Description
I bought the car 23 years ago in good condition apart from the engine which was poorly. Accordingly a full engine rebuild was undertaken soon after, including block relined, new pistons, head skimmed and valve seats recut, valves, guides and seals, etc.
Since then the car has benefitted from many mechanical upgrades and detail jobs to enhance it, including a full brake reline, rebuilt wheel cylinders with new seals, pre-selector gearbox enhancement (from Schumacher) and retuning to suit the relined centrifugal clutch.
The twin rebuilt S. U. 1. 5'' Carburettors have been retuned with new needles and I've designed and made new inlet air ducting and foam filter which improves the touring experience considerably. The HT distributor has been rebuilt with new Coil and Condenser fitted.
A revised exhaust system has been installed with twin silencers added to the 4 branch manifold.
I've fitted a new H/ D large capacity battery.
New tyres and h/ d tubes were fitted (incl. spare) about 3000 miles ago and still have lots of wear in them.
The radiator was recored by Coventry specialists before my time and fitted with a re-chromed surround which is in quite excellent order. Some other parts were apparently re-chromed at the time, but others might benefit from further attention; there is minor corrosion showing near some of the bumper bar holes which is not noticeable at a casual glance, and there is general wear apparent in a few places - again hardly noticeable.
A new Mohair hood was made by P & G Trimmers recently, and the sidescreens were rebuilt and re-trimmed at the same time. Shortly afterwards, I had them rebuild the front seat squabs which had become rather soggy, and refit the rexine upholstery.
The Mileage is what shows on the odometer, but clearly the car will have travelled much further in it's life! The clock fitted below the odometer is adjustable (not seized) but does not work and although the fuel gauge works, it should not be relied upon for accurate tank contents!I'd always yearned for a pre-selector Riley after my father had one in the '50's, which I just about remember, but of which I have no written or photographic records.
The RILEY engine technology appeals to me because of it's forward thinking design and competition origins at Le Mans and so on. Of all the pre-war Riley cars, the IMP might be the most appealing, but it was a tad small for me to pilot, so the next best thing was a Lynx, which of course has the benefit of 4 seats and doors for family outings, along with decent weatherproofing!
After a lengthy search I bought this one from Lake Windermere, where it had kept company with a Steam Launch and other historical niceties, but it's engine had sadly not been attended-to as well as the bodywork and so I felt I was equipped to manage those shortcomings, which has proven to be the case.
I've much enjoyed 'fettling' the car and bringing it back to good performance with a few subtle enhancements here and there to improve it yet further for the next custodian, and it's been out and about to many Rallies and gatherings around the country.
