Terribly dangerous but so much fun! The Reliant Robin
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.พ. 2025
- Robert Dunn from @agingwheels tells the story of his Reliant Robin
Got a ticket? Fight it with The Ticket Clinic: vinwiki.com/r/tc
VINwiki on iOS - vinwiki.com/ios
VINwiki on Android - vinwiki.com/an...
VINwiki Merchandise - store.vinwiki.com
Check out our 2022 Sponsors:
AutoTempest - vinwiki.com/r/...
SWAE - vinwiki.com/r/...
The Ticket Clinic: vinwiki.com/r/tc
Patrick Adair Designs - vinwiki.com/r/...
Premier Financial Services - vinwiki.com/r/...
Gloss-It - vinwiki.com/r/...
Lemon Squad - vinwiki.com/r/...
Caffeine & Octane - vinwiki.com/r/...
Modfind - vinwiki.com/r/...
Support the Cannonball Memorial Run - vinwiki.com/r/cmr
Support the Brock Yates Memorial Fund - vinwiki.com/r/...
#ReliantRobin #BadCars #AgingWheels
I was really excited to see Robert in this one. I saw the thumbnail and thought of him immediately.
Robert is by far the most wholesome guest to ever grace the VinWiki interview chair.
He is a good 🥚
I’ve been waiting FOREVER for an aging wheels episode!
Saaaaaame!
Yeah, he’s a good follow.
Hes been on before. But its nice to see a new video with him
There was one with his trabant
I saw the video was about robins and thought this better be aging wheels 😂
I was just thinking to myself, no this can’t be the only one in the US, I used to drive by one in Park Slope Brooklyn all the time with the Union Jack livery!! As a matter of fact, it was usually parked on 8th street, intersecting 7th near the hospital.
What a small world.
I think he was referring to the 3rd gen [which isn't legal to import if it's not yet 25 years old]
@@jamesengland7461 you are correct. As he mentioned, this car in the video is a 3rd gen registered as an early 80’s model to skirt import laws.
I have pictures of this car in its Union Jack Livery, while with the previous owner that I took from the window of my car as I drove by it in Brooklyn.
I should have been clearer in my comment above. I meant that initially I thought to myself that I knew of another reliant robin here in NYC, and then continued watching this video to realize he was speaking of the same vehicle. 🍻
@@BenDemytrk small world, indeed!
@@BenDemytrk I would love to see a picture of it if you still have it!
Great to see Robert on the channel with his stories. Love both his channels!
I remember a while back my family member who was a part of the Yorkshire Reliant Robin owners club said that the Reliant Robins were made so miners who only had a motorcycle licence could drive them in the winter when it was too cold to ride their bikes without getting a full car licence.
That sounds very plausible!
They were also bought because of their great practicality which came in a surprisingly small package
That's what they said on TopGear as well
Not miners, that is a joke, the licensing system in England said if you did not have four wheels on your vehicle you could use a motorcycle license. Motorcycles were very popular, so if you wanted to keep warm in winter you could get a reliant and not bother with expensive extra tests. It was used by bikers everywhere.
@@davidlyon1899 quite smart
Robert is an absolute gem of a car enthusiast. Great to see him here.
Yessss Robert on VINwiki!! I love this man, bring him back for more
Robert is gonna have to finish the bus now! YEA ROBERT CONGRATZ
Hahhhhhh
Nope
Love Robert Dunn's Aging Wheels. Not only some of the best video editing on youtube, but also truly funny scripts and a lot of work on a variety of terrible cars and a bus. He has a super woodworking channel too, Under Dunn.
Saw the Robin
Knew it could only be Robert
Happy to see Robert Dunn on here. Love his Chanel. He just seems like such a cool, chill guy. I wish him all the success his heart desires.
Love this guy and his channel. This is a win for TH-cam.
Robert is honestly one of my favorite TH-camrs. I just love the fact that he owns stupid cars. Out of all TH-camrs, if I could have the choice between any garage and couldn't sell the cars it would be his garage. It's *so* interesting
Ive owned a Mk1 Reliant Robin van and the later Rialto in estate form in the past and both were fantastic fun, much more than the boring mundane 4 wheeled cars ive owned since
Good morning Ed!! Greatest quote of the day, " A Bright Blue Suppository"!! 😁
Morning!
Was not a terrible car. Technically its a tricycle. Can be driven on a full motorcycle licence. Top gear car had weights to make it tip easier so get that right. My dad had one for years. In fact he started with a regal, then a Robin then a rialto. Not easy to roll when driven properly and no extra weight added.
Yay! I love aging Wheels. I'm so glad he got his own Vin wiki spotlight
Drove right by my house, I live on Flucom and I see that car every now and then! That's badass, never knew you lived around here!
This is EPIC !!!! I'm so geeked that he's on VinWiki...so awesome ! I'm glad to see this and hope to see more of him on here...he's hilarious and has true potential to have a booming channel !
Here in England there was a time when you would see a Robin Reliant on its roof or even on its back door stuck up right after the pubs kicked out every Friday night with out fail lol.
Yip it was a bit of fun on the way home from the pub 😂😂😂😂
*Reliant Robin
@@danhaines Correct.
It's like saying Mustang Ford.
Yay, great story Robert! Hope to see more of you on here.
You could drive them at 16 years old rather than 17 in the uk because they were technically classed as a motorcycle
ye the look hole was u had to unhook the reverse as then classed as a tricycle or something like that
Not at 16. At 17, although you could do so on a full motorcycle license. In the UK you can ride a heavily restricted 50cc motorcycle at 16. You need to pass the test for a full motorcycle license (17+) to drive one of these. Oddly, they were popular with older members of UK outlaw bike gangs who sometimes wanted a roof and windows but didn't want a car license.
Sadly you need to be 21 to drive one now
@@mrjed6912 tf are you on about lol
@@rufusthomas3067 As of 2012 you need be 21 with a full license for a car, or a bike to drive a Reliant. My brother has a Rialto and I can't legally drive it because I'm not 21
this guy tells a good story. hope to see him on more.
Top gear good ol days
I’ve been waiting a long time for this moment. Glad Robert had finally made his way to the VINWiki studio!
When it comes to the oil remember that a real pint is actually 568ml and not 454ml. ( apparently in American units they're called something weird like flewid ownces and a UK one has 20 and a US one has 16)
"If this were a child, I'd be in jail by now." This guy is great! What a P.O.S. the "car" is though! Can't believe they were able to sell this thing for so long!
think of them as uk's k-car oddity, then it makes some sense why.
similarly 'moped cars' of europe are pretty crappy and make absolutely no sense for the price, if it weren't for the legislation around who can drive them.
I'm fairly sure half the reason they stopped being sold was because the government stopped classing them in basically their own little category and said "new ones will be considered cars and so will have to follow all the same rules as them"
He has a great TH-cam channel called Aging Wheels
If that's a P.O.S then what's a Trabant
They are legally a motorcycle in the UK, that’s why they exist.
The irony of a car named Robin being the color of a Robin's egg is truly something.
I can remeber my dad rebodying the same chassis 5 times, with new fiberglass bodys, all mid 80's they cost buttons at the time.
The most educational VINWiki video I've seen in a while 😄
Hell yeah Aging Wheels! The numberplate on his Reliant anyways gets a hearty chuckle out of me whenever I see it
Just bought a mk2 for my nephew in uk, eventually bringing it back to the US, very excited - had a mk1 back in early 80s
I am the chap that occasionally drops some Relianty words of wisdom on Mr D's channel, I motor my MK2 Robin daily and got a couple vids on my channel of the yellow peril from the 10 years plus motoring and I have rebuilt all the mechanical side of it save the axle, engine having found a recon gearbox, has had new clutch last couple years and parts availability is astonishingly good as the Robin uses a ton of old Lucas and some Ford parts. You should get Bob and the chap who came no 2 in the Le Mons rally with his Reliant Regal saloon together, they literally extracted the Regal from whatever graveyard it was abandoned in, worked the old girl up and apart from a grenaded clutch, it went on and came second in a cross America rally beating far more modern and powerful cars all the way.
Love the license plate. My grandad had a blue 1970’s Reliant Robin. I’m in the U.K. they did a four wheel version called the kitten I believe. The other weird car with three wheels in the U.K. was the Bond Bug.
I love how this channel can have a story about a Lamborghini one day and a Robin another and I am totally here for it.
Awesome guest! Love his videos
Used to see so many Reliant Robin's when I was a kid, unfortunately they are few and far between on the roads even in the UK now.
I see aging wheels, I click video.
550 Mk3 Robins were made. I designed it. "Tipping Point- Designing a Great British Underdog" is my book I've written about it.
That Top Gear episode will always be stuck in my mind. Every time I see one, that’s all I see is Jeremy tipping it over.
Those cars are so fun though
For me, the Top Gear episode stuck in my mind was when they turned one into a space shuttle. And BaE really helped with designing it. Fun fact: it was also the largest and most powerful non-commercially funded rocket ever launched in Europe. The trio were a bit reluctant to get the thing off the ground because Hammond was reeling in shock when he saw the booster rockets and fuel tank. It was absolutely massive. And James was shaking with terror because he was hearing from the designers Top Gear hired that the main issue was the insane complexity of the entire engine system. All it would take is for ONE tiny thing to go wrong and there was a massive checklist of stuff that could go wrong so easily. The shuttle did get off the ground but then the radio controlled backup failed to kick in so it crashed and blew up, LOL. They had radio controlled servo motors to land it and hired a professional r/c racer to fly it back but everything went wrong after the liftoff.
Finally you got Robert on. He's freaking hilarious and you can tell that Freddy copies his method of delivery sometimes, or Robert copies Freddy. But wither way, their diction is very similar. I've seen his episodes with the car and it's always entertaining.
You have to remember, in the UK, these cars were popular mainly because they were classed as a Tricycle and not a car. This meant you could drive it on a learner motorcycle licence which meant no taking driving lessons or taking a driving test. Just filling a form in from the Post office. Hence many of these cars were used by motorcyclists in the cold UK winters and traded for bikes in the summer. Many bike shops kept Reliants as well. Also older guys who had not got round to passing a car test. Compared to a regular small 4 wheeled car they were shite. But the pro's outweighed the con's. I had 4 of these in the 1970s and had great fun in them until I passed my car test in 1984 and got a Triumph 2500S, a more powerful and luxurious car. They had a place in the day, just a quirk now.
I love this guys channel! Very entertaining! I’ll even watch his ads since they’re so clever.
Hi Robert glad to see you here talking about the Reliant.
Robert is fantastic. I want a neighbour like Bob.
The cars get 55MPG quite well and are good for the UK roads. Especially for the fuel prises they are impressive.
The King's Gallon is different from the American Gallon of Freedom™. I wonder what it does on American gas.
@@bwofficial1776 in American gallons it's 85mpg i think
@@mrjed6912doubt that, US gallon is smaller than UK gallon
Robert, I nearly bought this car when it was in NY with the Fish and Chips livery. I think I still have the ad and some images with the wrap on it as I used to see it around Sunset Park where the shop was quite frequently. This was 2018? 2019? Glad to see someone got it who loves and cares for it!
That Fish & Chip place was in Brooklyn. It was exactly as good as you might expect from his choice of delivery vehicles. I remember that little Robin sitting outside it for years.
That thing is absolutely ridiculous, yet entertaining at the same time.. lol
Not for me! But I have always wanted a Bond Bug. What a shape!
Just for the record, Reliant did make some 4 wheel cars as well, the scimitar and sabre were pretty cool, and they assembled the RS200 for Ford.
They did a lot of TopGear to set things up for the story they wanted to tell, and the guys still do it on their current show. Thanks for the video!
I’m seriously considering importing one of these for daily city driving in KC. Saw that prices are very reasonable, rather curious of fuel economy though, but would be wonderful to get around this town in. I love the big “boot” it has for groceries and it seems very nimble for parking lots as well. Top of my list as a goofy second car.
One of my earliest car memories growing up in the UK is watching a Robin fall on its side. I was 8 years old on my way to school and the driver, my Mum and I flipped it back onto its wheels. It then went on its merry way.
The old ones fell over a lot, hence the top gear gag.
They aren't easy to roll though. They must've been crazy drivers
I REALLY think Ed needs to drive the Robin…. Please make this happen.
BTW Robert is awesome and I hope to see more of him !!
He did this in one of the early Car Treks.
It shows a short clip of him driving it in car trek in this video. Lol never comment before you watch!
@@squidiz496 He isn't driving he's in the passenger seat
@@daveangelew Ah you are right!
What a funny ass car! Every time I see the top gear episode I crack up
2:49 You've got a 4 branch exhaust manifold there. That's a 3rd party upgrade, never standard factory fitment.
Love it when the idiot light comes on and the “car guy” is so smart that he second guesses it.
Yeah, I’ve done it too.
My dad and his mates used to do all kinds of stunts with the Reliant! Can't forget some of the photos too!
Saw the thumbnail, thought it was Robert's Reliant. Yep, I'm right. Aging Wheels is a channel that should get more attention because he goes from Trabant issues to keeping an EV from a company out of business running to building a coop for his chickens (who are funnier than should be legal)
Hilarious!
One of the first Top Gear episodes I watched as a kid was when they strapped one of these to a rocket ship 😂
These were made in my current home town! (and FYI we dont measure oil in pints here...)
Having owned a Reliant Rialto and a very rare Reliant Fox, the overheating is a standard feature.
I had the same problem but that's because the thermostat needed replaced. For me it never overheats.
It’s like a family reunion on VINwiki. Good to see all my favorite car TH-camrs show up. We need Eric O. from SMA next. 😊
No need for a big sound system, just get a mechless head unit that supports direct rear channel sub out.
Mine has some 5 1/4" speakers in the original spot and a dvc 8" sub behind the spare wheel.
Sub is powered by the rear channels on the head unit, sub lpf set to 100hz fronts hpf at 80hz.
Gives you some bass while relieving the stress on the normal speakers reducing distortion and warble.
omg yes!!! I love agingwheels!! I found him from this channel and he's awesome!!
I would not say they are dangerous if driven sensibly ,covered many miles in one and never frightened me,but I will say due to lightness they are blown about in strong winds ,better to put a bit of weight in the boot ,but the van is usually laden so not so bad .
Used to pass Relaint specialist garage on my bus route to college back in the 2000s.
Always down for some hot Robin talk.
One of the nicest, down to earth car TH-camrs. Surprised he didn't have a goose with him! And remember UK pints are bigger than US pints.
I remember seeing it in Mr Bean when I was a kid.
Same in 1990's as a kid.
That was (I believe) a Reliant Regal Supervan. I always wondered what the driver could have possibly done to make Mr. Bean hate them so much.
Love aging wheels!!
They were everywhere here in the Uk
i love robert and aging wheels, if your not subbed to robert's channel your using youtube incorrectly
For a couple years In the early 90's there was a dealership in my town that only sold these cars, I remember driving by wondering if they sold very many of em because the lot never seemed to change and I never saw one driving around..
They were too expensive to be worth buying sadly. Over $11.000 new. Because of rising cost of producing
I seen one a couple of days ago in St Francis Mn.
2:08 HAHA this is funny. The editor showed this clip thinking that was an engine or something. That's just the cabin air intake and various fluids.
Congratulations Robert! You know you've made it if you're on VINWiki 😁.
Great story my friend.
"You're just gonna die at that point."
Robin: " This is fine."
Robin: "casually creates it's own gravitational pull" and settles back down
Robert! Great guest choice.
Used to call them plastic jags back in the day . I used to get a lift to work in one 40 years ago . They would keep your feet cosy in winter
Finally a Redemption for Reliant Robin, long due
greta fun little cars those engines are bombproof i used to work in agarage and looked after a couple of these for customers easy to work a lot of british mini parts used in them like switches etc yes there a bit hairy on corners but u get used to it the old trick was to put a bag of cement int he passenger seat if driiving on ur own lol
If you ever do any work on the front that involves removing the brake hose, remember to put that little twist in it when you refit it, so there's clearance when you turn the wheel to corner, or it'll rub against the tyre. I know this because I had someone work on mine, and they didn't - luckily I checked it after I'd driven it home, and it had only worn part of the hose's rubber outer away!
I loved mine, when it wasn't mysteriously stopping due to an electrical fault I never managed to source, or overheating. The radiator is tiny in them, with no expansion tank, so they're not the best, even in cooler countries. Some owners would fit an electric fan in to help cool things down (the car's own is belt driven by the engine). I fitted the little chrome air vent that MGB sports cars have just in front of the windscreen to the bonnet (or hood, as you say over there) of mine to help with the airflow. It didn't do much, but it looked great!
Lucas, the Prince of Darkness strikes again!
@@nope.0. 😄😄😄👍
Robert needs to pull the drain plug in the back of the block if it's overheating. It will be full of sediment and limescale. Its a common fault due to low flow. The plug is on the exhaust side halfway up near the gearbox.
they are actually called robin reliants in the UK , sadly robin motor company no longer exists but the reliant model is still made in estonia with a renault diesel engine :-)
They're not ACTUALLY called that. Only by idiots like Jasper Carrott who don't actually know anything at all about cars.
Finally, Robert is fantastic and he was in the background of Car Trek way too many times before finally showing up here.
40 HP IS A LOT!!
i had a 90hp tigra and that was really fast.
now i'm driving a 1,5hp 50cc moped and the robin doesn't really weigh much more
soo ... like 30 TIMES the horsepower of something that is almost a motorcycle. that before the added horsepower does almost 50mph.
also my tigra was 900kg and 90 hp made it FLY. like 140mph.
i think you have some facts a bit wrong.
"bright blue suppository on the road"
The first time I saw one was on the original Magnum PI Higgens drove one in the U.K.
A bit of trivia, his name is John Hillerman! No idea how I remember this. 😄
Really love aging wheels.
this guy is amazing
YES!! ROBERT EPISODE
You ever sell this thing, I would actually be interested in buying!
My introduction to this car was from "Mr. Bean" where he always pushed it out of the way driving around town.
The older ones were actually a much better build quality than the newer ones
Great to see Robert on VinWiki.
Finally Robert get to tell a story on vinwiki!!
Holy crap! Actually someone famous on this channel!