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Reliant Motors
Reliant Motor Company was a British car manufacturer based in Tamworth, Staffordshire, England. It was founded in 1935 and ended car production in 2002, the company had been known as "Reliant Motor Company" (or RMC for short) until the 1990s when it became "Reliant Motors" and then finally became "Reliant Cars LTD" after production had ended of the Robin as the company was restructured to be a car import business. It is now a dormant company and the only entity left is a separate parts company created called "Reliant Partsworld" which produces parts for Reliant vehicles.
Reliant was a large manufacturing company that mainly produced vehicles for niche markets, such as small three-wheeled vehicles and sports cars. It was best known for the three-wheeled Reliant Robin, but produced a variety of vehicles over 60 years, including sports cars, convertibles and commercial vehicles. Approximately half a million Reliant vehicles were produced and sold in at least nine countries. For a period from the 1970s until the 1990s, Reliant was the UK's second biggest British-owned car manufacturer behind British Leyland.
To make their vehicles light, the company decided to produce car bodies from fibreglass in the mid-1950s. From this, Reliant became a pioneer in fibreglass design, techniques, and developments. Reliant also produced kitchen worktops, train bodies, and personal watercraft shells from fibreglass. In the 1970s, Reliant was the largest producer of fibreglass in Europe.[citation needed]
Reliant became the second-largest British-owned car company in the 1970s after the forming of British Leyland, Reliant had five factories and sold vehicles to seven countries.
When the Raleigh Bicycle Company decided to discontinue the manufacture of their three-wheeled vehicles in 1934, their works manager, T. L. Williams, and a colleague, E. S. Thompson, felt that the days of lightweight three-wheelers were not over. They decided to build their own vehicle in Williams's back garden on Kettlebrook Road in Tamworth. Their home-built design closely resembled the Karryall van previously built by Raleigh, and the prototype was licensed in January 1935. It was a 7 cwt (356 kg) van with a steel chassis, powered by a 600 cc single-cylinder engine driving the rear wheels through a three-speed gearbox and chain drive. The body was a hardwood frame with aluminium panels attached to it, like other cars of the time. With the motorcycle front end, mounted in the open, in front of the bulkhead, it was essentially a motorcycle fitted with a box body. The initial prototype had handlebars for steering, but after several trials with small local companies, it was changed to a steering wheel.
The work moved to a disused bus depot on Watling Street in Fazeley. On 3 June 1935, the first Reliant was delivered. Powered by a single-cylinder air-cooled 600 cc J.A.P. engine, the driver sat centrally on the vehicle astride the engine, much like a motorcyclist. The single-cylinder engine left the Reliant under-powered. In March 1936, a two-cylinder, water-cooled J.A.P. engine and an increase to 8 cwt (407 kg) gross vehicle weight was released. The driver no longer sat astride the engine and the vehicle gained more conventional forward-facing seats in the front. The first improved eight cwt twin-cylinder model was delivered on 16 March 1936.
In 1938, the Reliant Motor Company started to use the 10.5 hp, 747 cc four-cylinder Austin side-valve engine as found in the popular Austin Seven. The first four-cylinder Reliant was delivered on 12 March 1938. The Austin Car Company then announced its intention to cease production of the 747 cc Austin Seven engine. As Williams was always enthusiastic about making Reliant as independent as possible, he was keen that the company did not buy parts that it could make "in-house". Austin sold all the 747 cc engine tooling and manufacturing rights to Reliant, allowing them to commence manufacturing the engine. Although appearing very similar to the Austin engine, the level of commonality between Reliant and Austin remains unclear; the Reliant side-valve engine was a 747 cc four-cylinder unit built using smaller-scale manufacturing techniques than Austin. The Reliant crankcase was sand-cast rather than die-cast.[citation needed]
During the Second World War, Reliant machined parts for the war effort. In the post-war years, three-wheeler development continued. Reliant introduced a slightly modified van called the Regent. Visually similar to an over-sized motorcycle, the first Regent was completed on 13 March 1946, ten years after the first twin-cylinder van. The Regent grew to a GVW of 10 cwt and was better equipped, with sliding windows in the doors rather than canvas side screens. Two larger models were produced, a 12 cwt Regent and a Prince Regent. In 1953, the Regent continued to be built alongside the Reliant Regal. The Regent was eventually replaced by the Regal Mk II 5 cwt van in 1956.
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Reliant Motors
Reliant Motor Company was a British car manufacturer based in Tamworth, Staffordshire, England. It was founded in 1935 and ended car production in 2002, the company had been known as "Reliant Motor Company" (or RMC for short) until the 1990s when it became "Reliant Motors" and then finally became "Reliant Cars LTD" after production had ended of the Robin as the company was restructured to be a car import business. It is now a dormant company and the only entity left is a separate parts company created called "Reliant Partsworld" which produces parts for Reliant vehicles.
Reliant was a large manufacturing company that mainly produced vehicles for niche markets, such as small three-wheeled vehicles and sports cars. It was best known for the three-wheeled Reliant Robin, but produced a variety of vehicles over 60 years, including sports cars, convertibles and commercial vehicles. Approximately half a million Reliant vehicles were produced and sold in at least nine countries. For a period from the 1970s until the 1990s, Reliant was the UK's second biggest British-owned car manufacturer behind British Leyland.
To make their vehicles light, the company decided to produce car bodies from fibreglass in the mid-1950s. From this, Reliant became a pioneer in fibreglass design, techniques, and developments. Reliant also produced kitchen worktops, train bodies, and personal watercraft shells from fibreglass. In the 1970s, Reliant was the largest producer of fibreglass in Europe.[citation needed]
Reliant became the second-largest British-owned car company in the 1970s after the forming of British Leyland, Reliant had five factories and sold vehicles to seven countries.
When the Raleigh Bicycle Company decided to discontinue the manufacture of their three-wheeled vehicles in 1934, their works manager, T. L. Williams, and a colleague, E. S. Thompson, felt that the days of lightweight three-wheelers were not over. They decided to build their own vehicle in Williams's back garden on Kettlebrook Road in Tamworth. Their home-built design closely resembled the Karryall van previously built by Raleigh, and the prototype was licensed in January 1935. It was a 7 cwt (356 kg) van with a steel chassis, powered by a 600 cc single-cylinder engine driving the rear wheels through a three-speed gearbox and chain drive. The body was a hardwood frame with aluminium panels attached to it, like other cars of the time. With the motorcycle front end, mounted in the open, in front of the bulkhead, it was essentially a motorcycle fitted with a box body. The initial prototype had handlebars for steering, but after several trials with small local companies, it was changed to a steering wheel.
The work moved to a disused bus depot on Watling Street in Fazeley. On 3 June 1935, the first Reliant was delivered. Powered by a single-cylinder air-cooled 600 cc J.A.P. engine, the driver sat centrally on the vehicle astride the engine, much like a motorcyclist. The single-cylinder engine left the Reliant under-powered. In March 1936, a two-cylinder, water-cooled J.A.P. engine and an increase to 8 cwt (407 kg) gross vehicle weight was released. The driver no longer sat astride the engine and the vehicle gained more conventional forward-facing seats in the front. The first improved eight cwt twin-cylinder model was delivered on 16 March 1936.
In 1938, the Reliant Motor Company started to use the 10.5 hp, 747 cc four-cylinder Austin side-valve engine as found in the popular Austin Seven. The first four-cylinder Reliant was delivered on 12 March 1938. The Austin Car Company then announced its intention to cease production of the 747 cc Austin Seven engine. As Williams was always enthusiastic about making Reliant as independent as possible, he was keen that the company did not buy parts that it could make "in-house". Austin sold all the 747 cc engine tooling and manufacturing rights to Reliant, allowing them to commence manufacturing the engine. Although appearing very similar to the Austin engine, the level of commonality between Reliant and Austin remains unclear; the Reliant side-valve engine was a 747 cc four-cylinder unit built using smaller-scale manufacturing techniques than Austin. The Reliant crankcase was sand-cast rather than die-cast.[citation needed]
During the Second World War, Reliant machined parts for the war effort. In the post-war years, three-wheeler development continued. Reliant introduced a slightly modified van called the Regent. Visually similar to an over-sized motorcycle, the first Regent was completed on 13 March 1946, ten years after the first twin-cylinder van. The Regent grew to a GVW of 10 cwt and was better equipped, with sliding windows in the doors rather than canvas side screens. Two larger models were produced, a 12 cwt Regent and a Prince Regent. In 1953, the Regent continued to be built alongside the Reliant Regal. The Regent was eventually replaced by the Regal Mk II 5 cwt van in 1956.