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What's that then?

Reliant Rebel saloon

It's a funny old car, the Rebel. People stare at it because it looks a trifle odd, it annoys them that they don't know what it is and stuns them when they actually find out it was made by Reliant.

Renowned for its glass fibre bodied 3-wheelers, early in the 1960's Reliant Motors tried to break into the flourishing small four wheeled car market. Launched in 1964, the Rebel was not the sales success Reliant wanted. After all, it was up against a cheaper mighty midget - Igissonis' marvel - the Austin Mini. Initially produced as a saloon and later in 1967 as an estate, the last Rebel rolled off the production line early in 1973 after some 2600 were made. It was not until 1976 when its successor appeared - the Kitten, the 'Robin on four wheels'.

It is said the production prototypes were driven overland for the 1964 Motor Show from the Anadol factory in Turkey, with whom Reliant had business interests. Of the 2600 that were made, about 850 were exported to a number of places, including Angola, Cyprus, Israel and Bermuda.

It was designed by Ogle Associates, a company founded by David Ogle in 1960 in Letchworth, north of London. The two door, fibreglass bodywork was hand moulded at Reliants' old factory in Tamworth, England. The complete shell was bonded together during manufacture to produce a strong but lightweight body and was placed upon a conventional 'ladder' type box section chassis based upon the three-wheeled Regal 3/25.

The Rebel inherited much from the Regal, but many parts also came 'off the shelf'. Of course, the main difference was that additional wheel at the front. The double wishbone front suspension, made by Alford and Alder, is Triumph Vitesse based, brakes parts are similar to those used in Ford Anglias and early Triumph Heralds and some steering components are also seen in the Austin Cambridge and Austin Mini.

Early models were fitted with Reliants' own cast aluminium alloy ohv 600cc engine, producing 28 bhp. This was uprated to 700cc and then 750cc later on. Many cars still on the road nowadays have been fitted with the newer 850cc version. The gearboxes also changed over the 8 years of production. Originally they were similar to the crash box used in the Regal, but after chassis number 941001 they were fully synchromeshed on all forward gears.

With rear wheel drive, handling can be a bit of a problem on sharp corners, but considering its' age and primitive rear leaf spring suspension it suffers from little roll. Braking is, to say the least, heart stopping but the all round drum brakes soon produce bulging leg muscles. Acceleration is poor, the badly ratioed gearbox makes it feel an eternity to reach a respectable speed, but once it gets there it will happily cruise at 60 - 70 mph returning at least 45 mpg, if not much more. The fitting of the more powerful 850cc engine obviates the need of using the first gear, a boon if you have an early 'box.

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What's that then?

It's a funny old car, the Rebel. People stare at it because it looks a trifle odd, it annoys them that they don't know what it is and stuns them when they actually find out it was made by Reliant. Renowned for its glass fibre bodied 3-wheelers, early in the 1960's Reliant Motors tried to break into the flourishing small four wheeled car market. Launched in 1964, the Rebel was not the sales success Reliant wanted. After all, it was up against a cheaper mighty midget - Igissonis' marvel - the Austin Mini. Initially produced as a saloon and later in 1967 as an estate, the last Rebel rolled off the production line early in 1973 after some 2600 were made. It was not until 1976 when its successor appeared - the Kitten, the 'Robin on four wheels'. It is said the production prototypes were driven overland for the 1964 Motor Show from the Anadol factory in Turkey, with whom Reliant had business interests. Of the 2600 that were made, about 850 were exported to a number of places, including Angola, Cyprus, Israel and Bermuda. It was designed by Ogle Associates, a company founded by David Ogle in 1960 in Letchworth, north of London. The two door, fibreglass bodywork was hand moulded at Reliants' old factory in Tamworth, England. The complete shell was bonded together during manufacture to produce a strong but lightweight body and was placed upon a conventional 'ladder' type box section chassis based upon the three-wheeled Regal 3/25. The Rebel inherited much from the Regal, but many parts also came 'off the shelf'. Of course, the main difference was that additional wheel at the front. The double wishbone front suspension, made by Alford and Alder, is Triumph Vitesse based, brakes parts are similar to those used in Ford Anglias and early Triumph Heralds and some steering components are also seen in the Austin Cambridge and Austin Mini. Early models were fitted with Reliants' own cast aluminium alloy ohv 600cc engine, producing 28 bhp. This was uprated to 700cc and then 750cc later on. Many cars still on the road nowadays have been fitted with the newer 850cc version. The gearboxes also changed over the 8 years of production. Originally they were similar to the crash box used in the Regal, but after chassis number 941001 they were fully synchromeshed on all forward gears. With rear wheel drive, handling can be a bit of a problem on sharp corners, but considering its' age and primitive rear leaf spring suspension it suffers from little roll. Braking is, to say the least, heart stopping but the all round drum brakes soon produce bulging leg muscles. Acceleration is poor, the badly ratioed gearbox makes it feel an eternity to reach a respectable speed, but once it gets there it will happily cruise at 60 - 70 mph returning at least 45 mpg, if not much more. The fitting of the more powerful 850cc engine obviates the need of using the first gear, a boon if you have an early 'box.