THE LAST BN1 ROBIN TO BE BUILT

The following is the story of the

LAST BN ROBIN TO BE BUILT

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The present owner " Foss " from Methil , Fife , Scotland said ;

" This was the last BN Robin which was built by Eddie Kelly in IRELAND and was the last Robin to be registered in 2009 .

This was the LAST RELIANT ROBIN TO BE BUILT IN THE WORLD ! !

I subsequently bought this gorgeous beasty in 2012 and renamed it " SHREK " .

I have since done 2,000 happy carefree miles with Shrek only in the good weather and loved every mile of it as it’s a treat to drive .

( I have another Mk 3 Robin “ BETSY “ as a daily runabout ) "

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The following info was saved from the old R3W forum .

BN ROBIN Number 20

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Eddie Kelly , the builder of BN ROBIN Number 20 , supplied the following info ;

This was how it was first bought ;

This is a picture of BN number 20 being prepared for re-spray

Nicely painted Body Shell

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Engine bay waiting for engine

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The axle etc were taken off and resprayed

Before

After

Nice new " A " frame

Sorting the wiring

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14 JUNE 2008

Eddie wrote ;

Progress assembling the last new robin has been a little slow so far but the first major job has now been completed, the re-spray, hope you like the colour as it's not a colour BN plastics used but I do think it suits the robin.

The body and chassis have now been reunited with the re-furbished running gear and I hope to re-fit the engine gearbox prop, etc this week.

With the engine in place things should move on a little quicker.

I have had a few nasty jobs to do so far, as someone at some stage, before I got the car had cut all the switch connectors from the wiring harness, also although the car has never been on the road minor surface rust had appeared on the running gear due to being in storage for the few years since production ceased, and the fact there probably wasn't a lot of paint on them to start with.

The next big job is to cut and fit the unique BN plastics parts, dashboard, handbrake cover, centre consol and door card (I'm still looking for the passenger side one so if you can help?) as these parts were only fitted to the BN cars they are now almost impossible to find, so I'm a little worried about cutting and shaping them as I have only seen a finished BN in photo's and I'll only get one go at it.

Will try to keep this thread up to date so do look in again.

cheers eddie

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20 JUNE 2008

Eddie wrote ;

Just a little update on the BN assembly.

Hopefully you can see the before and after photo's of the nosecone .

I have removed the expanded metal grille and replaced it with something a little better looking and more up to date (came off a Mercedes of some sort)

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26 JUNE 2008

Eddie wrote ;

Engine is now in place as is the prop shaft and most of the stuff in the engine bay.

I have also completed most of the wiring and fitted all of the lights

Just have the interior to do but this involves cutting the dash etc, to fit the car.

Things are now moving a little faster, but no completion date just yet.

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26 JUNE 2008 ; Eddie wrote ;

Just a little update on the progress of the BN1 no 20 build.

Things have been a little slow, but I have managed to make some progress with one of the jobs I wasn't looking forward to, the cutting and fitting of the dash.

This is how the dash was supplied to me with the car.

I have marked it out ready for cutting.

Most of the holes were cut with a hole saw but some required chain drilling and filing to size

Fitting to the car also required cutting and filing to shape and took the best part of a day to do.

I have chosen use the white dials and add a rev counter and I have also chosen to lay the dash out differently to the BN cars simply because I can and I like this layout better.

With the steering wheel in place.

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21 FEB 2009

Eddie Kelly wrote ;

So here it is at long last, my BN1 no 20 the very last Robin.

The car is now completely finished (unless I have forgotten something) now all I have to do is find someone who will insure it at a reasonable cost (if I can decide how much it’s worth).

Once insured I can register it and stick on a nice new 2009 reg number.

It has been a lot more work than I thought it would be when I bought the car in bits but I think it has come out ok and has been worth the effort.

The alloys are " Starmags " and available from the mini guys.

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9 MAY 2009

Eddie Kelly wrote ;

2009 BN1 makes it to the road

Well , I’ve done it at last.

After an initial problem trying to get insurance (have you ever tried to insure a car with no registration number?) and then after a lot of wrangling with the DVA I have at last been able to register my BN1.

Firstly they refused to recognize that it was a new car and asked me to prove the year of manufacture,

After proving that it was manufactured in 2002 but not yet registered, so technically a new car, they made me get an MOT anyway.

Unbelievably it failed twice (my own fault, headlight alignment both times) they then wanted me to register it as PLG even though it is stated as tricycle on the V55/1.

After sorting all that out and paying the various fees etc, they have given me a nice new 2009 registration.

Strangely after all their protests regarding age etc, I received the logbook in the post this morning, it shows date of first registration as 29/04/2009 and joy of joys year of manufacture as 2009.

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9 MAY 2009

Posted by R3W forum member " littlechicken " asked ;

Did they weight the car?

By the way all BN Robins show "Reliant" on the log book, this is because they had a licence to use this name .

BN1 normally are LX's and BN2's have SLX on the log book /

Eddie , having got the car registered , proves that National type approval reference 5391001 V is still current in 2009 meaning it would be possible for manufacture to recommence should Reliant want to

9 May 2009

Eddie Kelly replied ;

Did they weight the car?

No weighing or inspection by the DVA they just used the details from the original V55/1 including the type approval no 5391001V so it would still be possible to build another .

The engine that came with the car was supplied as "brand new" so I will run it in just to be sure, although the gearbox was from a low mileage car.

xxxxxx

This is where I come onto the scene

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Just before summer 2012 I noted that Eddie was selling the BN1 and made him an offer which he accepted .

The deal was done and Pete Wallace { Fifer } and I made the arrangements regarding delivery times , pick up place etc .

Eddie stays in Northern Ireland so it was an early morning start for Pete and myself from Fife to Troon Harbour to await the ferry with Eddie and the BN on board .

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Pete waiting patiently at entrance to the car park at Troon harbour trying to get first glance of the BN { which I have named SHREK }

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Soon Eddie was delivering SHREK

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EDDIE handing the keys over to me

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I was chuffed to have bought it

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My first sit in SHREK

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The proud owner of both BETSY { Red Mk3 Robin } and SHREK { The last RELIANT BN1 ROBIN to be BUILT in the WORLD }

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Pete and I set off back up to Fife with Pete driving " BETSY " and me enjoying my first drive in " SHREK "

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Stopped at the FORTH BRIDGE on the drive home from TROON

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Arrived back in Fife with a BIG smile on my face .

Since the " SHREK " was registered in Northern Ireland where you do not need an MOT till 4 years from new , unlike our 3 year from new system , I had to MOT " SHREK" and Re-register on the mainland .

Pete did a wee bit of maintenance on " SHREK " and it sailed through the MOT .

A few years ago " SHREK " would have been classified as an import but it was very simple to change at the local D.V.L.A office in Dundee .

I was given the option of getting a new Registration number or retaining the original Irish registration .

Retaining the original Irish registration was the quickest and easiest option and it meant that " SHREK " kept the original Registration plates .

Since I have had " SHREK " I have been up the Trossacks , over the Rest and Be Thankful to Inverary , Fort William , Pitlochry , Blairgowrie , and up past the Glenshee ski centre to Braemar as well as many shorter runs .

SHREK handled the mountains effortlessly .

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Some more photos

Sun Roof

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SUNROOF SEALED WITH GREEN NYLON ROPE

Dash Centre Switches

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Heater , choke & Cigar Lighter

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Air Vent

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Dials ; Rev counter showing a fast tickover while warming up the engine

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Door Card , Arm Rest , Pocket

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To be continued .

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