He said they were alright back in the day and my Grandad and Uncle both had a few of them and someone I used to work with was building one with a 4 pot turbo that was apparantly a fairly simple job. Good looking things though.

Wiki is saying they have Cologne V6's so how about an upgrade to the Cosworth version from a Scorpio, will cost you about £300 for the engine with a free car.

[Edited on 7/4/13 by morcus]

I'm a fan - had 2 in the past

one a SE6a auto - was a bit wallowy - needed a manual box (the C3 auto box wasn't great) and uprated suspension but loved the shape.

then went to an early SE5 (flat dash model) MAn o/d - did a body off restoration and had the chassis galvanised with full mechanical rebuild. that was a great car. the essex V6 is nicely torquey and suits the car. There are a few issues with the cooling but there are well documented solutions out there.

If I found nice Middlebridge Scimitar with leather at the right time and for the right money I'd be seriously tempted again

Not a personal experience but a guy from my firm in Belfast has one and is fitting a Vauxhall V6 from an Omega.

Link to Retrorides thread

Rich

have a look on www.scimitarweb.com

u2u or email me with any questions

Jim

spares@rssoc.co.uk

Current: 1800Ti SS1, 2x1600 SS1, 1968 SE5

Previous SE5, 3 x SE5a, 2 x SE6a, 2 x SE6b, 2 x GTC, 3 x 1600 SS1, 1400 SS1, Mk1 Sabre Ti, Mk1.5 Sabre.

You should get one and fit a Lotus Elan front end to it.

http://hooniverse.com/2012/09/22/wagon-weekend-a-1971-lotus-elan-s4-estate-elanbulance-shooting-brake-by-hexagon-on-ebay-uk/

They're basically the same behind the windscreen, although I don't know about measurements.

Fit a modern engine and some modern running gear and it could be a good project. Err... how deep are your pockets?

quote:

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Originally posted by FuryousThey're basically the same behind the windscreen, although I don't know about measurements.

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I had 3ltr fords in the day, the Essex V6 is okay.

Plenty of low down grunt, as above avoid C3 auto's, a 4 speed with overdrive will be pretty good.

Clearly you have a Lust On. for one.
IMO tho these are ugly clumsy relics.. but worst of all most assuredly totally clapped everywhere.
Gonna be a big Job and then kids on scooters will leave it for dead.

volvosport

what about a prepped car? a friend has hillclimbed this with success


http://www.scimitarweb.co.uk/sgwrs/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=19431

scimjims the man for the info on most, the club has a wealtj of knowledge that rivals LCB and with a history that goes back to the 50s and 60s.

theres a sprint and hillclimb national championship, and cars regularly used for regularities, classic rallys etc too

later GTEs came with colognes and some with galv chassis

also the earlier and prettier Coupes are nice, same essex but a nicer shape imho.
there are loads of proj threads on www.scimitarweb.com

hows about one with a volvo 5 pot turbo conversion? ;-)

dont forget the little scimitars, SS1, Sabre and SST. majority are galv chassis and either ford or nissan turbo 4 pots

chck out Dave Pooles www.sporting-reliants.com for all model info

Bare
whilst im not a fan of the V6 cars your post is utter bollox im afraid

[Edited on 8/4/13 by CNHSS1]

Local guy has an american v8 (350 chevy I think) in his. Has it up and running, should be on the road this summer.

Aged 7 (1981) when my Dad rocked up in one and informed us he'd sold the Mini Clubman I fell in love with a beige Scimitar GTE.

The very next week we went on holiday to Wales in it, my only memory of which is my Mum screaming at my Dad when he announced with great pride that we were doing 100mph

Still love the look of them, although I'd be tempted to update the engine with something more modern.

[Edited on 8/4/13 by nick205]

Still a beautiful looking car and if it was good enough for the Royal Family (the cockney/greek one, not the scousers), then . . .

quote:

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Originally posted by mookaloid
then went to an early SE5 (flat dash model) MAn o/d

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Scimitar

Nice cars, they drove very much like a 3 litre Capri as I remember back in the day. Sounds like a good project to me so long as the chassis is in restorable shape and it should be entirely viable to fit a later V6 or small block V8 if you wanted to add some horses.

thanks , all pros and cons are noted .

a chap at work was a development engineer at reliant and is even in some press photos in the GTC prototype....

hes also very negative ....lol so i need a balanced view , well not negative about the car, but anything isnt running or hasnt had any chassis work , will need one etc ...

Chassis are pretty bombproof - outriggers and side rails can be replaced without any hassle. Mechanics are all available, simple and rugged. Watch for poor paint and interior trim. Plenty of alternative powerplants tried and tested from 4 pots (fiat and even ford!), straight sixes (RB26DET, even BMW/Omega diesel!), v6 (omega, AJV6, Ford 2.9i 12 & 24v), v8 (rover, Lexus & yank) - even a v12 once!

Looking at GTEs, tax exempt can command a small premium obviously - SE5 (flat dash) is generally considered purer, 5a has plastic dash, 6 & 6a are wider & longer (also softer when new but easily uprated to match the 5/5a), 6b (and GTC) are rarer (2.8 carb cologne, 407 & 442 built respectively and only the final handful were galv), final incarnation is the Middlebridge GTE (2.9i 12v) - only 77 built but all galv chassis.

As CNHSS1 mentioned, the coupe (straight 6 or v6) is a pretty car and very capable, the SS1 (1300/1400/1600CVH or CA18ET) is generally considered to be ugly (too many panels and too late for the wedge boom - but the Nissan engined variety can give very expensive machinery a run for it's money). Later SST are prettier, Sabres even better (still CVH or 1.8Ti) and the final Sabres were K series. All small sports are RWD with type E/type 3/type 9/S12/S13 boxes and ford 7" diff - easily converted to LSD. Second half of SS1 production and all SST/Sabres were galv chassis. Paint and trim remain the biggest price dictator - everything else is simples!

[Edited on 8/4/13 by scimjim]

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[Edited on 8/4/13 by scimjim]