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Sadly with changing circumstances, In October 2008, Gwenn was passed back to her previous owner. Originally when I first picked up Gwenn, the idea was that I would have Ole Blue and my girlfriend would have Gwenn so that when we went to a Reliant event or Classic car show, we would both have a Reliant to drive.
When I got Gwenn I had no garage at first and so she was parked outside my office at work. I then managed to find a garage a few miles down the road though it soon proved to be in a shocking state when the rain came as water would pour through the roof and down the walls. The first time this happened, calcite from the roof dripped onto the back of the car damaging the paint work so from that point the car always had to be covered in the garage.
Unfortunately Reliants like to be used and with me working in Dubai such a lot, the car remained unused and started to get affected by the damp in the garage. When ever my girlfriend did take the car out, it would misbehave and stall, often in the middle of a junction and so my girlfriend started to loose her confidence in it. Then after Ole Blue burst into flames in May 2008, that was it, she didn’t want to drive a Reliant on her own.
I tried to take Gwenn out as much as I could but she also had overheating problems and after a few miles would cut out and not start again, I flushed the radiator several times, fitted and fitted a new water pump though she still over heated so I suspected the head gasket may be going.
In July 2008 I planned to take Gwenn to the Dosthill Boys Club Open Day though as she was misbehaving, Kerry Croxton towed her to the event on a towing dolly behind his Reliant Kitten. Ironically at the event she started up and ran fine - that was until she got hot and cut out.
By August 2008 I had now purchased my 1961 Reliant Regal Mk VI van (Lucie) and suddenly Gwenn was homeless. For a while I had my 1970 Reliant Regal Supervan III 21E (Snoopy) in Ole Blue’s old garage though I could not chance a car with a wooden frame and floor in a damp garage, so Lucie was put in the warm garage and Snoopy was put into the damp garage and so Gwenn was taken back to work and parked at the back of my office. We had visited the Coventry Transport Museum in July and noticed a Reliant Scimitar there and so I contacted them to see if they would like Gwenn. I thought this would be a great safe home for her. At first they were very interested and came out to see her though I think the colour (and being two tone pink with the front being a different pink to the back) put them off as they wanted a car in original condition and despite trying to proove that she was an original colour, I’m not sure they were convinced. She remained covered up at the back of the office until September when I tried to start her up to take her to the Tamworth Heritage Reliant Gathering. Sadly despite a healthy battery she would not start at all and so Pete and Dee towed her there with their towing dolly.
After the Reliant Gathering she was taken back to work and stood there for a few more weeks as I was working in Dubai again and at that point still waiting for an answer from the museum. I origianlly got the car from Kerry Croxton and when I had it I promised Kerry that should I ever pass it on that I would give him first refusal, I did and so on 25th October, the car was hoisted up back onto a towing dolly and taken over to Kerry’s house in Telford.
It was very sad to see Gwenn go though it was probably for the best. Chances are if I had a very large garage that was big enough for several cars then I would have continued to keep her.
Elvis Payne.
October 2008.
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