1984 Plymouth Reliant - The Day After I Picked It Up

[bluegrassman776]

my mom and dad had a 1989 reliant that was a great car, i thought it was nerdy when i was 14 and 15 but looking back it was the first car a drove , took my liscence in it.

[1waffleiron]

Looks a lot like the '95 Plymouth Acclaim my dad got last year. Nice car.

[Dieselolds]

I think its looking good, nice car at a low price, thats good.

[uxwbill]

@Dieselolds It was certainly a nice project and we got a lot of good use out of this car. Some of the memories we have are pretty good. All in all, I don't regret buying or owning it for a minute.

[inkey2]

my late father bought a K car in 1989....brand new, fully loaded. It was the end of the model year and he got it for 10,000 bucks. It is still sitting in my elderly mothers garage with 40,000 original miles on it. Problem is...the Massachusetts winters, snow, salt etc. has finally taken it's toll on the body and floor

[werto147]

@inkey2 oh no! u should think about restoring?

[inkey2]

@werto147 we would have considered restoring it but Massachusetts weather and salted roads ages a car 10 years in about 5 years. The floor is pretty much gone, the rear fender panals are rotting out. It was the last car my dad ever owned and we would have liked to restore it if it wasn't such a rot bucket. Still sitting in my 87 year old mothers garage. Not sure what will become of it

[crickettsdodge31]

I would die for a 88 reliant....it would be awesome

[jimisme123]

i have to admit these cars are tough. we have one out at the camp and we hit jumps and put the pedal to the medal all the time and it still runs like a champ!

[jpgbrookes]

My brother and I grew up with an 1988 Plymouth Caravelle and it had the exact same dashboard. It was an awesome car. Sadly, it was plagued with problems around year 2000. Among all the problems, it stalled out on my dad in the middle of the highway.

[dmx011]

a k car is the definition of being tight with money any fix on these junkers isn't worth it!- as far as i'm concerned...but they did fit the bill as a disposable car for countless families...

[uxwbill]

I'm not seriously tight with my money. I drove this car because I thought I could fix it and I really did end up liking it a LOT. Chrysler knew how to build a great car at one time, and these were it. Almost everything was a breeze to take apart and work on--the sign of thoughtful engineers. And it never left anyone anywhere, until it got stuck in the mud one day.

[werto147]

@dmx011 A Reliant K.... A 'Tight Budget car', hmmm.. how about not right? Spending Money on a junk car, 'not worth' it? Well it just so happens if your not a fucking retard and you spend your money on the right car, u may be able to get an unstopable Winning machine.... dont believe me? Goto Turbo Dodge.com ask em about the reliant k. or k car..

[uxwbill]

@werto147 That's on my list of things to do or have one day...a turbocharged Reliant or Aries. Talk about a car where they would never see it coming! I love those turbo minivans as well!

[werto147]

@uxwbill in that case i will post a video of my (soon to be mine) black/red turbo minivan

[dmx011]

@werto147 hey moron every car no matter how good or bad , does have fans. these junker cars were budget cars in the day, desposable, thank GOD most are long gone, they were slow, unsafe, but to see one in mint shape is a sight, they are hard to keep up.

[MrGoldenwaffler]

@dmx011 oh, ok ... you go ahead then with your consumer debt and embarassing depreciation of new "luxury" automobiles - did you know that you are the kind of person that car dealerships laugh at most frequently?? I know that for a fact - 15 years in the auto industry. I'll take my 88 Reliant and my hefty savings account, thanks.

[dmx011]

@MrGoldenwaffler if you have a "hefty " savings account you don't drive a piece of junk like this. k cars were good in their day I'll give them that, but now thankfully most are gone now, they are unsafe econo boxes, no saftey items, that are underpowered rust buckets. its nice to see one in a blue moon, just for a change, and to remind us all how ugly cars were especially the butt of every joke k car.

[jazzintheghetto]

I have an '87 I got for $300. Runs perfect but looks like shit.

American cars in the 80's were complete shit. Honestly, look at these things.

[uxwbill]

I disagree. There *were* good American-made cars in the 1980s...K-cars, 3800 V6 "BOP" cars from GM (these are darn near unstoppable and many are still on the road today), and of course the Ford Taurus (whose 1980s body design looked great in my book).

And I like the good old V8 RWD cars as well. Not high tech or fuel efficient, but easy to fix!

Everyone's opinion differs, but I really like the squared off "box" cars of the 80s as compared to all the swoopy and rounded stuff we have today.

[jazzintheghetto]

@uxwbill

I don't know how to talk cars with someone who thinks a Ford Tauras and Plymouth Reliant are good looking cars.

I opt out.

[uxwbill]

Fair 'nuff to me...what can I say? I like the way they look...to each his own, I guess.

[coolbluelights]

@jazzintheghetto I agree with uxwbill I like the style of these cars. I mean name a car that you think is good looking and I'll probably agree with you, but these cars appeal to me not just because of their looks but also the fact that they were affordable and made in a better time. now you can't get a car for under 15 grand! it's outrageous. I will never own a new car!

[dcmonster7733]

dude i have one of these cars i luv mine dont ever throw it to the junkyard tho

[ButtaLove4u2008]

I'll miss this car

[averagejustin]

0:31 it doesn't have reverse lights?

[mgospeed31]

My girlfriend and I were going to the junkyard the other day looking for some parts for our '99 Jeep Cherokee. We were cruising along when I started smelling gas. I freaked out, because I do have a fuel line that looks pretty rusty. Then I realized that the gas was splattering my windshield. I was behind a Reliant Wagon that was spraying fuel everywhere! Needless to say, I got the hell out from behind that car.

[staver76]

u do no if u get rear ended from the back of that jeep u could literally explode , watch the documentary , search it , all models from around 2004 and under have the gas tank right behind the bumper , i would change my car if i were you. Im not a spammer , and im not joking.

[EdwardPack1988]

I just bought a 1984 dodge aries for $125 from an old man. He said he couldt get it to run and was tired of it. I got it to run and drove it home. Carburetor is shot. Had to nuture it home. Leaking gas everywhere. The interior in these cars hold up really where exept for the head liner. Can't wait to start driven it.

[EdwardPack1988]

agree, there getting rare. Well I got the carb fixed (new diaphram) And did a valve job. Number one cylinder in and ex valve was pitted from spark knock because the egr was cloged. I also found out that the car only has 60,000 original miles. I believe it to because the cam and cylinder walls were in great shape.

[EdwardPack1988]

cool. As well I. If i ever get some money I'm thinking about turbo charging mine. It wouls make the ultimate sleeper.

[uscar17]

that is one great car ! i always wanted to have a wagon of those, with the fake woody sides... love it !

[DoReMiIsMyGod]

love that car!

looks awesome

[cardwellave]

that's really close to my grandpas 84 aries. its got 54k miles on it. headgasket is blown and he insists its hard to change. is it too bad to do? im sort of a novice but i really want it fixed

[uxwbill]

Same car, different names.

If it has only 54K true miles on it, it's certainly worth fixing. There were two different engines--mine has the 2.6 Mitsubishi, but there was also a 2.2 Chrysler. Both are four cylinders.

I don't know how bad it would be to change the head gaskets on these cars. Mine hasn't gone bad.

[jrkelm]

Very few old K Cars have survived as well as that one. Body is straight at appears rust free and interior isn't bad.

[uxwbill]

It's a lot rustier than you'd think. The bottom side has suffered, and there are some holes in the front floorboards. Still, the body is pretty straight.

I like it--if this one dies beyond what reasonable repair efforts could fix--I would have another one.

[buickman00]

Nice car, realy.

[uxwbill]

It's in pretty good shape for its age. The Keykeeper and I really enjoy driving it, which is what we're going to do until it dies beyond all means of economical repair.

[buickman00]

I have a 1981 Skylark, and I want to film it, and place the film in Youtube. I like that car, I have no problem with it. Realy bravo.

[Vette31991]

Looks pretty good for an 84'. What did you have to do to get er' back on the road? You said it was leaking fuel? Sounds like rusty fuel lines? haha, I know that feeling because my olds used to leak out of the fuel filter output.