Tell me about: early Scimitar GTE's

It it my imagination or is that a prtetty much rust free Mk3 Cortina 2 door shell? Whats the story with that then?

Thought they were all glassfibre.....

Ive never owned one, but have driven one, the Essex V6 is a tight fit in the engine bay and that, coupled with Reliant putting the spare wheel in front of the engine (as Ford did with the Mk4 Zephyr/Zodiac) meant that cooling was a bit marginal. Shouldnt be a problem with today's radiator technology though, and there's always the Kenlowe/Pacet option.

Early Scimitars earned a bit of a reputation for catching fire, this was mainly down to the fuel pipe coming off the carb and spraying the engine with petrol.....by now I should think all those dodgy Reliant fuel pipe clips have been replaced, but it's worth checking...

Like anything with a separate chassis, mud sits on top of it trapped by the body and rots its way through the outriggers, don't recall the Scim being any better/worse than anything else though. Biggest problem I should think now is getting hold of trim parts, and the fact that being glassfibre there's twice as much wiring to have trouble with.


I'm envious though, they are a classy good-looking car, a British Gentleman's Express.

Brian

heres what it looked like a couple of weeks ago, don't know its age but I believe it was a GT

Some of the Scimitars reported probs came up in an old thread! don't stop me wanting one.

retrorides.proboards86.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1153999241

Dad restored an H reg with crash damage in the 80's Fuggin loved that car.


The reg now lives on a local VECTRA! WTFOMGETC

others on the search (if the link works propperly)
retrorides.proboards86.com/index.cgi?action=search2&search=scimitars&match=1&whattosearch=1&user=&checkall=on&board-general=1&subject=1&message=1&hours=0&days=150&maxresults=50&viewtype=2

why not just sell the car on complete so someone has a reasonable chance of restoring it rather than breaking it up? Having owned a few Mk3s and looked a many more for sale, that looks like a decent enough shell and decent ones are hard to find these days. When I was into Vauxhalls I used to get rather annoyed/perplexed about a bunch of people in our club who professed to be enthusiasts but seemed to spend most of their time buying every example they could (to "save" it from being bought by a non-member who might, heaven forbid, drive the thing) then they'd sit it intheir garden let it rot for a bit and then break it up for spares. I saw dozens of decent useable/savable cars go this way. One reason why Vauxhalls of that era are so rare now. Nothing wrong with the cars, just some bizarre mania in the club... Might as well just given the things to banger racers and had done with it.

Hope this Cortina gets a happier ending.

;D Hi Autofive

Early Scimitars are superb!!! I've owned my 1969 Scimitar GTE for over 8 years now. The very early Scimitars did have problems catching fire. This was mainly due to the brass fitment that the petrol pipe connects to used to come out off and spray fuel all over the engine! The problem was sorted by pinning the brass fitment in the carb:



Check yours has been pinned

Other problems can be overheating, especially if the car has not been looked after. The radiator can be recored/uprated, fitting a Citroen BX cooling fan has been a very popular conversion for many Scimitar owners (but make sure you fit it to a relay) and will help keep your car cooler!

Look for corrosion on the out-riggers on the chassis and the where the rear shock absorbers bolt onto the axle brackets.

Changing the nylon timing gear for an all steel one is a good option too, as this will save a lot of expense later if the nylon toothed wheel breaks!





The later Essex engines from 1972 were slightly uprated -about 15 bhp more. The early heads and inlet manifold were "O" ports and the later ones were called "D" ports and these were more effecient.



Interior trim is about the hardest things to get, unless you have alot of money to get them recovered.

Heres my Scim.











The main dealer for Scimitars is Garham Walkers in Chester, where you will get the majority of parts.

Their number is: 01244 381777

Most Scimitar owners are very friendly and helpful.

I look forward to seeing the pictures of your new Scim!

All the best

Dave Poole the Scimitar Enthusiast!

Checkout my own site: www.sporting-reliants.com

thanks for the info, here are the pics:

as it looked when picked up


the drivers door doesnt shut, as someone's nicked the lock


some obvious front end damage, and rotten headlights










its gone into storage for a couple of weeks

the interior looks okay, seat vinyl (black) looks okay, sunroof doesnt leak as i sat in and drivers seat dry, after last nights rain, carpets manky but dry

spares in the back, and an empty tin of filler - not a good sign

outriggers look a bit crusty - but i havent had chance to have a good look yet

or fire up the 3 litre

not sure if this is a series two body on a series one chassis?

is the winscreen a Mk1 capri screen?

don't know whats happening as yet with the Scimitar - was really pushed for time today and couldnt have a good look at it, depends how bad the chassis is.
- if thres too much welding and outrigger replacement needed, then it will go into long term storage, if it can be sorted and mot'ed without too much ' body off' work then it will used as a daily from spring 2007 until the cortina is finished and then restored - maybe even a 2.9i conversion

I'd recomend one. They're great. You just sink down into the interior and look out over this enourmous bonnet before your driver (my dad - lol) plants his right foot and a sudden surge of torque carries you away.
your's looks sweet- if a little in need of TLC. I understand it will have the earlier type of dashboard too?
They're great toys to have like, although, don't be expecting to be saving money by running one

Here is my dads. Apparantly, its not BROWN its yellow...