There’s still life in that old nag!

Iv never owned a Reliant. I was just too cool for the K car. Yet here I am getting ready to commit credibility suicide. I can already hear the awes, Ooo’s and Boo’s before I even say, the K car is one to buy now before they are all gone. Hold onto your seat for a just a few minutes and keep reading please.

My life with the K car goes right back to its inception. These cars were released by the Chrysler Corp. in a last ditch effort to bail themselves out of bankruptcy. The K car is without a doubt considered to be the car that saved big number three from going the way of AMC and all the previous American companies that have disappeared.

The K car was Airies under Dodge and Reliant under Plymouth. It took many forms though and even provided the platform for the original Caravan. Although I’m picking the 1984 Plymouth Reliant as the car to review, this review could apply to any of the four door family sedans built from 1981 to 1989. There was very little outside of badging and trim options to distinguish them.

Iv said it a number of times from the dark corners of rooms and with the visor of my hat down over my eyes so as not to be identified, but the K car is really a great value for money. As time goes on, if you can find a good example they could be a good car to put away as collectable. That may seem off the wall but follow along while I make a case for that claim.

A collectors car on the cheap.

My grandfather used to get laughed at as he’d collect up those beater model T’s and A’s. Why would anyone want to put all those 32’ Chevy’s in a barn? Who the heck is ever going to want an old beater Franklin? Heck a big copper finned air cooled six is just so crude. Over and over he heard the same thing as he stashed away these cars that we’re given or sold to him for junk. You know who’s having the last laugh now? You see the collector cars of tomorrow are the mass produced rust buckets of today. Ferarri’s and Lambo’s are not within most people’s budgets and although nice to look at and fun to drive, are never going to take you on a ride back in time. Unless of course you happen to be Jackie Stewart or Sean Connery .

The collector cars of tomorrow are what you drove yesterday. How many people can say they’ve driven or ridden in a K car? There is a recent review on the Chevy Citation Citation by Donc230 that you should read if this one is interesting to you so far. The Citation was my other pick for collectable early 80’s cars. The K car surpassed by a wide margin the Citation in sales though. The potential for collectors of the K car is huge because of this.

Take me back.

I can see myself pulling out of the garage in one of these. The squared features and three quarter dimensional size and appearance still resembling the late 70’s Chrysler products. With a Ronnie Reagan bumper sticker pasted on the rear and my Sony Beta Video recorder in the trunk it’s time to go pick up my best girl. Here she comes in her puffy shouldered blouse, spandex pants and shorty boots. Wow, she looks hot with that big hair perm.

“Hay baby, lets crank up some Van Halen!”
“No sweety, I got a new Tears for Fears cassette.”
“Oh darn, well lets go by the pizza place and play some Pac Man, then we can go see that new Michael J. Fox movie.”
Oh ya, the 80’s!

OK, so my real life version of the 1980’s was a bit different, but a well kept low mileage “if you can find one” K car will take you back to the future if you can get it up to 88 MPH. Considering the speedometer would only read up to 85 MPH at the time I don’t think you’ll have to worry about jumping back to 1955.

The K car tried emanating the larger class of cars that we were accustomed to in the 1970’s, with a flat springy bench seat standard front and rear. Of course you could opt for sportier split buckets. Every car I get into today has rolled and contoured seats that hold you in place. It’s nice to be able to find a car that you can simply slide onto and across the seat. I’m sure the big car publications would call this retro now. Maybe its something they should look at offering again.

A well maintained Reliant, sitting up straight on its suspension with new tires and a fresh paint job looks better today than when it was released. I’m sure some of that has to do with it looking more unique with its angular shapes and rectangular headlamps. Amongst a sea of rounded, contoured, and plasticized look-alikes flowing out of factories from Asia , America and Europe, the Reliant looks defiant. Standardized, consolidated, safe, quiet, economical and ecologically responsible vehicles are now the norm. I see the marching hammers of Pink Floyds, The Wall movie whenever I drive past a new car lot now.

The Car.

Iv been fortunate enough to have a co-worker who allows me to take care of her Reliant. She bought it brand new in 1984, her first new car purchase and quite possibly her last. On a teachers salary she could afford the payment on this car and being a bit of a fussy, she kept the maintenance up on it religiously. She started bringing it to my shop when she transferred into the area and this car has been adopted as a VIP customer car. She leaves it with us the entire summer while she is at home with her parents so we keep it running and tuned while she’s away.

The K cars, particularly the early examples were prone to blowing head gaskets. Her maintenance record shows that her car in fact did blow a head gasket at 35K miles. The car now has over 160K miles and is running on that replacement gasket still. Other maintenance done to the car includes CV joints and boots, a right front wheel bearing and a few brake jobs. The regular preventive maintenance has been done like clockwork. A paint job was also done and I’ll get to that a little more in a bit.

Cuss it or Kiss it!

As long as I got started on maintenance let me bring up a couple of things. The pre 86’ K car was originally equipped with a feedback carburetor. This was one of Detroit’s first efforts to control the air fuel mixture electronically. By measuring the air fuel ratio in the exhaust, the Atari era OBD 1 computer would adjust the fuel metering by an electric motor attached to the carburetor.
Under normal operation this was just fine. It wasn’t spot on accurate like EFI, but it was cleaner than the old flow through single setting carbs of the past. Remember what I said about the head gasket problem though? Well enough of the heads came off of these cars and while pulling them, a good number of mechanics discovered a ground line from the head to the firewall. In a panic, with cylinder head balancing precariously halfway between engine block and work bench, the poor guy would do what came most natural. Grab a set of pliers and cut the stinking strap.

Well that may have been the quick way and saved a few minutes. I know what was running through their minds though. Why in the name of Hades do you need a ground line right there? As it turns out, the “ELECTRONIC” carburetor needed it to ensure a good ground to the frame. Being rubber block mounted on the manifold it didn’t have a good return path. When the engines went back together and the ground line was left forgotten out of sight, the motor would hunt for another ground point. It would usually find sufficient grounding through the carburetor mounting bolts, but in a lot of cases the spacing was just enough to cause a slight arcing.

So friends. Does anyone know what happens when you create an electric arc in the presence of vaporized gasoline? Ya, there were plenty of pre 86’ K cars driving around with the paint burnt right off of the center of the hood. I’m sure many a mechanic, old and new alike were cussed out when a week or year after a good repair, the engine caught on fire through the carburetor.

If the car didn’t burn to the ground that fire may have done the owner a big favor. That scorched spot in the middle of the hood would have to be painted over. Those 80’s K cars were being sprayed with a new water solvent paint at the factory. That paint faded quickly and if you haven’t paid attention to Chrysler products over the years, you’ll find that it would peel off in nice big sheets after just a couple of years. The water solvent method was never accepted by the repair industry and a nice Acrylic Enamel paint job laid down after a good prep could last tens of years longer than the factory paint. Not being able to match the faded factory paint well meant a better paint job was in store for the car from nose to tail.

My friends Reliant had been repainted due to the peeling problem and it still looks sharp to this day. Don’t think K cars look nice? You should see one with a proper paint job. Of course most people just let it slide and the rust demons will be sure to take control of the body panels. In road salt areas there is not a panel on the K car that will escape the red bubbly cancer.

If you do get a chance to work on a K car whether its an early model carb version or even a later EFI version, they have to be one of the easiest Fwd cars to work on. Whether it’s testing, parts replacement or just accessibility, these have always been one of my favorites. On my first teaching job I had a choice of a number of cars being sold off from a city fleet. With a group of K cars in the mix, I grabbed as many as I could get. One of my best engine swap stories also comes from the Reliant. From picking up the work order to slamming the hood shut with exchanged engine running, just two hours and fifteen minutes. That time included pulling the replacement engine from a smashed up car.

The bigger, badder alternative engine.

The standard fare engine was the 2.2 L inline four that was designed under Willem Weertmans watch. He’s the same guy who gave us the slant six, 426 Hemi and more recently the Viper V-10. That engine in different guises produced anywhere from 85 to 225 HP in stock forms. It was Chrysler’s first metric motor and interestingly enough was configured very similar to the 1.7 litre VW engines that had been in use in the Omni and Horizon vehicles. Thinking engine swap outs here? Go read my Autobianci http://www.epinions.com/content_417058557572 review. Weertman understood America needed to be weaned onto the Fwd four so designed the 2.2 as a non-interference engine. Broken cam belts that ruined engines on Ford Escorts of the time were killing the SOHC four’s rep.

Although the 2.2 was the primary motor used for the Reliant, Chrysler also decided to offer a bigger more powerful motor. A 2.6 litre engine was also offered but it was the standard 4G54 Mitsubishi engine. This was the same motor used in the D50 pickup trucks among other applications. Unfortunately the engine used a chain driven balance shaft. I remember too many of those engines with chains slapping around inside the case and having to repair them. The main reason of course for premature chain wear was oil not being changed on a regular basis or poor oil quality.

The problems with those engines went deeper though. The balance shaft drove the oil pump, so if the chain just broke then you had no oil pressure. Plenty of those motors that lost oil pressure ended up with far worse problems. To top it all off they had notoriously weak cylinder heads. If the 2.2 was blowing a head gasket, the 2.6 was cracking or warping heads. Thankfully by 86’ Chrysler started building their own larger version of the 2.2, the 2.5 and as it turned out that was one of the finest four cylinders to roll out of any UAW plant.

Magic carpet ride.

If you haven’t ridden in a K car lately maybe you should take a trip back in time. It seems like cars evolved so quickly that we have become disconnected from the vehicle. The K-car was probably one of the last cars built that could still keep you connected. I’m not talking about the handling, feeling the road, being one with the machine. Those would be laughable statements when talking about the Reliant. I think it has a bit more to do with being in a happy place. Experiencing your surroundings, motoring without being coddled or pushed to drive harder. It has something that newer cars don’t have. Personality!

Although Chrysler was obviously trying to mimic their larger cars like the Fury with the Reliant, what they really created was a car more like the Nissan Maxima or Renault 9.
All of these cars although mid sized felt very confident and were enjoyable to drive. They weren’t big and safe and overbearing. They just made you feel good about being behind the wheel. You could slide right onto the ¾ width bench seats and they had a fair amount of old world spring to them. They were built to allow easy entry and exit and not hold you in like butt vise. Surprisingly in this car the cloth seats are still factory originals with only slight wear, mainly on the drivers side. What more could you expect from a five foot tall 95 pound single school ma’rm?

The seating position sits you up straight enough that you feel naturally comfortable and the visibility all around is actually very good. Leg room is adequate and compared to most 08’ cars of this size is superb. The column shift for the automatic is all too familiar to those of us that grew up in the 70’s and it will drop right into gear with an easy back and down tug of the lever. How many millions of times Iv done this?

Looking over the sharp edge of the dashboard panel is actually a relief to the eye. All the rounded and open front dash panels that house big air bag assemblies in modern cars will not be found here. Instead you have a place to throw your sunglasses, toll tickets and maps. Just what dashboards were designed for. Below the dash the instrument cluster is laid out in the square and rectangular patterns that the car utilizes for the exterior. The large speedometer and fuel gauge in square pods, the vents and radio console in plastic rectangular shapes. Huey Lewis must have got his inspiration for his “Hip to be square” song from this car.

The Reliant pulls away with ease. The motor seems to handle the low speed stop and go traffic much better than a good many cars from not only then but now. The engine tuning is very mild with emphasis on pulling. On secondary roads it travels easily. It was built for the I can’t drive 55 era with a power band that sits smack dab in the middle of the 50 to 60 MPH range. I live just minutes from a major Autobahn and out there. Well it will ride comfortably at 55. Getting my doors sucked off by AMG Mercedes, M5 Bimmers and the occasional Bentley is just no fun, so I lower my expectations and bare down on a Twingo! Once I passed it I felt kind of bad. The enjoyment factor of this car is completely lost out there so it’s back to the secondary roads.

It’s interesting that this car had a fuel consumption rating of 26 City and 40 Highway when it was built. The owner tells me she gets 36 MPG based on her weekly commute. Although the commute is short she is an incredible record keeper. I drive the car and tank it up and find that she is spot on with her assessment. I asked her once why she bothered to keep such good records of fuel mileage. She told me her father had advised her to do it. He said if her mileage started dropping then she would need a shotgun or a good mechanic. The logic being that she was either getting her tank siphoned or the car needed maintenance. Iv never heard that one before but it makes a lot of sense.

Although there are no DQ’a or Friendly’s restaurants to go to around here, I find my local Micky D’s to be a good alternative for some reminiscing. I pull in and go to lock it up. This place happens to be a local hang out for the kids that spend their weekends blasting around the Nurnburgring. They come by in the evening for some additional bench racing and frankly I thought this car would be ignored. Without time enough to insert that “real steel” key back into the door lock to retrieve my wallet, a kid comes over to ask about the Reliant. Ironically what could have been one of the squarest cars of the 80’s now draws attention.

With a little BS-ing out of the way we of course get to the engine. I pop the hood, and hear all the obvious comments. “Oh WOW, that is just too simple” “Why can’t they build them like that now?” On and on its the same thing. Of course in Europe these cars are pretty rare. Even the equivalent Chrysler products that I knew so well from the 1980’s have disappeared at an alarming rate here. I’m sure in the U.S. there are plenty of Reliant’s parked in alleys, and behind garages to satisfy any K Car enthusiast.

She may be ugly, but I just can’t get her out of my head!

The results of driving the Reliant don’t leave you at all impressed with any particular feeling of improved skill, man-machine conquests or with any other compensation. The experience may just leave you laying awake at night smiling and thinking about that girl you knew in High School, trips to the lake or just a day out buying groceries and enjoying time with family. This is the 1980’s family sedan after all and not a very amazing one at that. Although I was already working in a garage when this car was in its heyday, with no interest in owning one. I can understand the allure because it’s what my Grandmothers old Rambler does for me.

The Reliant is a hard car to recommend. Not because it’s a bad car or it’s a nerdmobile or anything of the sort. It’s just walking that fine line between credibility and crackpot. But considering I did a review of the Smart car last month and couldn’t coax more than 35 MPG out of it. For what you pay for a Reliant right now in all its simplistic, utilitarianism and uniqueness, Id say the K car makes good sense and deserves a thumbs up.


If you enjoy Classic Automobiles check these out:
http://www.epinions.com/content_405926743684 BMW Z-1
http://www.epinions.com/content_402844716676 Renault Turbo II
http://www.epinions.com/content_419075034756 Smart For Two
http://www.epinions.com/content_417058557572 Autobianchi A112

Amount Paid (US$): 0,00
Condition: Used
Model Year: 1984
Model and Options: Reliant SE, Auto, Air