Topic

graham1 wrote: wrote:

I remember working on my fathers zepher.

My uncle had two of them, with 4 daughters the front bench was a bonus.
The first caught light, the second was traded in against a VW camper.

My dad made do with a 2.0 V4 Corsair, a great car in its day.

Before my old man embarked on his Rover P6 affair, we had a 65 MK 3 Zodiac, his first car bought new. Yank styling, and as TC says, a front bench seat: black vinyl , not so great for a kid in shirt trousers on a hot day.....

What seemed at the time space age styling: rotary chrome heating and vent dials, a chrome T bar under dash handbrake and wonder of wonders, the fuel filler under the rear reg plate which hinged down: much bafflement caused in the days when you got attendant service.

He kept it till his first P6, in the early seventies, did over 120k without major work: amazing for a Ford of the period.

oh yes I remember the ford corsair good car but a rust bucket , the vw was a good van but alas another rust bucket, I find the older the car the better made they were made, no crap metal , the model T for instance , or the first zepher with the smiley grill , easy to fix no electronic crap to deal with, I think the newer the car the harder it is to fix, when everything runs with batteries it wont be worth fixing, anyway I went to Lancaster insurance and got fully comp for £132 not bad eh, it starts on the 1st of October, I will be crossing my fingers and hope everything I have learned has been put to good use, and it passes the m o t, I will be honest and let you know how it goes, I am not ashamed to say I might have missed something. but here is hoping I haven't. I am 60 and I feel it now, lol.

graham1 wrote: wrote:

you should join EDD CHINA and fix my mgtf. lol

Ed China is a good mechanic..but after fixing a tf,I doubt he could test drive one...he wouldn't fit in it...not sure if it was a mx5 he was riding in with Mike brewer..but his knees were in his chin and his head above the windscreen wearing a pair of airmen goggles.
I think when they put him in this the floor pan was missing.

I agree he is tall, still, I am just a normal bloke with no chance of getting a hand from someone so well known, I will plod on and see how things work out for me, great to speak through the t bar to people like yours self , great to know the help is there if I ever I ever get stuck thank you,

Here's a new one for you: I was a biker from age 16: had to be as me brothers were too. Carried on the proud tradish of starting to build at age 14 ready to start riding at 16, in the days when you didn't have to pi$$ about with daft mopeds masquerading as motorbikes. Many of my school and college friends then bought Reliants, as you could drive them on a full bike licence. I was not tempted.... But having spanners and mech know-how (enough to convince them, ) I was the go-to guru. When the midnight to six play front wheel exceeded an inch on the front wheel...


Their weapon of choice seemed to be the Regal Supervan 3 ( Del Boy van for the youngers)


So... Who has changed a kingpin and bushes on a Reliant?

Bonus points if you reamed the bushes yourself.

I had the advantage of a power station workshop and specialised tooling at my disposal for this bit. All the toys. And all the experience on hand. Did the spannering however on me back in the garage.

If you knew what held the front end together on a Reliant, you'd overtake them in lane 4. If they were on the hard shoulder..... One taper pin.

great thread there.

I've driven a reliant regal.

risky when you have a blow out on the single front wheel.

your a brave man to admit to that lol

Years ago, late 70's/early 80's I volunteered to replace the front shock on a workmates Reliant Robin: I'd driven mates Regals in the past: a common purchase for bikers as you can drive them on a full bike licence. Never owned one meself I hasten to add!

Anyhoo, I decided to go home in the Robin and do the job in my garage. Fairly straightforward job, bolts top and bottom.

Where I lived at the time was reached by a lovely sweeping left hander: I'd enjoy challenging the limits of adhesion on me Dolly Sprint: fat tyres, sports suspension etc. Forgetting exactly what I was driving, amazed I guess, at the surprisingly agile performance of the Plastic Pig, 850cc all alloy engine, light weight...

Then slightly too late I recalled that impending doom was very imminent: not a wheel at each corner. Eeeeeeeeee! I'm pretty sure it went up on the front and offside rear wheels, but somehow took the bend on the correct side of the road... (Mostly)

Job done, I drove back with a little more restraint.

just goes to show never trust anything without 4 wheels on it. they never went bust for nothin. I hasten to say.