Specialist: who needs four wheels?
Location Wood End Farm, Cradley, Worcester WR13 5JW
Specialism Everything to do with small Reliant models Staff three Prices per job
Tel 07973 470810
Web www.reliantspares.com
Joe Mason is a larger than life character with a great sense of humour, which helps when you are working with cars that many people don’t take seriously. As he puts it: “Business is business, and I don’t mind customers who buy cars for a bit of a laugh as long as they come back for spares.” Mason has expanded his firm over almost 10 years since he set up at Wood End Farm, and now offers a range of services spanning nearly every small Reliant model.
“I don’t cover the larger-engined cars because they are well catered for,” Mason explains, “but there is a strong following for the threewheelers.” He owns the Tempest two-seater marque that was built by Reliant in the ’80s using the standard 850cc all-alloy ‘four’ with a body designed by TVR’S John Box. At less than 540kg, it’s light enough to be driven on a motorcycle licence (see https://tempestcars.net).
Most of the business is mailorder items supporting the Regal, Robin, Rialto and four-wheelers such as the Kitten, Rebel, Fox, Tandy camper and the Ant – a Tuktuk lookalike with a following in developing countries. “It’s light and powerful,” Mason enthuses, “with a load-carrying capacity of 1600kg.”
Reliant Spares sends parts and whole cars to customers all over the world, mainly to Brits in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US, even Vietnam, plus most of Europe. Says Mason: “There seems to be a nostalgia for the more quirky three-wheelers in every corner of the globe and, given that they are great survivors, with their glassfibre bodies, galvanised chassis and alloy engines, there is a growing market for parts to keep them going.”
Prices depend on availability for spares, with a full recon engine from £600, axles at £300 and fuel tanks £100, down to a shell for only £1.
“I keep getting calls from folk with a barnfind they want to fix up,” he says. “They are cheap and easy to restore, with most bits available.” The company remanufactures various NLA items, from brake cables to carpet sets. It has also developed a performance exhaust system, as well as disc-brake conversions.
The four-cylinder motor, based on the Austin Seven unit, is a good one: “It was the first all-alloy, overhead-valve engine in Britain, not dissimilar to the Coventry Climax, being light and powerful. Its Achilles heel is the head, which can easily be damaged during dismantling.” Starting out at just 598cc, capacity was gradually increased to 850cc.
Mason has sourced a lot of vehicles for TV shows: “Anything that keeps them in the public eye has to be good because it’s introducing a new generation of fans. We’ve even supplied art installations.” He’s also noticed an upsurge of interest for the Bond Bug, designed by Tom Karen and built by Reliant from 1970-’74. A few hundred survive (out of c2200) and prices are creeping into five figures for the best.
And if you were thinking of taking the plunge, there’s lots of advice on the website – as well as the spares available for each Reliant model. James Mann
Reliant Spares