FUG 348D
The SE4 Straight Six Coupe is a very rare car with only 30 or so left on the road. Reliant never made a convertible SE4 so it was left to the marque author, RSSOC Officer and founder of Scimpart, Don Pither to make one.
FUG 348D was recovered from a field in 1987 with a damaged roof and front end, seized engine and broken rear axle. Don intended to break the car for what spares there were and started by removing the roof for some reason. The resulting profile was so good that the plan changed immediately and the idea of a Roadster was born.
They started by grafting on a new front end from stock and with the help of Peter Good created an attractive car over the next few years. FUG was finally Mot’d and back on the road in April 1995 and the car attended many classic car events that year with Don and it was exhibited on the stand at the Classic and Sports Car Show at the NEC in May 1996.
In the early 2000’s FUG appears to have been part of a family collection of Reliants which were all sold as a job lot and it then ended up in a somewhat dilapidated state in North Wales where it was dry stored for some 20 years. Straight Six acquired the car last year and it is intended to restore the car to its Scimpart specification and condition.
It was never a car for the purists and the build certainly gave Don the chance to stamp his own mark on what he thought an open top SE4 should be like in the late 1990’s. It was always to be a Roadster as it had no folding roof, just a full tonneau cover and an umbrella for emergencies! The chassis and cills were strengthened to give less flex and the battery was moved to the back alongside the Ford Escort van fuel tank. The triple carbs were gone and a Weber installed along with a Sierra five speed gearbox. The interior in lovely red leather was complimented by the walnut facia and went well with the Ford Stratos silver body. The rear bumper had overriders which were not just for appearance. They hid the fact that they covered the join of two bumpers which had been joined together! Well done Don, waste not - want not.