Talk Morgan Forums Community Vehicle Talk (non-Morgan) Classics you still would like to own ?

The handling of those Scimitars was drastically altered depending on whether the 25 gallon tank was full or empty 😂

Hugh

In the late 1970s I had a red Scimitar GT Coupe. It was a 1967 model with the 3 litre Ford V6. It too caught fire and burned out as I was towing a three wheeler Morgan up the M1 to a restorer in a cold snowy February. Luckily I was able to detach the trailer and push it back some yards down the hard shoulder to safety.

The usual cause was for the metal petrol union to become detached from the carb due to the under bonnet heat, but I think that mine ignited because of exhaust gasses escaping from where the manifold met the downpipe. Anyway it was a scary experience.

Tony

I suspected the fire on mine had originated near the carb as it had completely melted . It was scary in my case too , I arrived before the fire brigade the heat was tremendous melting the road and cracking the window glass in a house at the side of the road .


Hugh

These are the earlier SE4 ..... pretty coupe body (I think it was either an Ogle design or based on one) ..... straight six (which you could tune up surprisingly) or later the V6 like the GTE (SE5). ....always fancied one (however, with a GTE you could do 80 down the M62 with a giant cheese-plant sticking out the back while moving house)

There's a couple of nice looking GTEs run on the hillclimbs (and at least one SE4)

K

Yes , mine were both SE4s , one with a 2.5 V6 and one with a 3 litre . Somewhere I still have a factory workshop manual .

Looking at the pictures again , the red one looks like it could be outside Barry Herbers Scimitar garage in Attleborough , if so one of mine was once reversed up to the wall ,when I started it up it left two black circles on the white paint 😂

HJP .... my mistake ...had it in my head the Scimitar name came with the SE5 .... not sure why, as the earlier model was called the Sabre so would have made sense to give the SE4 a sword related name

K

Ps pics just stolen at random off the web for illustrative purposes only

I'd say the red one is pictured at the Percival Motor Company in Kent. They've had a couple through their hands in the last year or two.

Found this one on their website (previously sold)

http://www.percivalmotorco.co.uk/Reliant_Scimitar_Gt_Se4a/

I've always liked the look of them but what are they like to drive ?

After spending the day polishing both the Skoda Rapid and Skoda Octavia I wouldn't want to own all the cars I desire unless I was rich enough to pay someone else to clean them. However if I won lotto and bought a house with a larger garage and could pay to have someone help clean the cars the list I would like in the garage are Morgan Plus 4, Frontline MGB, Jaguar SS100 (probably Suffolk) and for those very rare days when I don't want a convertible a Nissan GTR32. But that is based on wants without having driven any of them, maybe after owning for a while the list could change.

My Honda S600 was heaps of fun for the 5% of the time it worked, I would add one to my list but not if it was the only sports car. I don't want a car that needs fixing 95% of the time.

MPH .... if they're anything like the SE5 (with which they had loads in common mechanically and bodily) ...then they're surprisingly good to drive ....had my SE5 as a daily driver , summer and winter, commuting through town and thrashing on the open road ... not a chore to drive in any way and comfy for the time.

K