Hi Stephen, I am using a Reliant engine in my special, I bought it as a rolling chassis with a V5 and no engine or gearbox, so no real issues about originality, and its not as if A7 chassis are in short supply, engines however are getting hard to come by and are fetching good money. I used the Reliant engine for a number of reasons, 1,It only cost me £160 for the engine, gearbox and radiator.You cant get a good running ready to go Austin 7 engine and box for that sort of money 2, the Reliant engine and box is lighter than the Austin being all aluminum construction. 3, The 850 Reliant in good condition only produces around 40 BHP there are plenty of Austins that run around that sort of power on standard brakes, but the cost of those extra BHP in comparison is astronomic.

Fitting a Reliant engine to a Ruby would obviously devalue the cars resale value , but if you intend to keep the car long term and are not worried about about originality then it makes sense to upgrade the engine, the extra power will allow a more flexible drive and the engine will not be screaming its head off trying to keep up with modern traffic, and unless you drive it like a maniac braking should not be a problem if every thing is set up properly. Depending on how the modification is done it should not be to difficult to return the car back to standard if need be. As for insurance I would have though that it would be no more difficult to insure than a supercharged LWB Ulster replica.

Having just said all that, it is not always the case that a car is devalued when it as been modified putting a 2 litre turbo charged Calibra red top engine into the now classic Vauxhall Nova seems to make the price double and my sons 1954 series 1 SWB Land Rover that had series 3 LWB axles, engine and gearbox and up rated suspension sold for the same price as any other original Series 1 in a similar condition would and strangely enough the insurance company was quite happy to insure it on a historic vehicle policy even with all the modifications at no extra cost.

Location: Pembrokeshire

hi stephen thanks for your comment but i have thought long and hard about fitting the reliant engine in my ruby ok for the purests amongst us will say its wrong others will say why not unlike so many old vehicles in the past this is the only modification that my ruby will have,i could very easily gone down the road of v8, chopped roof, jag back axle,etc and still called it an austin seven as i have done with other vehicles in the mid 70s when i was a little younger but now with a little snow on the roof i have mellowed in these thoughts that was then and this is now many thanks for the comments dave

Location: northants

hi phil the beat goes on,ive now withdrew the crossshaft a nice clean easy job for once NOT!!! someone in the past had spot welded the cotter pins why i just dont know! i am now waiting for new parts to restore it to its former glory the rear cross member is nearly finnished a bit of a fiddle as i have to keep offering it up then doing a bit more but i want a tight fit but i am getting there the exhaust had its own reasons for staying on the car as that had the middle to rear sections welded together one saving grace is that the reliant dealers is just round the corner from me so i can pick up parts off the shelf and back home in 10 mins anyway back to it dave

Location: northants

So Phil and David, what version Reliant engines are you using - side valve or overhead valve?

At the risk of offending the afore mentioned purists, how about some piccies?

Steve V.

Location: Polegate, East Sussex, United Kingdom

At the end of the day, it's your car you do what you want. I remember one day I was up in northern France stopping off in a place called Pont l'Evèque near the Normandy beaches when I spotted a Morris Minor convertible parked in the village square. I looked at it for ages and couldn't quite put my finger on what was wrong with it, apart from the 5 1/2J wheels and Pirelli Cinturato tyres and then I had an epiphany. First of all it had disc brakes on the front and then the gear knob showed 5 forward gears...

It turned out that the little beast had a Fiat Mirafiori 2 litre twin cam under the bonnet, matched up to a 5 speed box from a Toyota Celica. Outwardly it looked completely innocuous to the uninitiated. Nice one.

I would still be able to find room in my garage for it.

hi stephen i am using a 850cc overhead valve from a 1988 reliant realto which i bought at a very good price as the engine has only done 42000 miles and runs very sweet indeed, i must add the conversion would in hind site been easier with the body off but such is life dave

Location: northants

Hi Stephen, same here 850cc OHV with the engine mounted between the chassis rails with an extra crossmember added for the gearbox mount, I have seen a couple of installations where the sump bottom is above the rail tops, this allows the engine to be mounted further forward and so no need for the prop shaft to be shortened. My engine has the pre engaged starter motor and this was to close for comfort to the steering box because of the extra height of the wedge used to alter the column angle, so the steering box was moved three inches back and the tie rod lengthened, the handbrake also needed to be moved back due to its close proximity to the gearbox. The rest of the chassis is standard 1936 Ruby so as to comply with the current DVLAs 8 point rule but the rear extensions have been removed to the level of the chassis.

The body framework is being constructed from 1" tube, 1" and 2" angle iron and 1" box section, 1/2" ply flooring, this will not be the lightest of bodies but will be strong and rigid. Sitting on 15" wheels the top of the body is approximately 36" high. I have not as yet decided what to use for the covering steel or aluminum.
I decided not to overhaul the chassis until the bodywork is finished, the body can then be stored on a spare rolling chassis whilst he chassis is being reconditioned with all the new bits and pieces I have been buying over time so as to spread the cost.

Location: Pembrokeshire