Reliant was founded by Tom Williams in 1935.  Prior to starting at Reliant Mr. Williams worked at Raleigh in Nottingham and had been involved with their 3-wheeler projects.  Raleigh however ceased making 3-wheelers and so Mr. Williams decided to make his own in the back garden of his Tamworth home.  His first “Reliant” was completed and licensed the on the 1st January 1935 and was a 3-wheeled 7 cwt van, powered by a 600cc Jap engine.

In their early years Reliant only produced 3-wheeled vans but in 1953 Reliant produced its first 3-wheeled family car with the Reliant Regal Mk 1.  This vehicle (a convertible) was very different from modern Reliants as it had an ash frame fixed to a steel chassis and the body was made from aluminium panels.  Reliant continuously improved the Regal over various Mks and with the Mk II in 1954 started to experiment with fibreglass which resulted in Reliant’s first all fibreglass vehicle in 1956 with the Regal Mk II.
The Regal family continued to march forward with the Mk VI in 1960 being the last new car in the world to have a side-valve engine.  In 1962 the Regal 3/25 was introduced and unlike “ye olde” Regals, it featured a unitary construction body of re-enforced fibreglass and so did not need a supporting ash framework. Polyester was moulded in two major units (outer and inner) and then bonded together and bolted to a steel chassis. The 3/25 also featured a new aluminium 600cc overhead valve unit; this was Britain's first flowline production light alloy motor engine.  With slight modifications, a revamped front end and a rebored 700cc engine the Regal 3/25 became the Regal 3/30.

Text taken from:

    "Reliant Regal, How to Restore"By Elvis Payne

Thanks to Veloce Publishing for permission.