​Scimitars e Cimitarra
1989 Reliant Scimitar SS1 1400 'Cimitarra'
After a 25 year gap, it's probably fair to say that it was a fair degree of nostalgia that started me off looking at Scimitars again, although initially this was without any intention of buying one. I guess if you keep looking you're really kidding yourself that you don't want one. So it was inevitable that something, sooner or later, would catch my eye. It was whilst perusing the carandclassic.co.uk website that I saw, what was to become my car, advertised by António Carvalheira Collectible Cars. The word ‘mint’ in the description, together with the images on the left, had me hooked and several emails later a deal was struck.
I purchased the car with little real knowledge of it’s history, other than the fact it had only done 39,000km with one long term owner. Despite pressing the vendor to provide further information, I was only able to glean a few further facts, but several more photographs helped confirm the condition which, although I wouldn’t describe as ‘mint’, is certainly excellent.
The car was, one of only five I believe, exported to Portugal and first registered there on 27th November 1989 with the registration QS-59-77. I know nothing about the first owner, other than the dealer advising that it was…’an important Portuguese collector’… which, being a little cynical in nature, I took no special comfort in. The first owner then sold it on to Vitor Ferreira who, reading between the lines, was probably only interested in restoring the car and selling it on. From the limited information that I have, I’m guessing that he only acquired the car in late 2014 or possibly early 2015 - the Portuguese registration document gives no date for change of ownership (or any indication regarding former owners). Restoration was carried out by Auto S João, Francisco A M Maia, Reconstrução de Automóveis Antigos in Porto and completed in February 2015. This appears to have been cosmetic only, with a full respray, refurbished alloys, re-upholstered vinyl seats and a new hood. I guess the strong sunlight and high temperatures in Portugal had played their part, degrading the paint and interior.
The car was shipped to the UK by road in May, via what was supposed to be an experienced company, but the car arrived with superficial damage, where something had rubbed against the nearside bodywork during transit. A quick email to the vendor resulted in a positive response from the transport company who, thankfully, held up their hands and agreed to pay for remedial refinishing as necessary. Just as well as it turned out to be £660.00 worth! The trouble was that, theoretically, I would not be able to get this sorted out until the car was MoT’d and legal to drive in the UK. The first hurdle with an import is to get clearance from HMRC regarding any VAT that may be due. This was a straightforward process on the internet and an almost immediate response confirmed that there was nothing to pay.
Next job was to get the headlights sorted out for driving on the left. I obtained the correct Metro light units from QRG and set about removing the headlamp cowls to do what I thought would be a quick swap. No chance of that, as I discovered that the headlamp cradles had been modified (butchered would be a better word) to take Fiat lights. I can only assume that this was due to the need to replace them at some point and left hand drive Metro lights were probably unavailable, as I understand they are pretty scarce. Fortunately, the front end is all as it should be in other respects and there is no evidence that accident damage created the need for headlamp replacement. I had some plates fabricated that would form the removed section of the cradle and these allowed fitment of the new Metro units, but this took a while to get sorted but, once it was done, I was able to get it MoT’d.
Unfortunately, it failed on excessive play in the steering arm on one side, so the rack came out and was sent to QRG for refurbishment. We were now into August and I still had not had the chance to drive the car for more than the half mile to the garage doing the MoT. A pass was achieved once the refurbished rack was fitted and the headlight beams adjusted, although the steering still had a little too much play in my opinion. The paintwork was sorted at the same time as the MoT and I was now ready to apply for a UK registration with the DVLA.
In order to get this processed, it is necessary to complete a V55/5, the notes with this form suggesting that much of the information required can be gleaned from a Certificate of Conformity - which for the SS1 no longer exists. An appeal on the club forum helped a great deal, with useful information being supplied by Jim King (scimjim) and Chris Johnson (DARK STAR) and, although I was unable to get the form fully completed, I was successful with the application and given an age related number. This was quite a relief, especially as I was fearing that an inspection might be required and/or I might end up with a Q plate.
Despite the car now being perfectly useable there were still several things that I wanted to get done, before using it a little more regularly. As I was keen to get behind the wheel, I took the decision to get most of the stuff done by Rees Brothers in Aldershot. I gave them quite a long list to work through and it took them a few weeks, with it all complete just before Christmas 2015. Farming work out like this doesn’t come cheap and it really isn’t a cost effective way of running an old car, but I did it with my eyes wide open and at least I now have something that I am much more confident about using. The list of work completed included a full service including oil change, all filters, plugs, timing belt etc., new brake pads, shoes and rear cylinders (wow! I now have brakes!), new water hoses and coolant, new Dunlop Sport tyres (thanks to Tony Lowe’s recommendation in Slice 266, these have improved the ride considerably), webbing replaced on all the seat belts (red to match the paint - very bling!) and new stalks, roll over bar fitted (many thanks to Jon Dwyer), new instrument cluster fitted (I now have mph rather than kph!) and a refurbished centre console fitted (with the radio removed).
2016
A new Moto-Lita steering wheel, to replace the oem item, was fitted in April and as a tribute to the car's former life in Portugal, the centre boss was fitted with an emblem of the country's flag. A new gear knob was also sourced to match the steering wheel and a fire extinguisher was also fitted in the passenger footwell. Hopefully it won't ever be needed. The images below show the new additions and detail views of the red seat belts and the roll over bar.
Drive It Day in April was the first decent run for 'Cimitarra' in 2016, but time was limited, so a short route around the local Surrey/Hampshire roads was the order of the day. The first and as it turned out, the only event for the year was the 'Soft Top Sunday' Breakfast Club Meeting, on the 1st May, at Goodwood Motor Circuit. The weather was fine, with a good drive there and back and 'Cimitarra' was the lone SS1 attendee.
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Earlier in the year I made contact, through the club forum, with Mario Barroco de Melo, who is the owner of a white SS1 in Portugal, as I hoped he might have a little information on who the original importers were. As well as confirming that there were originally five SS1's imported and sold by Parauto (who were later merged with Coutinho) he was able to provide a couple of images of my car before it was resprayed. He apparently happened upon it whilst driving and flagged the driver down, who had just taken the car to an informal car meet.
2017
Sunday 19th February proved to be a generally bright and fine day for the Brooklands Winter Classic Breakfast and 'Cimitarra' even appeared in a report on the event in the 'Brooklands Bulletin' of May/June.
The following Sunday, 26th February was another early start for the meeting at White Lion Antiques in Hartley Wintney. Visits were also made to the oddly named Crotch Cooler meets at the Departure Lounge Cafe in Alton on 2nd April and 7th May and then the Brooklands Spring Classic Breakfast on 21st May. Sunday 4th June was the the 29th London to Brighton Classic Car Run, organised by GE Classic Motoring Events, starting at Brooklands Museum and finishing on Madeira Drive Brighton. Suprisingly there were no other Scimitars on the run. My report on the event appeared in Slice 277.
2018
Although we didn’t have too much difficulty navigating during the 2017 London to Brighton run, it was apparent that the trip meter in ‘Cimitarra’, my SS1 1400, was pretty inaccurate. Testing this against two other modern cars confirmed that, whilst both of these were in agreement over a measured mile, the SS1 was considerably adrift. With the idea of participating in more organized ‘Scenic Tours’ I decided to look into the possibility of using a rally style trip meter and purchased a Brantz GPS unit that had the necessary functions and was easy to install. Although totally unnecessary for this type of event, especially when you can often find yourself following someone else, I thought it would prevent the one or two wrong turns that we had made on the run last year and would give the navigator, immediate access to the intermediate trip distances, thus tying in with the road book. The unit was simple to install and calibrate, subsequently proving to be pretty accurate and easy to use.
Sunday 3rd June was the the 30th London to Brighton Classic Car Run, organised by GE Classic Motoring Events, starting at Greenwich and finishing on Madeira Drive Brighton. The route took us through south east London suburbs, passed Biggin Hill and on to Penshurst Place for the intermediate stop, followed by an enjoyable run to Brighton that included the climb of Ditchling Beacon. My report on the event appeared in Slice 284.
2019
During the previous year it had become apparent that there was a problem with the passenger seat facing, which had started to delaminate and/or split in several places. Why this occurred remains a mystery ,as the seat back and driver's seat are all ok. As a consequence I took the car along to a local specialist, Dave the Trimmer, to see what could be done. He had never come across this kind of surface erosion of the fabric before and suggested that the only course of action would be to recover the seat. Although an exact match could not be found he was able to source a material that in my view was close enough, as I did not want the expense of recovering the whole of both seats. The end result is, for me at least, entirely satisfactory with just a slight difference in shade and grain, which most would barely notice.
The Brooklands Members Classic Car Show & Jumble was held on Sunday 21st July. Although the car show is a members only event, the public are still admitted and with good weather there was quite a large turn out. All vehicles attending the show are judged, with awards given in various categories. Quite unexpectedly, 'Cimitarra' was picked as a possible award winner and after being called to the paddock for the prize giving, in front of the clubhouse, achieved a 1st in Class, beating a Golf GTi (2nd) and Aston Martin DB7 (3rd).
After several years trying, I was finally lucky and had the SS1 accepted for the seventh running of the Shere Hill Climb, although I had participated in the previous two events with my Abarth. The weather was good and the car performed well, albeit somewhat slower off the line than the Abarth!
2020
As a result of the Coronavirus global pandemic car meets, shows and motorsport events for the year were either cancelled or postponed. With the country being in full lockdown for April and May and business unable to operate, the government extended MoT expiry dates for 6 months for all vehicles requiring a test, with this scheme ending on 31st July. The SS1 was due for a test on 12th July but, due to the aforementioned extension, legally did not require testing until 12th January 2021. Although some easing of the lockdown occurred during June/July mass gatherings were still not allowed. As a consequence, many show and event organisers searched for ways to keep enthusiasts entertained, Brooklands being just one of many. The Brooklands Members Classic Car Show & Jumble, due to be held on 26th July was cancelled but a 'Virtual Show' was held via social media.
Members were asked to submit photographic entries via Facebook and Instagram, with no trophies being awarded, although the overall winner would get their name engraved on the main trophy that resides in the Member's Bar. After last years class win I saw no harm in entering again and was pleased to receive the runner-up slot in the 'Moderns' class (post 1980), with the above photographic submission.
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2021
As the global pandemic continued with further lockdowns and many restrictions not being lifted until May/June, the car remained garaged and the MoT was postponed until June. First decent outing with the car was my favourite run down to Goodwood on a beautiful sunny day. The car performed well and the obligatory photo at the entrance was duly snapped, along with a couple of others.
2022
Prior to taking the car off the road for the winter and placing it on SORN, it had become apparent that the exhaust system needed replacing. Starting and running the car early in the year showed up another potential problem, as a heavy fuel smell was evident both running the car and after leaving it in the garage, although there were no obvious signs of fuel escaping either under the bonnet or under the car. A new stainless steel exhaust system was purchased from QRG and arrangements were made with Rees Brothers in Aldershot to fit this and investigate the fuel problem. They traced the latter to the fuel hose running from the rear of the car where, adjacent to the gearbox it had deteriorated and there was a small leak dripping onto the chassis rail (which was why it was not immediately evident when looking under the car). This hose was probably the original and not compatible with E10 fuel, so replacement was well overdue. With the new exhaust system fitted the car passed the MoT ready for spring/summer use.
An Easter Classic Car Gathering was held at Brooklands on Saturday 16th April, replacing the New Years Day event that had been cancelled. Glorious weather saw an excellent and interesting turnout of classic cars, although Scimitars were sadly in short supply, with only my SS1 and a couple of GTE's present.
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Another lovely day, this time at the Brooklands Members Classic Car Show & Jumble on Sunday 24th July (below).
2023
Over the autumn/winter/spring of 2022/23 the Scimitar saw minimal use, just the occassional short run to keep things ticking over. The car was booked in to Rees Brothers for an MoT in July. Whilst a pass was achieved there was still a long standing advisory on steering rack play and the possibility that fluid was escaping somewhere. By the time the car was filled with petrol and parked in the garage, it was evident that there was also a smell of fuel. The Summer Classic Gathering was held at Brooklands on 23rd July where the image on the left was taken. With little prospect of using
the car much more during the rest of the year and with no desire to sink any more funds into it's upkeep I felt that my tenure had come to an end. The car was duly advertised for sale but with no success, despite dropping the price a bit, it seemed that I might have to hang on to it. It had previously crossed my mind that a car museum might welcome it as a donation, so I made contact with the Haynes Motor Museum but they were not interested. The museum at Gaydon looked like they already had an SS1, so I tried the Great British Car Journey at Ambergate in Derbyshire, who were delighted to accept my offer and the car was collected a couple of weeks later and is now on display.
