Hello everyone,
I first introduced myself, & this project, here: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=13116
However the car isn't exactly a Vauxhall (though the front suspension is based on that from a Chevette!), & Vocky pointed out that there is a Projects section, so here it is:

I've had the SS1 for about 18 months now & in that time I've driven it about 250 miles - mainly to work & back last summer where it was fun & good handling (rear wheel drive) but kind of slow! If I'm being honest it's a bit of a shed & you either like or loathe the styling - I happen to like it but have to admit that it's not the prettiest car ever made! Really I bought it with my heart rather than my head & I paid too much for it but, having said that, it's not all bad & there is a desirable hard top with it that makes it bearable for winter use - the heater doesn't work very well though so while you'll stay dry (mostly) you'll also freeze! Also the headlights work, which is important as the mechanisms are s0ds to strip down & put back together apparently. Having got the thing home & having driven it a few times I read somewhere on the web that the Zetec 2 litre engine would bolt directly (using a different flywheel/clutch plate) to the gearbox, my friends' cousin just happened to have a 2 litre Mondeo sitting on his mums drive & so the seed was sown. Three weekends later the Zetec engine was sitting in my garage & the decision was made to take the Reliant off the road & get done any work that needed doing to it. The SS1 came in a variety of flavours, the most desirable being the ones with a galvanised chassis & Nissan 1800 turbo power ..... unfortunately my car isn't that desirable (yet) as it has neither of these. The lack of galvanising meant that the sills were shot as were the lower parts of the A & B posts. The rest of the chassis (from what I could see of it) appeared sound though so I bought a couple of sills & arranged for a couple of chaps (who'd previously made a very good job of restoring a Datsun 120Y coupe & an MGB GT for a couple of workmates) to fit them for me & also to repair as required the A & B posts. They wouldn't be able to take the car for some months due to other commitments so I started stripping the front suspension/brakes down in order to fit uprated polyurethane bushes & bigger vented disc brakes with calipers to suit. To cut a long story short I did all the suspension/brake work over last winter (& yes it was freezing in the garage & yes every last nut/bolt was seized solid) & the car has just come back from having all the chassis/welding work done. I had it MOT'd after the work had been done & unfortunately it failed on various things - most of which are electrical in nature. On a glassfibre/plastic bodied car electrical problems are often a result of having a poor earth but these problems seem to have stemmed from a combination of weird wiring (courtesy of Reliant) & corroded bulb holders/lamps. I've beefed up the earth points too just in case. So this is where I’m at now with the car in bits again & the free retest period has just been & gone …… so that’ll be another £40+ to pay when I’m ready to get the car MOT’d again. Still I wanted a project & boy oh boy do I have one! One day it will be ready ………… honest!
🙂
The car as bought.

The front suspension (drivers side) after being stripped & rebuilt - the shocks are inboard on these cars so not visible in this photo.

Passengers side front suspension before I started stripping it - lots of surface rust but no serious corrosion. Corrosion can affect these cars badly - anywhere can rust & there are well documented cases of wishbones cracking around the balljoint mounting with, obviously, disastrous consequences.

Strengthened wishbones - the diagonal bits on each wishbone are new.

A small amount of corrosion at the rear of the chassis - this was sorted when the new sills were fitted & it's all nice & solid again now.

The interior - quite a comfortable place to be if you can live the cacophony of rattles, creaks & squeaks!

New shocks fitted - we're looking down on the engine bay in this shot (engine to the right, radiator to the left, spare wheel (not there) goes in between), the shocks came off an SS1 racer/hillclimber are adjustable & will accept coilover springs if/when I get round to fitting some.

This is how I hope it'll end up looking one day - one of the alloys I got for Chrimbo last year is offered up for effect. The pcd is correct but the offset is all wrong & they foul the brake calipers on the front so I'll need some meaty spacers. They're not exactly high on the list of priorities & will have to wait until I can afford to buy some tyres for them.

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