1949 Reliant 8cwt light van, 747cc. Registration number NRB ...

Estimate

£5,000 - £6,000

1949 Reliant 8cwt light van, 747cc. Registration number NRB 461. Chassis number 461541. Engine number 9547.
Sold with the V5C, a quantity of spares including an engine, two rear wheels, axle, springs, girder forks and a horn.
In 1934 the Raleigh Cycle Company decided to discontinue the manufacture of their 3-wheeled vehicles and their Works Manager; T. L. Williams disagreed that 3-wheelers had a poor future and after being joined by Mr E. S. Thompson (also from Raleigh) they decided to build their own vehicle in William's back garden at Kettlebrook, Tamworth. With a design that closely resembled the Raleigh LDV van, the first Reliant prototype was licensed in January 1935. The prototype was a 7 cwt van which had a steel chassis and a hardwood frame with aluminium panels attached to it. It is said that as Williams had used many Raleigh parts, some of them were stamped with the letter R and so the name Reliant was conceived to match the initial.
In 1938 Reliant started to use the four-cylinder 7 hp Austin engine. Shortly afterwards Austin announced that they planned to stop the production of this engine. Austin were happy for Reliant to copy their engine and so it was decided that Reliant would manufacture their own engine, which was completed in September 1939. The engine was Reliant’s first engine and was a 747cc side-valve unit producing 14 bhp at 3,500 rpm.
In 1950 a new model was introduced with the Reliant Regent 10cwt which was equipped with a few more luxuries that included sliding windows in the doors rather than canvas side screens.
NRB had been in the long term ownership of Frederick Fowler from 1995 until 2015 when he passed away. It was then given to his daughter and has been on many rallies since. The engine was fully rebuilt and converted to unleaded fuel, together with a new clutch, it has only covered some 50 miles since. Offered in good running order, it would benefit from fresh fuel as it is running a bit lumpy and rich.