Description
1978 Reliant Scimitar SE6A GTE
** DEPOSIT TAKEN**
Pastel Green
Automatic
86k miles
Historic vehicle (exempt from Road Tax, MOT and ULEZ)
Another icon from the Ogle Design studio - alongside the Raleigh Chopper, the Bond Bug and Luke Skywalker’s XP-24 Landspeeder.
Automotive writer, Andrew English, puts the Scimitar GTE up there with the Ferrari 250 GTO Bread Van, the Harold-Radford Aston Martin DB5 Shooting Brake, the Volvo 1800ES, Lancia HPE and Jensen FF: ‘When the design is right, shooting brakes can be gorgeous and much-loved cars. Think of the Reliant Scimitar GTE. And, more recently, Ferrari's GTC4 Lusso’.
Classic & Sports Car magazine regards the Scimitar GTE as ‘a triumph of British ingenuity, the world’s first series production sporting estate - exclusivity, durability, practicality and a great sporting feel’.
High gearing was a Scimitar hallmark (Reliant fitted its autos with longer diffs than the manuals, making direct top closer to the manual’s overdrive top) which makes for rapid-but-relaxed cruising. And the GTE’s glass fibre bodyshell is, of course, immune to rust.
Well-known to the UK Scimitar owners’ forum, this particular car was the subject of many years of obsessive TLC by a previous owner whose extensive ownership thread is a thing to behold.
The underside was regularly pressure cleaned, treated and painted from front to rear - even removing the nose / bumper to get at the hard-to-reach front chassis assembly. Improvements included:
• a reconditioned gearbox (welding a drain plug on the sump for easy maintenance)
• a new torque converter
• a B&M shift kit for quicker gear changes
• a reconditioned steering rack (again, fitting an additional grease nipple to aid future maintenance)
• new brake discs
• a reconditioned radiator
• a new axle diff with a 3. 07 crown and pinion
• steel timing gear
• an uprated heater matrix
• rear silencers from an E-Type Jaguar
• a new crank seal
• LED brake and tail-lights (soldered and crimped with waterproof covers, sealed with grease, just to make extra sure!).
• an upgraded the cooling system with a secondary fan.
The next owner had the car repainted in a cool, pastel green (so much nicer than the in-period ‘Greengage’) and, whilst there is some flaking and micro-blistering in some areas, the overall finish is still very good indeed. He also fitted:
• a stainless-steel fuel tank
• a new fuel pump and fuel pipes
• four Vredestein classic tyres.
I bought the car in 2019 and have since spent £3, 000 improving it further still with:
• LED headlamps (to match the tail-lights)
• LED dashboard illumination
• a brand new Mota-Lita, leather-rimmed steering wheel with polished centre cap
• a new high-torque start motor
• new battery
• new rear brake cylinders and shoes
• new rear wiper assembly.
QRG, one of the UK’s leading Scimitar specialists, has looked after the car during my ownership – jobs done include a compression test (all six cylinders measuring 145psi), a new brake master cylinder, new spark plugs, float chamber, carb filter and jets cleaned out, timing and mixtures checked, new gearbox valve and vacuum pipes.
And it comes fresh from a QRG service in August 2021 (oil change, front brakes checked, suspension greased, axle bearings and propshaft joints greased, all under-bonnet, axle and gearbox levels topped up).
It had its last MOT in December 2019 - passing, as it did all previous MOT’s going back to 2008, with no advisories. My next job was going to be a suspension refresh - shocks and springs, but a house renovation means a change of plan. (I sold my 1967 Scimitar SE4 GT last week for the same reason!)
It’s not a perfect example but it’s a very good one, with lots to commend, and a great platform for further, continuous improvement by the next owner.
In summary, a ground-breaking and iconic British design, enduring Ford mechanicals, rust-free body work, a relaxed autobox that suits the car’s GT character perfectly, a recent repaint in cool, pastel green, a car that’s well-known to the Scimitar cognoscenti and, most recently, fettled by one of the best in the business.
The car is based near Oxford with occasional trips to Central London. Viewing can be arranged in either location.
