I want one of those! Scimitar advice needed

[MGCYCLE]

Hi all,

I am currently having to consider my car options. I am looking for an estate classic car. To avoid having to put my road racer into my MG BGT I bought an estate Mondeo.

Unfortunately I do hardly any miles in either car, and was looking for an estate classic to get a car off the drive. Also I struggle with the Mondeo because its just doesnt have the character,of an older car.

It appears there are only a few options, with the Scimitar being a car I have always liked the look of, with good styling, being at the top of the list.

The problem is I know absolutely nothing about them, my questions are:

1) reliability - as my sole car it would need to start when I asked it, even in Winter and not constantly be being worked on. Is this likely?

2) Fibre Glass : this is a whole new world to me. I have heard stories of the car disintegrating on any sort of impact, is this just my mates spouting hot air?
also someone mentioned that electrics are temporamental when in fibre glass cars, no further explanation, though could it be something to with earthing and no metal to earth it to?

3) what engine sizes do they come in? I have seen a 2800, and a V6.

4) What are the major differences between the marques? and can you get one pre 1973? for that magic cat tax break?

5) what price should I look to be paying for a decent one, it needs to be of decent standard, but I wont be showing it!

6) Is there an owners club? not because like waving at other MGs at the moment, but more for the availability of parts. (though I have always waved at other MG club members as a sign of understanding for all the effort that goes into owning a classic car)

7) Parts, how available are they? is it a case of having a donor car or are there replica parts about?

8) Are there any tell tale problems to keep my eye out for

i hope this works, as I chose my Mg without researching properly, and bought an absolute gem, though I know I probably wont be a lucky twice!

apologies for the list of questions,

Thanks

J

[CNHSS1]

the Reliant Scimitar and Sabre Owners Club (RSSOC) is the owners club and they have a great site which you can ask the Qs on (sorry i know nothing of the V6 models). club site scimitarweb . com.

huge resource of knowledge as well as good place to find cars for sale long before they hit the small ads.

the club organise an event at Curborough sprint circuit (near Lichfield, Midlands) in 3 weeks time 16th/17th august and there will be hundreds of scimtars, camping, usual auto jumbles etc along with a sprint event (testing saturday AM, sprint event all day sunday). theres a cars for sale area and scimitar specialist traders and parts suppliers on site too. its a must for any scimitar enthusiast and unmissable as you will be able to see every type, size and style of scimitar ever made.


CNHSS1

[beejay]

I'm no expert but I'll have a bash I might even learn something

MGCYCLE said:

1) reliability - as my sole car it would need to start when I asked it, even in Winter and not constantly be being worked on. Is this likely?

Couldn't really comment. Mine sits in the garage all week and I only play with it at weekends. Easy enough to work on when it does go wrong though

MGCYCLE said:

2) Fibre Glass : this is a whole new world to me. I have heard stories of the car disintegrating on any sort of impact, is this just my mates spouting hot air?
also someone mentioned that electrics are temporamental when in fibre glass cars, no further explanation, though could it be something to with earthing and no metal to earth it to?

Electrics, yes... Partly because you need to earth everything back to the chassis, doubling the amount of wiring to go wrong. The rear earthing point seems particularily exposed and corroded on mine. Also because the loom itself isn't that well thought out by modern standards Headlights powered straight from the switch, you hear of switches melting when people upgrade their bulbs! I just redid mine incorporating plenty of relays Not an easy job

MGCYCLE said:

3) what engine sizes do they come in? I have seen a 2800, and a V6.

The estates came with, AFAIK, the 2.5 or 3L Essex V6 or Cologne V6 (2.9?)

MGCYCLE said:

4) What are the major differences between the marques? and can you get one pre 1973? for that magic cat tax break?

SE5 is the earlier model and the early ones like mine are tax exempt. SE6 is the later one; a few inches longer and wider, plastic bumpers, a few more options... Apparently you can squeeze a bike in an SE5, I would think the SE6 might be less of a squeeze though.

MGCYCLE said:

5) what price should I look to be paying for a decent one, it needs to be of decent standard, but I wont be showing it!

£1500 got me a '72 SE5 with 12mths MOT, a seemingly good chassis, knackered electrics and interior and a botched paint job.

MGCYCLE said:

6) Is there an owners club? not because like waving at other MGs at the moment, but more for the availability of parts. (though I have always waved at other MG club members as a sign of understanding for all the effort that goes into owning a classic car)

Yeh, search for RSSOC.

MGCYCLE said:

7) Parts, how available are they? is it a case of having a donor car or are there replica parts about?

Lots of parts bin bits Engine & 'box is Ford, front suspension Triumph etc. Theres a few tricky bits like the dash which always break. I'd love a spares car if I had the space Graham Walker in Chester are the "official" source for bits, you see lots of parts passing through eBay too. Search for Don Kennedy, he has a great site you should have a read of, theres a list on there of where the various bits were sourced from.

MGCYCLE said:

8) Are there any tell tale problems to keep my eye out for

Front trunnions, fibre timing wheel, chassis rot (sill sections, the rest is regularily oiled...), electrics, leaky door seals. Probably not an exhaustive list!

As the guy who sold mine to me said, you'll have a lot of fun. He wasn't wrong!

[skeggysteve]

Scimitar GTE's came with 2 engines - early one's 5, 5a (and possibly the 6) had a Ford Essex V6 3 litre. The later one's 6b (again possibly the 6) had the Ford 2.8 litre Cologne engine.

Having had both I'd recommend the 3 litre engine one's.

Reliability as a daily driver......well you must remember that your talking about a car that was hand built, old (buy a 1978 one and it's 30 years old!) and, yes the electrics do 'suffer'.

But if you are prepared to get your hands dirty and keep it well looked after you will not be disappointed.

Just to clarify one point CNHSS1 made - "sorry I know nothing of the V6 models" - that's because he has one of the fastest SS1's about!
Craig is just to modest to mention it!

[Retroguy]

Plenty of advice and background here

www.sporting-reliants.com

Good luck!

[Robscim]

Do some research. Get to a scimitar meeting. Try a few of the different models (SE5 and 6).

If you can do minor maintenance, you're sorted. Great cars, seriously underrated.

Just don't let everyone into the secret!!

The only reason I don't still have one is because I don't have the time to do the minor maintenance.

PM if you need pointing in the right direction.

Cheers

Rob

[kali]

I’ve got an SE5A as my only car. Spends long periods parked up at home or airports whilst I’m at work and never complains (you’ll need electronic ignition and an electric fuel pump to achieve this). Cheap insurance: £170 fully comp, parked on the road with class 1 business use and an agreed valuation of 5K. Parts supply is generally very good apart from some bits of trim but ebay is your friend. As every one recommends get the best one you can afford, I didn’t and resprays are expensive, trust me.

I do about 10,000 miles a year.

I’m in Brighton if that’s near you and you want to have a nose around it.

HTH

Kali

[plasticpig]

MGCYCLE said:

1) reliability - as my sole car it would need to start when I asked it, even in Winter and not constantly be being worked on. Is this likely?

Like all cars reliabilty depends on good maintenance. Mine is not a daily driver but I manage to rack up 7500 miles last year with only one issue.

MGCYCLE said:

2) Fibre Glass : this is a whole new world to me. I have heard stories of the car disintegrating on any sort of impact, is this just my mates spouting hot air?
also someone mentioned that electrics are temporamental when in fibre glass cars, no further explanation, though could it be something to with earthing and no metal to earth it to?

Electrics can be tempremental and this is usuall down to bad earthing. This is quite easy to fix though as it just requires keeping the earthing points clean and making sure the strops/ connections are in good nick.

MGCYCLE said:

3) what engine sizes do they come in? I have seen a 2800, and a V6.

They are both V6's. The three litre is the Ford Essex and the 2.8 cologne.

MGCYCLE said:

4) What are the major differences between the marques? and can you get one pre 1973? for that magic cat tax break?

SE5 & 5A smaller and generally considered to be a sportier drive pre 73 cars are availaible. SE6 / 6A /6B bigger from 1976 and more GT like. The 6B version has the 2.8 engine and some very late models have a gavanized chassis.

MGCYCLE said:

5) what price should I look to be paying for a decent one, it needs to be of decent standard, but I wont be showing it!

you should be able to get something very useable for £2500. There ar plenty below that price but it can be a bit pot luck as to wether its a good one or not. Many are serviced and maintained by the owners so one with a servicing history from a specialist is a plus.

MGCYCLE said:

[6) Is there an owners club? not because like waving at other MGs at the moment, but more for the availability of parts. (though I have always waved at other MG club members as a sign of understanding for all the effort that goes into owning a classic car)

Yes see http://www.shworth.com/scimitarweb/index.php

MGCYCLE said:

Parts, how available are they? is it a case of having a donor car or are there replica parts about?

Mechanical parts are readily available if not new then reconditioned or second hand. Interior and trim is scarce and only usually available second hand. Some new old stock stuff does occasionaly turn up.

[MGCYCLE]

Thanks all, I am going to have a dig around on the sites mentioned.

And think about which marque to look at!!!

My next door neighbour said how good this site was for his Audi, and I am really impressed with this section as well.