Author Topic: Now if this was a Peel...  (Read 4779 times)

P50

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Now if this was a Peel...
« on: November 07, 2010, 06:06:50 PM »
Wonder if there are any P50's or Tridents still out there in someone's back garden?

At least we can say it won't be rotting away....   Is it worth rebuilding this 875?  I suppose if you put a hot Climax engine in it you could meet your maker sooner as opposed to later...


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BOND-875-BLUE-/150516888002?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item230b8171c2
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Daniel Rodd

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Re: Now if this was a Peel...
« Reply #1 on: November 08, 2010, 07:46:10 AM »
personally i wouldnt bother(again!)
If you really want one get one that is already running and driving.
Parts supply is non existent from the club or anywhere else(unless you have a Minicar they aren't bothered,and i found getting hold of imp related parts a chore,took me over a month to get a set of radiator hoses.)

They are also appaulingly made,made my Robin seem like a luxury car in comparison.I dont usually say this about any car,but how Bond got away with not only making them but being allowed to sell them for use on the road is beyond me.
When Reliant bought Bond,Reliant's managing director instructed the engineering department to take a mk2 875 around the Mira test track ad report back,the tester literally walked into the managers office and strongly advised that he end production immediately,for all the reasons that are well known regarding their "handling"

As to not rotting away,dont believe it!a friend of mine has one that was on the Isle of Wight for 20 years,anything metal has rotted away,yes there isnt that much metal parts on them,but all that is there is unique to them and impossible to find.
« Last Edit: November 08, 2010, 07:50:12 AM by Daniel Rodd »

richard

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Re: Now if this was a Peel...
« Reply #2 on: November 08, 2010, 07:01:21 PM »
aah but then again your not really into old cars are you ? some are and some still do tremendous mileage in 875's . not me ! but some do  ;)
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Daniel Rodd

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Re: Now if this was a Peel...
« Reply #3 on: November 08, 2010, 07:21:24 PM »
unlike the majority on this forum ive never owned a modern car and dont wimp out by having a tinbox to use every day,so as to not being into old cars,im not sure i understand your point.

I would dearly love to know who actually uses an 875 to do "tremendous" mileage,Adrian Polley was the only one I knew of who still used one,but hasnt for some time now and is restoring a Panhard now.

richard

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Re: Now if this was a Peel...
« Reply #4 on: November 08, 2010, 07:58:25 PM »
forgive me but surely it was you that harped on about 875's last year and how you had wanted one for 30 YEARS !! you were directed to the Bond Club where i believe you got a lot of help from Stan Cornock before buying one .

there are members who have had 875's for many years and appear at all the Bond Rallies having driven maybe not "tremendous Mileage " but 200 miles or more to the rally . and i have read of many in bond info who use them to commute.

as to the other point i would hardly say that a Reliant engineer is likely to be impartial ! would he be expected to say that the Bond was better than or even equal to the Reliant ?

 these are all i think relevant points to bring up when trying to be impartial - i have no interest in either Bond 875's or Reliants - but others do
outside of a dog a book is mans best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read .Groucho Marx 1895-1977

Daniel Rodd

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Re: Now if this was a Peel...
« Reply #5 on: November 08, 2010, 08:16:54 PM »
i never once said 30 years,a bit hard when im 22!

I bought one before i joined the bond club,and spent a nice afternoon around stans not long after.
What is often mistaken is that Reliant wanted Bond to kill off the 875.Not true.Reliant wanted access to Bonds dealer network relationship with standard triumph,so that they could sell the scimitar through their dealers as well.Shortly after the sale was completed Standard triumph became part of British Leyland and the relationship was scrapped.

Reliant were originally keen to see wether the 875 mk2 would be a sporty brother to the Regal for them to sell.
After roadtesting it this was decided against.

What i would love to know is wether the stories ive been told of a bike racer/mechanic from the late 60s are true regarding the real reason for Bond being put up for sale,that being(and this is just what hes told me,but perfectly believable) that Bond became crippled by lawsuits being brought against them by victims or family relations of people who were either killed in or had a bad accident in 875s.He told me that most of his mates had one at the time as 2nd hand they could be bought for less than a Regal and everyone of them crashed them in the end.Anything over 60mph was dangerous due to the steering doing a "tank slapper" due to the front wheel being mounted to the left of the centre of the front steering arm rather than directly in line with the kingpin like on a Reliant.All very interesting stuff.

P50

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Re: Now if this was a Peel...
« Reply #6 on: November 08, 2010, 09:39:08 PM »
I'm thinking engine/box in the back with light weight and one front (offset?)  wheel.

I'm thinking understeer and deadly road manners if going some.

One can only estimate what a bit of rain might do....

Perhaps 875's should be left to fester..!?
   
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Big Al

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Re: Now if this was a Peel...
« Reply #7 on: November 09, 2010, 08:31:47 AM »
Wonder if there are any P50's or Tridents still out there in someone's back garden?

Yes, but not for much longer!
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Big Al

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Re: Now if this was a Peel...
« Reply #8 on: November 09, 2010, 08:45:45 AM »
What i would love to know is wether the stories Ive been told of a bike racer/mechanic from the late 60s are true regarding the real reason for Bond being put up for sale,that being(and this is just what hes told me,but perfectly believable) that Bond became crippled by lawsuits being brought against them by victims or family relations of people who were either killed in or had a bad accident in 875s.He told me that most of his mates had one at the time as 2nd hand they could be bought for less than a Regal and everyone of them crashed them in the end.Anything over 60mph was dangerous due to the steering doing a "tank slapper" due to the front wheel being mounted to the left of the centre of the front steering arm rather than directly in line with the kingpin like on a Reliant.All very interesting stuff.

I love the fact that these guys were Albanian enough to see all their mates crash the cars by driving fast but not actually modifying their own driving style to suit the vehicle. It is this inability of personal control which means we have to have overbearing laws that ruin what was fun/cheap/accessable due to the lunatic fringe who insist on removing their genes from the gene pool. This has been banned by do gooders. I would suggest it is healthy to encourage this as what has happened is we now have on overpopulation of these folks who being banned from killing themselves just create problems and expense for the rest of us who pay for them to overbreed. In the old days we would have a war and these guys would happily attack a pill box armed with sharpened haddock. Prob solved with a working population of nutters. So Reliant are responsible for the economic decline of our country!!!!
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Big Al

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Re: Now if this was a Peel...
« Reply #9 on: November 09, 2010, 09:08:30 AM »
iWhat is often mistaken is that Reliant wanted Bond to kill off the 875.Not true.Reliant wanted access to Bonds dealer network relationship with standard triumph,so that they could sell the scimitar through their dealers as well.Shortly after the sale was completed Standard triumph became part of British Leyland and the relationship was scrapped.
Reliant were originally keen to see wether the 875 mk2 would be a sporty brother to the Regal for them to sell.
After roadtesting it this was decided against.

Bond had a relationship with Standard Triumph with the Equipe series which would probably have ended with ST rolling up into BL whatever happened between Bond and Reliant. However the 875 was linked to Rootes for its bits and could have continued in production or been redeveloped into a better car. Was the Regal a better basic design than the 875. Now there is a debate as the answer was the Bond Bug. Not as fast, not a four seater with more room than a Regal, both turned over rather to easy. If Reliant had investment cash they could have created a rear mounted Reliant engine - a star, light weight and they controlled the contract with Bean - and used their front suspension arrangement and come up with a better car than any of the others they actually made. I wonder if the drift away from rear engines had anything to do with it.
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Daniel Rodd

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Re: Now if this was a Peel...
« Reply #10 on: November 09, 2010, 09:50:52 AM »
everything is worth saving,but the fact that Reliant sold 15,000 Regals a year and Bond sold 3500 875s during its entire production run shows what the public thought at the time.Rear engines are no good for carrying anything in the back,and Reliants design layout stemmed from the original girder fork vans that were originally designed as load luggers.

The Bug was never designed to replace the 875,it had been in development(along with the Robin)since 1967,2 years before Bond was up for sale and Reliant bought it.
The contract with Bean didnt occur untill the late 1980s so wouldnt have been relevant in the 60s when Reliant had their own shenstone plant solely dedicated to producing engine,boxes,axles and suspension units.
Reliant had a turnover of around 28million in the early 70s,so they clearly had the cash and yet didnt try out any other figurations.
A mid engined 850 powered 4 wheeler was designed and got to the prototype stage(looking very similar to the Fiat x19) but never made it to production.

Jonathan Poll

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Re: Now if this was a Peel...
« Reply #11 on: November 16, 2010, 07:08:02 PM »
Haha lol, it says: " Item condition: New "
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Big Al

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Re: Now if this was a Peel...
« Reply #12 on: November 18, 2010, 12:11:41 PM »
The contract with Bean didnt occur untill the late 1980s so wouldnt have been relevant in the 60s when Reliant had their own shenstone plant solely dedicated to producing engine,boxes,axles and suspension units.

Wonder why they outed the manufacturer. Anyway they decided not to deviate from thier niche market and if managed correctly would probobly be still making trikes as there seems to be a market for them.
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Daniel Rodd

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Re: Now if this was a Peel...
« Reply #13 on: November 18, 2010, 01:43:53 PM »
by the late 80s after the failure of the ss1 and general decline in sales they had sold their shenstone plant for more money and contracted engine casting out to bean's,when Reliant went down in 1990 Bean took them over as they were their largest customer and as such stood to loose a lot of money.


Big Al

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Re: Now if this was a Peel...
« Reply #14 on: November 18, 2010, 06:19:57 PM »
by the late 80s after the failure of the ss1 and general decline in sales they had sold their shenstone plant for more money and contracted engine casting out to bean's,when Reliant went down in 1990 Bean took them over as they were their largest customer and as such stood to loose a lot of money.
Sadly though they weren't worth a Bean..... Sorry it was really very sad!
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