Mods and Consequences

Reliant Scimitar GTE

Ever the victim of badge snobbery, Reliant’s flagship Scimitar GTE still represents fantastic value for money, at a time when rivals’ prices have soared well into five-figures. There are two main versions – the SE5 and the later, larger, more GT-like SE6. All are powered by Ford V6s, though the last few cars used the German Cologne motor as opposed to the British Essex. The Cologne is considered to be the better of the two, but it isn’t worth the expense of swapping the power units over.

Dropping the ubiquitous Rover V8 in the Scimitar is a well-trodden route, however, and requires only minor modifications to the bulkhead to fit both the engine and a British Leyland five-speed gearbox. While the V8 route is the way to go if you want to increase power significantly, neither of the Ford V6s are lacking muscle, so there’s nothing wrong with sticking to a bit of tuning here.

Of course, we should address the elephant in the room – the Scimitar’s reputation for unreliability. In truth, they’re very simple cars that were largely well designed, but even keen owners will admit that cooling on the SE6 is a bit marginal.

This prompts many owners to upgrade the fan and radiator and some owners have even been known to add extra vents and/or louvres in the bodywork. All of this will work, but a more elegant solution is to simply swap the cooling system for that of the SE5 – it’s a better design that shouldn’t struggle to keep the car cool if it’s well maintained and kept in good condition, as it should be.

’Dropping the ubiquitous Rover V8 into the Scimitar is a well-trodden route’