Reliant Three-Wheelers E-Book

John Wilson-Hall

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

Despite a reputation for being eccentric and dangerous, Reliant three-wheelers are ever-present in the classic car scene and are now seen as icons of British popular culture. Reliant Three-Wheelers - The Complete Story charts the development of these much-loved cars from 1935 onwards and includes the development and production of the Regal, Robin, Bond Bug and Rialto along with detailed specification guides and hundred of photographs throughout. An ideal resource for anybody with an interest in these classic cars, from one of the last major British vehicle manufacturers, the book covers origins of Reliant and the girder fork Light Delivery Van in the 1930s, post-war passenger cars and the groundbreaking fibreglass body of the Mark 3 Regal, Reliant under new ownership and the redesigned BN Robins, and Reliant three-wheelers in popular culture. Fully illustrated with 130 colour and 147 black & white photographs.

Leseprobe

RELIANTTHREE-WHEELERS

The Complete Story

John Wilson-Hall

THE CROWOOD PRESS

First published in 2014 by The Crowood Press Ltd Ramsbury, Marlborough Wiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2015

© John Wilson-Hall 2014

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication DataA catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 84797 807 3

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Timeline

CHAPTER 1    THE ROAD TO RELIANT

CHAPTER 2    THE GIRDER YEARS

CHAPTER 3    THE REGAL

CHAPTER 4    A NEW ENGINE FOR A NEW ERA

CHAPTER 5    TESTING THE LIMITS

CHAPTER 6    ANT BOND AND BUG

CHAPTER 7    THE ROBIN TAKES FLIGHT

CHAPTER 8    THE FINAL DECADE

CHAPTER 9    THE RELIANT OWNERS CLUB

Index

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This book could not have been written without the help of the following people and organizations: Elvis Payne for the countless emails, photographs and shared research; Bob Neal, the Reliant Owners Club historian, for the photocopies of Reliant Reviews and various adverts; Les Collier, the owner of BN plastics, who gave me much of the story in the final days of the Reliant; Thomas Touw, who supplied a large selection of mono photographs; Peter Huggins (Nottingham Branch), who provided the original Reliant Owners Club documents and Top Gear magazines; Bubble Car Museum for the use of their archive material, Tamworth Herald; Commercial Motors Magazine; Biteback Publishing (When One Door Closes); The Austin 7 Club; The Bug Club; Raleigh Safety Seven and early Reliant Owners Club; Motor Cycle magazine, and Cycle Car and Light Car magazine.

Pictures of old Tamworth Road Repair (Chapter One) and Midland Bus staff outside Two Gates (Chapter Two) reproduced with the kind permission of Tamworth Castle Museum.

Finally, my thanks go to the following people who supplied photographs, information or support either directly or indirectly: Kerry Croxten, James Holland, Adam Turpin, Steve White, Kevin Hallet, John Howe, Kevin Thompson, Julian Haycraft, Colin Fine Thompson, Geoffrey Payne, Ray Dixon, Sheila Eastwood (ROC membership secretary), Stuart Cyphus, Tom Karen, Daniel Lockton, Robert Simpkins, Dan Rodd, Ray Crosby and John Ward.

TIMELINE

(GIRDER VANS)

7cwt VAN

600cc single-cylinder JAP

1935/1938

wooden panels on ash frame

10cwt VAN

600cc single-cylinder JAP

1936/1940

8cwt VAN

747cc Austin 7 side valve

1938/1940

aluminium panels on ash frame

12cwt VAN

747cc Austin 7 side-valve

1938/1940

8cwt VAN

747cc Reliant side-valve

1946/1954

12cwt VAN

747cc Reliant side-valve

1946/1956

REGENT 10cwt VAN

747cc Reliant side-valve

1950/1956

6cwt VAN

747cc Reliant side-valve

1950/1954

PRINCE 6cwt VAN

747cc Reliant side-valve

1952/1955

REGENT Mk2 10cwt VAN

747cc Reliant side-valve

1954/1956

(REGAL)

REGAL MK1 SALOON

747cc Reliant side-valve

1953/1954

REGAL MKll SALOON/VAN

747cc Reliant side-valve

1954/1956

(soft top/optional hard top)

REGAL MKlll SALOON/VAN

747cc Reliant side-valve

1956/1958

(soft top/optional hard top)

REGAL MKlV SALOON/VAN

747cc Reliant side-valve

1958/1959

fibreglass panels on ash frame

REGAL MKV SALOON/VAN

747cc Reliant side-valve

1959/1960

REGAL MKVl SALOON/VAN

747cc Reliant side-valve

1960/1962

REGAL MKVl-A VAN

600cc Reliant ohv

1960/1962

REGAL 3/25 SALOON

600cc Reliant ohv

1962/1966

fibreglass

REGAL 3/25 VAN

600cc Reliant ohv

1963/1966

fibreglass

REGAL 3/25 SUPER SALOON

600cc Reliant ohv

1965/1967

fibreglass

REGAL 3/25 SUPERVAN VAN

600cc Reliant ohv

1966/1967

fibreglass

REGAL 3/25 SUPER DELUX SALOON

600cc Reliant ohv

1967/1968

fibreglass

REGAL 3/25 21E SALOON

600cc Reliant ohv

1967/1968

fibreglass

REGAL 3/25 SUPERVAN ll VAN

600cc Reliant ohv

1967/1968

fibreglass

REGAL 10CWT PICK-UP

600cc Reliant ohv

1967/1967

fibreglass

REGAL 3/30 SALOON

700cc Reliant ohv

1968/1973

fibreglass

REGAL 3/30 21E SALOON

700cc Reliant ohv

1968/1973

fibreglass

REGAL 3/30 SUPERVAN lll VAN

700cc Reliant ohv

1968/1973

fibreglass

(COMMERCIAL)

TW9 assorted

600cc Reliant ohv

1967/1968

fibreglass cab, various bodies

TW9 assorted

700cc Reliant ohv

1968/1973

fibreglass cab, various bodies

TW9 assorted

750cc Reliant ohv

1968/1973

fibreglass cab, various bodies

ANT assorted

850cc Reliant ohv

1968/1973

fibreglass cab, various bodies

(BOND BUG)

BOND BUG 700 SALOON

700cc Reliant ohv

1970

fibreglass

BOND BUG 700E SALOON

700cc Reliant ohv

1970/1973

fibreglass

BOND BUG 700ES SALOON

700cc Reliant ohv

1970/1973

fibreglass

BOND BUG 750E SALOON

750cc Reliant ohv

1973/1974

fibreglass

BOND BUG 750ES SALOON

750cc Reliant ohv

1973/1974

fibreglass

(ROBIN MARK l)

ROBIN SALOON/VAN/EST

750cc Reliant ohv

1973/1975

fibreglass

SUPER ROBIN SALOON/VAN/EST

750cc Reliant ohv

1973/197

fibreglass

ROBIN (850) SALOON/VAN/EST

850cc Reliant ohv

1975/1981

fibreglass

SUPER ROBIN (850) SALOON/VAN/EST

850cc Reliant ohv

1975/1981

fibreglass

JUBILEE ROBIN SALOON

850cc Reliant ohv

1977

fibreglass

ROBIN GBS SALOON/EST

850cc Reliant ohv

1981

fibreglass

(RIALTO)

RIALTO SALOON/VAN/EST

850cc Reliant ohv

1982/1984

fibreglass

RIALTO GL SALOON/EST

850cc Reliant ohv

1982/1984

fibreglass

RIALTO 2 SALOON/VAN/EST

850cc Reliant ohv

1983/1985

fibreglass

RIALTO SE SALOON/VAN/EST

850cc Reliant ohv

1985

fibreglass

RIALTO JUBILEE SALOON/VAN/EST

850cc Reliant ohv

1985

fibreglass

(ROBIN MK2)

ROBIN LX HATCHBACK/VAN

850cc Reliant ohv

1989/1999

fibreglass

ROBIN SLX HATCHBACK/VAN

850cc Reliant ohv

1989/1999

fibreglass

ROBIN LE93 HATCHBACK

850cc Reliant ohv

1993

fibreglass

ROBIN DIAMOND HATCHBACK

850cc Reliant ohv

1995

fibreglass

GIANT PICK-UP

850cc Reliant ohv

1997/1998

fibreglass

ROBIN ROYALE HATCHBACK

850cc Reliant ohv

1995

fibreglass

ROBIN CLUBMAN L HATCHBACK

850cc Reliant ohv

1997

fibreglass

ROBIN CLUBMAN LX HATCHBACK

850cc Reliant ohv

1997

fibreglass

ROBIN GSX HATCHBACK

850cc Reliant ohv

1997

fibreglass

ROBIN HATCHBACK

850cc Reliant ohv

1998

fibreglass

(ROBIN MARK 3)

ROBIN LX HATCHBACK

850cc Reliant ohv

1999/2000

fibreglass

ROBIN SLX HATCHBACK

850cc Reliant ohv

1999/2000

fibreglass

ROBIN ROYALE HATCHBACK

850cc Reliant ohv

1999/2001

fibreglass

ROBIN BRG HATCHBACK

850cc Reliant ohv

1999/2001

fibreglass

ROBIN 65 HATCHBACK

850cc Reliant ohv

2000/2001

fibreglass

(BN ROBIN (made under licence by B & N Plastics)

ROBIN BN 1 HATCHBACK

850cc Reliant ohv

2001/2002

fibreglass

ROBIN BN 2 HATCHBACK

850cc Reliant ohv

1999/2001

fibreglass

CHAPTER ONE

THE ROAD TO RELIANT

THE EARLY YEARS

Tom Lawrence Williams’ journey started in May 1890 at 43 Church Street, Tamworth, as the youngest of seven children. His mother, Sarah Ann Williams, was a part-time dressmaker and full-time mother. His father Edward was a well-established builder/joiner-cum-undertaker, pattern maker, wood turner, and furniture repairer with premises in College Row.

Tom’s education was ‘elementary’ under the newly legislated state school system, although he did excel in his studies. By twelve years old his endeavours had secured him a place at the Birmingham Technical School, the equivalent of today’s further education, which he attended as a day student until aged fifteen.

Following full-time education, Tom Lawrence then took up a position as a trainee in civil and surveying engineering work with Mr Clarson, a consultant civil engineer. Tom carried on his education at night school and by 1910 had passed his exams for the Institute of Chartered Surveyors and the Institute of Municipal and County Engineers.

A common sight as the young Tom was growing up, and especially when he was working with Tamworth Council. Here we see steam-powered machinery repairing roads in Market Street, Tamworth, circa 1910.

Father Edward, a carpenter and builder, mother Sarah Ann (née Musson) in the census records, working as a dressmaker and milliner. Seven children over sixteen and all survived. In the days of difficult childbirth, childhood diseases and accidents, it is indeed remarkable that the Williams’ children lived to maturity, and both the father and mother continued to a ripe old age. Tom’s three brothers became a joiner (Charles), brass founder (Harold) and an architect (Edmund). In 1910, Edmund with his wife Maria and son David emigrated to Australia, where he became a municipal engineer.