2019. A new year. New adventures. And this will be the year where I can again start to enjoy every drive, even on what would have otherwise been a boring daily commute. That’s the theory anyway, and I shall be putting it to the test out in the cruel and harsh world of gritted winter roads, potholes and roadworks, commuting traffic and modern hybrid crossovers – even if it is a bit of a gamble.
Admitted, I’ve been rambling on about the concept of a daily classic for long enough now. First I complained about the boring commute in Bring ‘Fun’ Back into the Commute, and then continued to moan about not being able to find the right classic / youngtimer for the job in The Passionate Sunday Drive – on a Daily Basis. I know my colleagues here on ViaRETRO were starting to tire, and I’m sure that applies to our dear readers too. In reality, my 16 year old BMW 330Ci Sport was really a lovely and highly accomplished motor car in every perceivable way. I would genuinely recommend one to anyone who might bother asking my advice. But for me personally, it just lacked that difficult-to-define classic car charm. It’s not that I was seeking the ultimate driving experience as part of my commute. That would just be plain naïve, as I’m sure no one today commutes in a Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 or a Lotus Elan Sprint. No, I was merely seeking the physical and mechanical sensation of actually driving a car. Something which any classic will give the driver, more than will a modern car where you are cocooned from the whole experience.
So I’ve finally taken the plunge! Not to beat around the bush any longer, I took Claus’s advice to Treat Yourself, and gifted myself a Christmas present in the form of a 1978 Reliant Scimitar GTE SE6a. Not just that, but it’s brown! Well, a handsome maroonish-brown metallic, but that’s still brown to me. It’s the first brown car I have owned, and I’m well and truly excited about it. After all, we all know that few things in life manage to be cooler than a brown classic – let alone a brown Scimitar. And as if that isn’t enough, the interior is two-tone brown with velour seats adorned by Chesterfield-sofa-aping buttons. The whole seventies vibe has just about spun out of control, and I’m now looking forward to finding some Blondie, Fleetwood Mac and Status Quo cassette tapes to complete the illusion. I’m growing my sideburns too…
There can obviously be no discussion whether the Scimitar is a fabulous classic car – that goes without saying. But will it work as an all-year-round daily classic? Well, that one is probably up to discussion. I’ve presented my experiment to a few of my closest friend before publishing this introduction of the latest addition to my garage, and I’ve been met with a wide variety of reactions. Most loved it. Others were mildly sceptical. And a few simply rolled their eyes at me and proclaimed that this time I truly had lost my mind. A 41 year old, British, seventies, low-volume, fibreglass car as a daily? Sheer insanity said some. But is it? Now hear me out: I’m fairly certain that very few Scimitars were purchased brand new to live the life of a pampered fair weather driver. Most were no doubt pressed into daily action, and I’m equally certain that most would have dealt with this perfectly fine. Well, if the Scimitar could handle it 40-odd years ago, then why shouldn’t it handle it today? If something brakes or fails, clearly that particular part was no longer up to standards and needed replacing anyway. Which is what I’ll do, and then the Scimitar should arguably get on with its daily duties.
Some 40 years ago, the average family of four (or even five!) would quite happily get snug inside a Mini or a Fiat 600 and then proceed to drive the length of Europe to get to their holiday destination. In today’s modern world, people get rather lightheaded from just the suggestion. Just as they do from imagining a Reliant Scimitar being used as a daily car. But I maintain, if we could do it 40 years ago, surely we can still do it today as well. Famous last words…
But it’s really a very tidy, original and unmolested Scimitar. Not concours of course, but who would ever want to drive a concours classic car through the winter? After all, that would physically hurt! But I’m only the sixth owner, and I really must thank the previous five for its beautiful condition. There’s only 47,000 miles on the clock, and while not 100% documented, there’s enough in there to make it very believable. The first owner kept the Scimitar for all of 24 years, having only covered a mere 12,000 miles by the time he sold it in 2002. The next three owners continued the trend of not driving it much, so when Rory (the fifth owner who I have purchased the Scimitar from) bought the Reliant in 2013, only another 10,000 miles had been added. Rory then took to driving the Scimitar as it was intended, racking up more miles in his five and a half years of ownership than had been accumulated in the cars first 35 years combined! Still, at 47,000 miles the stock 3-litre Essex V6 and 4-speed manual transmission with overdrive on third and fourth should have heaps of mileage left in them.
What I can see of the chassis looks very sound and rustfree. The fibreglass bodywork – while not flawless by any stretch of the imagination – certainly presents very decent indeed, after the third owner (a professional car painter) treated the Scimitar to a fresh coat of brown in 2005. At least I won’t have to worry about crusty wheel arches and door bottoms after driving my fibreglass classic through a couple of winters. My Scimitar has also been subtly upgraded with a few discreet and highly sensible modifications, such as an auxiliary Kenlowe fan, electronic ignition, a stainless steel exhaust, and very recently a new stainless steel fuel tank as well. Rory fitted new headlights too and the front suspension has been partially refurbished only some months ago. More importantly, Rory has taken the Scimitar on some great drives during his five years of ownership, including an amazing 500 mile, nine hour, non-stop run from Didsbury to John O’Groats just last summer – proof if any were needed, that this Scimitar is well sorted and ready to pile on more miles during my ownership. I’m ready to be proven wrong – in the meantime, I now look forward to every drive ahead of me.
Is my game of Reliant Roulette too much of a gamble? Will this seventies British shooting brake fail me miserably? Or will I from now on cruise to and from work in a bubble of seventies cool and classic car bliss? What say our ViaRETRO readers? Stay tuned as I report on how this gamble plays out for me during 2019…
